22 People Share the Moment They Realized They Were the “Poor” Friend or the “Rich” Friend

There are some things that people do for the chance to spend some time with their friends and loved ones. However, kids don’t always see it that way. As for kids, they don’t always realize this.

After all, what’s the point of a birthday party if you don’t come away with a bunch of gifts? We can’t imagine how much it must sting to deal with this rejection from your classmates for something out of your control.

There are some holidays that can be really, really different depending on how much money your family has. Any holiday involving gift-giving makes a pretty good example.

For this person, the state of things really stood out to them when it came time to compare Christmas gifts with their friends. While they saw their friends with some really popular toys, a lot of their presents were more on a budget.

There’s no place where the disparity in what people make can become clearer than looking at grocery shopping habits. Odds are, you’re a lot more careful when you’re grocery shopping on a budget.

For this family, it was standard practice to clip coupons and recycle glass bottles for financial gain, no matter how small. They didn’t think much of it until they went shopping with a friend from a family that wasn’t so tight on money and was flabbergasted by the routine.

When you’re in college, you might not have a lot of money. That phrase doesn’t mean the same to everyone who goes through this period of financial hardship.

Sometimes, being broke means that you don’t have a lot of disposable income. For others, it means that you’re constantly scraping just to keep yourself afloat. While college can be greatly romanticized, this would make the experience unimaginably hard.

Living expenses are not the only expensive part of going to college, though. On top of day-to-day expenses, you have to pay just to be enrolled in and present on a college campus.

When it comes to going to a major college like Georgetown University, that tuition skyrockets even more than usual. Still, with the help of hard work, loans, and a lot of strife, this person made it work. Their roommate, on the other hand, didn’t have quite the same impression.

As the temperature drops and the weather turns colder, a lot of people bundle up. Then again, not everyone can afford a complete winter wardrobe.

This person was making do with a bunch of sweaters, and they never really thought much of it. That was until a classmate brought one in for them one day. This small act of kindness not only kept them warm but also made them notice something about their financial situation.

What might be awful to one person might feel like an absolute blessing to another. Sometimes, in these moments, it really shows what formed those opinions for people.

This one came up when this person started their work in the Navy, they heard a lot of people around them complaining about the quality of the food. To this person, on the contrary, they were just happy to see three meals in front of them every day without fail.

It’s not easy to live in poverty, and sometimes, you have to deal with comments that won’t make you feel super great about yourself.

As for this person, they said that they knew that they were in a lower income bracket than their friend. Surely, this friend wasn’t trying to cut deep with what they likely meant as a joke, but it really did stand out to this person when a comment was made about where they shop.

There are certain things that you pay into that are supposed to help you out later. For example, your job might allow you the chance to invest in a 401(k) yearly.

Then again, it’s not a flat fee. A lot of places allow you to choose how much you pay for it. A simple question from a coworker made this person notice that there was a majorly different way in which they approached expenses like this.

You might live in a home and not think much about the design of it. Of course, while you know that houses can differ, you might wonder about what exactly makes them different.

Well, for one, bigger homes tend to have more rooms. After all, what else is that space for? While pondering it one day, they realized that they’d never lived in a house with a foyer — the entry room for many homes.

We’ve looked at a lot of stories when it comes to people realizing that their friends were in a higher tax bracket than they or their families were in.

That’s not the only way that this type of story goes, though. This person really wanted the chance to explore life outside of their wealth when they found out, and they took the moves to do that — though they didn’t have much of a choice. They credit the experience with humbling them as they got further into adulthood.

Do you remember how we said earlier that how people shop at the grocery store can show some differences in lifestyles? That’s what these two kids learned when they were hanging out together.

After a sleepover, they woke up to enjoy a few bowls of Fruit Rounds. What shocked both of them was that one of them couldn’t recognize the off-brand while the other child clearly had no idea they existed.

When you exchange gifts with someone, it’s supposed to be an exciting, wholesome moment. Then again, any time a purchase is involved, it can make you notice some things.

As this person opened their gift, they felt a little off, considering that they couldn’t afford to buy something like this for their friends. Remember, though, when it comes to gifts, the cliché is true — it’s the thought that counts!

As we’ve said, there’s a lot you can tell about how a person lives from their house. This detail is what put both of these people into a state of shock.

The first time that this person stayed with their friend, they were shocked to see the luxury that their friend lived in. Can you imagine having a whole tennis court? It wasn’t too long after that when she came over and quickly came to realize exactly how much she had at home.

This person didn’t really think much about the financial differences between them and their friends until one friend revealed something to them one holiday season.

They were going about their business one day when someone pointed out that they were in line as candidates for the charity fundraiser that these kids were trying to get the school to participate in. It definitely surprised this person in more ways than one.

A lot of young adults rely on their parents to get some help staying afloat. Still, not everyone has this privilege, and a lot still know their parent’s funds aren’t limited.

This person wasn’t a part of the conversation, but they were definitely shocked by their richer friend’s response. It came with a lot of assumptions, and it’s a resort that some college kids only turn to when times are really hard.

If someone asks you where you live, what do you say? Odds are, you probably name the part of town you live in or, if you’re being more specific, the house number that marks your address.

That’s not exactly how everyone describes where they live. While to many, the idea of a named manor is something from a period piece, it’s a practice that isn’t quite as uncommon when you’re super rich and living in an inherently recognizable home.

Ticket prices to see your favorite sports teams aren’t always cheap. So, this person was already a little shocked and more than a little unsure when their friend said that she’d covered their ticket.

After really trying to make sure they weren’t putting their friend out, she confessed something that really made them notice the differences in their financial situations. As it turns out, she didn’t need to buy the tickets because her family already owned the whole team.

There are some moments in life when most people start to scramble. From scholarships to student loans, a lot of kids have to work tirelessly to even be able to afford to enroll in college.

It was this panic that made this person realize that their situation was a bit different. After all, they didn’t need to worry the same way that their classmates were around them. They knew that, at the end of the day, those costs were already covered for them.

Like many teenagers, this person didn’t have a brand-new car to drive back and forth to school. Then again, they did buy a BMW, and as far as a used car goes, it wasn’t that old.

Realizing that their classmates had different worries when it came to finances, they realized they were actually really well-off. A used BMW doesn’t really compare as far as financial woes when you pit it against people struggling to pay their rent.

There’s a bit of a running comedic bit about rich people who don’t know how to do what most people view as “basic” tasks because they’ve simply never had to do them.

This person had never been in a position where they needed to mow the lawn themselves before and really didn’t think much of it. That was until they noticed exactly how blown away their husband and brother-in-law were about this revelation.

You don’t necessarily have to have a friend who’s a billionaire while you’re completely impoverished to recognize some differences between your financial situations.

In this case, this person knew that their family wasn’t “rich” by any means. However, they also knew their family was better off than some of the other families they lived around. The real status symbol that made them realize it was the computer they had at home.

When you go to school surrounded by your peers, you’re often surrounded by people with similar financial situations. This is particularly true when you start talking about private schools.

As for this person, once they got out of their private school bubble and into a bigger college, they realized that they were meeting people in lower financial brackets than them, and those ideas became a reality to them, not just an abstract concept.

If you live in a big house that needs a lot of upkeep and your family has a lot of money, there’s a good chance you might grow up with some staff around the house.

This person didn’t really think twice about the maid and the gardener they saw around the house constantly. However, when they brought them up to their new classmates, they realized not every family had these figures floating around the house, working hard to keep things together.

They say that money can’t buy happiness, but you definitely need it to cover your basic needs. Without resources to help you — which aren’t always available — poverty can be deadly.

This person obviously knew that their family was struggling; a burger for two people is a clear sign of trying to make the most with the least. What really drove the point home was a medical emergency their mom was in after not being able to feed herself and them.

When you live in an apartment, you might walk down a hallway and pass multiple other units before getting to yours. All in all, you usually have multiple families living on one floor.

So, we can’t really blame this person for wondering which door was to their friend’s apartment. That confused this friend, though. After all, the whole floor was theirs, not just a single unit. We’re going to guess that they both learned something from this question.

As you get ready for college, as we’ve covered already, there’s a difference in the process depending on whether you’re lucky enough to have the money for school or if you’re not.

Like most people, this person spent a lot of their summer filling out financial aid forms. It was the process of filling out these forms that made them realize how much finances can affect this part of some people’s lives.

Growing up, you might run into occasional problems with the house. It’s frustrating as a kid when the power gets knocked out by the weather or a downed power line.

That’s all this kid thought was going on, even though it seemed like the same problem wasn’t concerning their neighbors. It wasn’t until they were a bit older that they realized that these “power failures” might have actually been instances where their parents were struggling to pay the bills.

We’ve already touched on how going to a private school or otherwise cost-restrictive school, you’re probably going to have a lot of peers from higher tax brackets.

It wasn’t necessarily something a friend did that made this kid realize there was a difference between them. Namely, the fact that none of them had to be out in the rain for more than a few seconds while they were left pretty soaked from waiting for public transport.

Before, we talked a bit about how much poverty can play into food insecurity. If you’re trying to avoid those dangerous consequences, your diet might look different from a richer friend.

For instance, there are some foods you can buy in bulk for next to no money. If you’ve ever gone through a period in your life where you were low on money, you probably recognize how draining the experience of endless nights of ramen can be.

There are a few things that are always exciting. For example, have you ever found a spare $10 or $20 in your pocket? It’s an exciting feeling, isn’t it?

That’s what this dad experienced. However, this was a bit more than what someone usually finds forgotten in a coat. In fact, most of us can’t lose this much money without a major panic. Yet, this person said it was a regular occurrence for their dad.

When you get to a certain point when you’re broke and struggling, you might find yourself wondering what necessities you can possibly do without in order to keep food on the table.

While hot water is a basic necessity, you can survive without it. Without heat, the winters can get really dangerous really quickly. This family had to make a hard choice that made them all face exactly what position they were in. We’re glad to hear that it’s improved.

As you go to wash your laundry, you might not have a second thought while you do it. This is especially true if you have a working laundry room in your own home. In other cases, doing the laundry is a much more intensive process.

If you have to go to a laundromat, you have to really schedule the time to do it. As for this family, they were elated when they had the chance to get a second-hand machine so they could do this chore at home.

As a kid, you might not know exactly how much money your parents make or, when times get hard, exactly how much your family is struggling.

After a while, though, these things get hard to hide, and sometimes, measures that affect the whole family have to be taken. For this family, it came to a point when they had to have a real conversation about what was going on.

As a child, you’re still learning about the world. So, it makes sense that you don’t have the concept of capitalism and the worth of money nailed down yet.

As for this person, it was getting older and recognizing the value of money that made them see how much they had versus a friend they might compare it to. They’re right — these vacations and cars aren’t cheap, and they really start to add up if you don’t have the money for them.

When you’re a parent, you do the best you can for your kids. A lot of parents do their best in poverty, hoping that they can give their kids a life with as little effect from money troubles as possible.

This kid obviously didn’t mean anything by it when they asked for a product that was slightly more expensive while they were at the store. Their mom’s reaction might seem like a lot, but it’s really not when you’re considering a budget that tight. It’s absolutely draining.

Sometimes, the options of “rich” or “poor” might seem like relative concepts, especially if you fall somewhere in the vast in-between when you’re comparing these two options.

This person really thought they must be pretty poor when they compared their home to a friend whose family has more money. Then again, when visited by someone who didn’t have the money they did, they were shocked by their reaction to the place.

We already talked about how parents often work really, really hard to give their kids a good life, even when they hit a rough spot financially.

Then again, that doesn’t mean that parents aren’t struggling, even if they don’t see it. When this person got up to get some water, they caught sight of a scene that really touched their heart and made them realize that things may not be quite right.

There are definitely times when you might be a little clueless about your wealth if you’ve always grown up with it. That doesn’t mean that everyone will always be patient about it.

When you don’t have as much, it can be really hard to see someone not be as grateful for what they have as they should be. We’re going to guess that’s the basis of what happened here. So, they realized they had more money than the average person when they were directly called out.

We’ve talked a lot about financial aid and how absolutely crucial it is for most people to be able to go to college at all. It’s not easy, and it takes hard work.

What can be an even more bitter pill to swallow is to realize that without scholarships and other help that you don’t have, you probably aren’t going to be able to go to some schools. This person had to give up on the college of their dreams for money.

There are some rooms in some people’s homes that just scream wealth. Even if they have a rather meager home around it, you have to wonder how they swung a room just for that.

As for this person, they were left in a state of shock when they first visited their friend. We have to be honest, you really don’t hear about too many people who have a room just for their hot tub, if they have one at all. You don’t even have to go outside!

A lot of kids want the chance to try things outside of what they do in school. That’s where extracurriculars like sports come into play.

This kid wanted the chance to try to be a ballerina and asked her parents. Unfortunately, things like dance lessons are not as affordable for every family. While her parents had to say no, she realized quickly that they didn’t want to, but the sting of it still hurt.

A lot of families, even if they aren’t rich, might have a savings account off to the side for major emergencies and predictable expenses such as college tuition.

As for this person, they didn’t quite realize how financially different things had become for them until they had to make a fateful trip to the bank. Obviously, it broke their mom’s heart to do this to make ends meet, and it really highlighted the state of things to this person.

There’s something to be said for seeing how other people live around the world and coming to recognize those differences. A lot of — not all — lifestyle differences can show a difference in funding too.

This person didn’t give much thought to their financial status until they went on a vacation somewhere that wasn’t full of people with the same financial gains. Looking around made them realize that they had a lot of luxuries that a lot of people didn’t.

There may be a chance that some of the things that set you apart from richer or poorer friends are the little everyday things that you notice but might not think about all the time.

If you saw someone with a different type of phone than you, you might not even consider it. Then again, as the kid with a flip phone that was a few years old compared to the new iPhone models their peers had, this person noticed some key differences.