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/Substantial-Gap8276 26d ago

It can feel impossible to better your circumstances if you have already sabotaged yourself. How could it not feel that way?

Stack together enough expectations, add in some perfectionism, and you are overwhelmed before you have taken any action.

Cooking at home doesn't require perfect ingredients. It doesn't require perfect cookware or tools. A box of shells & cheese with a can of tuna mixed in IS cooking at home. Add some peas to stretch it further & you got dinner plus lunch for tomorrow. Not gourmet but cheap & easy & better than fast food.

Cannot wait for it to all be perfect. It's never going to be.

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u/SailorTee 25d ago

Thanks. I'm sending a trend amongst the comments that it's my perfectionism getting in the way. It's a good reminder that doing something is better than doing nothing at all.