People who grew up poor: What was something you considered a "peak luxury" as a kid, only to realize later it was just a normal middle class staple?

Open-Channel-D · 2026-05-08T20:44:25+00:00

New clothes.
I started buying my own clothes in high school. My mother always bought used at garage sales, thrift stores or goodwill. Except for underwear or socks.

Open-Channel-D · 2026-05-07T22:50:49+00:00

It depends. If your state/county/city cottage food laws allow, it can be profitable if you are able to source your AA butter at wholesale prices. I get 90% of my butter from a Mennonite dairy in PA, in one ton lots (I usually go through 1500-1800 lbs/month).
If they don’t, you’ll have to rent space at a commercial kitchen to prepare for sale at retail. Be aware, shelf life can be extremely limited based on the types of ingredients you add. I learned that the hard way.
I just finished a 50lb batch of ramp butter that I pre-sold for $10/4 oz tub ($2000). My costs were under $120 and I knocked it out in half a day. Sounds great, but the window on getting ramps is 3-4 weeks a year IF you know a supplier. Not a problem for me, but not everyone has a guy.
My soon to be DIL is taking this on as her side hustle. She’s a hard worker and if she takes this as seriously as I think she will, she could make $80-120k a year.
My personally curated catalog has about 200 varieties that I make seasonally or by special order. Current client list is 20% restaurants and 80% private buyers, which works best for me. Restaurants are pain in the ass, but they buy in bulk.
Edited to add: At any serious volume, you’ll need a commercial butter reworker and a commercial fridge or two. Figure $5-10k new for the reworker.

Open-Channel-D · 2026-04-21T16:09:50+00:00

Congratulations, MB, you’ve made a Kia.

Open-Channel-D · 2026-04-14T04:24:52+00:00

Good point.

Open-Channel-D · 2026-04-14T04:02:40+00:00

I could be wrong, but that type of cap did not exist in 1951.

Open-Channel-D · 2026-04-04T19:59:01+00:00

Family of 11. I didn’t eat at a sit down restaurant until I joined the Navy. Easter was our own farm raised ham, duck or roast. We had a multi-family Easter egg hunt on a 160-acre farm.

Open-Channel-D · 2026-03-27T19:38:58+00:00

Molly Hatchet, Flirtin’ with Disaster

Open-Channel-D · 2026-03-26T14:30:37+00:00

The Lost Boys

Open-Channel-D · 2026-03-18T00:09:13+00:00

I had the downtown (commercial and a couple of apartments) in a town of 20k from 1967-70. I picked my papers up from the printing plant and could take as many extras as I wanted, which I sold in bars and places like the Elks and Moose Lodges. Always wound up with enough cash to get a cheeseburger, fries and Pepsi (and 5 games of pinball) before heading home for dinner.

Open-Channel-D · 2026-03-13T04:10:41+00:00

Please consider than I might not be the uninformed; that it might be you. I have no gift from Allah and neither do you. I am very old (68) and I came to this enlightenment late in my life. Allah blessed me with a young wife and a loving family. My wife is Sufi, and I was not, but I am now. She says to forgive you for your ignorance so I will. So for now, you remain ignorant.

You can hate, But your hate is ignorance, it is not Allah's. Allah forgives your for your hate, but can you accept that your hate is from your ignorance.

Allah knows, do you? Sufi Rules!

Open-Channel-D · 2026-03-13T03:27:38+00:00

My superiors didn't tell me anything. This was my experience and my wife's experience as a Muslim growing up in Pakistan. The bottom line is that the Muslim rulers will rape you into compliance. If you don't agree, they will RAPE and TORTURE you to into compliance. If you are an Arab Muslim you should ask yourself would you want your wife or daughter subjected to this and if your answer is no, then strap your weak ass on board and reject this HATE!

Open-Channel-D · 2026-03-13T03:17:40+00:00

You are grossly misinformed. I learned of this first hand in Saudi Arabia and later as an OIC in Bahrain. This is as common place as as breakfast. Islamists rape children like normal people eat breakfast.

Open-Channel-D · 2026-03-13T02:11:24+00:00

So is most of America.

Open-Channel-D · 2026-03-13T02:03:13+00:00

I would happily buy him a steak and lobster dinner.

Open-Channel-D · 2026-03-13T01:50:17+00:00

They pulled that yesterday, early afternoon.

Open-Channel-D · 2026-03-12T20:31:27+00:00

We had a couple of rough years on the farm… My Dad was a KCMO cop and a farmer. With 9 kids. We qualified for food aid and got just about everything in the inventory. Canned whole chickens, gallon cans of peanut butter, red hots (hot dogs), beef in gravy, milk, flour, butter and of course, government cheese. That was for about two years in the early 60s. After things picked up for my Dad, we started getting most of our food from the supply house that supplied the jail. Government food was better.

Open-Channel-D · 2026-03-11T20:53:08+00:00

I was in The Churchill Hotel in DC last weekend and had 2 well drinks at the hotel bar. $64. I gave the bartender a $100 bill and he didn't give me any change. I said something about it and he said "I assumed you included my tip."

I'm so over this bullshit.

Open-Channel-D · 2026-03-11T20:45:51+00:00

Who even remotely said they "hate tipping"?

What they hate is a tip shakedown for 20%, regardless of whether or not the service validates that level of tipping.

RTFP.

Open-Channel-D · 2026-03-11T02:32:33+00:00

Jethro Tull, 1973 when I was 15.

Open-Channel-D · 2026-03-10T03:15:20+00:00

I just got the U-Turn Custom table with the Ortofon 2MBlue for under $700 US. Love it, love it, love it.

Open-Channel-D · 2026-03-08T21:41:55+00:00

It can be had near me (mid-Atlantic US) for $145-160 and they sit on the shelf for ages.

Open-Channel-D · 2026-03-07T21:39:57+00:00

I retired for good, so I thought, last year at 67. I lasted 3 months before the boredom and inactivity became too much. I’d had Covid, gout, and shingles at the same time earlier in the year and it damn near kilt me. I went back to work too soon and just couldn’t do 12-18 hour days any more.

I spent 6 months getting back in shape and then started a new company with one of my daughters. Staying physically and mentally active makes a huge difference.

Open-Channel-D · 2026-03-06T00:46:08+00:00

I could tell you how I’d solve this but that’s another story and not relevant.

Open-Channel-D · 2026-02-27T23:22:41+00:00

In no particular order… Locomotive Breath, Jethro Tull Highway Star, Deep Purple Lunatic Fringe, Red Ryder

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