When had some rough patches here and there financially when I was a kid and I can definitely testify that those are the sure-fire signs of growing up poor. Shoes are a major indicator of someone's financial status. Notice the brand, the condition and how much dirt they may have on them. Do they wear the same pair every day? How many pairs do they have?
These days I keep around a pair of running shoes, some flat sneakers (Skater-ish), a pair of dress shoes, boat shoes, and a canvas shoe like TOMS. If I had that many shoes as a kid it would have been a dream come true. I always had a single pair of cheapo shoes and a pair of cheapo dress shoes for church. When I started middle school my parents let me get a pair of Converse high tops, it was literally the most expensive shoe I ever had up to that point. Eventually I started working and saving money, when I finally bought my first pair of Nike's I was really happy. After that I started shopping for clothes in general and just focused on building a nice wardrobe to replace the stuff I had been wearing for years on end that was more than worn out.
No matter what my financial situation in the future, clothes take a priority in some aspects. You should always buy semi-nice clothes, they will fit better and will last longer. I would rather have fewer pairs than several cheap, shitty pairs. That goes for clothes and shoes.
He takes a long time grocery shopping because he's constantly doing math in his head seeing if how much of whatever product he's getting is worth the price.
Heh, I still do this.I look around at what other stores charge for a product before I spend any money on it, and if I buy food I usually just buy healthy stuff because it's cheaper. I refuse to buy candy, it's fucking expensive for the amount you get.
He still wears clothes he wore in high school. He's 34.
When I was in my senior year of high school I was still wearing the jeans that I had been wearing since middle school. 5 years in the same 3-4 pairs of cheap jeans, they were practically white when I finally stopped wearing them and I could have ripped them with no effort if I wanted because they had been worn so thin by that point. I had two pairs of nice jeans gifted to me for Christmas, one pair my junior year and the other my senior year, I would go back and forth between those to avoid wearing the jeans I had since middle school. I had the same problem with shirts, but usually I could get a few cheap new shirts from a clearance rack somewhere before school started.
This one is a little more obvious but either way...I made a comment about how I hate going to the dentist. He said I should be lucky I get to go to the dentist.
I went to the dentist for the first time when I was in high school, definitely lucky.