Reply to What is it like to be “house poor”?

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[quote=Anonymous]We were like this growing up on Long Island.  My parents did one house-upgrade per year.  As in, re-carpeting the den one year. The next year re-carpeting my brother's room. The next year re-wall papering the downstairs bathroom. So it took seven years until it was my turn to get rid of the 70's bright orange carpeting in my bedroom.

We went on shitty vacations, and they weren't quite each year.  Everyone else flew to Florida and the Caribbean and other places. We went to Shawnee PA. And then two years later we went to Lancaster, PA. A lot of week-long vacations we just went to the library on the first day of vacation and then laid around reading and watching tv. We ate out once a month, at the local diner. Other kids routinely went into Manhattan for dinners. Other kids went to baseball games - a few each season.  We went to one. Once. I never saw Cats or Les Miserables. Everyone else did.  Everyone else had a cleaning lady who came once a week, MINIMUM.  I had to turn down playdates because I had to clean.  When we'd host a family party at home, I had to clean for hours before because (company is coming!) and then clean after they left. This explains why I hated hosting for the first 10 years of my adult life.

If we'd lived one town over, I'd have grown up feeling either on par or a smidge richer than other kids. I worked full time AND part time to put myself through college, and my parents charged me rent while I lived at home doing that. My sister didn't live at home, but took out a lot of loans and worked part time. [/quote]

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