Tips From Grandma For Saving Money

by Texas Homesteader ~

Grandma lived through the great depression. So she knew a thing or two about saving money while raising a family. And those same old-fashioned tips are still saving money for families everywhere today.

Come see a list of ways grandma saved money in her day, the same ideas you can use too!

Use What You Have

Single-Use appliances weren’t as common in grandma’s day as they are now. She didn’t own and store several specialty cookers in her kitchen.

Grandma used a cast-iron skillet for both stovetop cooking and oven baking to make everything from quesadillas to pancakes and everything between. That meant less money spent and much less storage space necessary too!

Repair Instead Of Replacing

Although today’s products aren’t always made to be repaired, grandma always tried repair first, replacing only when necessary.

She mended torn clothing and grandpa had a hand in repairing things around the home too.

I’ve lost track of the number of things RancherMan’s repaired for us over the years. Our coffee pot, our microwave, our refrigerator, my garden shears, the iron, our Solar Lights and everything between!

His ability to research & repair things has saved us untold amounts of money.

Barter For Things You Need

Grandma knew she could trade some of her garden abundance for some of her neighbor’s fresh eggs. She could trade homemade apricot fried pies for milk.

You don’t have to raise or grow your everything yourself when you have bartering power.

Repurpose Items To New Life

Grandma knew how to repurpose things no longer needed as their intended use into a new purpose to provide another needed item in her home.

Old clothes were turned beautiful blankets or rags, empty jars were used in the refrigerator for food storage, the backs of used envelopes for her grocery list, etc.

I took a cue from grandma and do much the same. I’m constantly repurposing things such as Old Socks for hair elastics, rags or to close food packages.

Or turn Used Greeting Cards into cute gift boxes. And there is no shortage of ways to repurpose empty coffee cans…

Coffee Cans into Country Flour Cannister

Low-Waste Simple Chicken Feeder

Plant Container

Homemade Laundry Soap Container

Garden Harvest Container

Weeding Help In The Garden

12 Easy Ways To Repurpose Coffee Containers

If this has gotten your mental gears spinning & you’re interested in learning more about repurposing things in your own home, you can see all my repurposing posts by clicking the button below:

Borrow, Don’t Buy

Grandma didn’t want to buy & store something she would use only once or twice. She and grandpa would borrow that tall ladder when they needed one, and she would loan out her tiller when a neighbor needed it.

Both neighbors win with this borrowing mindset since neither must individually own everything they’d ever need!

Conserve Energy & Precious Resources

Grandma was careful with her family’s money. Us too! Click the links for more information:

Saving Water

Saving Electricity

Line-Dry Clothing

Save Money On Food By Reducing Waste

Grandma knew how to stretch those dollars when it came to food. She didn’t waste anything that could be used to feed her family!

Cook From Scratch

Eliminating Wasted Food

Save Money On Groceries

Make Simple Homemade Cleaning Supplies

Grandma didn’t use jars, containers or cans of purchased cleaning chemicals. Her cleaning routine was simple but thorough.

And most of the time she used what she already had right in her own home to clean.

Homemade Laundry Powder

Kitchen & Bathroom Scrubbing Powder

Homemade Wood Conditioner

15+ Zero-Waste Homemade Cleaners

Cleaning Like Grandma

Ditch Disposables

There are times in any household when disposable napkins and paper towels make sense of course. But my grandma didn’t use many disposables at all!

Real Reusable Dishes

Homemade Cloth Napkins

Reusable Cleaning Rags

Purchase Decisions: Quality Over Price

I’ve said it for years – I’d much rather plunk down more money for a better quality product than to buy cheap and end up frustrated over & over again at underperformance until it finally must be replaced way too soon.

Grandma knew that the price tag wasn’t the first purchase decision. Sure a higher quality product may cost a little more. But in the long run it will be cheaper since it won’t need to be replaced as soon.

Buy Used

Buying things you need used instead of new can be a big benefit to the environment and your budget. And grandma knew that many of the products manufactured today are of much less quality than before. They sure don’t make ’em like they used to!

We always plan to Buy Used First when looking for items for our home. A thrift store is a great place to start!

Grow A Garden

Grandma fed her family by growing lots of their food. Her garden was not huge, but it produced a lot.

All Our Best Garden Tips

Grandma grew simple vegetables that her family loved the most. It provided a large part of the healthy food on grandma’s table.

Preserve Garden Excess

Grandma’s pantry was filled with home-canned food. There was no bigger treat for me than for her to pull that beautiful jar of home grown & canned goodness and include them in her meals.

She canned everything from

Homemade Jams, Jellies & Preserves

Fresh Canned Corn

Homemade Broth

Apple Pie Filling

and much more!

I developed my love of home canning and food preservation from grandma. You can see all my canning posts by clicking the button below:

Looking For Ways To Save Every Day

Grandma kept her eyes open for simple ways to save a little money during her everyday life.

Inexpensive Homemade Gifts

Cheaper Garden Supplies

Ways To Make Do Without Going To The Store

How To Survive Financial Hardship

Easiest Self-Sufficiency Steps

There are so many ways to save money without sacrifice at all!

~TxH~

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2 thoughts on “Old-Fashioned Money-Saving Tips From Grandma That Still Apply Today!”

Angela DeGroot at

This is a great post. Lot’s of things to consider and add to what you already doing.

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1. Texas Homesteader Post author at
  
  Thanks Angela. It’s true that grandma’s ways still apply in so many circumstances. 🙂 ~TxH~
  
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