5 Lessons I learned from my Grandparents About Saving Money

Saving money has never been easy, but it seems to be particularly hard for our generation. Social media has compounded the pressure to fit in. Everyone’s life goals now are to be fashionable, adventurous, eat out, drive nice cars, and do fun things. HGTV has made everybody lose their mind and think they can flip a perfectly good house into a house that is sure to wow. After all, you can only relax in a space that has all the finest furnishings and upgrades.

If I buy into this mode of thinking, I will quickly convince myself that I dress like a hobo, live in a dumpster, and that everything I own is junk. When I do that, dissatisfaction, ungratefulness, and restlessness take over, and I start to overextend my finances. Then I begin to live my life trying to impress others, instead of living my best life with what I can afford. I’m not happy living that way.

Or, I could turn off the TV, put down my phone, and take a moment to appreciate what I have and who I am.

So I decided to do that, and as I did I started thinking about this culture of “more” that we live in. More money, more house, more updates, more clothes, more trips. It seriously never ends, or it does end… with credit card debt and stress about bills that I can’t pay.

Then I realized, this greediness is not a problem that my grandparents have (they are still alive and in their 90’s) or one that my grandma had (she passed away in 2009). I never heard them talk in this manner or daydream about things they didn’t have. They were not constantly comparing what they had with what everyone else had. They were happy they had anything at all. My grandma was born in 1910 and was married during the Great Depression. Do you think her perspective was any different than ours?

ABSOLUTELY and she was better for it.

I have learned a few lessons about money thinking about the difference between the Greatest Generation and my generation. (I’m a millennial. Ok? Are you happy? I’m admitting it!)

Here are 5 lessons I have learned from my Grandparents about how to save money.

1. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

I feel like this entire mindset specifically applies to homeowners. Does anyone else cringe when home improvement shows take a sledge hammer to perfectly functional, dare I say good, cabinets? The carpet was just replaced last year, but we would rather have wood. What?! You’d rather spend 10 grand on something you don’t NEED just because it looks “better”? Why does it look better anyway? Is it because of Pinterest and HGTV?

This is where I have to fight my biggest mental battle to save money. We bought a house last year and it is wonderful and nice, but it is dated. The carpet is actually worn pretty bad, there is still wood paneling, and I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that nothing is in vogue. It is so hard to not update everything just for aesthetics when it is completely functional and fine. We haven’t even painted a wall, even though I have 500 paint samples. But I don’t have the money, therefore I won’t paint.

The thing is, some days I allow not updating my house to really make me sad. Then I’m like, “Why am I acting so spoiled and entitled? It is such a privilege to be in this nice house, and it is nice, just not new.” I can do what I can with what I already have. It’s a fun way to try an decorate.

I think that is the key takeaway for me about my grandparents. They are and were so thankful just to be healthy, have a house, a job, food to feed the family, and clothes to wear. THEY WERE SATISFIED and they were THANKFUL because they had lived through much worse times. The Great Depression and war has a way to leave an impression on people. I am thankful to live in a time where I don’t know about such things. That alone should be enough.

2. If you don’t have money, don’t spend it.

This is where so many get in trouble, including myself. Oh the elusive credit card, “I don’t have the money I need right now, but next month I will magically have the money I don’t currently have.” Why, oh, why did I ever believe this?

I’m going to be honest with you, I definitely do not have my money game in line. I might have cried about it just a few days ago, but I can tell you that if you do not have the money to buy what you want today, you probably won’t have it tomorrow. Once it is on that credit card, it will get worse if you don’t pay it off.

My grandparents would never, ever buy something if they didn’t have the money to pay for it that day. And they would just tell you that it is common sense to walk away empty handed. Let’s bring that common sense back to our generation. No money to buy it today means don’t buy it

 3. Don’t pay for something you can do yourself.

People, my 93 year old grandad with a limp from the bullet he took in his leg in WWII is MOWING HIS OWN LAWN. I don’t mean to yell that at you, but seriously. They will not pay for labor as long as they can do it themselves. There is no excuse good enough. It’s 100 degrees and you are a 94 year old walking with a limp, don’t care, mow your own darn lawn.

James and I have done so many things ourselves, and unlike my grandparents, I dream of a day we can afford to pay for these jobs to be done. My grandparents don’t dream of that day because that day is a big stupid waste of money. Get off your butt and do it yourself.

You can learn so much from youtube. I’m serious, we have had the same washer and dryer for 10 years and it was 10 years old when we got it. James learned how to fix it the last 11 times it broke from youtube. It has cost us a total of maybe twenty bucks for all those repairs.

I would love to pay for housekeeping, a food service, or even a laundering service. Last I checked my legs and arms weren’t broken. The savings add up. 5 here, 20 there. A penny saved is a penny earned, afterall. You do it yourself, you save money. Now I am not judging you if you pay for any of those, I am a millennial dreamer after all, I’m just saying, if you wanna save money you gotta think like a grandparent. Do it yourself.

4. Don’t waste.

Sweet Lord have mercy. I cannot stand myself. America, what the heck is wrong with food that smells fine and looks fine but has an expiration date on it? Nothing. Nothing is wrong with it. This magical number doesn’t automatically insert poison into your food. Eat it.

So you pull shrimp outta your fridge with so much ice on it that it is a block. A solid block of shrimp, defrost it, it kinda tastes like freezer, I promise that it will not kill you. Bread that isn’t moldy, no matter how far back you found it in your pantry, can still be eaten. Leftovers don’t suddenly turn bad after three days. My mom legit fed us leftovers that were over a month old she found in the back of the fridge when we were kids. I’m fine.

Waste not, want not. You know it’s true.

5. Fifty cents is a lot of money.

Hear me out, it is ridiculous, but it is true. My grandparents don’t think ANYTHING is cheap or a good deal. You are always being ripped off, especially if you buy something without haggling, without a coupon, or if it isn’t on sale. Simple as that. I started applying this mentality to my own purchases and especially when telling my kids no, and it has worked like a charm.

If you understand building blocks, you understand this concept. Eventually all those little blocks stack up to be a huge castle with towers and buildings for your serfs. Same thing with your .50 cents. Wealth starts there. I can now here my child in the store say, “A dollar fifty! That’s a lot of money.” Exactly.

I will say this mentality has saved my family a lot of money. There is nothing cheap. How bad do you want it? The answer is almost always, not enough. You learn to do without, and after a while you realize you aren’t really doing without. You never needed it. There are very few real needs in America middle class.

In Conclusion

Next time you find yourself trying to keep up with the Jones and run yourself into financial ruin, just remember these lessons I learned from my grandparents. There is a lot the younger generations can learn from the older generations. I’m sure I’ll notice many more gems hanging out with the greatest generation. Maybe there is hope for us Millennials after all. 🙂

What have you learned about saving money from your grandparents? Are your grandparents like mine? Comment below! I’d love to know.