9 phrases lower-middle-class kids heard at the grocery store that shaped their entire relationship with money - Silicon Canals

"Growing up, I dreaded Tuesday evenings. That's when my mum would drag me to the supermarket after her shift at the department store. The fluorescent lights, the squeaky trolley wheels, and most of all, the constant mental arithmetic that seemed to hover over us like a cloud. I'd watch her pause at every shelf, calculator in hand, lips moving silently as she worked out whether we could afford both the name-brand cereal and the good bread this week."

"Those trips weren't just about filling our cupboards. They were masterclasses in financial anxiety that would shape how I'd think about money for decades. Looking back now, I realize that the phrases I heard during those shopping trips didn't just teach me about budgeting. They fundamentally rewired my relationship with money, success, and self-worth in ways I'm still untangling today."

Repeated parental phrases of scarcity during childhood teach children to self-censor desires and view opportunities as unattainable. Routine supermarket trips with silent calculations and cost-cutting choices embed deep financial anxiety and recalibrate priorities around needs versus wants. Scarcity experiences alter cognitive processing of opportunities, shrinking perceived possibilities and steering adults away from restaurants, job prospects, or purchases assumed to be 'too expensive.' Learned associations between money, success, and self-worth create long-lasting behavioral patterns that persist into adulthood. Conscious reflection and relearning are required to untangle those associations and expand perceived possibilities.

Read at Silicon Canals