Back in the day…..

Decades ago people lived differently.  Finances were handled differently.  But, it worked.  It was really very simple.  They lived simply, and passed things on to another who could also get use out of it.  They had work, or house clothes, keeping their ‘Sunday best’ for just that.  School clothes were changed and play clothes were put on… passing on clothes not stained from play on to another child, and often one or two more.  Women wore aprons over their house-dress for the same reason.  Jackets, hats, mittens, boots were passed on.  Memories of a box with  hats, mismatched mittens and broken buckle boots, where whoever needed an item, would use what fit (or almost),  and often not matching. They were worn anyway. Warmth was the goal.

There was only one car for the family, (most women didn’t drive) and some didn’t have a car.  Families helped each other, multi generations living in the same house.  Everything was shared and passed to another to be used until it was completely worn out.  Nothing was wasted.

Socks were darned… a wooden darning egg was put inside the sock with the hole of the sock stretched a bit, and weaving thread back and forth waffle style, the hole was closed, and the sock used again. Shoes were heeled and resoled at the cobbler to pass on to others for a added year or more for several children.  Broken shoelaces were knotted and put back in the lace holes.  And yes, if the sole of a shoe was worn out before money was there to resole it, cardboard was cut to size and shape, and slid in like and innersole, until the cash was there for the cobbler bill.

Also remembered was ‘stretching’ food…. adding extra water to soup, cutting a piece of meat so each could have a bite or two, adding a little water to the dregs of the ketchup, mustard, etc to use every bit left in the bottle. Potatoes were cooked in various ways, and were filling.  Always a green and yellow vegetable gave us vitamins.  Powdered milk with added water was cheaper than whole milk. No food was ever wasted.  Children’s birthday parties meant ice cream and cake for dessert, along with a glass of tonic (soda). And a small (practical) gift for the birthday child made the day memorable.

We used baking soda or salt and water to brush our teeth, and because old fashioned, natural home remedies worked, we used them for whatever ailed us.  They are all available still, besides being cheaper. Check online…. you’ll be amazed.

Adding a little water to the almost empty shampoo bottle, a few shakes to it, and we got a few more shampoos.  Cutting off the leg of a nylon stocking, small soap ends were put the foot, and knotting it, we shook it back and forth in a bucket of water to use for a task.

With no specific specially made household cleaners, we used rubbing alcohol, or vinegar, or ammonia…each used separately diluting it with water and each for a specific task.  Again, check online.  These still work for any task, and are much cheaper too.

The point of this post is to let you know that things can be done differently yet work.

And….. back in the day….. there were no credit cards!  Cash was used ….. and if the cash wasn’t there, you went without, or you waited for it, while saving the money.

Any or all of these things can be implemented into your lifestyle….. saving money along the way.