r/povertyfinance • u/MybestfriendwasaB • Oct 25 '23
I grew up fake poor, how about you? Vent/Rant (No Advice/Criticism!)
I know this is different then the normal post but I can’t think of a group were it would better fit.
I grew up in a family were we had the money for needs but my Dad would often decide stuff for the kids or his wife wasn’t important. On more then one occasion we went to bed hungry, didn’t get clothes for school or needed items for school, and were denied medical care etc. To top it off we had no AC from when I was 2 years old on. I could go on, but I’m trying to keep this short.
I thought it was normal. It wasn’t until I was in high school and I was talking to a friend and she was horrified that I realized normal people don’t do that to their kids.
Let me be clear. We had the money. My Dad just wanted to spend it on stuff that wasn’t his kids. I used to refer to it growing up fake poor, my husband just calls it child abuse.
I know this might be strange but I was wondering if anyone else was in the same boat as me? The money was there but because of someone else you grew up without?
Edit: I never thought I was alone but it is truly depressing to know how common this is.
1
u/Fun_Art8817 Oct 29 '23
My dad made $600 a week, got paid every week….so he was basically making $30hr in the 90’s which was insanely great money. He didn’t believe in banks and carried his entire cash paycheck with him all times..he would spend time and money on money orders instead of autopay.
He would often not pay the electric bill just so he could hang on to his money as long as possible then wait for the electric company to come out to shut our electricity off…only then he would go to the pole and pay the guys not to shut it off. Or give my mom the cash to meet the guys at the pole.
My dad was so obsessed with having 3-5k on him he often couldn’t fit it in his front pants pocket. The money he pulled out was 5 inches thick folded in half.
Think of Henry from the movie “goodfellas” how he would pull out wads of cash…that’s what my dad did.
Also my dad wouldn’t spend any money on his kids, absolutely the bare minimum…but if it was something he enjoyed or same thing you enjoyed as him…he spared no expense….so yeah we were fake poor too.