General Discussion

The Mouth

(3,414 posts)

75. Small houses

Tue Mar 24, 2020, 03:29 PM

Mar 2020

one bathroom, two bedrooms, often four or five kids. Going out to eat was for extremely special occasions. Any allowance had to be earned with actual work. The very idea of a child having their own phone would have made any of my parent's generation laugh their asses off. Average house size 800-900 square feet. No use of credit whatsoever; cash or you can't afford it.

I'm glad I picked up a fair amount of that ethos; we do have internet and stream Netflix, but you are so right- it can ALL fall apart in a heartbeat.

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I never really understood my parents attitude toward money till this week. [View all] milestogo Mar 2020 OP

Yep jberryhill Mar 2020 #1

They never used credit cards or took out a car loan. milestogo Mar 2020 #2

Yep jberryhill Mar 2020 #7

Hey! True Blue American Mar 2020 #9

I do exactly that as well and it saves me at140 Mar 2020 #27

My parents (born in 1919 and 1920) were careful with money. The Velveteen Ocelot Mar 2020 #3

I already find myself True Blue American Mar 2020 #8

Mom (1913-2005)drove me nuts washing out and saving plastic bread bags bobbieinok Mar 2020 #19

If only I had a quarter for every time Lord Ludd Mar 2020 #95

Welcome to DU, Lord Ludd! calimary Mar 2020 #97

Thank you! nt Lord Ludd Mar 2020 #105

My household does the ... reACTIONary Mar 2020 #40

Was just talking about this on another thread. Neema Mar 2020 #4

It's very expensive to be poor lunasun Mar 2020 #56

My grandmother was a total germophobe iwillalwayswonderwhy Mar 2020 #5

My InLaws True Blue American Mar 2020 #6

Several years ago, we had an auction in town that was incredible. Frustratedlady Mar 2020 #11

My FIL True Blue American Mar 2020 #12

Mom was born in 1911 and had dementia too. safeinOhio Mar 2020 #55

My parents not only lived during the depression but also went through WWII in Europe. dhol82 Mar 2020 #10

Most of us do! True Blue American Mar 2020 #13

My parents were born a few years prior to 1920. The both graduated high school during the early and Elwood P Dowd Mar 2020 #14

Yup, it was 1952 before they had 2 nickels to rub together bucolic_frolic Mar 2020 #15

We'll be back to a barter system soon; swapping masks for Purel. nt Xipe Totec Mar 2020 #16

Or toilet paper. SammyWinstonJack Mar 2020 #46

I was raised that way and have lived my whole life frugally. BigmanPigman Mar 2020 #17

My father, born 1941, is especially stingy about food greenjar_01 Mar 2020 #18

Is the accent on the first syllable? trof Mar 2020 #38

Yes greenjar_01 Mar 2020 #51

That's what I thought. Thanks. trof Mar 2020 #54

I was also born in 1941. Three layoffs from work taught me frugality. trof Mar 2020 #39

My parents grew up during the Depression. dchill Mar 2020 #20

Parents are learning how to say no. jaxexpat Mar 2020 #21

Welcome to DU, jaxexpat! calimary Mar 2020 #98

Not new actually. jaxexpat Mar 2020 #104

My father was born in 1900 William769 Mar 2020 #22

Relearning old lessons. warmfeet Mar 2020 #23

I caught my mother-in-law once SCantiGOP Mar 2020 #24

My mom, a child of the depression, told me about ketchup soup. Dem2theMax Mar 2020 #32

My dad called it "Graveyard Stew." Crackers and some butter in hot water. Milk IF you could get it. calimary Mar 2020 #50

Oh my gosh! I thought I was the only person alive who knew about cracker soup! Dem2theMax Mar 2020 #58

my mom made "halupkee"? onethatcares Mar 2020 #65

My grandma raised me. She lived though the depression and she raised me/my brother like iluvtennis Mar 2020 #25

My mother did this in her basement. blueinredohio Mar 2020 #33

To those of us with Depression era parents: They gave us an introduction to "sustainability". Evolve Dammit Mar 2020 #26

Yup, "Clean your plate, children are starving in Europe." dmr Mar 2020 #49

Not just CHILDREN starving in Europe to my depression-raised, WWII vet dad: maddiemom Mar 2020 #71

I loved liver and onions! Drew the line on other stuff though. Ate cow tongue and it was really good Evolve Dammit Mar 2020 #79

Or, "did you get enough to eat?" Lars39 Mar 2020 #59

I get that from my wife even today DFW Mar 2020 #66

Quiet heroes among us. Lars39 Mar 2020 #67

Exactly. DFW Mar 2020 #69

I can relate to that misanthrope Mar 2020 #86

Sometimes you have to do things to survive and that's different. Best to you. Evolve Dammit Mar 2020 #93

Yep, and I inherited it. CentralMass Mar 2020 #28

Yes! I have thought the same thing Lulu KC Mar 2020 #29

it probably has more to do with the availability of depth and the great effort made Pillow talk Mar 2020 #30

I think we all have our stories samplegirl Mar 2020 #31

Same here. paleotn Mar 2020 #34

My Mother always had a panty full of food and full freezer kimbutgar Mar 2020 #35

That's an interesting place to keep food jberryhill Mar 2020 #42

Naughty naughty! calimary Mar 2020 #47

Well... Dad had a healthy appetite, I guess jberryhill Mar 2020 #48

Barrump-bump! calimary Mar 2020 #74

From the USDA if questioning canned food ..... or other things Kathy M Mar 2020 #52

My parents rented a home until my father made enough money to pay cash for a house. efhmc Mar 2020 #36

Good for him misanthrope Mar 2020 #87

Once when my daughter was doing a report about the depression, she asked him about growing efhmc Mar 2020 #89

True but some kids did misanthrope Mar 2020 #92

They were in E.Texas on a farm which meant that they had food sources that many didn't. A garden and efhmc Mar 2020 #94

I grew up understanding all of this. Dem2theMax Mar 2020 #37

Sounds familiar. My Mom and Dad were born in 1912 and 1914 respectively. Heard stories of c-rational Mar 2020 #41

I feel so blessed proud patriot Mar 2020 #43

In a coffee can? That's where my mom stored hers. calimary Mar 2020 #45

I freeze it proud patriot Mar 2020 #61

Me too! It comes in handy. The Velveteen Ocelot Mar 2020 #62

Storing bacon fat in coffee cans is a WWII thing. hedda_foil Mar 2020 #64

What a special memory proud patriot Mar 2020 #76

I didn't either until I put together a course on the homefront in WWII recently. hedda_foil Mar 2020 #80

sounds like an amazing class proud patriot Mar 2020 #81

It got cancelled because of the pandemic but it's scheduled again this fall. hedda_foil Mar 2020 #82

I look forward proud patriot Mar 2020 #83

Thanks. It's going to be a lot of fun. hedda_foil Mar 2020 #84

I do, too! calimary Mar 2020 #99

My mother in law took hers to the dog shelter to add to their food. efhmc Mar 2020 #90

What a wonderful Idea proud patriot Mar 2020 #91

Good point. calimary Mar 2020 #44

My mother had similar hoarding tendencies, northoftheborder Mar 2020 #53

My parents were born in the 20's Woodwizard Mar 2020 #57

Welcome to DU, Woodwizard! calimary Mar 2020 #100

My parents are younger, but also had a frugal attitude despite being able to afford to spend. Flaleftist Mar 2020 #60

This was hard-baked into my family pecosbob Mar 2020 #63

My parents were depression children as well DFW Mar 2020 #68

Money is a tool. Aussie105 Mar 2020 #70

How my Mom got Dad to finally buy a new suit dlbell Mar 2020 #72

In that vein ... marble falls Mar 2020 #73

Great story. milestogo Mar 2020 #78

Welcome to DU, dlbell! First post? calimary Mar 2020 #101

Small houses The Mouth Mar 2020 #75

You can see that in my town misanthrope Mar 2020 #88

"Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without" DinahMoeHum Mar 2020 #77

"Waste not, want not" The Mouth Mar 2020 #96

Thankfully I listened to lots of family stories misanthrope Mar 2020 #85

I'm older than most of you. 76. My grandmother was very frugal, and always worried about wasting napi21 Mar 2020 #102

You know... OldBaldy1701E Mar 2020 #103