# Poverty-mode thinking, despite not being povvo **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 25, 2022, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poverty-mode-thinking-despite-not-being-povvo/968509 "2022-07-25T08:26:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2022, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poverty-mode-thinking-despite-not-being-povvo/968509/21 "2022-07-25T22:20:09Z")
> [@kambuckta](#): > > It’s starting to shit me to tears: I still behave like I have to scrimp every penny, when in reality, I don’t have to do that. Sounds to me like you have learned important survival lessons. The harder they are to let go of indicates the thoroughness of your lesson. Nothing to be bothered by! ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2022, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poverty-mode-thinking-despite-not-being-povvo/968509/22 "2022-07-25T22:22:55Z")
Our family is very solidly upper-middle class. Actually, now that I think about it, my wife grew up in an upper-middle class family, too, so I guess I can’t blame this on old habits. She’s not excessively frugal in general, but she routinely puts half-empty cans of Coke back in the fridge, so she can drink the flat soda later rather than have to open a whole new can. ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2022, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poverty-mode-thinking-despite-not-being-povvo/968509/23 "2022-07-25T23:12:29Z")
> [@susan](#): > > We’ve just embarked on the possessions version of boff-marry-kill where we have agreed to pretend we’re moving in a year. The categories are keep until the move–move it–donate. Anything in the first category gets re-evaluated in a few months. Yet this morning I folded the wrapping paper from some gifts. At least it will go in the donation box. It’s hard for me to waste and hard for me to get rid of something I might reasonably need, but I’m getting better through practice. > > What you don’t need is shoes that don’t fit well. I recommend what I call The Lori Method, named in honor of my best friend. When I moved here she came up to Wausau and helped me pare down my books. We had 4 piles: toss because they were in such bad shape, donate, think about, and keep. Because she had no sentimental connection she was able to be ruthless. At least a couple of times she yanked books out of my hands saying “no. You hated that book!” I told her the first time " but if I reread it, maybe this time I’ll like it". “No.” And she’d put it in the donate or toss pile. Harsh but needed. ---
**Author:** ![Esprise\_Me](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprise_me/32/2947_2.png) [@Esprise\_Me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprise_Me)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2022, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poverty-mode-thinking-despite-not-being-povvo/968509/24 "2022-07-25T23:32:28Z")
I have something like that for clothes. I’ll go through and make four piles: donate, throw away, definitely keep, and reevaluate. The reevaluate pile often consists of things like ratty undies (can’t donate them, might wear them again if I get too busy to do laundry for a while), stuff I’m too fat for but hope to fit into again, stuff my husband really likes on me but I don’t much care for, stuff that doesn’t really go with anything else I own, and, like OP’s sandals, stuff that’s cute but not comfortable. I put the reevaluate stuff away somewhere I can’t see it but can get to it easily. Anything I pull out and wear gets to stay, and after six months or so it’s a lot easier to get rid of the rest. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2022, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poverty-mode-thinking-despite-not-being-povvo/968509/25 "2022-07-25T23:44:32Z")
It wouldn’t kill me to buy new kitchen towels but these old ones from 1988 are holding up just fine despite the stains, and ragged edges. I just never think about it. I cleaned the windowsills last week and used two cotton repurposed cloths from the bottomless rag bin. I was debating whether to clean them to reuse. They were filthy dirty. Boldly I tossed them in the garbage. I have contemplated patching the threadbare areas on my flannel sheets, or buy new ones? Knowing these sheets will one day make it to the rag bin made it an easy decision to throw out the dirty cleaning cloths. More where that came from. I too kept using mismatched cutlery. Where the heck do all the spoons get to? Then when my folks passed away and we’re cleaning out the apartment nobody wanted the old silver plate utensils in the wooden chests. My mom’s and another mixed set from a grandmother and great aunts. I was loading them up for goodwill when I could’ve smacked myself for a fool, here I was about to toss out untarnished perfectly elegant utensils because they looked old and somehow junky. And all those extra spoons! Teaspoons, gumbo spoons, ice tea spoons, serving spoons! I use them everyday, making sure I wash and dry them right away too. I even sourced out extra pieces for one set. I dearly appreciate these sets now from my Mom. In my trunk right now 6 boxes of books. All kinds. Many oldies, cleared out a book shelf. Now to stealthily drop them off somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2022, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poverty-mode-thinking-despite-not-being-povvo/968509/26 "2022-07-25T23:47:19Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > First of all, “povvo”? I had to look it up. I’d appreciate it if you either use a regular word like “poor” and provide a definition at the beginning of a post. I believe @kambuckta is Australian and didn’t realize that wasn’t a common term over here. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2022, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poverty-mode-thinking-despite-not-being-povvo/968509/27 "2022-07-25T23:58:06Z")
I’m from the US and got it from context. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poverty-mode-thinking-despite-not-being-povvo/968509/28 "2022-07-26T00:01:09Z")
I was too lazy to look it up at first. But yeah it meant something? It’s slang like Housos or deros are slang too. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poverty-mode-thinking-despite-not-being-povvo/968509/29 "2022-07-26T00:02:29Z")
> [@chela](#): > > In my trunk right now 6 boxes of books. All kinds. Many oldies, cleared out a book shelf. Now to stealthily drop them off somewhere. Do you have VVA ( Vietnam Veterans of America) where you live? They pick up donations and take anything one guy can load on the truck. You don’t get anything for it (other than a tax deduction), but you don’t pay anything either. I’ve gotten rid of a _ton_ of books (and other assorted discards) over the year with them. I do try to sell more valuable books that I don’t want to keep, but that means having those books hang around until someone buys them. ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poverty-mode-thinking-despite-not-being-povvo/968509/30 "2022-07-26T00:02:51Z")
> [@chela](#): > > In my trunk right now 6 boxes of books. All kinds. Many oldies, cleared out a book shelf. Now to stealthily drop them off somewhere. If they’re in nice shape, maybe a retirement home. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poverty-mode-thinking-despite-not-being-povvo/968509/31 "2022-07-26T00:42:12Z")
I checked and no there is not a local VVA here > [@kitap](#): > > If they’re in nice shape, maybe a retirement home. I wish some were large print, many are small hard covers, a varied lot. Pilgrims Progress like 3 copies sheesh! and similar titles. A few Christian novels signed by the author Paul Hutchens. Mixed in with Hardy Boys, Motorcycle Chums , woodworking books, trail atlases, birding books, old old dictionaries, some Rodale published stuff. WW2 books from that era. Then vintage titles I picked up solely for their pretty covers and spines. Lol my spouse wants to keep the Gary Larson and Hunter S Thompson books thinks he can sell them eventually. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poverty-mode-thinking-despite-not-being-povvo/968509/32 "2022-07-26T00:43:57Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > First of all, “povvo”? I had to look it up. I’d appreciate it if you either use a regular word like “poor” and provide a definition at the beginning of a post. Yes, it’s common courtesy when using terms that may be unfamiliar to one’s audience to explain them up front. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poverty-mode-thinking-despite-not-being-povvo/968509/33 "2022-07-26T01:00:47Z")
Well I’m American and it seemed pretty obvious what it meant. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poverty-mode-thinking-despite-not-being-povvo/968509/34 "2022-07-26T01:11:40Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > Well I’m American and it seemed pretty obvious what it meant Ditto, although I’ve occasionally not caught onto things that were obvo to others. But like I said, where kambukta is, it may be quite common. ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poverty-mode-thinking-despite-not-being-povvo/968509/35 "2022-07-26T01:22:44Z")
If the Hardy Boys books are in good shape maybe a homeless shelter. Or a library sale drop off. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poverty-mode-thinking-despite-not-being-povvo/968509/36 "2022-07-26T16:51:42Z")
> [@chela](#): > > Then vintage titles I picked up solely for their pretty covers and spines. It’s a deadly obsession! Too bad about not having a local VVA. Since I’ve started my bit by bit downsizing, they’re saved me a ton of inconvenience. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poverty-mode-thinking-despite-not-being-povvo/968509.md?page=1)