8 Tips to Stretch Your Dollar From Redditors Who Grew Up Poor

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If you grew up with money, you’ve likely never made a struggle meal out of kitchen scraps or foraged for food at an art opening. But Redditors who say they come from working-class backgrounds have, as they shared in a recent thread full of “poor hacks.” We’ve collected some of the most useful tips here for anyone who’s struggling to make ends meet, whether you can’t afford your next meal or just need to save a few bucks.

cleaning red carpet - remove stain — wakila/istockphoto

Clean With Vinegar, Baking Soda, and Dish Soap

“You don’t need to spend money on a bunch of specialty cleaning products,” the thread’s top comment reads. Instead, use vinegar, baking soda, and dish soap, three cheap kitchen staples that can clean almost anything.

Watch YouTube Before You Call a Handyperson

If you can do it yourself, don’t pay for it. You’d be surprised what you can fix yourself given the wealth of resources online, such as wikiHow, YouTube, and Reddit. That said, there are some DIY projects you should leave to the pros.

Art Gallery Opening — South_agency/istockphoto

Attend Art Openings

The only good thing about chichi events is that they’re often well-stocked with free hors d'oeuvres and drinks. “When I was poor and young, I would go to art openings for the snacks and free wine,” one Redditor writes. The same goes for Costco and Trader Joe’s, where you can cobble together a meal using free samples.

Mature adult man drinking water — elenaleonova/istockphoto

Drink Plenty of Water

No one should have to skip meals to survive. But that’s the reality in the U.S., where 10% of households are food insecure. Drinking water can help stave off hunger in the short term, though we encourage people to consider resources like SNAP and WIC. Again, water isn’t a sustainable replacement for a nutritious meal.

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Frequent Food Banks

Food banks or mobile food pantries provide low-income households with free groceries. “There’s no shame in (using a food bank),” one commenter writes, adding that the food they’ve received has always been “good quality stuff.”

Supermarket aisle, woman legs and basket for shopping in grocery store. Customer, organic grocery shopping and healthy food on groceries sale shelf or eco friendly retail purchase in health shop — Adene Sanchez/istockphoto

Shop For Cheap, Caloric Foods

If you’re truly strapped for cash (skipping meals, for example), one Redditor suggests purchasing food that has a high calorie-to-cost ratio. This site has a helpful list of foods that you can sort by calories per dollar, protein per dollar, and other metrics.

Stock Up on Extras at Fast Food Joints

Unless you’ve got cash to spare, you should never spend money on napkins or condiments. Just grab a few extras whenever you eat at fast food restaurants, and you’ll quickly accumulate a year’s supply.

Modern Library Building — akajeff/istockphoto

Visit Your Library

“The library was everything,” says one Redditor, who grew up in a poor family of seven. And that remains true today. Beyond books, public libraries often offer movies, CDs, internet, printing services, workshops, free subscriptions, and discounts.