Reddit Asked What Felt Like a Luxury Growing Up Poor, and the Answers Are Hitting Everyone Hard

A question on r/AskReddit asked people who grew up poor what they believed was a luxury as a kid, and the thread pulled in 2,900 comments. The answers weren’t big-ticket items. They were new clothes, real butter instead of margarine, Pokemon cards, McDonald’s, Ferrero Rocher, and getting picked up from school.

That last one stuck with a lot of readers. One commenter described walking home for hours on dangerous roads because nobody was able to come get them, while classmates got rides every day. Others talked about the social sting of hand-me-downs. One person remembered a neon winter jacket their mom pulled from a neighbor’s trash, and how kids at school made fun of it while everyone else had Starter jackets.

What makes this thread resonate is how clearly it shows that small material differences shape how kids read class and belonging. Butter isn’t expensive. A ride home isn’t a status symbol. But as a child, those details can feel like the whole world. Thousands of people shared their version of the same memory, which says a lot about how many of us quietly carried it.

What’s one everyday thing you thought was a luxury growing up? Tell us in the comments.