Lessons
From the Previous Generation
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My parents
grew up in Britain during the Second World War.
North Americans may not realize it but wartime rationing continued for several
years after that. So, when they arrived
over here, they had lived with deprivation for most of their lives.
They
continued with this lifestyle for all of their working lives - and into
retirement. They found that it was a
great way to save money – a lot of money.
There were not a lot of new clothes or eating out. Vacations were taken
around my father’s business trips. The
thermostat hovered around 53 degrees during the winter months. The cars were always bought used and driven
into the ground.
There were
times though that frugality crossed over into just plain cheap. The Christmas turkey was cooked at Dad’s
workplace so that it wouldn’t use our electricity. As soon as the kids got part-time jobs we had
to pay rent. We didn’t buy sugar or jam
or anything else that was available in small containers at restaurants.
Every time my father went out for coffee he would fill his pockets with
jam and sugar packets, and bring them home.
So, the
frugal living tips I offer come from a lifetime of experience. Some of them are ones that I learned from my
parents and some that I’ve come up with on my own. A lot of what my parents did to save money, I
chose not to practice. I know it worked
for them, but it just seemed impractical in my life. However, if any of us had grown up in their
circumstances, we would probably behave the same way.
My Frugal Living comes from my Mother who's father pasted away when she was 13..Being the oldest girl (she had 2 older brothers)...out of 8 children....There was no Social Security checks,no running water and very tight living quarters....Frugal is a great lifestyle while being cheap sometimes it can be plain foolish or even dangerous(Example:driving a car on bald tires)Example:using a rotten wooden ladder,to me being Frugal equals getting a super great value out of your money....
ReplyDeleteThanks for the perspective on where the line is. And I agree there are a few people who are foolish in their attempts to be frugal.
DeleteMy parents lived very frugal. I have inherited some of their ways such as I cook our Thanksgiving and Christmas Turkeys on top of the wood stove to save on hydro. I even take home Jam's etc if they were handed to me on my plate when I ordered. It's not because I am poor because I am not. I like to use them when packing the kids snacks for school. Those little packages come in handy. I think it is smart to save when ever possible.
ReplyDeleteHi DeeDee:
DeleteYeah, I guess those jam packets would be useful for school lunches. I might have though differently about them if I got to take them to school.