11 Phrases That Only Make Sense If You Were Raised By Broke Parents
When money was tight, financially-conscious parents lived by these words.
Luis Molinero | Shutterstock Being raised with limited resources leads to more practical methods of adapting to life without the need to spend money. Children growing up in these environments learn how to make do with what they have. They learn to save money and survive on the resources they are given. It's a handy skill to instill in children, but sometimes parents can take things too far.
It's not always actions, but words that can be harmful, as evident by the phrases that only make sense if you were raised by broke parents. Maybe it meant going without dinner because you didn't like what your mom cooked, or being brought to the store only to be told you couldn't buy anything. For people who were raised in these environments, the lessons never truly go away and you often find yourself remembering.
Here are 11 phrases that only make sense if you were raised by broke parents
1. 'There's food at the house'
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As a child, some people remember being in the car and seeing McDonald's waiting for them in the backseat, or asking their parents to pick up fast food. But for children with parents who were broke, they were likely always told there was food at home to eat. Suddenly, those golden arches became a distant childhood memory that bonded entire generations together.
What lies behind this simple phrase is far more complex. According to a Map the Meal Gap report, 86% of U.S. counties that struggled with the highest food insecurity are in the rural areas of the South. For many families, passing up on fast food is a necessity, suggesting their kids eat food at home as a way to stretch limited resources.
2. 'Turn off those lights'
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Parents always had a sixth sense for knowing when their kids weren't in a room but the lights were on. They would yell at their children because the energy bill was too expensive to be wasting electricity. According to a 2024 HOP Energy survey, 48% of Americans are stressed about the cost of utility bills, with 69% saying that their electric bills have increased the most.
So, broke parents were right. Energy bills do cost too much, but keeping the lights off isn't a cost-friendly or viable option anymore. As energy prices continue to rise and household incomes stay the same, everyone may have to stop using electricity altogether just to be able to save pennies. And even then, it likely won't be enough.
3. 'If you don't like it, you can go to bed hungry'
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One of the common phrases that only make sense if you were raised by broke parents related to dinnertime. Growing up, your parents wanted a little appreciation for working hard on a meal, so when you rejected it stating you wanted something else, they took it personally.
They felt like you hated their cooking or were unappreciative of the food that you had. You may have been sent to your room without dinner for being too difficult to deal with. Nowadays, depriving your child of a meal could be seen as abusive because you're forcing them to starve, while discipline should be aimed at teaching rather than punishing.
Parents from younger generations seem to want to do things differently than their parents once did, particularly millennial parents. A survey from Lurie Children's found that 88% of millennials say that their current style of parenting is different from how they were raised, with 3 in 4 millennials parents practicing gentle parenting.
4. 'Money doesn't grow on trees'
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When you wanted something that was considered a luxury, your parents would go on about how money doesn't grow on trees to try and show you that you really didn't need the thing you wanted. Your parents weren't technically wrong, though.
Factually, U.S. currency is made from cotton and linen, not wood pulp like regular paper, so money doesn't actually come from trees. But as children think with their emotions rather than logic and likely feel their parents are denying them something.
With that being said, parents discussing financial matters with their children can affect them psychologically. A study published by the Journal of Youth and Adolescence found that youths who were more concerned about their family's ability to meet economic needs had lower academic performance. And no child should be involved in adult matters like finances.
5. 'You better not be touching the thermostat'
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When you were growing up, there was an unspoken rule around the house that the thermostat was off limits. There were two reasons for this: parents wanted to control the temperature of the home, and energy costs were expensive. The more you ran the air conditioning, the higher the bill was; it was as simple as that. To parents, this was setting a boundary.
A study published by the Journals of Gerontology found that older adults reported having issues paying attention when their home temperature ranged between 68°F and 75°F, which means your parents wanted the thermostat at a set temperature because, subconsciously, they felt their brain tuning out if the temperature went too high or low.
6. 'You don't need name brand, it's the same thing'
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When you shopped with your parents, you were probably quick to put things like Pop-Tarts into the shopping cart when they weren't looking, only to have them make you put it back and replace it with the cheaper store brand. Research from the Private Label Manufacturers Association revealed that consumers saved an average of 30.1% by opting for the store brands over their name brand counterparts. At the time, it felt like you were missing out, but now it makes sense.
The main difference between store brand and name brand is not just the packaging, but the price tag. While there are certain name brand products people will buy over store brand, most of these products are manufactured in the same facilities and have identical or similar ingredients.
7. 'We're just going to look'
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When your parents took you to the store, you surely wanted to purchase a new toy or snack. But they would likely tell you "we're just going to look" before you even got there, using one of the phrases that only make sense if you were raised by broke parents.
A study published by Maternal & Child Nutrition found that children will resort to strategies like sneaking items into the cart when parents are not looking just to get an item that they want. This means whether parents like it or not their children influence their spending habits.
Parents clearly struggle to resist these requests, especially when their children present a well-timed tantrum. Everyone probably judged them for not being able to control their child in a public space, but rather than seeing it as a personal failure, broke parents viewed it as saving money for essentials only.
8. 'Those are your school clothes so don't mess them up'
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Children love to play dress up, but if you did so in the clothes you wore to school or even Sunday church, your parents probably scolded you. They didn't want you to ruin a nice-looking outfit that they paid for, and found it important for you to not stain or spill anything on it.
At lunch, you would guard your food tray, making sure it was close to you to try and avoid an inevitable ketchup spill. Even recess felt like a minefield, with every game or activity becoming a threat to your outfit. Now that you're an adult, however, you only wear those nice outfits for special occasions rather than for recreational use.
9. 'Your family member wore it first, now it's your turn'
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Parents who had frugal tendencies would pass down clothes or toys from older siblings and cousins like it was a rite of passage. As a kid, you saw everything the older children were doing and wanted to mimic them. So, when your parents finally gave you something that once belonged to them, you loved it.
As an adult, you might see hand-me-downs as both tradition and cost-saving. However, because your family grew up without much money, you may now feel financially insecure about the clothing you own. You might shop at thrift stores or never buy anything new.
10. 'I paid for that so you need to use it'
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When your parents said this, they wanted you to appreciate every penny that went into buying whatever you needed. Most of the time they said this during back-to-school shopping trips. And according to a study from Capital One Shopping Research, the average household spent approximately $597 per child in 2023 when back-to-school shopping.
But your parents also likely said it on the rare occasion they let you buy something that wasn't essential. As children, you wanted the trendiest supplies and items that all the other kids had, but as an adult you now see how important it is to pay attention to the price tag.
Your parents worked hard for every dollar they made, so when they bought you something, they made sure you knew to use it. Their lesson taught you to value the things you have and appreciate the money it took to get it.
11. 'Make it last'
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"Make it last" is one of the most common phrases that only make sense if you were raised by broke parents. Your parents said this as a practical reminder to be resourceful, not wasteful with the items you had. You learned to sharpen a pencil down to the nub, used both sides of a piece of paper, and rationed your snacks and candy. It was budgeting in its most basic form.
As adults, you make things last and even repurpose them, and you learned this behavior from your parents who would make you reuse things or simply give them away so somebody else could use it. You might reuse containers or purchase used furniture, and you don't waste anything, whether it be food, clothing, or certain products.
When you grow up with broke parents, survival turns into a skill where you make the most of what you have. And despite their struggles to get you there, you can thank your parents for teaching you that.
Sylvia Ojeda is an author who has over a decade of experience writing novels and screenplays. She covers self-help, relationships, culture, and human interest topics.
