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Cost of living

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what can you remember your parents doing to save money?

280 replies

HoraceCope · 20/04/2025 10:54

we had to clean the bath with cold water
my dm would reuse foil

OP posts:
VicksJunkie · 20/04/2025 12:49

Shared baths
Only did laundry on a Sunday (in the twin tub!)
Ate a phenomenal amount of potatoes
No days out
Picking the mould from bread to use for toast

Dogaredabomb · 20/04/2025 12:49

I do remember seeing the road under my feet in dilapidated cars. And we had to say a Hail Mary before turning the key in the ignition.

WearyAuldWumman · 20/04/2025 12:50

Dogaredabomb · 20/04/2025 12:45

Mum's knickers being reused as dusters.

I still do that... (Not Mum's - mine...)

Old habits die hard. Actually, any really worn clothes or towels are used as dusters.

VicksJunkie · 20/04/2025 12:51

God, so much of this resonates. Need to remember this when I’m feeling like I’m not doing enough for DD.

Iwouldlikesomecake · 20/04/2025 12:54

I’m 44 and still do some of these like pinking shears gift tags!

We used to: walk everywhere. Meal plan. Never, ever eat out, always take a packed lunch and a thermos of tea. No theme parks, days out were cheap or free, holidays were self catering in the uk. No sky TV or cable, free channels only. No phone calls till 6pm, put electrical items on when it was cheaper. Reuse and mend anything, mum used to make us toys and clothes. For bought clothes, me and my sister had our clothes from the littlewoods catalogue twice a year. Buying ‘everyday’ clothes from a shop like Tammy Girl would have been the height of extravagance.

Dad learnt to fix anything at home rather than paying someone to do it.

I didn’t go to a restaurant (other than a little chef!) with my parents till I think I was in my late teens. We never thought of ourselves as deprived… i don’t think we were, really. And we learnt a lot of skills!

mondaytosunday · 20/04/2025 12:54

Im not sure if it was actively to save money or just inherent to the way they were brought up not to waste anything. I remember using same bath water, and a roast chicken would serve five of us plus enough for sandwiches when today it only seems to last one meal further three!
I also wore mostly hand me suena from my sister, and my mother did make some clothes for us. I made some of my own as a teen too.
I grew up in the 60s and 70s, so my parents would have lived through rationing.

Dogaredabomb · 20/04/2025 12:55

WearyAuldWumman · 20/04/2025 12:50

I still do that... (Not Mum's - mine...)

Old habits die hard. Actually, any really worn clothes or towels are used as dusters.

How would I know which were dusters and which were current knickers though?

Also I'm debating something at the moment. I have a couple of raggedy towels and we can always use extra flannels (too tight to buy cotton wool or face wash). Is it worth buying fabric scissors to cut up the towels? 🤣

FamilyPhoto · 20/04/2025 12:57

Both parents born in 1938

Batch cooking
Using up the smallest amount of leftovers, even if it was just to feed the dog or cat.
Getting bones from the butcher " for the dog" that would be boiled for broth.
Dried egg - DM was obsessed with it.
Old clothing used as cleaning rags.
Old holey sheets made into dog beds.
We had a car but would have fainted with shock to be driven to school. Car was for long journeys, everywhere else we walked.
4 inch baths
5 mins shower - egg timer in the bathroom for precision.
I'll come back if I remember more.

bugaboo218 · 20/04/2025 12:57

Itemised phone bill that every call would be scrutinised. Any calls that were not recognised were highlighted with a highlighter pen and if it transpired that either my sister or I had made them in our teen years then we had to pay for them from our pocket money/ Saturday job earnings!

Phone only to be used after 6pm unless it was an emergency.

Mum queuing up at the bakery just after lunch on a Saturday when they were closing to get reduced bread and cakes.

knitting cardigans and jumpers for us when we were little

Taking sandwiches and a picnic on days out / long journeys. Frequently we would be sat in the car in a car park somewhere eating our picnic lunch. Never ever had food at the venue.

Never tissues to wipe noses. Mum or Dad would cut up old Terry nappies, old flannels into small squares for noses.

Never having suncream in the summer. It was a new fangled thing according to parents and a waste of money!

In winter snuggled up with duvets, gloves and hot water bottles because the heating was only on for 1 hour in the morning and 1 hour at night when we were getting ready for school/ bed.

Fizzy pop and orange juice only at Christmas and Easter. It was too expensive and there was "perfectly good water from the tap or milk in the fridge"

Cutting up Christmas cards to make gift tags for the following year.

Having bubble and squeak every Monday for dinner with the left over roast meat from Sunday lunch.

Having one pair of Clark's school shoes to last from Sept- July.

Reusing tea bags

Dad taking us out, but refusing to park anywhere near our destination because he refused to pay for "rip off car park charges" we walked miles.

Moltenpink · 20/04/2025 12:57

We never wrote on the envelopes on birthday cards or licked them shut, then my grandma would collect them up once the cards were opened.

My mum would make lovely meals from cheap cuts of meat, stews and soups mostly.

Dogaredabomb · 20/04/2025 12:59

mondaytosunday · 20/04/2025 12:54

Im not sure if it was actively to save money or just inherent to the way they were brought up not to waste anything. I remember using same bath water, and a roast chicken would serve five of us plus enough for sandwiches when today it only seems to last one meal further three!
I also wore mostly hand me suena from my sister, and my mother did make some clothes for us. I made some of my own as a teen too.
I grew up in the 60s and 70s, so my parents would have lived through rationing.

I do think it was their war time mentality, everything was saved and reused. I remember Dad being a pretty serious gardener and doing stuff with carrot tops and sprouts off potatoes. I helped with the vegetable patch and it wasn't an 'activity'.

Hastentoadd · 20/04/2025 12:59

PermanentTemporary · 20/04/2025 10:59

My version is all very middle class.

Freewheeling down hills to save petrol (But we had a car)

Putting putty round the window frames in late October and not opening them until spring

Parcels in brown paper and string, both reused (Our poshest relatives approved most)

Stamps soaked off envelopes and reused (I didn't know this was illegal until my 40s!)

No phone calls until after 6 (But we had a phone)

Living mainly off veg, fruit, eggs and chickens we raised ourselves (but we obviously had a big garden)

Why do you think those things are all very middle class

WearyAuldWumman · 20/04/2025 12:59

Dogaredabomb · 20/04/2025 12:55

How would I know which were dusters and which were current knickers though?

Also I'm debating something at the moment. I have a couple of raggedy towels and we can always use extra flannels (too tight to buy cotton wool or face wash). Is it worth buying fabric scissors to cut up the towels? 🤣

I cut up my knickers before I use them for dusters - usually just in two.

cough

I have a flannel in the bathroom that started out as a towel...

wizzywig · 20/04/2025 13:00

Secondary glazing (with thin sellophane), home cooked food always, barely ever ate out, walked everywhere, used cut up newspapers to wrap up our sanitary towels so we didn't use up loo roll, put jumpers on i/o heating. Having to park where there was free parking. Never went to theme parks/ fun paid for activities. Sewed up holes in clothes. Baths once a week.

FamilyPhoto · 20/04/2025 13:04

Phone on party line and NEVER to be used before 6pm.
One room heated - the rest cold ( we had central heating)
ALWAYS taking a flask of tea and sandwiches on a day out. In fact a day out was usually going to a wholesalers ( parents had a shop) then parking up in a scenic area, tea and sandwiches then home. Sounds awful but DDad would have us playing word games in the car and we loved it !

Hastentoadd · 20/04/2025 13:04

My sister told me my grandmother used cut bed sheets down the middle ( if they were worn in the middle) and then sew the outside edges together so the worn areas would then be at the edges

Her husband died when her eldest of four children was only 11 so I think she had to be very frugal

Dogaredabomb · 20/04/2025 13:05

We actually had fantastic picnics though with homemade scotch eggs, doughnuts and crisps. Cooking was a serious business! She cooked and cleaned in a children's home and would bring back the persil vouchers for Dad's train tickets to work.

Oh and the 'bones for the dog' from the butchers for soup 🤢 (didn't have a dog).

Every single meal was stretched out and bulked out with veg.

wizzywig · 20/04/2025 13:10

Your posts are all reminding me of other things. We are asian so we would make our own version of bubble and squeak. We would fry onions, garlic, spices, then bung in all the leftovers, mash it up. Sometimes add whisked eggs.
Mum would knit jumpers and cardies, we'd go to the Asian areas to buy material and spend what felt like years whilst she rummaged around for material so she could make our shalwar kameezes. All her mates would do the same. And they'd get together to show off their purchases.

HoraceCope · 20/04/2025 13:12

my dm, born in 1935, still pots up any left overs,
always little odd bits in the fridge.

OP posts:
Dogaredabomb · 20/04/2025 13:14

WearyAuldWumman · 20/04/2025 12:59

I cut up my knickers before I use them for dusters - usually just in two.

cough

I have a flannel in the bathroom that started out as a towel...

Excellent, I'm going to chop up my knickers from now on.

LoudPlumDog · 20/04/2025 13:16

My Mum was way ahead of our recycling era.

She always carefully opened gifts and reused the paper for future gifts.

diddl · 20/04/2025 13:16

Not all of this was money saving though, it was just how things were done

I think this is true to a point as well.

We would share baths & it was partly I think because it took a while to fill.

Water rates were what they were no matter how much water you used iirc so it wasn't that.

I think it was a "waste not want not" mentality which I don't think is a bad thing.

Clothes were often spot cleaned rather than just chucked to the washing pile.

I think that this was due to the time & effort that the washing took though-we had a twin tub & it was quite hard work!

dottydodah · 20/04/2025 13:17

Spent lots of time with DGP as a child .They had a gold medal in thrift! Large garden with fruit trees .Stored apples for winter in the shed. We would go to the farm shop, Grandad would say to Nan "we dont need anything!" (Dont know why we went really except for a look round I guess). GDP stopped drinking Cocoa as it went up in price in the 70s.They lived to 95 each .no health problems also very kind and gentle with me (lost my DF when 8)

LoudPlumDog · 20/04/2025 13:18

BitOutOfPractice · 20/04/2025 11:04

In my mother’s case, not eating 😢

I’m sorry your Mum went through this, as a Mum of a daughter who suffered from anorexia nervosa for 5 years then died, I understand.

Dogaredabomb · 20/04/2025 13:18

dottydodah · 20/04/2025 13:17

Spent lots of time with DGP as a child .They had a gold medal in thrift! Large garden with fruit trees .Stored apples for winter in the shed. We would go to the farm shop, Grandad would say to Nan "we dont need anything!" (Dont know why we went really except for a look round I guess). GDP stopped drinking Cocoa as it went up in price in the 70s.They lived to 95 each .no health problems also very kind and gentle with me (lost my DF when 8)

They sound wonderful, when were they born?

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