My lovely wife of 54 years told me that she had a happy childhood even though poor. She said a treat was drink water out of an empty Coke bottle. She has made our home a happy one.
My mom grew up then. She had me later in life too. She saved old clothes and towels and turned them into cleaning rags when they wore out. She washed and reused plastic food gl freezer bags. I still have her washer and dryer that’s over 30 years old. I get it serviced once a year. She passed away last year at 99. She was a wonderful person and very caring. Loved to help out neighbors and friends
My mother used to turn the collars on my dad’s shirts when they began to look frayed. Daddy was an insurance salesman and had to wear a suit and tie everyday. I was 8 years old when he started that job, and he had one suit, one dress shirt, and one tie. He had been out of work for 5 months when he began this job that became his lifelong career (1960-1985). That one shirt was washed, ironed, and starched every night so it would be clean for the next day! They bought him one more shirt out of that first paycheck. Funny the things you remember from childhood!
I was brought up with being told that you don’t put anything on a credit card that you can’t afford to pay off at the end of the month. And that it is better to drive an older less fancy car that you don’t owe anything on, rather than a new flashy car that you have a big loan on. Those things were drilled into me early on. And at 55 I have never had debt except for my mortgage, and have paid for every car with cash. Thanks Dad.
Yes! I am 42 and have never even had a credit card, and I drive a 2011 Impala now that has been paid off for years... it is starting to have issues, but I am saving so that when it finally does crap out I will have cash to buy another one out right with no car loan.
My grandparents & parents were part of the Depression generations. What has stayed with me that I learned from them is, "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without." Very wise words to live by.
I am a Baby Boomer, and my parents and grandparents also were part of the Depression era. My mother and grandmothers did not throw out ANYTHING! A use was found for just about everything! Part of those traits were passed on to me, any plastic tube or bottle is cut in half when I have squeezed what I thought was the last drop out of it! And now that I am retired, I am so grateful to have this knowledge and some of the skills! Love your channel, Jennifer!
That’s one of my favorite expressions. It was the first thing I thought of when I saw the title of this video. It’s also a great way to minimize clutter.
My grandmother was born in 1909. I remember 2 things in particular. 1. She used "fillers" for meals, but not like you described. There was always a sliced tomato or cucumber or maybe an apple on the table and there was always a "combo veggie" as a side. If she had a serving of butterbeans and a serving of corn left over from a previous meal, she would combine them to make a side. Those were her fillers. 2. There was always a butter tub in the freezer. If there was a spoonful of anything left over and it wasn't enough for a serving, it went in the butter tub. When the butter tub was full, she heated it up and made literal left over soup. It was always the best and it was never the same.
I remember my great grandparents when I was little they had no electricity, running water or a bathroom. I remember the outhouse YUCK! She had a well on the covered back porch to get water and a wood cook stove. She made the very best meals. I loved playing with the chickens, ducks, cows and the horses. It was cool in the house in the summer and warm in the winter. Old feathered beds I didn't like but it was comfy. She lived to see my only daughter that was a blessing. When I got married she knitted me blankets, and canned me a lot of food with the recipes. She also covered my wire clothes hangers with her crocheting. I miss her greatly and know I will see her in heaven. PS She always sat on the porch in the summer and read us the holy Bible and explained it to us I was very Blessed by her and her knowledge. She was 99 when she finally made it home. Thank You Jennifer! God Bless You!
Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without. We try to work to this, but it's hard with today's stuff, shoes won't mend etc., I'm now moving to more sustainable stuff
That color looks great on you 🙂 I pour water and shake the detergent bottle and pour 😂 with everything going up so much I definitely will get every last drip of that detergent.
My dad didn’t live through the Great Depression but he grew up dirt poor on a very tiny island in the Caribbean. He slept on a bed made of banana leaves and he didn’t have any shoes until he was 8 years old. He always told me to plant a garden and even though I grew up in NYC we always had a small garden in the backyard. Now that he’s gone I wish I could ask him more tips. He also taught me about cutting open bottles to get the last bit out. I still do that now. I also save meat bones and veggie scraps and make my own bone broth which I learned from a friend. It really helps stretch those meals in multiple ways.
We are immigrants from South America. We were never poor in SA.We were middle class in my country but we had to escape for other reasons to New York. Thank's to my mom who always worked, the bills were always paid and had enough healthy food to eat. I now wonder how she did it. Mom was incredibly organized when grocery shopping and managed to give us treats like jam and cheese. Don't remember ever feeling hungry and always felt safe where we lived. I now remember one Thanksgiving she bought such a big turkey that it did not fit in the oven. That thanks giving we laughed about it and had leftovers 4 months. I don' even 🍳buy turkey now.most of us don't like it. I've learned to plan meals and if anything is left over, we recycle them into (friticas) fritters made of left over rice beans vegetables and sweet fried plantains. You add one egg shape it into patties pan fry them until crispy. They'll turn out delicious. I've never lacked food but I never wasted food either thanks to my mom' s organizational skills which apparently I learned.
Last night, we were assessing our expenditures. We have had a landline our entire lives. Recently there's been a big change in our lives. We've decided to tighten the "ol' belt", so to speak. Our landline phone was costing us $96.50 a month ! Only $51.50 of it was actually for the phone....$45 is taxes & all sorts of odd little charges. We decided $3.50 short of $100 a month for a landline phone was a luxury we can do w/out. We've got much more worthy places for $100 a month , $1158 a year ! When I was a little girl, when I outgrew my clothes, we gave them to another little girl. Just made good sense. You are wearing one of my favorite shades of blue & it looks lovely on you. Today we dropped off 24 cans of cat food to a close friend of ours. Our cats turned up their noses at that flavor. Chewy refunded my money for it & said give the food away.....so I did to a friend who needed it. Again....just made sense ! My mom's parents lived in a primitive farmhouse where they raised their 9 children. I loved spending time out at the farm ! Grandma was born in 1896 & Grandpa in 1900. I learned a lot from them. The house didn't have central heating or indoor plumbing. Grandma cooked on a big, old wood cookstove. The meals she made were wonderful. They lived frugally in every way. I'm sure a lot of what I learned in life was thanks to Grandma & Grandpa. My dad was very frugal, too. I'm sorry that I can't think of anything specific that I was taught. But I cut open tubes, too, in order to get every last bit !
My grandparents lived during the time of the Great Depression. Their “entertainment “ back then was probably the reason my grandma had kids by the litter 😀
My family of five didn't have much money at all when I was growing up. My dad was a very hardworking man, and my mom was a hardworking mother/wife/homemaker. We were always happy, and I had a very happy childhood. I grew up in the country with lots of cousins living nearby....their families were in the same financial situation as mine. I have so many great childhood memories as money isn't what makes a person happy.
Good evening Jennifer, even though I’m a mindful consumer, I still feel we’re a little bit of a brats 😉, we have so much and sometimes I see people complaining for the most ridiculous things, my grandparents had very little money and were very happy and made things work out some how, I would love to have had time to talk to her as an adult😌 , the idea of sharing our staff with friends and neighbors is the best, we do that all the time!, it’s just so nice to help each other,.
Thank you for your videos. My family member passed thier maternity clothes to me. I was so grateful. We also shared baby clothes & passed them to the next family member in need of them. It saved us all alot of money & a wonderful memory. My grandmother hand sewn baby quilts for babies in the family. She hand sewn lap quilts for the nursing homes. She also made Marriage quilts. She never sold them. She wanted to help others. She lived through the Depression & taught me so much. Food scraps went into a bucket each day. I would put these scraps around her fruit trees to fertilize. The used oil from cooking bacon would be put into a can to be used for another meal. When she lived with us when she was older, she wanted to help in the kitchen. While we were working together in the kitchen, we enjoyed our talks from her days. She put hot soapy water into a bowl & that's what she used to wash dishes. I asked why & she said she was use to not wasting water. She use to go out to the yard to pump water for the day of use & continued to conserve. I admire that & cherish what she taught me.
I as born at the end of WW2 so we still had food ration books when I was young. I think they finally finished in the 1950’s. But the very interesting thing is that during the war, when food was rationed so tightly the health of the British nation generally was much much better than it is now. Maybe a lesson there!
Scour the internet and RUclips for recipes from the Depression or World War II. Use them as inspiration...those folks knew how to stretch everything! Use meat for flavor rather as an entree, try cooking dishes from other countries and cultures, make friends with your crockpot and use it to batch cook if you're a single or couple...freeze what you don't eat the first meal. Repurpose food as much as possible.
I remember my great uncle telling me that if he was walking down the street a could see a restaurant ahead, he would cross the street cause the smells coming from the restaurant would remind him of how hungry he was.
My sister had a son 10 months before I had mine. I hardly had to buy any clothes. I had 2 more sons and many of those clothes made it through all 4 boys. 😉
Things like saving almost everything for another use. Sometimes too much, but they always had a part if some string or paper bag to reuse was needed. How to can food, cook from basic ingredients, repair clothing with patches etc. how to make home decorations and so many things.
Both of my parents grew up during the depression. I learned a lot. My mother never bought paper towels. She used old worn out clothes that she made into rags. We ate “milk and bread” for cereal sometimes. She made beans n dumplings. We wore out clothes unless we outgrew them. Turn off the lights if you are not in a room. She made part of my clothes I wore. I remember in 5th grade she cut up one of her dresses or skirts and made me a new dress for school. I loved that dress by the way. I got some of my sisters hand me downs or a cousin’s or friends. Anything like pop was a treat. I heard that when she grew up, my grandparents could not afford any regular meat so Grandpa would go to the butcher and buy the leftover organ meat that was discarded from the rest.
The community you describe is alive and well in my rural mountain community. Neighbors are always handing things around or asking if you need something they no longer are using. We all shop at thrift stores but donations are filtered through the community first before donating. We make meals for each other, watch each others animals, bring mail in, plow driveways, etc. People here are many times only one generation removed from the Depression so it is not old news. My grandparents were young teens then and I grew up hearing the stories regularly. My grandfather always said he had no idea how poor they were until he was an adult because they always had enough to do, enough to eat (they lived on a farm) and everyone was in the same boat. I think those lessons can be applied to today wherever one lives and having a supportive community is key. You may need to be the person to get it started by giving things and doing for others without expecting anything in return but I would be surprised if you did not generate a community that reciprocates in time. Thanks for this thoughtful video!
My mother would keep old towels and when we had a baby she would give us a dozen cloth nappies, that had been cut up from her towels. A lot of our play clothes would be pinafore dresses that she made from old sheets or table cloth’s, she used our cloth napkins to sew pockets on our pinafore’s and when we went out to play those old napkins made great scarves to protect our heads from the very hot Australian sun. Not to mention that those old sheets, table cloths and napkins made great patches. My mother would embroider cute little flowers on the patches before attaching them to our dresses, in fact during the 60’s I would attach embroidered patches to my jeans, groovy baby.
A wonderful book I think you would enjoy is Little Heathens: Hard Times and High Spirits on an Iowa Farm During the Great Depression by Mildred Armstrong Kalish.
I wonder if at some point we are going to see a lot of restaurants go away - they are so expensive, and I've heard a lot of people say the quality has gone down while the prices have gone up. At some point if inflation keeps going up, going out to eat is just not going to be a viable option anymore.
Thanks for this video, Jennifer. Recently I heard in another video the saying, "Willful waste makes woeful want." That's something to think about in these days of rising inflation.
My mom used parts of old towels to make square pot holders. She would quilt them on the sewing machine. I still have some she made and I still use them.
I love learning from the great depression. Thank you! My grandmother who raised her children during the depression told me that it wasn't so hard going through that time because most everyone was going through it together. I would guess if she was alive today she'd say the same thing, but unfortunately, many of us living now have not accepted that what goes on for those around you does affect you and God, family and community are where we can humbly gain our strength no matter if the strength helps us or our neighbor.
Jennifer, now most of us can say we are in the New Depression Era of the 2000's. This Pandemic and Economy takes precedent of the way we buy and use our commodities for everyday use. !!!
Hi Jennifer I Am SO EXCITED About A NO SPEND Year! I Grew Up With My Great Grandmother My Ma Would Say " Waste Not Want Not !" SAVE YOUR MONEY FOR A RAINY DAY! EVEN IF IT IS PENNIES ! IT ALL ADDS UP!😁
My mom was born in '38, so the Depression stories also went into WWII. My mother got ONE new babydoll every year for 8 yrs. That was her Christmas present. My grandmother was a wonderful seamstress and made clothes for the doll and my mom. My grandmother canned vegetables and made HER grandmother ( what would be my great great grandmother) a new apron every year for Christmas .
The furniture back in the day was beautiful and sturdy. We buy antiques I rarely get tired of them. The newer styles fall apart at the seams and break down super quickly. We had one Ikea sofa in our kids room, after one year it looked awful. Thanks for this video.
You are one of The Best information giving places on RUclips! I appreciated so much the talk about the pyramid schemes. Truth be told!! I appreciate how you tell your experiences but don’t slam others for their mistakes!!! Thank You!!
We have tons of boys in the family. I have quality items (like old Gymboree) that I have passed through 2-3 nephews before they came back for my other boy.
When I was a young mom, my group of friends would pass our maternity clothes around the group and get them back when they weren't needed any more. It was kind of funny to see the same clothes on different people. We just shared with one another, and it was a lovely bond between us. We did the same with baby things, so each baby would be wearing the same things, too.
Thanks so much for this! I enjoyed hearing about your journey about growing up in a frugal family and learning on your own the hard way and coming back to wisdom of stewardship. It’s a tough road to financial literacy but it’s free for those that will listen. Thanks for sharing 💜!
I am 42, and my great Grandparents were adults during the great depression... I heard many stories about it when I was little... My best memories as a kid were working in the garden with them and sitting on the front porch snapping beans and shucking corn, they would just talk and tell stories all day long while we worked, then the next few days we would pressure can everything (I just wish I could remember how to do all that stuff now). Another fun memory was sitting on the front porch in the evening and watching the "bug zapper" and we had a huge bullfrog that would come up on the porch and eat all the dead bugs... I have no clue why I found it so entertaining as a child. If you ever make a pot of beans and get tired of eating beans for days, they would add a little flour to it and make bean fritter and fry them... they were so good! I also loved getting my Aunts hand-me-downs... she always had cute clothes and as the oldest girl, I got them first :)
Corporate greed is out of control for sure. With my taco or meatloaf, I used grated veggies and bread crumbs as a filler. Crocheting is a good past time or pool party at grandma :) Needs go on the grocery belt first( meat milk cheese bread veggies) cookies last and are the first to go back of I go over.
We are so wasteful in this society. My parents were in the 2nd WW and then had ration books unitl the early 1950's when they got married. I am in my 50's now but have always hated waste. Like you have said, if you have to eat the same thing twice, just be thankful you have something. It iannoys my husband that I am so careful with money, but at least this way I can manage the bills and put food on the table.
My grandmother grew up during the Great Depression. She taught me so much. One thing I will always remember is her saving the waxed bags in cereal boxes for reuse. My great grandmother crocheted rugs out of bread bags.
Love your channel! My grandmother raised me and was born during the latter part of the great depression. She saved and reused clean tin foil, and washed and reused ziploc bags and plastic containers from margarine, cottage cheese, etc.
Recently my grandparents all died around the same time, and our house had to be sold to cover sky high medical bills. We ended up stranded and now we live in a run down apartment without heat and no insulation. We had to do most of the repairs to make the apartment livable because we had no where else to go. Trying to warm yourself up in your own home with candles or by the stove while I cook and using depression era recipes to make pantry staples work I can’t help but feel like I am living through the Great Depression
These are some good tips. Generally I’ve always just used what I had until I needed to get rid of it. We use a quilt for winter that actually has a melted spot. The style is completely not something I like but we put it in a cover and we are good! We also keep our sheets and covers to two sets per bed. There is no need for a bunch of sheets. We also have two towels per person and switch them out when we wash them. Cloth diapers are also something I do. I was given a bunch in inserts and will pass them on when my baby is potty trained :).
One of my favorite things to do is to recreate our favorite restaurant recipes at home. Sometimes you can find the recipe online, other times you can buy their cookbook. (I did this for our favorite B&B which also made wonderful dinners.) We no longer spend the money to go there for the meals.
Traditionally chili is thickened with masa - the corn flour that tortillas are made from. I usually mix a couple of tablespoons of masa flour with a little bit of cold water (to avoid lumps) and pour into the pot of chili. Stir it in and let it cook about ten minutes.
My lovely wife of 54 years told me that she had a happy childhood even though poor. She said a treat was drink water out of an empty Coke bottle. She has made our home a happy one.
My mom grew up then. She had me later in life too. She saved old clothes and towels and turned them into cleaning rags when they wore out. She washed and reused plastic food gl freezer bags. I still have her washer and dryer that’s over 30 years old. I get it serviced once a year. She passed away last year at 99. She was a wonderful person and very caring. Loved to help out neighbors and friends
My mother used to turn the collars on my dad’s shirts when they began to look frayed. Daddy was an insurance salesman and had to wear a suit and tie everyday. I was 8 years old when he started that job, and he had one suit, one dress shirt, and one tie. He had been out of work for 5 months when he began this job that became his lifelong career (1960-1985). That one shirt was washed, ironed, and starched every night so it would be clean for the next day! They bought him one more shirt out of that first paycheck. Funny the things you remember from childhood!
I was brought up with being told that you don’t put anything on a credit card that you can’t afford to pay off at the end of the month. And that it is better to drive an older less fancy car that you don’t owe anything on, rather than a new flashy car that you have a big loan on. Those things were drilled into me early on. And at 55 I have never had debt except for my mortgage, and have paid for every car with cash. Thanks Dad.
Yes! I am 42 and have never even had a credit card, and I drive a 2011 Impala now that has been paid off for years... it is starting to have issues, but I am saving so that when it finally does crap out I will have cash to buy another one out right with no car loan.
My grandparents & parents were part of the Depression generations. What has stayed with me that I learned from them is, "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without." Very wise words to live by.
I am a Baby Boomer, and my parents and grandparents also were part of the Depression era. My mother and grandmothers did not throw out ANYTHING! A use was found for just about everything! Part of those traits were passed on to me, any plastic tube or bottle is cut in half when I have squeezed what I thought was the last drop out of it! And now that I am retired, I am so grateful to have this knowledge and some of the skills! Love your channel, Jennifer!
That’s one of my favorite expressions. It was the first thing I thought of when I saw the title of this video. It’s also a great way to minimize clutter.
My grandmother was born in 1909. I remember 2 things in particular. 1. She used "fillers" for meals, but not like you described. There was always a sliced tomato or cucumber or maybe an apple on the table and there was always a "combo veggie" as a side. If she had a serving of butterbeans and a serving of corn left over from a previous meal, she would combine them to make a side. Those were her fillers. 2. There was always a butter tub in the freezer. If there was a spoonful of anything left over and it wasn't enough for a serving, it went in the butter tub. When the butter tub was full, she heated it up and made literal left over soup. It was always the best and it was never the same.
I remember my great grandparents when I was little they had no electricity, running water or a bathroom. I remember the outhouse YUCK! She had a well on the covered back porch to get water and a wood cook stove. She made the very best meals. I loved playing with the chickens, ducks, cows and the horses. It was cool in the house in the summer and warm in the winter. Old feathered beds I didn't like but it was comfy. She lived to see my only daughter that was a blessing. When I got married she knitted me blankets, and canned me a lot of food with the recipes. She also covered my wire clothes hangers with her crocheting. I miss her greatly and know I will see her in heaven. PS She always sat on the porch in the summer and read us the holy Bible and explained it to us I was very Blessed by her and her knowledge. She was 99 when she finally made it home. Thank You Jennifer! God Bless You!
Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without. We try to work to this, but it's hard with today's stuff, shoes won't mend etc., I'm now moving to more sustainable stuff
That color looks great on you 🙂 I pour water and shake the detergent bottle and pour 😂 with everything going up so much I definitely will get every last drip of that detergent.
My dad didn’t live through the Great Depression but he grew up dirt poor on a very tiny island in the Caribbean. He slept on a bed made of banana leaves and he didn’t have any shoes until he was 8 years old. He always told me to plant a garden and even though I grew up in NYC we always had a small garden in the backyard. Now that he’s gone I wish I could ask him more tips. He also taught me about cutting open bottles to get the last bit out. I still do that now. I also save meat bones and veggie scraps and make my own bone broth which I learned from a friend. It really helps stretch those meals in multiple ways.
We are immigrants from South America. We were never poor in SA.We were middle class in my country but we had to escape for other reasons to New York. Thank's to my mom who always worked, the bills were always paid and had enough healthy food to eat. I now wonder how she did it. Mom was incredibly organized when grocery shopping and managed to give us treats like jam and cheese. Don't remember ever feeling hungry and always felt safe where we lived. I now remember one Thanksgiving she bought such a big turkey that it did not fit in the oven. That thanks giving we laughed about it and had leftovers 4 months. I don' even 🍳buy turkey now.most of us don't like it. I've learned to plan meals and if anything is left over, we recycle them into (friticas) fritters made of left over rice beans vegetables and sweet fried plantains. You add one egg shape it into patties pan fry them until crispy. They'll turn out delicious. I've never lacked food but I never wasted food either thanks to my mom' s organizational skills which apparently I learned.
Last night, we were assessing our expenditures. We have had a landline our entire lives. Recently there's been a big change in our lives. We've decided to tighten the "ol' belt", so to speak. Our landline phone was costing us $96.50 a month ! Only $51.50 of it was actually for the phone....$45 is taxes & all sorts of odd little charges. We decided $3.50 short of $100 a month for a landline phone was a luxury we can do w/out.
We've got much more worthy places for $100 a month , $1158 a year !
When I was a little girl, when I outgrew my clothes, we gave them to another little girl. Just made good sense.
You are wearing one of my favorite shades of blue & it looks lovely on you.
Today we dropped off 24 cans of cat food to a close friend of ours. Our cats turned up their noses at that flavor. Chewy refunded my money for it & said give the food away.....so I did to a friend who needed it. Again....just made sense !
My mom's parents lived in a primitive farmhouse where they raised their 9 children. I loved spending time out at the farm ! Grandma was born in 1896 & Grandpa in 1900. I learned a lot from them. The house didn't have central heating or indoor plumbing. Grandma cooked on a big, old wood cookstove. The meals she made were wonderful. They lived frugally in every way. I'm sure a lot of what I learned in life was thanks to Grandma & Grandpa. My dad was very frugal, too.
I'm sorry that I can't think of anything specific that I was taught. But I cut open tubes, too, in order to get every last bit !
My grandparents lived during the time of the Great Depression. Their “entertainment “ back then was probably the reason my grandma had kids by the litter 😀
My family of five didn't have much money at all when I was growing up. My dad was a very hardworking man, and my mom was a hardworking mother/wife/homemaker. We were always happy, and I had a very happy childhood. I grew up in the country with lots of cousins living nearby....their families were in the same financial situation as mine. I have so many great childhood memories as money isn't what makes a person happy.
Good evening Jennifer, even though I’m a mindful consumer, I still feel we’re a little bit of a brats 😉, we have so much and sometimes I see people complaining for the most ridiculous things, my grandparents had very little money and were very happy and made things work out some how, I would love to have had time to talk to her as an adult😌 , the idea of sharing our staff with friends and neighbors is the best, we do that all the time!, it’s just so nice to help each other,.
Thank you for your videos. My family member passed thier maternity clothes to me. I was so grateful. We also shared baby clothes & passed them to the next family member in need of them. It saved us all alot of money & a wonderful memory. My grandmother hand sewn baby quilts for babies in the family. She hand sewn lap quilts for the nursing homes. She also made Marriage quilts. She never sold them. She wanted to help others. She lived through the Depression & taught me so much. Food scraps went into a bucket each day. I would put these scraps around her fruit trees to fertilize. The used oil from cooking bacon would be put into a can to be used for another meal. When she lived with us when she was older, she wanted to help in the kitchen. While we were working together in the kitchen, we enjoyed our talks from her days. She put hot soapy water into a bowl & that's what she used to wash dishes. I asked why & she said she was use to not wasting water. She use to go out to the yard to pump water for the day of use & continued to conserve. I admire that & cherish what she taught me.
I as born at the end of WW2 so we still had food ration books when I was young. I think they finally finished in the 1950’s. But the very interesting thing is that during the war, when food was rationed so tightly the health of the British nation generally was much much better than it is now. Maybe a lesson there!
Such wisdom! I remember my mom often said, waste not, want not.
Scour the internet and RUclips for recipes from the Depression or World War II. Use them as inspiration...those folks knew how to stretch everything! Use meat for flavor rather as an entree, try cooking dishes from other countries and cultures, make friends with your crockpot and use it to batch cook if you're a single or couple...freeze what you don't eat the first meal. Repurpose food as much as possible.
I remember my great uncle telling me that if he was walking down the street a could see a restaurant ahead, he would cross the street cause the smells coming from the restaurant would remind him of how hungry he was.
My sister had a son 10 months before I had mine. I hardly had to buy any clothes. I had 2 more sons and many of those clothes made it through all 4 boys. 😉
I was born in 1947, my parents were married during the depression. I’m so grateful for the things my mom taught me.
What did they teach you. Please share with all of us
Things like saving almost everything for another use. Sometimes too much, but they always had a part if some string or paper bag to reuse was needed. How to can food, cook from basic ingredients, repair clothing with patches etc. how to make home decorations and so many things.
Both of my parents grew up during the depression. I learned a lot. My mother never bought paper towels. She used old worn out clothes that she made into rags. We ate “milk and bread” for cereal sometimes. She made beans n dumplings. We wore out clothes unless we outgrew them. Turn off the lights if you are not in a room. She made part of my clothes I wore. I remember in 5th grade she cut up one of her dresses or skirts and made me a new dress for school. I loved that dress by the way. I got some of my sisters hand me downs or a cousin’s or friends. Anything like pop was a treat. I heard that when she grew up, my grandparents could not afford any regular meat so Grandpa would go to the butcher and buy the leftover organ meat that was discarded from the rest.
The community you describe is alive and well in my rural mountain community. Neighbors are always handing things around or asking if you need something they no longer are using. We all shop at thrift stores but donations are filtered through the community first before donating. We make meals for each other, watch each others animals, bring mail in, plow driveways, etc. People here are many times only one generation removed from the Depression so it is not old news. My grandparents were young teens then and I grew up hearing the stories regularly. My grandfather always said he had no idea how poor they were until he was an adult because they always had enough to do, enough to eat (they lived on a farm) and everyone was in the same boat. I think those lessons can be applied to today wherever one lives and having a supportive community is key. You may need to be the person to get it started by giving things and doing for others without expecting anything in return but I would be surprised if you did not generate a community that reciprocates in time. Thanks for this thoughtful video!
My mother would keep old towels and when we had a baby she would give us a dozen cloth nappies, that had been cut up from her towels.
A lot of our play clothes would be pinafore dresses that she made from old sheets or table cloth’s, she used our cloth napkins to sew pockets on our pinafore’s and when we went out to play those old napkins made great scarves to protect our heads from the very hot Australian sun. Not to mention that those old sheets, table cloths and napkins made great patches. My mother would embroider cute little flowers on the patches before attaching them to our dresses, in fact during the 60’s I would attach embroidered patches to my jeans, groovy baby.
A wonderful book I think you would enjoy is Little Heathens: Hard Times and High Spirits on an Iowa Farm During the Great Depression by Mildred Armstrong Kalish.
Thank you! I just looked online and ordered a copy. Looking forward to reading it.
"...or whatever a crockpot does..." Hahahahahaha! I LOVE YOU!! Jennifer, you are wonderful!!
I wonder if at some point we are going to see a lot of restaurants go away - they are so expensive, and I've heard a lot of people say the quality has gone down while the prices have gone up. At some point if inflation keeps going up, going out to eat is just not going to be a viable option anymore.
I used to keep a container in my freezer & if we had leftover veggies from a meal I would put them in that bucket & use that food when I made soup!
Thanks for this video, Jennifer. Recently I heard in another video the saying, "Willful waste makes woeful want." That's something to think about in these days of rising inflation.
I had forgotten that saying. My grandma used to say that :) Thanks!
I have 2 friends who bring me bags of clothes every time they size up. We only need to buy a few things for each size. 💝
Add rice or add pasta make it stretch further
My mom used parts of old towels to make square pot holders. She would quilt them on the sewing machine. I still have some she made and I still use them.
I love learning from the great depression. Thank you! My grandmother who raised her children during the depression told me that it wasn't so hard going through that time because most everyone was going through it together. I would guess if she was alive today she'd say the same thing, but unfortunately, many of us living now have not accepted that what goes on for those around you does affect you and God, family and community are where we can humbly gain our strength no matter if the strength helps us or our neighbor.
Jennifer, now most of us can say we are in the New Depression Era of the 2000's. This Pandemic and Economy takes precedent of the way we buy and use our commodities for everyday use. !!!
I don't think I know what a crockpot does, either! IT COOKS STUFF!!! BAHAHAHAHAA!
Hi Jennifer I Am SO EXCITED About A NO SPEND Year! I Grew Up With My Great Grandmother My Ma Would Say " Waste Not Want Not !" SAVE YOUR MONEY FOR A RAINY DAY! EVEN IF IT IS PENNIES ! IT ALL ADDS UP!😁
I so adore your videos!
My mom was born in '38, so the Depression stories also went into WWII. My mother got ONE new babydoll every year for 8 yrs. That was her Christmas present. My grandmother was a wonderful seamstress and made clothes for the doll and my mom. My grandmother canned vegetables and made HER grandmother ( what would be my great great grandmother) a new apron every year for Christmas .
Thank you for the video love it like all ways and thank you for educating adults and young adults my kids love you 17 and 23
Lori thank you so much and tell your kids I said hi!
The furniture back in the day was beautiful and sturdy. We buy antiques I rarely get tired of them. The newer styles fall apart at the seams and break down super quickly. We had one Ikea sofa in our kids room, after one year it looked awful. Thanks for this video.
We'd make great neighbors! 😍😎😍
That color is gorgeous on you!!!
Some times you just have to sayNO!, im not doing it, buying more ect, just dont donit.
You are one of The Best information giving places on RUclips! I appreciated so much the talk about the pyramid schemes. Truth be told!! I appreciate how you tell your experiences but don’t slam others for their mistakes!!! Thank You!!
Thank you so much Pamela!
We have tons of boys in the family. I have quality items (like old Gymboree) that I have passed through 2-3 nephews before they came back for my other boy.
Brittany I like Gymboree as well and the fact that they offer free shipping 🤗
When I was a young mom, my group of friends would pass our maternity clothes around the group and get them back when they weren't needed any more. It was kind of funny to see the same clothes on different people. We just shared with one another, and it was a lovely bond between us. We did the same with baby things, so each baby would be wearing the same things, too.
I love that!
Your hairstyle in this video is so flattering to you! 👍🏻♥️
Thank you so much
Really great video thanks!
Thanks so much for this! I enjoyed hearing about your journey about growing up in a frugal family and learning on your own the hard way and coming back to wisdom of stewardship. It’s a tough road to financial literacy but it’s free for those that will listen. Thanks for sharing 💜!
Great video
And always, always have a garden. Even if it's only 1 tomato plant.
Hi, thanks for sharing such important information. I am watching from Costa Rica 🇨🇷
Is that candle one of yours? Looks lovelt
Yes it is! 🤗
Thanks Jennifer 😊
Jennifer, you look lovely in this colour! Love yr content
Thank you so much!
I am 42, and my great Grandparents were adults during the great depression... I heard many stories about it when I was little... My best memories as a kid were working in the garden with them and sitting on the front porch snapping beans and shucking corn, they would just talk and tell stories all day long while we worked, then the next few days we would pressure can everything (I just wish I could remember how to do all that stuff now). Another fun memory was sitting on the front porch in the evening and watching the "bug zapper" and we had a huge bullfrog that would come up on the porch and eat all the dead bugs... I have no clue why I found it so entertaining as a child.
If you ever make a pot of beans and get tired of eating beans for days, they would add a little flour to it and make bean fritter and fry them... they were so good!
I also loved getting my Aunts hand-me-downs... she always had cute clothes and as the oldest girl, I got them first :)
Corporate greed is out of control for sure. With my taco or meatloaf, I used grated veggies and bread crumbs as a filler.
Crocheting is a good past time or pool party at grandma :)
Needs go on the grocery belt first( meat milk cheese bread veggies) cookies last and are the first to go back of I go over.
We are so wasteful in this society. My parents were in the 2nd WW and then had ration books unitl the early 1950's when they got married. I am in my 50's now but have always hated waste. Like you have said, if you have to eat the same thing twice, just be thankful you have something. It iannoys my husband that I am so careful with money, but at least this way I can manage the bills and put food on the table.
My grandmother grew up during the Great Depression. She taught me so much. One thing I will always remember is her saving the waxed bags in cereal boxes for reuse. My great grandmother crocheted rugs out of bread bags.
Love your channel! My grandmother raised me and was born during the latter part of the great depression. She saved and reused clean tin foil, and washed and reused ziploc bags and plastic containers from margarine, cottage cheese, etc.
Recently my grandparents all died around the same time, and our house had to be sold to cover sky high medical bills. We ended up stranded and now we live in a run down apartment without heat and no insulation. We had to do most of the repairs to make the apartment livable because we had no where else to go. Trying to warm yourself up in your own home with candles or by the stove while I cook and using depression era recipes to make pantry staples work I can’t help but feel like I am living through the Great Depression
These are some good tips. Generally I’ve always just used what I had until I needed to get rid of it. We use a quilt for winter that actually has a melted spot. The style is completely not something I like but we put it in a cover and we are good! We also keep our sheets and covers to two sets per bed. There is no need for a bunch of sheets. We also have two towels per person and switch them out when we wash them. Cloth diapers are also something I do. I was given a bunch in inserts and will pass them on when my baby is potty trained :).
Adding fillers to food is what manufacturers do now to make their products cheaper to produce, but not cheaper to buy.
One of my favorite things to do is to recreate our favorite restaurant recipes at home. Sometimes you can find the recipe online, other times you can buy their cookbook. (I did this for our favorite B&B which also made wonderful dinners.) We no longer spend the money to go there for the meals.
Traditionally chili is thickened with masa - the corn flour that tortillas are made from. I usually mix a couple of tablespoons of masa flour with a little bit of cold water (to avoid lumps) and pour into the pot of chili. Stir it in and let it cook about ten minutes.
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My next door neighbor gave us a rooster last night, someone gave it him and he didn’t need it. So free rooster! Yeah.
When I was growing up we would wipe clean our dish with some bread.
Young children worked in textiles
Bar soaps lasts longer than liquid soaps
Like and watch! 😁😁😁
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