If you drink only water at restaurants, obsessively turn lights off and force every last globule of toothpaste from the tube, you may be guilty of “poor-people” habits.
And why not? Most of us experience poverty, or near-poverty, at some point in our lives, according to a report from the nonprofit Confronting Poverty.
Comparing unit prices at the grocery store, shopping the sale racks and collecting spare change are necessities for many Americans, who are coping with stagnant wages, rising prices and mounting bills.
Those routines also happen to make good financial sense. And for many Americans who are financially comfortable, “poor-people” habits never die.
A recent Reddit post asked, “What is a ‘poor people’ habit you’ll never stop doing, no matter how rich you get?”
What is a ‘poor people’ habit you’ll never stop doing, no matter how rich you get?
byu/FitCicada5037 inAskReddit
The post went viral: 17,000 upvotes, 12,000 comments, and dozens of habits contributed by Redditors who do not see themselves as poor.
It ranks among the most commented posts of the year in the r/AskReddit community.
“To me, all of these just seem like good, frugal habits that all of us should do all the time,” said Kimberly Palmer, personal finance expert at NerdWallet.
Here are some of the most popular “poor-people” habits. Grab a pen: ideally, a free one you saved from your last hotel stay.
Turning off the lights when you leave a room
Switching off lights in empty rooms is a time-honored tradition in cost-conscious homes.
When Palmer was growing up in the Washington, D.C., region, “you could never, never leave a light on if you were not in the room,” she said. Her father was an environmentalist, and the frugal sort.
Nowadays, however, turning off lights might not save so much money as you think. When reporters at Wirecutter ran the numbers on a popular energy-efficient LED bulb, they found that leaving it on for 20 hours would cost about three cents.
Picking up coins on the ground
Many of us would bend over to pick up a quarter on the pavement. But how about a penny? Because of inflation, it now costs the government more to make a penny than the coin is worth. Pennies are being phased out.
A YouGov poll from several years ago found that just over half of Americans would stop to pick up a penny. But younger folks are less inclined to stop for loose change, which suggests the habit may be fading away.
“It’s crazy how people look at me funny when I pick up a coin,” one Reddit commenter observed. “Like WTF????? It’s money.”
Ordering water when dining out
This tip makes sense if you don’t want to overspend. Any kind of flavored beverage seems to cost more than ever when you’re eating out. Restaurants sell soft drinks at a 1,125% markup, according to The Takeout. You’re mostly paying for service, not soda.
Arguing with yourself over every non-essential purchase
Few consumers think twice about buying staples: Bread, milk, toilet paper and such.
When it comes to discretionary purchases, however, some cost-conscious consumers wage a fierce internal debate.
“If something costs more than $50,” one Redditor wrote, “it literally takes me a couple weeks to talk myself into buying it.”
Squeezing all of the toothpaste from the tube
This habit falls under a broader category that might be termed “using every last drop.” If you’re the type who swirls water inside a seemingly empty dish soap bottle, or who uses centrifugal force to liberate the last of the ketchup, you are an every-last-dropper.
“When the shampoo or conditioner is running down, I always add water to make it last another week,” said Palmer of NerdWallet.
Checking the clearance racks first
As many savvy shoppers know, the biggest discounts in many mall stores are often not the ones beneath the “SALE” signs. Instead, they’re hanging from clearance racks, a motley assortment of leftovers the store is trying to get rid of.
The very best deals, one blogger reports, require a real search.
According to the Snail Pacer, a savvy shopper should “walk the entire perimeter of the store, keeping your eyes peeled for signs that say ‘75% off or more,’ or ‘50% off already reduced prices.’” The best clearance racks often sit near changing rooms.
Collecting hotel soaps and fast-food napkins
One mini-bar of hotel soap can last up to 10 days, according to blogger Mavis Butterfield. (She apparently ran experiments to determine this.)
Assuming the hotel restocks your room with two little bars each day, “a four-night stay will net me 8-10 weeks of free soap,” she writes.
The same principle applies to fast-food napkins: Some restaurants give you enough to mop up a whole cup of overpriced soda.
Keeping leftover nuts and bolts from furniture kits
When you purchase a piece of furniture that requires some assembly at home, it typically comes with extra hardware. Penny-pinching consumers balk at throwing it out.
“I have a bin of these,” one Redditor wrote, “right next to my gift bag full of used gift bags and tissue.”
Reusing containers for any storage need
This habit sparked a lively Reddit discussion about repurposing glass jars as drinking glasses, reusing strawberry containers for random produce, even washing out plastic storage bags.
“I don’t think I ever saw a Tupperware container at my house,” said Chip Lupo, a writer and analyst at WalletHub. “It was just normal to have every single margarine tub or sour cream container set aside to hold leftovers.”
Shopping at thrift stores and yard sales
“Thrifting” seems to be trendy. In one recent survey, thrift-store shoppers reported saving an average of $2,071 in 2024.
The thrifting trend appeals both to cost-cutters and to advocates of sustainability.
“I try not to buy anything new, if I can avoid it,” one Redditor commented.
Comparing prices per unit
In supermarket parlance, unit price is what a product costs per ounce or pound or liter. Many stores post unit prices on shelves. Comparing them can be a great way to save money.
“I remember the day I discovered this at the grocery store,” one Redditor wrote. “It blew my tiny mind.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: I’ll just have water: These ‘poor-people’ habits never die
