I often look around my house and think that my 70s childhood was more like growing up in the 30s than growing up today.

Anonymous wrote:Rolled pennies for grocery money when things were tight.
Got two new (not second-hand) outfits and pairs of shoes each year, one for the first day of school, one for Easter.
Knew to never ask for treats at the store.

We did these last two. We were not poor, just cheap.

Wearing boy high tops from wal-mart instead because they were better made. Having them duct-taped together, then painted over when they inevitable fell apart.

Hot-glued eyeglasses...they broke before it was my turn to get new ones. Should also add it took a year before I actually was taken to the eye doctor b/c t wasn't my turn.

I love this thread. Growing up in the early 80s my mom sewed my clothes or we got hand me downs from the neighbors, my favorite toys came from the church rummage sale, we grew and canned fruit and veggies, never had store bought cookies or snack foods, and volunteered at the food co-op. In college I told my mom how cool it was that my parents had been so green and natural before it was trendy and my mom just looked at me confused and said "honey, we weren't hippies, we were poor".

Anonymous wrote:My observations of poor kids in the 70s:

- wore leotards (girls) and cut off jean shorts (guys) in lieu of bathing suits

- carried the plain, denim binders, rather than the pricier Trapper Keepers/novelty-type binders

- one- car family (mom went w/o a car, dad drove to work)

acutely aware of these things because my father grew up in dire poverty

The memory of wearing cut off dungarees to swim at the beach! Thanks, I hadn't thought of that in thirty years.
Got me a little emotional.

We lived in what would be considered an SRO now. But it was in one of the nicest parts of San Francisco. You'd never see an SRO in that neighborhood now!

After we graduated from the shelter we moved into an apartment complex with a bunch of other single moms and their kids. Everyone was poor but you never felt that way. I used to love when the moms would get together for drinks and we'd all be pushed out to play in the street. Had my first kiss with one of those boys....

Got food from the food pantry

Mom made my clothes

Rolled pennies for grocery money when things were tight.
Got two new (not second-hand) outfits and pairs of shoes each year, one for the first day of school, one for Easter.
Knew to never ask for treats at the store.

Meat on payday! And not the usual pink ground beef or hotdogs... high-end stuff like bacon, and boneless-skinless-chicken breasts. Covered in cream of mushroom soup, of course.
Oh, the best was when there was breakfast for dinner: bacon AND those little sausage links, pancakes, eggs, and toast. Everyone was in the best mood around that meal.

Mid-90's, but we ate either chicken legs or $1 whoppers every single night. When our fridge broke, someone gave us a dorm fridge and we used it for years. We had to live with friends for six months.

No car.
Shared deodorant.
Used stolen toilet paper for pads.
Lived for the 1st of the month - Welfare check + food stamps. Yay! We would eat full and well that night and my parents would be in a good mood.

This is before credit was widely available and student loans were difficult to get. Education and credit, good and bad.

My observations of poor kids in the 70s:

- wore leotards (girls) and cut off jean shorts (guys) in lieu of bathing suits

- carried the plain, denim binders, rather than the pricier Trapper Keepers/novelty-type binders

- one- car family (mom went w/o a car, dad drove to work)

acutely aware of these things because my father grew up in dire poverty

ate fried bologna
would wait till payday for necessities...my mom told me to wait till pay day for pads once
saddest memory: I wore my sisters prom dress. It was so hard watching all my other friends go shopping to pick out a dress of their own.

That we used to add lenghts to our jeans as we grew taller.
We patched the knees.
We NEVER ate out.
We shared eye glasses (no kidding).
We used baking soda as tooth paste.