11 Money Saving Tips from Grandma -Things they DIDN'T BUY!

Comments · 540

• SH

  @sherryhudson9075 · 3 years ago

  As a 73 yr old lady, growing up we had sweet tea, coffee or water. But mama always had packets of kool ade that we would make in the summer.   We also sat down and ate a home cooked , from scratch, supper together every evening and Sunday noon after church .  Mama also made all of us girls dresses.   We went to school, came home, and played out in the yard with the neighbor kids.  It was a simple life.  I think it was a healthier, better life. Nobody was obese either.  You worked hard and played hard.

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• MA

  @Ma-thespacebetween · 2 years ago (edited)

  My grandmother was born in 1912 and was frugal and, without knowing it, was an essentialist/minimalist, but she had her "good" linens and "good" night dresses (for hospital) that she never used or wore. These beautiful French linen tablecloths and nighties sat unused in her linen press and dresser until she passed away (having never even gone to hospital). Use the good things - life's too short.

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• EL

  @elyjane8316 · 3 years ago

  I live in the UK but I grew up in Europe.  I have never had a take out meal - I can cook something quicker than making a phone call.  I plan my weekly menu (inc lunches when we worked) and we do not eat much meat, max twice.  We don't have a TV and don't have Netflix etc.  I am constantly amazed how much stuff people buy, never use and hoard.

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• QU

  @queenbunnyfoofoo6112 · 2 years ago

  The garage full of "stuff" that grandpas had were basically hardware stores. Old boards, 2x4s, metal and jars of nails/screws were always reused in new projects. Half of my house was built with that material😂. We continue that tradition.

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• TA

  @tabilittlefield1326 · 3 years ago

  I love canning and preserving.  One day when I was making a batch of jam, my grandma was visiting.  As I put the sure jell pectin in the jam, she casually said, "I never used pectin when I made jam."  My chin dropped to the floor!  I asked why she told me they didn't have any back then.  I asked how she made it without and she said she just cooked it a few minutes longer.  I tried it in my next batch and she was right!  I haven't wasted money on sure he'll since then.

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• JO

  @jonnaborosky8836 · 3 years ago (edited)

  I remember when my mother got a wringer washer, which was SO modern! She&apos;d been using a scrub board in a galvanized tub before that. Everyone did. I also remember the first electric modern washing machine she got! It was a wonderful day! <br>There was no Uber, Door dash or Insta-cart, but milk and dairy products were delivered and dry cleaning was picked up and dropped off at home. We don&apos;t have those services anymore. Plus, doctors routinely made house calls. That would be an extremely unusual thing to have happen today!<br>I&apos;m almost 70.

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• ST

  @Stephanie-rf9xs · 3 years ago

  Regarding Kid Cuisine, I burst into laughter because my now mid-thirty something son had his first taste of that at age 4 during a play date with a new friend! My son told me he didn’t like the food because it came out of box from the freezer and microwaved. When I asked if he ate his lunch anyway, he said yes, but his new friend’s mother knew he didn’t like it! My son went on to say how his mother cooked EVERYTHING from “things” that were never frozen before she cooked them. &nbsp;On a side note, that new friend and his mother went on to become our best friends! I am so thankful the little boy’s mother didn’t take offense to how I fed my family. Thanks for the bringing back a long forgotten memory and laughter!

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• PA

  @patriotmama · 3 years ago

  Most of the things you mention here that you could do without or less of just came about in the last 30 to 35 years. &nbsp; I am 73 yrs. old. &nbsp;We &quot;recycled&quot; everything, &nbsp; Our groceries came in paper bags (reused to line garbage pails, put our coffee grounds in and vegetable waste in then tossed in the trash). &nbsp; When we got to buy soda, it was a treat and we would rinse the bottles out, take them back to the store. &nbsp;Picked up any tossed out along road sides and cashed them in for candy money. &nbsp;Got 5 cents a bottle for them. &nbsp;My mom and grandma washed their aluminum foil and reused it till it fell apart. &nbsp;Nothing came in plastic bottles. &nbsp; It was either glass or tins of some kind. &nbsp;We handed clothes down. &nbsp; Didn&apos;t get new outfits all the time. &nbsp; We got a new Easter dress every year and new church shoes. &nbsp;New school shoes and two or three new dresses for the next school year, that was it. &nbsp; We hung clothes on the line all year long. &nbsp;If it rained, Mom moved wash day to another day. &nbsp; In winter, hung them out, they froze in the line. &nbsp; After while we brought them in and hung them over drying racks, then folded them for ironing the next day. &nbsp; Made the house smell like fresh air and sunshine. &nbsp; I could go on and on. &nbsp; The &quot;instant generation&quot; has no clue how much we recycled. &nbsp;There wasn&apos;t trash blowing around with those horrible plastic shopping bags and water bottles everywhere. &nbsp; They didn&apos;t exist. &nbsp;I know, hard to believe. &nbsp; I would love to see plastic disappear myself. &nbsp; Jars and tins that things came in were reused to store other things in when done with the product. &nbsp;Yes, we can live without a lot of things we live with now. &nbsp; &nbsp;The way things are going, we may have to again.

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• SU

  @susanrhead7708 · 3 years ago

  My grandparents always wrapped our birthday presents in the comics section of the newspaper!

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• LU

  @lucindapick2986 · 3 years ago

  Another thing our grandparents did was to borrow/lend for occasional events instead of everyone having their own punch bowl, folding chairs, crutches, etc.

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• LI

  @LittleMama5 · 3 years ago

  When I was a kid, we always wrapped presents for a friend&apos;s birthday party in the comic section of the newspaper.

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• ME

  @mendyviola · 2 years ago

  The problem with doing all your own chores is that today both partners tend to work full time, with most of the household chores still falling on the woman. &nbsp;In the 1970’s and earlier, many if not most women did not work outside of the home. Before getting married, I hired out lawn service. &nbsp;It was fairly inexpensive and saved me many hours on the weekend (not to mention the risk of heat exhaustion and severe allergies). &nbsp;Once I got married, the dirt and mess in my house quadrupled. &nbsp; Hubby hates cleaning. &nbsp; We hired a housekeeper to keep our relationship in good order.

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