Lessons of Frugal Living from The Great Depression Era | Frugal Living Tips

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Hello there! My name is Jennifer! Follow along on our journey to paying off our mortgage by 2024. Along the way I will share my dumbest money mistakes, how we save money and our progress towards our goals. I hope that my journey will provide inspiration towards your own pursuit of financial independence.

Want to get in touch with me...


Old school snail mail to:
13663 Providence Rd.
PMB# 116
Weddington, NC 28104

[tedbarr]

My lovely wife of 54 years told me that she had a happy childhood even though poor. She said a treat was drink water out of an empty Coke bottle. She has made our home a happy one.

[debbiemize]

My mother used to turn the collars on my dad’s shirts when they began to look frayed. Daddy was an insurance salesman and had to wear a suit and tie everyday. I was 8 years old when he started that job, and he had one suit, one dress shirt, and one tie. He had been out of work for 5 months when he began this job that became his lifelong career (1960-1985). That one shirt was washed, ironed, and starched every night so it would be clean for the next day! They bought him one more shirt out of that first paycheck. Funny the things you remember from childhood!

[josephcollins]

"...or whatever a crockpot does..." Hahahahahaha! I LOVE YOU!! Jennifer, you are wonderful!!

[canadagirl]

My mom grew up then. She had me later in life too. She saved old clothes and towels and turned them into cleaning rags when they wore out. She washed and reused plastic food gl freezer bags. I still have her washer and dryer that’s over 30 years old. I get it serviced once a year. She passed away last year at 99. She was a wonderful person and very caring. Loved to help out neighbors and friends

[LameBearBeadwork]

My grandparents & parents were part of the Depression generations. What has stayed with me that I learned from them is, "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without." Very wise words to live by.

[danasmith]

I was brought up with being told that you don’t put anything on a credit card that you can’t afford to pay off at the end of the month. And that it is better to drive an older less fancy car that you don’t owe anything on, rather than a new flashy car that you have a big loan on. Those things were drilled into me early on. And at 55 I have never had debt except for my mortgage, and have paid for every car with cash. Thanks Dad.

[FlyingAce-sy]

I remember my great grandparents when I was little they had no electricity, running water or a bathroom. I remember the outhouse YUCK! She had a well on the covered back porch to get water and a wood cook stove. She made the very best meals. I loved playing with the chickens, ducks, cows and the horses. It was cool in the house in the summer and warm in the winter. Old feathered beds I didn't like but it was comfy. She lived to see my only daughter that was a blessing. When I got married she knitted me blankets, and canned me a lot of food with the recipes. She also covered my wire clothes hangers with her crocheting. I miss her greatly and know I will see her in heaven. PS She always sat on the porch in the summer and read us the holy Bible and explained it to us I was very Blessed by her and her knowledge. She was 99 when she finally made it home. Thank You Jennifer! God Bless You!

[susanbartlett]

My grandmother was born in 1909. I remember 2 things in particular. 1. She used "fillers" for meals, but not like you described. There was always a sliced tomato or cucumber or maybe an apple on the table and there was always a "combo veggie" as a side. If she had a serving of butterbeans and a serving of corn left over from a previous meal, she would combine them to make a side. Those were her fillers. 2. There was always a butter tub in the freezer. If there was a spoonful of anything left over and it wasn't enough for a serving, it went in the butter tub. When the butter tub was full, she heated it up and made literal left over soup. It was always the best and it was never the same.

[ailz]

Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without. We try to work to this, but it's hard with today's stuff, shoes won't mend etc., I'm now moving to more sustainable stuff

[paulawilliams]

My grandparents lived during the time of the Great Depression. Their “entertainment “ back then was probably the reason my grandma had kids by the litter 😀

[maryjanegibson]

When I was a young mom, my group of friends would pass our maternity clothes around the group and get them back when they weren't needed any more. It was kind of funny to see the same clothes on different people. We just shared with one another, and it was a lovely bond between us. We did the same with baby things, so each baby would be wearing the same things, too.

[veronicagilmore]

My dad didn’t live through the Great Depression but he grew up dirt poor on a very tiny island in the Caribbean. He slept on a bed made of banana leaves and he didn’t have any shoes until he was 8 years old. He always told me to plant a garden and even though I grew up in NYC we always had a small garden in the backyard. Now that he’s gone I wish I could ask him more tips. He also taught me about cutting open bottles to get the last bit out. I still do that now. I also save meat bones and veggie scraps and make my own bone broth which I learned from a friend. It really helps stretch those meals in multiple ways.

[waterfallpeace]

Thank you for your videos. My family member passed thier maternity clothes to me. I was so grateful. We also shared baby clothes & passed them to the next family member in need of them. It saved us all alot of money & a wonderful memory. My grandmother hand sewn baby quilts for babies in the family. She hand sewn lap quilts for the nursing homes. She also made Marriage quilts. She never sold them. She wanted to help others. She lived through the Depression & taught me so much. Food scraps went into a bucket each day. I would put these scraps around her fruit trees to fertilize. The used oil from cooking bacon would be put into a can to be used for another meal. When she lived with us when she was older, she wanted to help in the kitchen. While we were working together in the kitchen, we enjoyed our talks from her days. She put hot soapy water into a bowl & that's what she used to wash dishes. I asked why & she said she was use to not wasting water. She use to go out to the yard to pump water for the day of use & continued to conserve. I admire that & cherish what she taught me.

[adabaquero]

We are immigrants from South America. We were never poor in SA.We were middle class in my country but we had to escape for other reasons to New York. Thank's to my mom who always worked, the bills were always paid and had enough healthy food to eat. I now wonder how she did it. Mom was incredibly organized when grocery shopping and managed to give us treats like jam and cheese. Don't remember ever feeling hungry and always felt safe where we lived. I now remember one Thanksgiving she bought such a big turkey that it did not fit in the oven. That thanks giving we laughed about it and had leftovers 4 months. I don' even 🍳buy turkey now.most of us don't like it. I've learned to plan meals and if anything is left over, we recycle them into (friticas) fritters made of left over rice beans vegetables and sweet fried plantains. You add one egg shape it into patties pan fry them until crispy. They'll turn out delicious. I've never lacked food but I never wasted food either thanks to my mom' s organizational skills which apparently I learned.

[charlenebrissette]

I remember my great uncle telling me that if he was walking down the street a could see a restaurant ahead, he would cross the street cause the smells coming from the restaurant would remind him of how hungry he was.

[lindamcteer]

My family of five didn't have much money at all when I was growing up. My dad was a very hardworking man, and my mom was a hardworking mother/wife/homemaker. We were always happy, and I had a very happy childhood. I grew up in the country with lots of cousins living nearby....their families were in the same financial situation as mine. I have so many great childhood memories as money isn't what makes a person happy.

[joycegonzales]

I was born in 1947, my parents were married during the depression. I’m so grateful for the things my mom taught me.

[patwagner]

Last night, we were assessing our expenditures. We have had a landline our entire lives. Recently there's been a big change in our lives. We've decided to tighten the "ol' belt", so to speak. Our landline phone was costing us $96.50 a month ! Only $51.50 of it was actually for the phone....$45 is taxes & all sorts of odd little charges. We decided $3.50 short of $100 a month for a landline phone was a luxury we can do w/out.
We've got much more worthy places for $100 a month, $1158 a year !
When I was a little girl, when I outgrew my clothes, we gave them to another little girl. Just made good sense.
You are wearing one of my favorite shades of blue & it looks lovely on you.
Today we dropped off 24 cans of cat food to a close friend of ours. Our cats turned up their noses at that flavor. Chewy refunded my money for it & said give the food I did to a friend who needed it. Again....just made sense !
My mom's parents lived in a primitive farmhouse where they raised their 9 children. I loved spending time out at the farm ! Grandma was born in 1896 & Grandpa in 1900. I learned a lot from them. The house didn't have central heating or indoor plumbing. Grandma cooked on a big, old wood cookstove. The meals she made were wonderful. They lived frugally in every way. I'm sure a lot of what I learned in life was thanks to Grandma & Grandpa. My dad was very frugal, too.
I'm sorry that I can't think of anything specific that I was taught. But I cut open tubes, too, in order to get every last bit !

[margarethawk]

Both of my parents grew up during the depression. I learned a lot. My mother never bought paper towels. She used old worn out clothes that she made into rags. We ate “milk and bread” for cereal sometimes. She made beans n dumplings. We wore out clothes unless we outgrew them. Turn off the lights if you are not in a room. She made part of my clothes I wore. I remember in 5th grade she cut up one of her dresses or skirts and made me a new dress for school. I loved that dress by the way. I got some of my sisters hand me downs or a cousin’s or friends. Anything like pop was a treat. I heard that when she grew up, my grandparents could not afford any regular meat so Grandpa would go to the butcher and buy the leftover organ meat that was discarded from the rest.

[valdamarielegault]

Such wisdom! I remember my mom often said, waste not, want not.