It's easy to take many everyday luxuries for granted, particularly for those who have never experienced poverty before. There were tons of fascinating answers, so here are some of the highest-voted ones: 1. "Fresh fruits and vegetables, rather than relying on canned or processed foods.
" – u/MarsupialUnlucky3552 "Fresh fruit, just out on the counter available to eat whenever. Going to someone’s house and seeing a bowl of apples and feeling envious. Now there is always a bowl of fresh fruit on my kitchen counter, whatever is in season, available and it still feels like pure luxury to grab an apple, pear, peach, whatever and eat it.
I even have my own fruit trees now." – u/kamuelak 2. "Owning a pair of brand-name sneakers.
It was like wearing a crown on my feet." – u/Pure_BreedCute 3. "Getting new school supplies at the start of the year.
I remember how getting a new notebook or pencil case instead of hand-me-downs felt like Christmas." – u/jackreacher3 4. "A f**cking sleepover with a friend.
Got asked several times but my parents said no because we couldn't reciprocate." – u/barefoot_yank 5. "The idea of going out and just buying a replacement for what's broken is something I had to get used to in adulthood.
" "Growing up, if something broke, nine times out ten you just learned to live with it being broken. Even if it was a relatively cheap fix, it just wouldn't get done because that money might be needed later for something more important." – u/ConstableBlimeyChips 6.
"Regular hot showers! Access to a hot shower whenever you want, rather than relying on a shared or inconsistent water supply." – u/Ok_Earth9963 7. "Eating out! Fast food chains are luxury to us.
The occasional meal at a restaurant or fast food place instead of always eating home-cooked meals." – u/Own-Wealth-6384 "Not only were we poor, we were many. My parents did foster care so there were usually 6-9 kids in our home.
Going to a sit down restaurant? Never. I didn’t go to Applebees until a theatre outing at 16 years old." – u/thelynch07 8.
"We used to have real milk once a week and it was a whole occurrence. The whole family would sit around the breakfast table on Sundays and drink a glass of cold milk like it was a fine wine." "The rest of the week, powdered milk had to suffice.
" – u/SenorEusebio 9. "I used to see kids during lunch at school that would eat those lunches that came with a drink and I thought those kids were rich." "I just ate my PB&J with milk that the school provided for free to low income families.
" – u/wig_hunny_whatsgood 10. "Having my own room." – u/cutiesposter 11.
"Chocolate bars. I've loved them since I was a child, but couldn't really afford one." "Back in elementary school, I participated in every contest that has a regional level just to have a much bigger allowance to buy myself a chocolate bar.
" – u/kaerinzx 12. "When I was small in the 70s, proper suntan lotion was really expensive and seemed very luxurious." "Ambre Solaire was the brand that people who could afford to go on holidays to Spain (from the UK) wore.
My family wore coconut oil and I got burned a lot." – u/TheRealCeeBeeGee 13. "I grew up poor poor.
The biggest luxury i could imagine as a kid was eating every day or having lunch at school." – u/Fun_Set255 "Having actual food instead of sleep for dinner." – u/PBRbeard 14.
"Central heat and air. Full refrigerator." – u/throwaway788292 15.
"Vacation or travel." "For us, the opportunity to go on trips or vacations, even short ones, instead of staying close to home." – u/Jolly-Ad-3737 16.
"I was particularly envious of my friends who didn’t have to start working at the age of 12 just to be able to buy school clothes." – u/Opposite-Purpose365 17. "My phone and laptop.
" "I grew up without a father, so since then, my mother supplied the things we needed and prioritized what required, especially food, so we couldn't buy these things when I was young. I dreamt of having a phone and laptop that I could use whenever I want." – u/itsaNudeWhisper "Gadgets! Having your own phone, tablet, or computer, rather than sharing with siblings.
" – u/No_Intention_8260 18. "Textbooks and magazines. Education was a luxury back then.
" – u/Mysterious-Art8650 19. "Shampoo and creme rinse (before conditioner or the original name of conditioner, I'm not sure). We used Sunlight liquid dish detergent on our hair.
" "I thought if you had and used Johnson's No More Tears spray to detangle, you must very rich. I also thought that being the oldest was my good fortune because I got the clean bath water. My little sister and brother got my bath water.
Poor kids." – u/janr34 20. "Automatic can opener.
I thought that was the height of luxury. Imagine being so lazy to open a can with a manual opener that you purchase an electric one." – u/Tie_me_off 21.
"Broccoli and brussels sprouts." "To this day, decades later, I view both as treat foods." – u/dethb0y 22.
"A comfortable chair, bed, or couch, rather than using older or makeshift furniture." – u/Nervous-Candy-1578 23. "Arts and crafts materials for hobbies like drawing, painting, or crafting.
" – u/Jumpy-Start-1787 24. "New clothes..
. as opposed to hand-me-downs or thrift store finds." – u/OkLeg2954 "This.
And at the time I grew up, Macklemore was a long way off and there was a lot of shame in shopping at thrift stores." – u/MilliVanilliEilish 25. "A television, albeit a small one, for the kitchen.
Just wow!" – u/Tie_me_off "My friend who lived around the corner had all that stuff. She had a TV in her room. They had a GUEST room with a TV.
They had so many TVs. It was so confusing." – u/4URprogesterone 26.
"Having a car or reliable public transportation access, rather than walking long distances or relying on infrequent rides." – u/Kind-Lengthiness-824 27. And finally: "Toys.
" "I still think of toys as luxury. Had only a handful of toys as a child. All my toys were precious to me.
I still have a very very old Bumblebee transformer (I don't even remember where it came from, probably a hand-me-down from someone). It is missing his legs, two wheels and half an arm but I still have it in a box in my house. My one and only transformer.
" – u/EquipmentUnlikely895 Any other seemingly small things you viewed as luxuries growing up? Let us know in the comments below, and follow BuzzFeed Canada on TikTok and Instagram for more..
