11 Tiny Luxuries People Who Grew Up Broke Secretly Treasure Most From Their Childhood
You don't realize how significant the little things are until you grow up and lose them.
Stenko Vlad / Shutterstock As children, it's not hard to ascertain whether your family belongs to the haves or the have-nots. We quickly notice when our well-to-do peers have assets and resources that were unavailable to those who grew up broke. And as we grow up, there are lots of tiny luxuries people who grew up broke secretly treasure from their childhood.
So many kids spent time wishing their parents had more to give financially, unaware of the tiny luxuries their friends and classmates might not have. They say that money makes the world go round, but they also say that it is the root of all evil. The truth is somewhere in between. While having wealth can help meet your basic needs and buy you all the unnecessary accoutrements your heart desires, there are some priceless things you had as a child that money just can't buy.
Here are 11 tiny luxuries people who grew up broke secretly treasure most from their childhood
1. A close-knit family
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When money is tight for a family, they have to be resourceful, ensuring that they can provide everything the family needs. They tend to bond over a shared experience and struggles. Poor families may spend more time together, sharing meals, residing in closer quarters, relying on each other.
Families who have wealth often have busy schedules, big homes where everyone can go into their own corners rather than spend time together, and travel alone, further reducing the available time they have to spend together.
2. A supportive community
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Children whose parents are labeled "broke" tend to rely on the community around them. Poorer families build rapport with others in their community through shared goals, team sports, and working together to solve problems that many of them face.
Many of us met some of our first friends in summer programs, at our local community centers, or through participation in programs meant to provide opportunities to have more than the generations before us did. Financial lack causes those afflicted to come together and help each other be successful.
3. Face-value friendships
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Remember when you met a new kid as a child? You looked them up and down and decided they could hang out with you. It was that simple. Your expectations were low. You needed them to be available for playtime, share snacks with you, and try not to be mean. If they did make you upset, they said they were sorry and all was right in the world.
As an adult, navigating new friendships can be difficult. We are often juggling the responsibilities of home and work, leaving few chances to be social. Forming new friendships also requires vulnerability on our parts, but by the time we reach adulthood, our guards are up due to too many negative experiences with people.
4. Siblings as best friends
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In our household there was one rule: we could argue and fight amongst each other, but when we left home, we were a united front. No matter how much my brothers got on my very last nerve, I could talk about them, but no one else could.
When families with a lack of financial resources have multiple children, the kids are connected because of the unique upbringing that only sibling raised the same way can relate to. They might squabble and pick at each other here and there, but brothers and sisters who grew up in hard circumstances have an unmatched bond.
5. Resilience and tenacity
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If you ever hear someone say, "I got it out the mud," know that they were not born with a silver spoon in their mouth. They started out in financially challenging circumstances and worked two times as hard as their wealthier counterparts to build the life you see today.
Living with limited resources can push young people to be more creative, to adapt quickly to changing circumstances, and to become resourceful, identifying people that can help them get to where they want to go. Growing up broke builds resilience and tenacity that will serve less fortune children well in the future. That grit can be considered a luxury in a world where easy access can minimize resourcefulness.
6. Gratitude
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It's easy to take things for granted if they come a dime a dozen. Those who had never had to worry about where their next meal would come from are accustomed to having whatever they want to eat when they want to eat it. This can cause them to lack gratitude, believing the basic things should come easily.
Those who come from poor families know how bad things can get, so they express gratitude for the little things in life. As we get older, build careers, and become our ancestors' wildest dreams, many forget where they came from. But those who remember remain forever grateful for what they did have as kids and never focus on what they didn't.
7. Simplicity
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Money can complicate things. For families of great means, there are choices to make. Who inherits the house? Who will run the family business? How do we protect all of our valuable assets? Those are just a few of the big decisions a rich family might face, making life much more complex than that of a family of little means.
Because people without money usually lack those high-end assets, those issues are completely foreign to them. They focus on what is necessary to sustain a healthy lifestyle for everyone under their roof. Poor families are adept at continuing to put one foot in front of the other to survive. We tend to lose this luxury as we grow and mature.
8. Less pressure
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If you come from a parents who have never struggled a day in their lives, there is a lot of pressure on you to live up to family traditions and expectations. Rather than having the childhood you should, you are held to the highest of standards, with the idea that you will continue the legacy your mother and father have bequeathed to you.
If your family does not have wealth, there is less pressure to maintain a public image, to follow expensive trends to prove you have money, or to engage in social climbing. This gives them the opportunity to form more authentic relationships and allows them to focus on the things that really matter.
9. Multi-generational relationships
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When you come from a poor family, there is strong interdependence that builds lifelong connections and appreciation. Gatherings were not limited to subset of your descendants. Everyone was included. You might have four or five generations in the same place at the same time. That is definitely a luxury that we lose over time.
In today's world, many families have split off into groups who are closer than the rest. They only invite the people they like to certain events, and the elderly are treated more as a burden to be left out that and treasure that we should protect. Once we lose this dynamic and connectivity, it's hard to get it back.
10. Freedom
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Along with less pressure to perform, children who come from broke beginnings usually have the freedom and autonomy to be themselves and that is so underrated. When you are born into wealth, you enter the world with a price tag on your head and lofty expectations that if not met, might shame your family.
Rich kids might be expected to follow in their father's footsteps, becoming a prominent doctor or lawyer. Or they could be the presumed inheritor of the family business whether they want to or not. Poor boys and girls are usually the first to graduate college and the first to open a business. They set the bar for themselves and exceed the low expectations society has placed on them.
11. Puppy love
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Your childhood crush was a luxury, whether you recognized that or not. Those inexplicable butterflies for the chubby kid who always had food on his shirt and bedhead was pure and innocent, a quality you might not ever find in a relationship again. It's almost like you could see the soul of others first, so liking them was more spiritual than superficial.
If you grew up broke, your parents were likely accepting of your social circle as a part of your journey. But growing up with money means implementing standards, boundaries, and dealbreakers that ensure you never fraternize with those below a certain station in life. You don't get the freedom to explore relationships so you know how they work. Your parents strategically place you around the offspring of people they deem to be high value and you spend your entire life vetting people based on one-dimensional standards.
NyRee Ausler is a writer from Seattle, Washington, and the author of seven books. She focuses on lifestyle and human interest stories that delivers informative and actionable guidance on interpersonal relationships, enlightenment, and self-discovery.
