Was your family poor growing up?

[queenofthehivemomof5]

Julie and I have talked about this many times about how we both came from poor families and it made me wonder if there is a correlation between growing up poor and couponing as an adult. If perhaps we stockpile because we want to make sure we never go hungry again or our children never do. Or if there is just this reassurance that comes knowing that there is a stockpile of cereal and shampoo.

For me we were pretty poor when I was little. We were Vegan, and I am pretty sure it was just because we could not afford to eat meat. I know what it is like to eat Hamburger Helper without the hamburger and cereal with water on it. My mom (parents were divorced when I was 2) went back to school, got her degree and worked her way up the corporate ladder and by the time I was in my teens we were what most would consider upper middle class.

I think I "get" couponing because I don't want to have my family go hungry and there really is this sick satisfaction when I open the garage door, like the heavens open and voices sing "Ahhhhh!". Its a thing of beauty to me, the cans and boxes all lined up on shelves. Knowing that we will never have to eat Hamburger Helper again (even if it was free I would not buy it) LOL

So were you poor or wealthy growing up or somewhere in between and what do you think is the reason why you coupon and did your childhood/background have an impact on why you coupons and stockpile? Obviously the majority of the population don't get why we do this so there has to be a underlying thread as to why some people get couponing/stockpiling and some think it is weird.

[prissy123]

POOR. I grew up mostly in foster care but I remember when I still lived at home with my parents the cheapest cereal with water. Or a raw potato with salt. I think this might be part of the reason I try to get the best deals on everything. I will not "spoil" my children but they will have the very best there is. Thanks for the memories.

[momof2inohio]

No, my parents were pretty well off. They still don't understand why I coupon. I started couponing about a year ago. My parents never sought out deals or anything, they just always paid full price because they could. I still cringe when I hear my mom talk about spending $400.00 at the grocery store. I think couponing is fun but my mom just sees it as too time consuming. Maybe one day I can convince her

[lmcconne]

Yes. We did have meat though. It was a blended family with nine kids in all (steps and halves). I illustrate by telling people we had a bicycle but it was a shared possession. (And I'm not kidding.)

[lamezquita0308]

I grew up quite poor. My parents were divorced and we lived with mmy grandmother and father. My dad was working about 45 minutes from home and trying to go to school on a grant. My grandmother was living off of social security and my dad helped as much as he could with the bills and we were on medicare. i think I coupon because my grandma taught me to buy things that could stretch into 3 or 4 meals. I teach my kids that its important to save whenever you can. They know when we go to the store and we use coupons, the more money we save the more we have for birthdays, vacations, holidays, etc.

[mskeno1959]

I grew up poor. I am #4 of 5 girls so you can imagine everything was hand me downs. I didn't know what new was until I started buying my own clothes in Jr High and had gotten a newspaper delivery job. Like queenofthehivemomof5, I have stockpiled, in a much lesser sense, because I vowed I would never run out of anything. Even when I was in my 20's money was tight and had to use a calculator when I bought groceries so I wouldn't go over. However, when I got married for the 2nd time I was over joyed that I wouldn't have to use a calculator any longer, as we were middle class then. When we bought our house and I had room, that is when I started stockpiling. My sisters have always teased me about it, saying they could probably do there entire grocery order right at my house. I currently have 3 refrigerators and a small chest freezer. There are 2 of us now. I always have pop/water/liquor available just in case. I also vowed my kids would never have to wear garage sale clothes or used. I have not been to a garage sale even now and my DS is 31. I remember my mom purchased a sweater for him from a garage sale and I would not put it on him. She could keep it at her house. I don't remember alot of my childhood except my dad was constantly either out of work or in Rehab for drinking. My mom worked full time. Never had food stamps because didn't qualify, even the week after I was born, turned down. I was sent to live with my aunt and uncle in North Dakota to take care of me. The only time we got gifts on Christmas would be if one of the grandparents sent money to my parents for gifts for us. Then we each got 1 small gift and a family gift.

I still won't use a calculator at the store even though things are tight. I really didn't want to, however, had to make some cut backs so I started serious, not nearly as serious as some, couponing earlier this year. No raises for either of us, DH hasn't had one in 3 years, plus he had to take a 10% pay cut and go back to 2nd shift. He has been at this company for 30 years. Yes we are very fortunate he still has a job and do consider ourselves lucky. Now I don't think I'll ever go back to not using coupons though on food items.

My mom did a wonderful job and did what she could for us to make our house seem as normal as possible.

Don't know if I would change anything due to the fact that I appreciate everything I have ever gotten or ever get and raised my son that way. Just because he was an only child I did not spoil him, his grandparents, now that's another story. I have gotten numerous complimants on what a great job I did in raising him on my own the first 10 years of his life. Even from my sisters, who have kids of their own. How respectful he is and considerate. My sisters and I do notice that we do spend and feel it's because we never had anything and want what we never had. I do not envy people for what they have, which I find weird as 2 of my sisters are that way and you would think growing up without, that we all would feel that way. The 3 younger of us had it better than the 2 older sisters. Things did get better after my dad quit drinking for good and held onto his job, even got to retire from it.

Sorry had no intention of rabbling on like I did, but get me started and it all comes back to me.

[434Teresa]

yes we were poor..beans and potato's all the time..we would have some meat from killing a pig..clothes were always hand me downs never new and there was not many of them...I chose not to think about my childhood to many bad memories..

I coupon because I like to have some spare money on hand that is not took up by the house payment,lights,food and things we need.. If I did not coupon we would be broke all to often. I have 4 kids and I like for them to have new clothes, they still wear used to but I do try to buy new ones to, and let the older ones have their own money to spend, something I never had until I was 14 and got a job...........

[latte]

When I was little, and it was just mom and me ( mom and dad divorced before I was 2) we were *poor* I know that we didnt eat hardly any red meat because it was just simply not something we could afford----I dont remember eating much other meat as well (chicken pork, fish, turkey)

When i would visit my dad---i ate a LOT of fish because dad ocean fished all summer long, and we would eat some red meat but not a huge amount, some pork chops (which i JUST recently started eating pork because of the way my stepmom served it made me NOT want it at all-----blackened, smothered in applesauce, and with a side of canned asparagus smothered in mayonaise----just recently started eating asparagus as well, but it has to be fresh NEVER canned)


When I was 9, mom remarried to my stepdad who was rather well off but just CHEAP (mom says hes frugal......but hes just downright cheap) and to this day i STILL wont eat speggeti noodles because of him ( mom made speggeti 3 nights a week, and we had it as leftovers 2 nights a week PLUS as lunches on the weekends)----i will eat any kind of pasta....as long as its NOT spegeti noodles (shapes, twists, shells, macaroni, linguine, angel hair, fettucine, its all good as long as its NOT speggeti noodles)


I coupon because we wouldnt be able to EAT without couponing........nor would i have $ for cleaning supplies-----we barely have enough to cover the basics ....every little bit i can save helps


My mom *kinda* gets it....and uses the occasional random coupon, but still spends 200$ a week for groceries for her, my step dad and my little sister-----mom gives me the reason why she doesnt coupon as " we dont eat that stuff, we dont use that stuff, why do you need 20 of that?" BUT she has no problem when i give her some of the overstock i have (she brings me homemade applesauce, fresh apples from a friends orchard and fresh produce from her friends gardens)......but i would give mom stuff even if she didnt bring me anything -------i should also note that becasue my little sister is only 8 months older then my son, that i dont have to buy hardly any of my daughters clothes as she gets them handme down from my little sister.....mom also buys a LOT of my sons clothes because often there isnt $ for clothes when they are needed

My dad, is decently well off......he does the shopping for his house and he uses some coupons, and always scores the markdowns ......i think my shopping habbits are more from dad then mom

[justmeagain]

Poor

[mainelycoupons]

We were pretty well off. Military family. I remember having leftovers and my mom trying to be "creative" when she was making a recipe and didn't have the right ingredients. I was an only child though so only a few used clothes from kids and thrift stores.

She used coupons on and off, and I use them because its foolish not to. Yes I can afford to pay full price, but I'd rather have a safe newer vehicle than a car that always needs fixing. Coupons give me cash for a car payment. I pay over so it doesn't take 6yrs to pay it off.

And having enough to skip shopping for a week or two is always nice. I get sick I don't "have" to go shopping.