10 Old-Fashioned Frugal Tips Our Grandparents Swore By

Did you ever speak to your grandparents about what it was like growing up in a world ripe with rations and war? The generation that became adults during World War I and II had a different outlook on money and frugality because they knew what it was like to live in uncertainty and make do with less. 

Frugal living looked a lot different back then — but there’s still a lot we can take away from the way of life our grandparents experienced. The following old-fashioned frugal living tips were inspired by our grandparents. The tried-and-true practices might seem a little dated juxtaposed against our fast-paced way of living but they’re sure to save you a lot of coin when implemented regularly. 

It’s easy to go out and buy a pre-made loaf of bread—but the ingredients you need to bake your own superior and much healthier bread costs about the same as a loaf of the processed stuff. Learning to bake might seem intimidating but it’s actually incredibly easy to make a basic-but-decent loaf of bread for breakfast and it’ll run you about a dollar per loaf as opposed to the fiver you’re spending on store-made bread. This might not seem like major savings but if your household goes through a load per week that can look like a couple hundred dollars in savings every year. 

Oh, your shirt got a hole in it? Your jacket lost a button? Fast fashion says that you should toss out any clothes that have the slightest sign of wear or imperfection—but your grandparents would likely have scoffed at the idea. Learning to sew just enough to repair holes or stick buttons back on is a very basic skill—and even if you don’t have an interest in learning, bringing a garment to the tailor for an easy fix is always going to be cheaper than buying new. 

This also goes for household items, electronics, and pretty much anything you’ve spent money on and use regularly. A mug with a chipped handle is still perfectly usable while a cracked iPhone screen will still work to surf social media and make calls or could be repaired for a fraction of what you’d pay for a new smartphone. 

Gardening is one of the best ways to cut down on your grocery bill. It doesn’t have to be overwhelming, labor-intensive gardening if you don’t want it to be (or if you don’t have the backyard for it). Things like microgreens, sprouts, herbs, and even lettuce are easy to grow inside (and also happen to be some of the more expensive-leaning produce in the grocery store). If you have patio space with a bit of natural light, you can also easily grow things like peppers and cherry tomatoes.  

Cooking in bulk comes with a multitude of benefits that go beyond just saving money (but buying and cooking in bulk does save a ton, especially if you opt for things like dried lentils and beans). Pre-preparing and freezing meals ahead of time also means you’ll always have food that’s easy to pop into the oven or microwave for a quick meal; you’ll be less tempted to opt for delivery or going out to the restaurant when you always have meals on hand. 

This can be a hard one for avid cooks — but cutting down on the frivolous ingredients and getting creative with the simple ingredients in your pantry is one of the easiest ways to cut down on your grocery bill. It’s great to experiment with niche or international spices and sauces, but spending money on an ingredient you’ll only use once or twice (or aren’t even sure you like) when you’re trying to be more frugal isn’t always the best use of capital.  

The cleaning product aisle of the grocery store has one of the highest price tags but our grandparents did just fine using a mainly homemade formula for day-to-day cleaning. Instead of opting for pre-made chemical-heavy cleaning products, consider going back to the basics. You’d be surprised by how well lemon, baking soda, and vinegar work to keep the house clean and smelling fresh. It’s also a lot healthier for the entire household. 

Do you think your grandparents went out and bought your parents new clothing and shoes after every growth spurt? Absolutely not. Hand-me-downs were a regular part of life, with garments being used and passed down within families and communities until they were no longer usable. These days it’s a little less commonplace to exchange hand-me-downs, especially for adults or older kids, but buying used or initiating clothing swaps within the community are great ways to pick up new-to-you clothing without having to spend as much as you would buying new. 

It might not seem like much — but running the dryer can cost as much as a dollar or more per hour of use. What’s more, opting to dry clothing in the dryer can lower the lifespan of certain fabrics. Hanging clothes outside to air dry (or opting for a drying rack) is a free alternative that will extend the life of your clothing while also lowering your power bill.  

Remember your grandparents always telling you to just put on another sweater if you were cold? We’re not telling you to freeze in order to stay frugal, but keeping your home overly toasty in the winter months can be costly. Instead of immediately turning up the thermostat, channel your grandmother and just layer up. 

This also goes for the summer months. Instead of immediately reaching for the air conditioning remote, work with the weather to cool down your home first. Closing the blinds at peak sun hours and taking advantage of an open window cross breeze will bring your home down a few degrees without the increased power bill. 

Living through the uncertainty of the depression meant our grandparents had to focus on the day-to-day in order to foster a fulfilling life — and that mindset is equally beneficial today. They might not have had everything they wanted or felt they had to make do from time to time, but they chose to focus on what they did have rather than what they lacked. 

Fostering a feeling of gratitude for everything you already have in your life will help you feel that what you have is enough and will help cut out the desire to overspend on things you don’t need or to wish for things you don’t currently have.