Our grandparents have so much they can teach us. Vintage frugal tips are one of the things we should be getting from our grandparents.
Getting advice from our peers is great but there is something to be said about getting advice from those that have been here a while and lived a lot more life than we have, like our grandparents.
I’ve been lucky enough to get to spend a lot of time with one of my sets of grandparents. For the first few years of my life, we lived on the same land and I stayed with my grandma while my mom went to nursing school.
Even after that, I have spent my whole life in the same small town as them so I have been able to learn a lot from them. I feel like my grandpa has always been the more frugal one. He grew up pretty poor and in rural Oklahoma.
His mom, my great-grandma especially had a lot of stories about making do without very much. She was in Oklahoma during the Dust Bowl and Great Depression. She was always a very frugal person that never asked for anything and would give you anything she had if you needed it.
I thought it would be fun to learn from a lot of grandparents so I asked some fellow bloggers what they had learned about being frugal from their grandparents. They had some great advice that still holds true today.
Vintage Frugal Tips from Grandparents
Be Creative
“Be creative and DIY whatever you can and you don’t need to be good with a hammer and nails to do this. DIYing even applies to the kitchen and pantry.
We make our own Homemade Coconut Milk and other dairy-free milk, Homemade Coconut Butter, Spice Mixes, Nut and Seed Butters, Salad Dressings, Dips (like hummus), Sauces, and more.” – Whole New Mom
Reuse Everything You Can
“Re-use as much as you can. From jars repurposed to store and organize small things, to milk cartons as planters, even scraps went to compost to help with the garden. If she couldn’t use it she always asked neighbors and friends if they could before she threw it away.” – Dad Life Lessons
Clean With What You Have
“Grandma’s window cleaner really is the best! And it’s just cornstarch and water. Yes, you need to have one wet cloth to apply and one dry cloth to rub it off, but it does a better job than any bottle of glass cleaner I’ve ever bought.” – Tikkido
Have a Baking Day
“My Grandma always taught me to have a baking day. You could make pies, bread, scones, biscuits, and cakes for the week ahead. Then not only is it much cheaper than buying in treats but it is great for days out too.
I used to love making egg and bacon pie with my grandma and it would then be the favorite dish when we had a picnic in the park with my Grandad. Also instead of buying a large mixing bowl we used a huge washing up bowl and made her classic shortcrust pastry in bulk.” – Recipe This
Do you have any good frugal tips from your grandparents? Share in the comments below. Don’t forget to also check out Vintage Cleaning Tips You Should Steal from Grandma.
GIULIA says
Loving this post, I think grandparents tipa are helpful in every time:D
Sigrid Reymond says
Advice from my grandparents who lived through the Great Depression and WWII:
– The best way to save money is to not spend it in the first place.
– Only need what you have, and only have what you need.
-Use water twice; water used to wash veges could be used to water plants, and water that boiled veges could be used for broth.
– Wear old clothes instead of buying pajamas.
– Avoid anything that is a false economy; if it is cheaply made then it will not last and cannot be repaired. An easily repaired item will pay for itself many times over.
– Get your shoes resoled instead of buying new.
They had many more, but the idea is to use everything until it falls apart and then repair/mend, or in many ways as possible. I recently started dyeing my clothes and textiles with indigo in the last few years. Indigo bonds with the exterior of natural fibers and also permeates then, strengthening the fabric. I have extended the life on a few things by another couple of years.
Lisa Sharp says
Those are great! Thanks for sharing!