If you grew up anxious about financial stability, jostling for resources that many Americans take for granted, you may still cling to those trauma-sparked nervous habits—you’re not alone.
TikTok user Rach (@rachgist) is one such person, revealing how she saw a TikTok video about weird habits people have brought from their childhood into their adult life. She unveils her weird habit in a video: Leaving a singular item in a box after finishing most of it because she grew up “poor.”
For example, she can eat seven out of eight frosted cookies and leave the eighth in place. That’s because she has a fear of not being able to afford that item. The content creator explains how this could be due to her mental health and growing up “poor.” In addition, her pantry is “full of singular items.”
“It drives my husband crazy because he did not grow up poor,” she says.
@rachgist #igrewuppoor #grewuppoor #storytime #relatable @questnutrition #snacks ♬ original sound – r a c h
The Daily Dot reached out to Rach via email, Instagram direct message, and TikTok comment. The video racked up over 783,000 views as of Saturday, resonating with viewers.
“omg, I thought I was the only one who did things like this I’m still terrified to use up something completely,” one viewer wrote.
“Yessssss. I think this is called scarcity mindset? Not sure, but I do the exact same,” a second agreed.
“I do this too! I always thought I was a hoarder lol,” a third echoed.
Furthermore, people shared which items they do this with.
“Yes!! I’ll also try stretch things as far as humanly possible those 8 biscuits will last 8 days etc,” one user shared.
“When I cook tinned meat, I divide into 3 parts for 3 meals. I never use [the] whole thing in 1 meal,” a second commented.
“I totally do this. I even do this with canned drinks. I will leave like 80-90% left in the can- just in case I can’t get any more,” a third stated.
There’s a name for this.
One viewer mentioned the “Scarcity Mindset” which could attribute to this habit. According to Cleveland Clinic, “The term was originally coined to describe a specific type of anxiety and cognitive stress experienced by people whose incomes are below the federal poverty threshold. But a scarcity mindset isn’t always about finances. It’s often applied to other parts of life, too. A scarcity mindset can stem from a lot of things—the root cause could be a life-changing event that makes you focus on what you’ve lost or are missing.”
So the next time your partner insists on putting the take-out Tupperware in the dishwasher, maybe cut them a break.
