Category: poverty

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Breaking Free from the Poverty Trap: Understanding the Root Causes

Research indicates that poverty is not predominantly a result of individual capabilities or attitudes. Instead, it is often caused by a phenomenon known as the poverty trap, where a lack of initial resources inhibits those experiencing poverty from improving their circumstances.

This poverty trap is perpetuated by various factors, including limited access to education, healthcare, and job opportunities, as well as systemic issues such as income inequality and discriminatory policies. Additionally, poor infrastructure, a lack of social safety nets, and the absence of financial services can further exacerbate the situation, making it challenging for people to escape poverty.

Addressing the root causes of the poverty trap requires a multi-faceted approach, including investment in education, healthcare, and infrastructure development, along with implementing policies to promote income redistribution and reduce systemic barriers. By targeting these underlying issues, it is possible to empower individuals and break the cycle of poverty, ultimately leading to more equitable and prosperous societies.

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People Describe The Best ‘Poverty Meals’ From Childhood They Still Love To This Day

Childhood poverty is no joke.

But there are certain aspects of growing up poor that people actually enjoy that upper and middle class kids usually don’t experience.

One of those is the so-called “poverty meal”—a go to quick meal for when you’re really broke made from inexpensive pantry staples like macaroni, rice, potatoes and canned goods.

The dubiously named Redditor laced-with-arsenic asked:

“What’s your favorite poverty meal that you still eat regardless of where you are financially?”

Steak Fingers

“Grew up poor, but my mom sure knew how to stretch a dollar. She would make steak fingers out of the cheapest meat cuts she could find.”

“Tenderize, fry them up make gravy out of the drippings and serve with mashed potatoes. The whole meal probably cost less than 5 bucks in 70s dollars, and I’m telling you nothing tasted better.”

“I made it for my kids when they were growing up and they still ask me for it sometimes. She would be 94 today.”

“Love you, miss you mom.” ~ markarlage

Cereal

“Bowl of cereal.” ~ ApocalypseSpokesman

“My nephew was so excited when he realised that people ate cereal for meals other than breakfast.”

“Didn’t have the heart to tell him.” ~ lilithpingu

“A bag of generic cereal is like 5 or 6 bucks. That’s easily 10-15 meals at least.”

“A gallon of milk where I live is 3 bucks. And that’s good for like 10 bowls of cereal.”

“That comes out to less than a dollar per meal.”

“Add in a banana or toast and you hit at a dollar per meal. Super cheap.” ~ bhfroh

Quesadillas & Chilaquiles

“I’m Mexican. For us, it’s usually quesadillas without meat, rice and black beans as the sides.” ~ Reddit

“For us it’s usually chilaquiles.” ~ mattylou

“Bruh, we can’t even explain to the internet how cheap and tasty chilaquiles are.” ~ SteamFoxx

“Enfrijoladas.” ~ Bob__Kazamakis

“My girlfriend is Mexican and she makes this for us. It’s so wonderful. Homemade everything.” ~ yabaquan643

Sh*t On A Shingle

“Shit on a shingle? Sausage gravy served over toast.” ~ phenomagasm

“SOS! My mom made the gravy from scratch, just flour, butter, milk, and pepper, and used sliced corned beef instead. Mmmmmmm!!” ~ motherfuqueer

“Chipped beef on toast!! My mom was literally the only person I knew who ever made this.” ~ 910ee

“We ate this growing up and we weren’t poor. My mom was very poor growing up.”

“This was comfort food for her. We’d have it once or twice a year in the winter.”

“I still love it and ask her to make it when I visit.” ~ StarryEyes8194

Potatoes

“Boiled potatoes and butter. Don’t care if I am rich or poor that is my go to snack.” ~ dapornaddict

“Aww man this hits hard. Was living alone in London didn’t have much money at all.”

“I’d hit up Aldi get a full chicken for £1.75, a broccoli for 55p, and some potatoes for 55p.”

“I’d make a full roast like a king and still have potatoes to boil and have with butter after. So f’king good.” ~ EnemiesAllAround

“My family does something similar. Put some red skin potatoes, fresh green beans, chicken stock, and seasonings in a pot (or slow cooker) and simmer it for an hour or more.”

“Use a slotted spoon to put some in a bowl, then add a bit of stock and plenty of butter. It’s heaven.” ~ FitChemist432

“Fried eggs with fried potatoes.” ~ MrOtero

“The only meal Romanian dads knew how to cook when mom was away.” ~ Fabulini

“Ukrainian too. My old man can’t cook for sh*t, but I loved every time he made that.” ~ ExtraBitterSpecial

“Same for my Russian dad. I miss his fried potatoes and eggs.” ~ BarefootHippieDesign

“Oven-baked potatoes with salt and margarine.”

“Cheap ingredients found in almost every home and easy to make. Also, the starch in potatoes makes you feel full for pretty long.” ~ trashturmoilavocado

“I’m Irish and that is my go-to.”

“I can cook potatoes 100 ways.”

“I could have made a 5lb bag of potatoes last a week in my university days.” ~ guinnesshappy

Macaroni

“We called it ‘Ghetto Mac’ where you make some pasta and add in whatever you can find in the fridge or cabinets. Cheese, lunch meat, spam, spices, etc…”

“No two meals were ever the same.” ~ RhondaTheHonda

“We always called it poverty pasta.” ~ TehGogglesDoNothing

“We called that white trash casserole.” ~ WonBigMayor

“We always just called it goulash even though it doesn’t resemble traditional goulash at all.” ~ koolaideprived

“Called it goulash. Usually ground beef, stewed tomatoes and a can of vegetables in elbow macaroni but my mom had been known to do hot dogs, ham, sausage or just extra veggies.”

“Goulash is traditionally a soup but this was more of a casserole.” ~ Urithiru

“All this time I didn’t even know it had a name we would just do this to try to make a meal.” ~ JtDeluxe

Dal

“Dal.”

“Aside from tumeric you can buy all the ingredients for less than $2 a pound.” ~ Spam-Monkey

“Oh yeah! Dal is magic. Lentils in general deserve more love.”

“They are SO GOOD FOR YOU, and are delicious. They make a great meat substitute if you’re broke or just want to go meatless.” ~ tomboyfancy

“As an Indian, I see where you’re coming from, but I really never saw it that way before.” ~ RupesSax

“Dal by itself? Nah. But khitchdi? Now you’re talking! My favourite comfort food.” ~ hsihsadna

Squash

“We used to eat (zucchini or yellow neck) squash and eggs growing up. Grew the squash and eggs are cheap enough, or trade with the neighbors.”

“You just cut the squash into thin round and cook in a pan with a little oil until they’re just soft. Scramble the eggs with the squash, add a bunch of pepper, some salt.”

“Sometimes we ate it over noodles or rice.” ~ _Not-A-Monkey-St_

Soup

“Egg drop soup: – 1 quart chicken stock – 1 tbsp soy sauce – 1 tbsp corn starch – 1 inch grated ginger – whisk in 2 eggs – green onions sprinkled.” ~ csaszarcasa

“Soup boiled down with rice to bulk it up.” ~ StanMarsh02

“Dump a can of your favorite condensed ‘cream of’ atop a cup or two of rice. Best damn comfort food when you’re sick.” ~ Stargate525

“My grandma (who grew up during WWII) taught me that you can make soup from almost anything.”

“At least once a week I just throw a bunch of scrap veggies, left over meat, rice and whatever other random bits are left over from the week’s meals into a pot with some stock, boil it all together and bam.” ~ Reddit

PB & Sometimes J

“Peanut butter sandwich.” ~ Thinkpad200

“Nothing beats a good ole-fashioned PB&J, hold the J” ~ rezamwehttam

“My oldest son (about 4) would always say ‘I want a cooked peanut butter and jelly sandwich’, which meant peanut butter and jelly on toast.

“My middle son (about 2) would proceed to say ‘I want the same thing but not cooked and no jelly’.”

“I’d say so a peanut butter sandwich? ‘NO, I WANT A PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY NOT COOKED WITH NO JELLY!’” ~ ImNotBettyBoopg

“I had a PB&J recently and felt like a f’king fool! Why did I stop eating these when I became an adult?”

“Society lead me to believe this was the way. It is not!”

“Been having PB&J a couple nights a week since. I refuse to let societies unenlightened views dictate my dinner choices!”

“PB&J is a top tier dish for any occasion.” ~ Iminurcomputer

There are definitely regional and cultural differences. Many enduring comfort foods also qualify as poverty meals.

The recipes remain popular because they’re simple, quick and inexpensive.

What are the poverty meals you still love?

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People Break Down The Most Expensive Wastes Of Money

Money can be hard to come by these days. There’s often no room for error or waste.

A global study from 2014 showed that only 33% of adults were financially literate. The study measured the individuals understanding of basic numeracy, interest compounding,
inflation, and risk diversification.

With only a small percentage of the population able to understand 3 out of 4 of these concepts, there are a lot of ways people can waste money.

So we went to AskReddit to learn about the biggest wastes of money so we don’t make the same mistakes.

Redditor Animeking1108 asked:

“What is the most expensive waste of money?”

Get your note pads ready!

Scams around water.

“Designer water.” – invalidpassword

“Voss, Fiji etc.” – SnooPoems5454

“Voss has a good quality bottle. Buy it once then refill it from the tap for 6 months.” – Dr_D-R-E

“Smart water bottles are popular with backpackers for a similar reason. Thin, durable and lightweight.” – sctbct

“Or structured water.” – VattghernCZ

Phone psychics.

“My ex-girlfriend had an obsession with phone psychics. Not all at once, but over the course of a single year she spent over $15k getting ‘life advice’ from multiple psychic lines.”

“No one in her circle of family or friends could convince her to stop. I haven’t spoken with her in a few years but I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s still wasting her money on them.” – Hollywood899

“Haha my friend used to be a phone psychic and she got paiiiiid. She said the people who typically called would obviously want to hear her say certain things so she would say them and they’d just keep calling.” – wasabitamale

“She spent at least 41 dollars per day in psychics. Wow. Why not just learn magic herself at thst point?” – Yokhen

Forgotten on the train.

“Well, I bought some Christmas presents and then immediately forgot them on the train so I would say that lol. I went back the next day and literally bought the same stuff. I just hope whoever found it either needed it or uses it for their own gifts.” – FluffDuckling

“I bought Chanel glasses once and left them in a taxi before ever putting them on my stupid face.” – northshorebunny

“I forgot sh*t I purchased once in the cart when I got to my car. I didn’t take anything out.” – IronyIntended2

A mobile app.

“The I’m Rich app. When launched, the screen only contains a glowing red gem and an icon.”

“It cost $999.99. You can’t buy it anymore but it was an expensive waste of money.” – GonnaGoFat

“The guy did it as a joke too and people bought it thinking that no one would actually dump thousands on an app.”

“This message brought to you by [mobile app]. Use my code and save 5% on the $999.99 Christmas beginner package.” – PM-Me-Your-TitsPlz

“I feel like he could probably sell the NFT for that app.” – runawaycity2000

Shopping while hungry.

“Shopping when I’m hungry.” – thatluckyfox

“Lol oh yeah, go shopping for sponges and come out with $50 worth of junk food. Stopping at McDonald’s for fries beforehand has saved me so much money.” – Slight-Ad-1744

Cable is dying.

“Cable service, especially since half the channels are f* cking ads.” – Firebolt164

I was paying for YouTube TV for a while and then realized sh*t, I’m paying $65 a month for this and have a sh*t load of commercials. I could take that $65 a month and subscribe to the ad free versions of Paramount +, Disney +, Peacock, HBO Max, and Discovery + get all the same channels and have no ads.”

“TV service is f*cking insane.” – CrowGrandFather

“It’s even worse for us. We live out in the country 15 miles from the nearest town. Other only tv or internet service available is Satellite. We have Hughes net and Direct TV as the players. We have satellite internet and we had their TV service. It was atrocious. First, the 5 second lag between changing channels made channel surfing impossible. Second, they advertised a 200 channel package and we had 35 actual channels with content. The rest were all infomercials or music channels. We need to f*cking sue them for that ad practice.” – Firebolt164

Gender reveal party.

“A gender reveal party that burns down half of the state?” – wickedblight

“It really sucks that half of California is on fire but hey it’s a boy!” – DogsAreCool69420

“Too many people have tried to go all out for their gender reveal parties, and end up burning their house down, at the very least. Don’t understand it myself really. They already have baby showers. Just reveal the gender there. Why withhold what parts your child will be born with from friends and family to make a party out of something everyone is going to find out eventually anyway?” – Unabashable

“It’s very self indulgent. People act like they’re withholding information that you’d just die to hear when they make you wait for a gender reveal party. I’m happy for them but I couldn’t care less about the sex . My aunt asked me if I ever had kids what would I do for a gender reveal party. I did not mince my words: ‘I will take out my phone, find the family group chat and be like ‘what’s up fam! By the way it’s a boy. Now who’s up for painting the nursery?’” – blonderazor

What is it good for?

“War. Having a sworn enemy is expensive.” – theProfileGuy

“Did you know the war in Afghanistan cost the USA $300 million per day for two decades?

“Insanity.” – PM_ME_AYY_LMAOS

“Only expensive to the taxpayer and the ones fighting it. Profitable for everyone else involved.” – roundbrain5

“But free healthcare would be a waste of money?” – New_Needleworker6506

Payday loans.

“Payday loans. Is that still a thing?” – kincage

“Oh man I know this one. My dad lost his cushy a** job and had to take a massive pay cut so with all his expenses he’s on payday loan from A to pay back B to get more cash to pay off C and it goes on and on. My grandma always said my dad borrows from Peter to pay Paul. I’m not quite sure who those people are but it sounds right to me. Poor guy is still on that track almost 20 years later.” – PretendThisIsMyName

“I let them ruin my life. You think by the looks of things I must have had a serious drug problem to skid into the curb like I did, but no, it was predatory/payday loans. I got caught in cycle of bad credit and low liquidity. And worst of all, I believed it was ok. I’m nearing retirement age and it’s sad to think that if I hadn’t gotten on that treadmill, I could have done twice as much with my life than I did.” – NoPensForSheila

Being poor.

“Being poor is expensive as f@#k!” – Sterling_Thunder

“Yup, in many ways. One that I forgot about until recently was how much food budget is saved when one has a good fridge. I am currently in a temporary living space that has bottom of the line appliances. The fridge, while it keeps things cold, nothing lasts! I bought a weeks worth of veggies and by day two, the carrots in the crisper were no longer crisp. The second day! Poor people have challenges getting good fresh food but then it can go bad quickly even with working appliances.” – GorginaSpica

“Aka ‘the boots theory of socio-economic unfairness.’” – 84147

There are so many ways to make financial errors that lead down a rabbit hole.

Whether it’s the small moments like forgetfulness, or the big moments, like taking out loans that you can’t pay back, those mistakes can add up.

The cycle of poverty is incredibly difficult to break.

It’s not just about finding ways to reduce money waste for the individual, but the systemic and community based solutions that break generational poverty.

Though, this list is a start.

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People Who Grew up Poor Discuss the Unwritten Social Expectations of Their Worlds

I grew up in a middle-class household, so I have absolutely no idea what it’s like to go hungry or go without the basic necessities in life.

But, sadly, there are far too many people out there who grew up in poverty and still continue to do so.

Folks took to AskReddit to talk about the unwritten social expectations they had to deal with while growing up poor.

Take a look.

1. Don’t talk to anyone.

“My parents worked and were usually home about an hour or so after my elementary school got out.

We lived around the corner and down the way, like… less than one km, probably half a mile or so… anyway, I had a cell phone to call when I got home.

I was prepped with “do NOT answer the door for ANYONE. Not your grandpa, not your uncle, not our friends, your friends, mailman, NO ONE. not the police or fire department UNLESS the house is already on FIRE.”

I never opened the door for anyone. If I knew who they were, I would shout through the paned window overlooking the porch. But even then, that was rare, I usually just stayed out of sight.

I also ALWAYS keep my front door locked now too. And if I’m not expecting someone, I don’t answer the door if I’m home alone. I also have a big dog with a big bark.”

2. Freezing cold.

“I lived in a place with bitter winters. while the thermostat at school and other public spaces was turned up past 70 degrees F, my home was always around 60 degrees, sometimes dropping to the 50s.

We’d offset the low temperature by sleeping with multiple blankets and wearing layers upon layers, sometimes even wearing snow pants around the house and to bed.”

3. Take care of those teeth.

“My dad made us brush our teeth for 5-10 minutes every night. And we never got sweets. Because we couldn’t afford to go to the dentist.

I think I went two, maybe three times until I got a job with benefits in my early 20s. My teeth are crooked AF but surprisingly escaped with very few cavities.”

4. Go the cheap route.

“You are perpetually young. Going to a movie? Only during matinee showings AND you are 12 years old until you’re 16. At a restaurant, you’re also 9 forever.

Going to fast food (with any adult), you only order off of the dollar menu.”

5. Don’t say a word.

“I was talking to a friend and she stopped me and said, “you don’t tell people what goes on inside of this house, do you?”

No of course not, I lied, because if I’d said yes, she’d manipulate my father into beating my a** within an inch of my life.

She pretty much got my father to beat me whenever she wanted it.”

6. Borrowing and burning.

“Generous borrowing and “burning” culture.

Everything you own is available to be borrowed by other poor people. My family had an extensive movie collection (especially when we could record movies from cable to VHS tapes), and our neighborhood friends were welcome to borrow what they needed.

Games, movies, CDs. We swapped and borrowed a lot. Often times, it was only long enough to burn a copy to have for oneself.”

7. Life lessons.

“My father was constantly driving these two things into my head since I was old enough to remember: 1). Hard Work will set you free 2). You WILL NOT get anyone pregnant.

He never meant that hard work would make you rich. He meant that if you’re willing to work hard, you can always work some s**t job that puts food on the table, and you’ll be so exhausted by days end, you can rest.

In my father’s eyes food on the table and a good night’s rest was all a person really needed. The pregnancy thing was totally about shame. He grew up in the deep South with a Baptist preacher father. My father was around 6-7 in the early 1950’s when his oldest brother (15) got a girl (18) in the church preggo.

The resulting shame and shunning from the community that ensued drove my father’s mother to suicide. I’m sure to some degree, he blames his current life on the pregnancy that he had nothing to do with.”

8. Hide it.

“Hide money or it will be “borrowed.” Also, don’t get attached to anything because if it’s any good it’ll be sold in a yard sale, and if it has any value it will be pawned.

I got the same CD player for three Christmases and birthdays in a row…out of pawn for birthday, pawned again a month later, out of pawn for Christmas, pawned again by March, etc.”

9. Wouldn’t trade it.

“Independence at a young age. But also responsibility.

You cook, clean, and pitch in before you are asked. If you’re waiting for an adult to make dinner, you’re going hungry. Also, poor doesn’t mean dirty. You keep what you have nice, clean, and well cared for.

Seriously, I wouldn’t trade my upbringing for anything in the world.”

10. Not all the way.

“Never fill up the gas tank.

You don’t want to be in a situation where you have gas in your car but no groceries.”

11. Hmmmm…

“”The second you become working age, 10+. You will help with bills. You have no choice. Your money is everyone’s money.”

Which is fine, until you realize the new tattoo mom has and dads new TV.”

12. Keep it to yourself.

“Keep your aspirations to yourself.

Telling anyone in your household/social strata about your plans to get out and do better may be met with bitterness and downright ridicule. People will call you uppity for wanting to go to school or stupid for having a career goal that isn’t modest and local and vaguely dead-end.

People will tell you that you have no common sense simply because you refuse to see the world in terms of pure survival.”

13. Just can’t afford it.

“Going to the doctor isn’t an option until your fever is sustained at 104, a bone is broken, or the tooth rotted and won’t fall out on it’s own.

I am in my late 30s with full insurance and still have a hangup about going for medical care.”

What do you think about this?

Speak out in the comments and let us know.

Thanks a lot!

The post People Who Grew up Poor Discuss the Unwritten Social Expectations of Their Worlds appeared first on UberFacts.

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If You Grew up Poor, What Were the Unwritten Social Expectations? Here’s What People Said.

Growing up in poverty has to be very tough on children.

In addition to going without material things, there are also certain expectations that they had to deal with because of their lack of money.

If you grew up poor, what unwritten social expectations did you have to deal with?

People shared their thoughts on AskReddit.

1. Ugh.

“I once told some friends we had mushrooms growing in our house. I thought it was cool. My mom was angry and told me to never tell anyone again. I realized as I got older why she was angry.

The floor of our house was rotting…thus the mushrooms. But she couldn’t afford to get it fixed. She was worried CPS would take me away for unsafe living conditions.”

2. Private.

“Do not answer the door. Do not answer the phone.

When the man is looking through the window, make sure you can’t be seen.

Do not tell anyone who knocks on the door where the parents work.”

3. Not enough to eat.

“Not eating lunch because it you either “just ate breakfast” or “dinner’s only a few hours away you’ll be fine”.”

4. No extra money.

“We weren’t allowed to do any kind of extra curricular activities.

So, no instruments, no joining any kind of sports or girl scouts or anything that required an upfront investment for uniforms or the season. Walmart shoes.

My dad once said I wasn’t really in need of glasses, that I just wanted to look like all my four eyed friends? lol (spoiler alert, totally needed them)

Off brand everything.”

5. We’re not trash.

“Keep your hair brushed, your clothes clean, and be articulate and polite in all circumstances. We were not going to be “trash” just because we were poor.

Also, no wearing ripped jeans, even if it’s the style. We’re not spending money on new pants that look like old worn out pants.”

6. Hot and sticky.

“A/C was only for company.

I lived in South Florida and didn’t know I could use the air conditioner without having someone over until I moved out of my parents’ home.”

7. Go cheap.

“If someone buys you food at a restaurant order as cheaply as possible even if they tell you order whatever you want.

Used to get glares from my parents if I ordered something 10 bucks or over at a place where average prices was 10 bucks.

If you can get a burger and fries for 8 you better be eating a burger.”

8. Better not get caught.

“Don’t do anything bad or illegal.

But if you do, don’t get caught.

Bail is expensive. Lawyers and court fees are expensive.”

9. Say nothing.

“Never tell your friends that you couldn’t afford food or give them any clue about what it’s like at home.

My mother used to ask me if I told anyone how we live and that’s when I questioned our situation.”

10. The rules.

“Never see a doctor or go to the emergency room unless you are actually d**ng.

And, if you touch the thermostat you will be d**ng.”

11. Don’t waste anything.

“Nothing wasted!

Mom had a dish called mixed-up stew which was basically a little mince beef, mashed potatoes and any leftovers from the fridge.

Good menu planning – she never called it that but one meal led to the next with last’s night leftovers included. Failing that, she always had a soup on the go using bones from chicken, dried barley and, yet again, leftovers.

Thing is they were all delicious, but that could be me just remembering her fondly.”

12. Not worth the bother.

“You never brought the field trip permission slips home because you knew better than to make your mom feel guilty she couldn’t pay the $5-20 fee to let you go.”

What are some more unwritten expectations of growing up poor?

Talk to us in the comments and let us know what you think.

We look forward to hearing from you!

The post If You Grew up Poor, What Were the Unwritten Social Expectations? Here’s What People Said. appeared first on UberFacts.