Some of my favorite times were sitting in my husband’s Grandpa’s kitchen and talking with him about the “old days.” Grandpa was born in 1928 and he was full of frugal living tips from the Great Depression that his parents had passed down to him.

He knew how to stretch a dollar. He was not a cheap man. He was a frugal man and he knew the value of spending his money wisely.
Old Fashioned Living

Grandpa understood old fashioned frugal living. Of course, to him it wasn’t “old fashioned frugal living”…it was just frugal living!

I remember one story he told about Grandma. They were a farming family and she would work out in the fields with him in the mornings. When it was lunch time, she would collect sticks on her walk back to the house so she could build a fire in the stove to cook.
Lessons from the Great Depression

Times were different back then. I think that is why I loved our talks with him and why I miss him so much today. Life was slower back then. Not easier, just slower.

They didn’t slide a frozen pizza into the oven for a quick lunch on a busy day. I don’t think Grandpa even had a freezer back then and even if he did, he would have known that homemade pizza was less expensive (and tastier) than a store-bought pizza.

I miss the winter nights we spent sitting in the living room of his country house. His reliable, white Ford truck would be parked outside near his old tractor. The cows would be bedding down for the night and the chickens were shut up into their coop to keep them safe. We would sit near the gas stove with a western turned down low on the TV because we were too busy “visiting” to actually watch it.

The only light on in his four-room house would be in the kitchen and it would spill over into the cozy living room.

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Frugal Living Tips from the Great Depression

1. Cook from scratch

If you don’t know this already, then it’s time to learn. Cooking at home from scratch can save you hundreds on your grocery bill. Eating out is expensive and buying prepackaged meals at the grocery store will quickly increase your grocery bill and still leave you hungry. Buy staple ingredients, grab your favorite cookbook, and enjoy preparing a nice meal.

2. Eat at home

Eating out is one of the quickest ways to waste money. Restaurants are in business because they charge you more for your meal than what it’s worth. Cook at home and save money.

3. Plant a garden

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not much of a gardener, but I do try! This year, I have finally managed to grow big, beautiful tomatoes for my family. I spent about $10 in small plants and they have grown and produced large “sandwich” tomatoes as well as several bushes of cherry tomatoes. Not only have I saved my family money, but they also taste better.

4. Grow your own fruit

Several years ago, we bought blueberry bushes and since then, we have harvested enough blueberries each year to make ourselves and our three children incredibly happy. Plus, I make delicious blueberry cobbler from our homegrown berries. These bushes have saved us a lot of money over the years because quality, pesticide-free blueberries are not cheap to buy.

5. Forage

We live on 5 wooded acres. We have wild blackberry bushes that grow on our property as well as dewberries and wild onions. Each spring and summer we enjoy homemade blackberry cobbler, dewberry leaf tea, and savory meals with wild onions.

Keep your eyes open, do some research, and you might find that there are many things you can forage for in your own backyard! When we lived in town, we would harvest dandelion leaves from our yard (because we didn’t spray it with chemicals) to make salads!

6. Eat less meat

Meat is expensive and if you prefer organic meat like we do, it’s even more expensive. So, when you are trying to save money or pay off debt, the best thing you can do to save on your grocery bill is to cut back on your meat intake in your meals.

We did this when we were paying off our first and only mortgage. We paid it off in 13 months!

Some nights, we would have vegetable plates and other nights I would prepare Mexican food and replace the meat with black beans. It was so tasty!

MUCH MORE ON LINK..
https://prepper1cense.com/2024/10/01/25-tips-from-the-great-depression/