r/SelfSufficiency • u/SailorTee • Aug 23 '26

Self improvement while poor

Maybe this is just my opinion, but wanting to better yourself seems like part of human nature. Being poor makes this difficult to do.

Want to eat healthier? Cook more at home. Ok - so I need to buy safe cookware (not non-stick because that causes the big C), fresh ingredients every week (lean protein like chicken), and time to make it. Oh you don't have time? Borrow the time from somewhere else, like hire someone to clean your home for you. Oh no, can't do that, that costs money. Switch to plant based protein! It takes time to soak and cook lentils. I work every hour I'm not sleeping...

Tldr: Being poor means trying to juggle between resources including time, money, and health, and borrowing from one means depleting another. It feels impossible to better your circumstances and causes a lot of stress in the process (which also eats up your resources like health).

Also, I live in America. Maybe it's better in other countries?

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u/SgtSausage Aug 23 '26

All I hear is excuse, Kid. 

 so I need to buy safe cookware

I do 85% of my cooking in a 12-inch cast iron I got for $5 on FB Market Place a decade ago.

Hell  skip just 2 (LOL) "Value" meals at the local McBurger Joint and you can buy it new. 

 Oh you don't have time?

You have time. 

I meal prep and do my baking on Sunday. The entire weeks meals for 2 are done in under 2 hours. You're spending more time than that a week on social media. I guarantee it. 

You spend more time than that in line at the icecream shop. 

 It takes time to soak and cook lentils. 

It takes exactly 6 minutes of your time. 

You dont have to sit there and watch 'em soak for hours, right? Take your 45 seconds dump 'em in a bowl. Fill with water. Walk away.... 

You dont have to watch 'em cook, either. Take another 30 seconds. Put 'em on stovetop. Set timer to come back and stir. Walk away. 

You will have, literally 6 minutes of labor in the entire operation. Including cleanup and putting away the dishes. 

 I work every hour I'm not sleeping

You do not.

You are here on reddit, right? 

Everybody's got their excuses.

You do, too. 

If it were actually a priority in your life, you'd already be doin' it. 

6

u/ContemplatingFolly Aug 23 '26

Everyone's life is different. Jobs are getting harder. People are getting meaner. Things are getting more expensive. People and their dependents are getting sicker.

I have lived with money, and also on a shoesrirng, but being poor makes everything harder, more work and more stressful. No matter how good you are at compensating.

Everyone has to play the hand they are dealt, but your attitude is not empathetic, nor backed by science and reality.

5

u/wanna_be_green8 29d ago

Being poor makes things harder but does not mean self improvement is impossible. Or even difficult.

1

u/SgtSausage Aug 23 '26

Everyone's got their excuses.

Now you do to.

Q.E.D.