5 Frugal Habits From the Greatest Generation That Can Help You Save Hundreds Today
Written by
Laura Bogart
Edited by
Kristen Mae
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There’s a lot of tension between generations these days. Gen Z turns to Millennials for financial advice — like how to weather a potential recession — while simultaneously mocking them as being “cringe.” Meanwhile, Gen X is maxing out its 401(k) every year while insisting they had the best music of all time. And everyone seems to have a bone to pick with the Baby Boomers.
But one generation often seems to get lost in the fray: the Greatest Generation — those who came of age during the Great Depression and fought fascism during World War II. Growing up during these tough times gave them a unique perspective on managing and saving money. Other generations could learn a thing or two from the way this generation embraced frugality.
1. Start a Garden
Perhaps you’ve considered cutting your grocery bill by growing some of your own food at home but then dismissed the idea. After all, you don’t have the space (perhaps you don’t even have a backyard), and you don’t have the skill.
Well, remember this: When your grandparents — or great-grandparents — planted Victory Gardens to supplement their rations, they often put their plots in window boxes, city rooftops, public lands, and even vacant lands.
Even if you don’t have a backyard of your own, you can still set up a container garden outdoors or invest in an indoor AeroGarden. Many cities and towns also have community garden plots available. And if you’re worried about keeping plants alive, you can find plenty of tutorials online to guide you from planting to growing to hopefully harvesting fresh veggies for your plate.
2. Cook With Leftovers
For anyone who grew up in the Great Depression, food was often as scarce as it was essential. Finding ways to stretch meals as far as they could go was part of life, and wasting leftovers was unheard of. This mindset can help you save today, too.
Repurposing leftovers into new meals can significantly cut your grocery costs. For instance, those mashed potatoes can become crispy potato cakes with a little oil and a frying pan, and that salmon filet you had last night can be the perfect centerpiece for a fresh salad.
3. Buy Reusable Products
How much money do you spend on napkins every year? Or paper towels? Coffee filters? Seems like a silly question, but if you were to add up the amount you spend on these things every year, you’d probably have a sum in the hundreds.
The Greatest Generation didn’t have the luxury of convenience stores or big-box retailers like Target and Costco where they could grab paper towels in bulk on the go. They used cloth napkins and towels, and you can do the same to save money.
From coffee filters to plastic baggies, there are more reusable alternatives than you might think. Investing in them now can really help you save on those small, recurring purchases over time.
4. Upcycle Furniture
It goes without saying that your grandmother didn’t go to IKEA when she needed a new living room chair. She likely had to find a way of repairing or upcycling the chairs she had — or found free furniture in need of some TLC.
While you have more conveniences in your life — among them, the freedom to head to your local IKEA — those conveniences come at a cost. Instead, consider joining your local Buy Nothing group or scouting Facebook Marketplace for secondhand finds.
You might find a chair or other piece of furniture that, with a few touch-ups, could become the prize of your living room. And if you’re unsure how to start, there are plenty of tutorials online that can teach you — or, if you can, you might give dear ol’ grandma a call.
5. Buy Secondhand Items
Thrift stores are far from a hipster phenomenon. As far back as the 1920s, these shops worked on rebranding themselves as places where the average person could find well-preserved items at a discount.
It wasn’t uncommon to see a fleet of Goodwill trucks collecting clothing and housewares from over 1,000 households. Around the time of the 1929 stock market crash, these stores made up roughly half of the Salvation Army’s annual budget. Thrift stores still exist today, and you can find everything from cookware to business suits at a fraction of retail prices.
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