The Great Depression was a hard time for everyone in America, and people had to learn to get by with less. The forties brought about a renewed desire of a better life, but families still remained frugal which carried over to the fifties and sixties. Today, many people barely bat an eye before throwing out an empty spaghetti jar or dropping $40 on a new pair of jeans, and all I can think is: "WHY?!"
I like saving money just as much as the next person and will penny-pitch in almost every situation I find myself in. It isn't because I'm cheap, rather the opposite. I know that extra few dollars may come in handy on a rainy day. The twentieth century was a great time for money saving tips so I'm reaching beyond my usual 1950s confines for this one.
Things to Reuse
Worn Clothes/Towels/Sheets/Socks - Worn or old fabric has a multitude of purposes. If you're a sewer, you can make dresses, quilts, use scrap fabric for dish and cleaning rags, make pillows and pillow cases from old sheets, and make your kids or grandchildren soft dolls and stuffed animals. I use worn out socks and old shirts as dust rags. Once a sock gets to the point that it's thin, stretched out, or even has a hole in it, I put it in my cleaning cabinet. You can pull it over your hand like a mitten and dust easily. For shirts, if they're past the point of saving (lots of holes, stretched out, badly stained), I put them into rags.
Aluminum Foil - Aluminum foil seems to always get used at our house, mainly for cooking but it also has a few other uses. Wading a up a ball of aluminum foil and tossing it into your dryer eliminates static electricity so you can say "bye-bye" to fabric sheets. Also wading up a ball and putting it into an onion sack and a quick way to make a scrubby to clean with. Besides cooking, my favorite way to use aluminium foil is to clean my jewelry. I'll use a sheet of foil large enough to cover the sides of a cereal bowl, drop my jewelry in it, and sprinkle baking soda to cover the jewelry. Then I'll pour boiling water over top (it will bubble like vinegar and baking soda) and let it sit for a few minutes. Lastly, simply rinse your jewelry off and ta-da! Sparkly, clean, and beautiful like the day you got it.
Buttons- Again, for sewers, saving buttons is a great way to save money. I've paid $4 before for a pair of buttons I needed for a costume at Joann Fabric's before and an't imagine spending that on a regular basis. Besides sewing, buttons can be used for other things like DIY coasters, kid jewelry, gifts, and magnets.
Anything Glass - I'm a stickler for saving glass jars and their lids. My apothecary is evidence of that. Saving jars (and even boxes) was a tip I found from the 1950s. You can store all sorts of things in glass jars, and because they aren't plastic, you don't have to worry about harmful chemicals seeming into the contents like you would with plastic. Hair ties, bobby-pins, Q-tips and cotton balls, buttons, cleaning rags, craft supplies, herbs, tea bags, herbal medicines, grains, spices, screws and nails, and pens and pencils are just some of the things you can fearlessly store in glass jars.
Homemade Chicken/Vegetable/Beef Stock - I'm guilty of spending money of chicken and beef broth in the store, but here lately it's become something I'm almost ashamed of. (My husband had some health issues and the truck-loads of sodium in store bought broths and stock is past ridiculous.) Bones from poultry or cuts of meat along with scraps from vegetables can be cooked in a pot of water with spices to make an easy homemade stock you can store in the refrigerator or pantry.
Bacon Fat - Bacon grease is like gold in my family. We use it for just about everything. Gravies, soups, green beans, cornbread, potato salad or potato cakes, frying eggs. I could go on. After cooking bacon, I'll pour the grease into a glass container and store it in the fridge until the next time I need it.
Newspaper - Newspaper is another big one for my family. We use it just as much as bacon fat. Mamaw uses it to wrap breakables in before storing away, mom uses it for washing windows, and I use it mostly to start fires, but it can be used in a lot of different ways. Gift wrapping (don't use the depressing articles though!), starting seeds, lining the dog cage or cat carrier, and using it as packing material will save you money in a big way!
Soap Scraps - Apparently, this was something a lot of families used to do back in the day; saving soap scraps to make new bars of soap. I just recently started doing this. You can collect the scraps in an old sock and tie it off where the soap won't fall it and use it to lather your hands for washing or two wash dishes, clean counter tops, or whatever else you can use soap on. You can also melt the scraps down and pour into molds to make "new soap."
Food Savings
Cook More from Scratch - Pizza and frozen meals are great for when you're in a pinch, but they aren't that healthy, nor are they very nice to your wallet. Cooking from scratch is not only better for your family, but you can make just enough so you aren't tossing out any uneaten left-overs. I love making homemade desserts and breads. Nothing compares to the aroma of fresh bakes bread filling your house, or the huge smiles from hubby when he tears into homemade cheery danishes. And since you're the one who made them, you don't have to worry about what other foods they could have been packaged around the factories or any questionable ingredients.
Making Menus - I make a menu for the week of what I'll cook for dinner. Me and my hubby aren't usually together during lunchtime and for breakfast we have eggs, bacon, sausages, waffles, pancakes, or cereal. Making a menu also makes grocery shipping a breeze because I know exactly what I'm going in for and I don't spend any money on things I don't need or idly buy while in line.
Gardening - I don't really have a green thumb, but I can make stuff grow. Kind of. Planting foods your family enjoys can be a fun experience all around. Getting the kids to help weed the garden and harvest is a great opportunity to teach them about where their food comes from and how it grows. Plus, nothing bets fresh of the vine strawberries or tomatoes. Yum!
Canning - My mom cans homemade pickles and all sorts of things. It's a great way to save excess produce from your garden during the cooler months. And again, you know what all the ingredients are because you grew and canned it yourself!
Multi-Purpose Money Savers
Coconut Oil - I use this for EVERYTHING; I kid you not. Coconut oil is one of those oils that can be used in almost every area of your home. I use it for cooking, as a lotion/face moisturizer, makeup remover, teeth whitener, and hair conditioner. Simple Truth Organic is my favorite brand. It comes in a glass jar (avoid buying CO in plastic containers) and is labeled "virgin coconut oil, unrefined, cold pressed." It generally runs about $7-$8 a jar at Kroger but a few weeks ago I found it at Ruler for $4 a jar.
DIY Laundry Soap - I have my mom to thank for this one and it's so easy to make. One box of 20 Mule Team Borax; one 16 ounce (1 pound) box of baking soda; one bar of Fels-Naptha, shredded; one bar of Ivory soap, also shredded; one 55 ounce (3 pound) box of Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda. Combine all the ingredients and use as regular powder laundry soap. What I love most about this soap is that it's made from ingredients that have been around for decades, the oldest dating back to 1874, and it really works. It costs around $10 to make the soap but it can last a lot longer than store-bought depending on usage.
DIY Glass and Window Cleaner - Vinegar and water works wonders. I like using one part vinegar to one part water in a spray bottle. You can also use this solution as a hard surface floor cleaner, counter top cleaner, and tub cleaner.
Making Dingy Towels and Pillows New Again - After a few uses, our towels seem to get a musty kind of smell to them. To remove the smell and make them extra clean, I'll load the washer and fill it with the right amount of water, then I'll add in one cup of baking soda. Let the cycle run until the rinse cycle and then add one cup of vinegar. Let the towels wash and rinse, and finally run it through one last rinse cycle and dry as normal. No more smells! For pillows it's very similar. Fill the tub of your washer with hot water, one cup of baking soda, one cup of Borax if you have it, and one cup of vinegar. Wash as normal and dry.
Cut Your Own Hair - This one doesn't need much explanation but if you don't feel comfortable cutting your own or your family's hair, have a professional do it.
Budgeting - Make a budget and stick to it! My budget is very simple. Add up all your monthly expenses (groceries, bills, etc.) so you know how much you have to pay out a month. Now total all your bills, groceries, etc. separately, and divide each by 4 (4 for each week of the month).
(For example, your monthly bills cost $800 and dividing by 4 gives you $200 per week.
Your monthly groceries cost $400 and dividing by 4 gives you $100 per week.
Add the weekly totals: $200 + $100 = $300.
Now you know you have to put back $300 a week for your expenses.)
I've been using this budgeting method for over a year now and I'm financially at a point where I can pay all of our bills on the first of the month without worry. Budgeting sucks, but it works. Starting a budget when you've never budgeted before will be hard but it is possible.
The money-conscious families of yesteryear have passed tips such as these down through the generations, and I feel there is something to be learned from their longevity: that they WORK! I myself use or do almost everything on this list and I can't begin to tell you how much money our family has saved. My hope is you'll find these tips just as useful as I do!
God bless, lovelies!
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