Luxuries -
 

I don't think we were "poor" - our clothes were always clean and we always had enough to eat - but now, these are some things I consider "luxuries"

Having LOTS of bobbins

Having LOTS of thread

Having more than one pair of scissors


Anything that is comparatively inexpensive that you consider "living high" now that you have it?

All the things that save me time are my luxuries. Disposable dishes, K cups for coffee, detergent pods, disposable disinfectant wipes, anything disposable!

foaming soap....growing up and also when we were poor, we only used bar soap

he, he. my son just keeps saying "more scissors?" every time I unpack another one. (just moved)

I don't remember there being any other kind of bath soap when I was growing up. We always had Dial, Sweet Bouquet, and Ivory.

At last count I have 36 pair of scissors. All brands, all sizes, all types. Most were gifts!

we only had bar soap. We were poor. Got most of our food from my moms friend. He husband owned a wrecking yard. He'd trade parts to the Sabrett guy and the Good humor icecream man. There were a lot of nights we had hotdogs and icecream. some days, icecream. My other friend, looking back, she was poor too, (16 kids), loved to come to my house and get icecream . All my cloths were hand me downs. Another of my moms friends had 6 boys and one girl. Wow, was she dressed well, and so was I. even my underwear was hand me down. Shoes too.

My aunt and God mother died, and left me with money to buy luxuries for myslef with. She didn't want anyone to know she left it to me. Wow, was that a shocker! Living in my condo with my husband and cat, and having my son have a well paying salary is luxury to me.

When I was a young kid, I thought we were poor. We always had food on the table, decent clothes (my mom made a lot of them and we did wear hand-me downs if they were still good and they fit) but my dad worked full time and was in college until I was 5. (We went to his graduation from Wichita State.) So we didn't have a lot of disposable income. One time when we were driving to visit my grandparents we stopped for a break and the waitress asked if we wanted anything and I said in a rather loud tone, "No, we're too poor." My parents wanted to leave me there. It wasn't until years later that they realized that overtime I asked for something, the response was, "No, we can't afford it."

Luxuries - I have more than my share. I have been very blessed.

We were poor, but they forgot to tell us. raised our own vegetables and meat, wore hand me downs, did not get inside plumbing until 1958. BUT, I always had food on the table, a bed to sleep in and a roof over my bed, and all the love I could handle. I did not realize how blessed I was until I got older. With each year, I appreciate my childhood more.

Small luxuries:
keeping the thermostat at 73 in the winter if I feel like it
whole peppercorns for grinding at time of use = "fancy pepper"
individual slices of cheesecake purchased at the in-store bakery of the grocery store
...and a thousand more which I am extremely thankful for every day!

I was not poor as a kid but have had experiences as an adult with kids that made me realize that the only things that are necessary for life are air, water, food and shelter. A change of clothes is a plus ! So pretty much everything I have today I consider a luxury; a brick home, hot and cold running water, central air and heat... not to mention my fabulous sewing, embroidery and quilting machines. I am grateful for everything I have.

I wake up every morning, I can see and hear and walk and breathe. All are precious to me. As a child, we weren't poor, but we weren't rich either. We raised a garden (I hated hoeing that garden!!!!), but it helped feed me, and we raised our own hogs and beef, and we had a milk cow. We had well water. My mom made her own clothes, and mine and my sister's clothes until I got old enough to be interested and learned to sew, and I made all of our clothes, but she bought my 2 brothers and Daddy's clothes. Oh, and we had a party-line telephone until around 1965 when we finally got a private line....Halleleujah!:)

I am the oldest and got hand me downs from relatives. Hated it. Since there was more than a few years between my sister and I they got new because there were a few years between them also. I admit I was bitter about it because when I went to same school as my cousins who pointed out to others I was wearing their hand me downs. BUT at a school dinner with parents, again I was dressed in a cousin's hand me down. When my parents saw the tears start rolling down my face because of embarrassment and my aunt's even made comments that it looked better on their kids that was the end of that. I got a whole new wardrobe that weekend from head to toe. Never got hand me downs again. That was one time I remember getting an apology from my parents. The weekend after that another aunt from out of town brought some clothes for my brother which were rejected and advised to donate to a charity instead. My brother also got a new wardrobe.

My DH says he knew he was no longer poor when he no longer had to straighten out bent nails so they could be used again. He hated that job!

I love reading everyone's story. With 5 kids in my family, we didn't have a lot. We were clean, had good food and love. My mom worked full time in a 1 parent home, but I didn't feel deprived. We were well aware of our financial constraints, but were still able to pick maybe 1-2 new inexpensive outfits when we went back-to-school, but had mostly hand-me-downs. I was always aware of my friend's limitless gorgeous outfits, but being in a small school, everyone grew up together and we were more like family. We didn't have the awful bullying that happens in today's schools. My luxury: my sewing hobby

I was rich all my life, but there was little money. :)

We were as poor as church mice, so to speak. Grew our food and canned or dried everything, but I never went hungry and always had a warm bed to sleep in. Our roof never leaked. We had no car and I could never go to school parties, but I never felt deprived. Made my own clothes. I think I got a valuable education on having the important things in life, not luxuries.

I love your answer! It says it all, thank you! That's the way I feel. Blessings.

Growing up I thought we were poor but I think we were just frugal. We froze in the winter. We lived in a big drafty old house and my dad kept it cold. I keep my thermostat at 73/74 and if I get cold or hot I click it up/down a notch. I wore hand me downs - hand me downs several times over. We used rags to dust and clean with - no paper products. I don't think paper towels were big then. We did have toilet paper - ha. We had good food but my dad got first choice. I guess all the things made me the woman I am today.

all i have to say is AMEN AMEN

Thank you for the reminders that "money and stuff" are not the only forms of "riches".

I never realized growing up we were poor. As others have said, we always had food, a warm bed and shelter and protection from the "boogie man". The love my parents had for us was palpable. One of many lessons I learned at home was to have a sense of humor and to be able to laugh at myself. We learned to say, "please" and "thank you", to be polite and the importance and joy of reading and I have many fond memories of laying on my Grandmother's glider on the back porch and reading books in the summer. Life was not perfect then but, I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Simple things can be our greatest treasures....................

What a beautiful statement. Bravo!

Being able to buy good quality London Broil beef on sale for $2.99; for me they make quite tasty steak treats and freeze well. (I do little beef otherwise.)
Beautiful country views all around me.
Air-conditioning and electric heat....had no AC and smelly gas heat growing up that always made me feel a bit sick.
Grateful I bought a "luxury" car (Lexus) before I was divorced because now, at 20 years old, it still runs beautifully and has easy-in/easy-out leather seats. I may never be able to afford another car.
A landlady that is a dear friend AND a quilter!
Hundreds of yards of fabric leftover from the shop I once owned in Dallas TX. Really NEVER need to buy any again.
Every sewing tool I need and more already in my collection.
Free-read-and-return paperback books from my local library.
A family care doctor who has become a special friend and calls me his favorite patient; he willingly allows me to participate in my care and trusts my judgement and decisions. His nurse is the same.

This thread is the most inspiring I've read in a long time. I have loved reading your stories, many that are similar to mine. Our family had hard times, but I never felt poor, even with the sacrifices we sometimes had to make.

Wow! I'm so sorry you had to experience that. It sounds as if kindness didn't run in that side of the family.

Softer tissues, that is one of my luxuries these days. I also buy these little soaps that come in great, light scents at the Sponge Docks in Tarpon Springs. They make me smile when I use them. Not a huge expense but it feels 'fancy' to buy them. I like to buy different kinds of cheeses to try, too.

My husband is the youngest of 10 children - all raised during the depression. Raised on a farm and did not "buy" anything except what was absolutely necessary. He said that they would get a new package of underwear for Christmas - how sad.

He will not eat oatmeal, said he had too much of it as a boy. I was surprised, because they raised chickens for the meat and the eggs. He said they could not afford to eat the eggs - they had to sell them to get some money. They had a HUGE garden. We have never had a garden, have good heat and air conditioning and BUY all of our meat and vegetables. He was telling his cousin the other day "how good we have it nowdays".

Having a warm house (growing up it was kept at 58 degrees). Being able to go out to eat occasionally -- unless we were moving from one duty station to another we ate at home. Having fabric scissors (we had one pair of scissors total and ohhh they were dull). Having more than one TV. Paper napkins. Costco chicken.

We had the best step Dad in the world. He took on 3 children ( I was the oldest & 3 yrs later we had a new Sister.) We were seldom corrected.....just a look or shake of Mom's head was all it took.Both parents were readers,so all the kids were too,reading encyclopedias,comic books & cereal boxes.
Our parents loved us & never heard the word step parent or half sister. We were all his kids & to this day,we are thankful for the parents we had & miss them.
Poor was a word we didn't hear till we were grown.Our young life taught us many life lessons.We were never poor in heart.

Such inspiring stories and can relate to most of them. Grew up poor and realized it, kept house cold, especially at night, wore plenty of hand me downs (3 girls). We did have food to eat, maybe pinto beans and fried potatoes many times. But I think it made me and DH appreciate what we have now.

Funny thing looking back growing up, I never knew we were poor. We would have fried salt pork and boiled potatoes, spam, Imperial margarine, pasta, and hamburger meat. My grandfather one pace a month would go to the north end of Boston and buy bird nests cakes ( sliced jelly roll with mocha frosting, raspberry jam on top and covered in coconut) still my favorite. Clothes were made by my grandmother who was a seamstress. My hair was always taken care of ( frosted at 12 years old) mom was a colorist. Never went on vacations except day trips every now and then. Went to the beach in the summer for the first time when I was 18. My grandfather and I would drive to the beach when it was storming.. I later learned that he didn't like sand in his toes. Lol he was a truck driver not making much money, my mother worked as a hairdresser and in a factory. We were very poor looking back in monetary standards but very rich that few people can appreciate.

Money was tight but....
we always had new clothes for school
We wore good shoes to school. Keds for summer.
Mom and Dad had a Christmas Club account. We had really nice Christmas toys, etc but the rest of the year...we did not get more toys. Maybe a birthday gift. So many fond memories of Christmas as a family. They made it special.
family holidays, good conversation and warm hugs, Loved to hear the stories of family lore. I miss those days....everyone is gone now. ( parents, aunts and uncles)
soda was a luxury...not an every day beverage. Same with chips and snacks....

one car family, modest house.

Sandy