Comments On Article: Budgeting In The Past

I know so many people who've lost their jobs in the last year. I've never known that many in such a short time. Many of them were working at the same places for years! 

And yet I still sense a reluctance to change lifestyles and hunker down into a simpler,  less expensive lifestyle. 

I know not everyone will be able to do this especially if they are close to retirement, but we decided some time ago not to count on Social Security as part of our income, even reduced — it will be a nice bonus if we do collect it, but we don’t believe we can rely on it for living.  That was one reason we put the plan into place in 2018 to get completely debt free.  Many things we enjoy now I know we can figure out how to live without if we need to, because we both did as children.  Social Security would be a good help to help us enjoy some of the wants of retirement, but we no longer put it into our plan.

59% of Americans wouldn’t be able to manage a $1000 emergency with funds from savings.  I don’t blame this on the people, but on the culture that has made debt easy and expected.  There was a time, as mentioned above, when consumer debt was looked down on.  I really think grocery stores taking credit cards was a bad idea.  Even gas credit cards are bad, versus the gas charge cards that employees would use.  The absolute basics of living should not be able to be put on credit!

My husband’s job looks to have major changes sometime in the beginning of 2026, so we are looking at things closely now.  He may have to retire at the earliest bound we set —which makes me vey happy, but we’ll have to muddle through until he can access the retirement funds.  We were hoping for a Rule of 55 but he doesn’t that as an option in his paperwork.  At least we will qualify for COBRA for 3 years, which would safely take us to being able to use the retirement funds.

This would be early in 2026, so we really need to get things going, and this Great Depression study is perfect for us.  I even told my husband we should look at our lowest possible monthly expense prediction and live at that number for a couple of months so we can see how it feels and also make tweaks as needed.

Margaret, I think many people don’t know how to change their lifestyles.  So much of what we might have considered discretionary 30 years ago people now think of as essential, like cell phones for everyone in the family, cars for every adult driver in the family, etc.  I’m sure my grandparents thought the same thing about me!  And they’ve grown up now knowing how to cook from scratch or bake — they don’t have time because a living wage no longer exists and most families require two incomes, and it isn’t taught in schools, and more often than not, isn’t even taught from one generation to the next anymore.  Of my 3 grandmothers, only the one born longest ago could cook and bake, and by the time my mom was a teenager she was more likely to cook by combining canned and packaged foods than to cook from scratch, and she’d stopped baking.  I think of the 1900s as the century that big food hijacked our ways of eating and made their own products seem indispensable.  I often hear jokes about how children no longer know that milk comes from cows, but we could also say that most adults don’t realize that crackers could come from their own ovens

My mother was born in the Silent Generation, raised by a father born in the “Progressive Generation” (I had to look that up) and a mother born in the Greatest Generation (they had their children later than most at that time).

My mom learned frugality and needed to live it, but her second marriage was to a baby boomer, whose own parents (both Greatest Generation) got caught up in the middle class post WWII boom.  They didn’t take the lessons of the Great Depression with them, and my dad didn’t learn good money practices or any frugal skills.  When my parents married there were many lean years, where clothing was never new, food was barely enough, and the utility shut off notices were common.  Any emergency put them farther into debt with second mortgages and personal loans.  It is very hard for the poor to pull themselves out of it.  But my dad started a business after most of us kids left home, and made a decent income, which led to getting credit cards and eventually bankruptcy — I would say they didn’t have good money skills.

Yes, I think I would say my mom had fantastic frugality skills to call upon when needed, but was terrible with money and the concepts of money.

Margaret, this concept of deserving something you can’t afford drives me crazy!  I always heard it from my mom once she had credit cards to use.  I think it is a big part of our culture.  In some ways I think it is worse for adults who were raised middle class, because lifestyle creep has really come for them.  Growing up, we knew kids who got new cars at 16 or European trips at graduation, but it was very few of them, and the majority of people thought it excessive.  Now I know people who’ve taken their kids to Europe multiple times before graduation, so the graduation trip has to be even more over the top!  Everything is so much more, and marketing is a big part of that, including the clever marketing disguised as television.  When I was graduating a party at home with a cake and cookout was the common way to celebrate a graduate.  When I was in high school your boyfriend or a boy who liked you asked you to prom by just asking you, not with an orchestrated “prom-posal”.  And don’t even get me started on the current trend for wedding proposals orchestrated like Broadway shows or the ridiculousness of gender reveal parties (one in my state started a huge wildfire that ended up killing people).

This is such important advice, Ann W.!  We know that our COBRA payment for the two of us will be approximately $1300 per month if my husband retires next year, for the plan we currently have (only option through his work) which is a PPO, and that number includes our dental and vision insurance.  After that we will have to turn to Covered California until we are old enough for Medicare.  Seeing my mother-in-law and my father navigate the Medicare system I’ve become aware that we will have to pay far more for healthcare in retirement than we’ve paid under an employer plan.

Hopefully the laws against denying health insurance because of preexisting conditions won’t be struck down!

I am shocked to see the cost of medical care in America. In NZ our Govt covers hospital care and lower income, elderly,children get free or subsidized doctors visits. Dental care is not covered

Kimberley F.. $1300 per month for COBRA. Oh my giddy aunt --- that's about half of our income!!!!

Living paycheck to paycheck isn't what people in that situation often want to do but when tragedy, unexpected ill health and job loss occurs it wipes out any savings and then they have no choice but to live that way. In NZ, as I believe it's the same in most countries now, the cost of rental accommodations is the biggest problem with people being able to make it financially. It's in the News that couple making two incomes are now known as the "working" poor who are accessing food banks. Most have to make a decision between keeping the electricity on or buying food. Budgeting services here had their funding taken away by the Govt. People are not bad managers of their money.. there just isn't enough after paying the rent. To buy a home is near on impossible with the majority around the $800,00 to 1 million $ price. Even if they can save the 20% deposit how can they afford the mortgage, property tax,house insurance,water rates costs?  

Tea S's idea is brilliant! I think everyone should think about money like that. My goal is to get to a place where I can live and think like that, banking the present income and living on the previous year's. It will take me a little while first.

I am trying to think of a way to have a no-income month. I want to test no-income living to see where the holes are so I can plug them before I got into that situation. 

In my circles, that was 2016.  My husband, my best friend's husband, and another friend all lost their jobs.  It was like a curse.  And since everyone was between 55-60, it was especially stressful.  Same thing with the long term jobs.  Everyone thought they were at their *retirement job* and coasting.  Nope.  I've been unable to relax since.  I so feel for anyone going through it.   Frightening.

Both losing a job and retirement require an immediate change in lifestyle.  Losing a job usually means at least some months of unemployment which helps somewhat.  The most important step is to immediately cut all nonessential spending.  Don't try to keep your pre-loss lifestyle hoping you'll find an equal job shortly.  Even children's activities need to be cut, and they should be included in family discussions about the necessity of cutting expenses unless they are toddlers.  The "all pulling together through a crisis" generally builds family unity if approached with honesty.  Don't expect kids to be happy about giving up things if they don't see parents making their own sacrifices such as country club, golfing, gym memberships, booze, smokes, name brand luxury items, new clothes etc.  

Also, if grandparents have the resources, don't hesitate to ask them to pay for an activity that is extremely important for a child.  When my dh was out of work for 3 years miserable years, my parents bought my daughters a family swim ticket for our local pool.  That meant they could swim every day the pool was open and was a huge blessing.  I didn't ask, dad just did it.

Job loss especially is difficult if you are in serious debt.  If you have a huge mortgage, selling the house makes more sense that bankrupting yourselves trying to keep the mortgage paid.  Whatever your debt situation, contact your mortgage holder and discuss the situation with them.   Don't use all your savings to keep paying the mortgage be proactive.  If you have equity, selling might give you enough to purchase a more affordable home without a mortgage.  Also, if you have sufficient notice of job loss, selling the expensive home and purchasing a less expensive one while still employed might allow you to get a new more manageable mortgage.  

Retirement generally can be planned for and the lower income adjusted to while still working.  Make a budget based on your retirement income and live on it for a year before retiring.  Save every penny of your actual income above the projected retirement income you're living on during that year.

Very good advice for job losses, Ann!  We are fortunate to have made it to the place where my husband could retire immediately if something happened to his job, but we would need to follow much your your advice until we had access to retirement funds without penalty.  In that case we would not choose COBRA, but would have to get on the healthcare exchange until we had access to our funds, as it wouldn't make any sense to spend any extra dollars on coverage.  But I am in the middle of a health issue and COBRA would be our best choice if we can afford it until medications are figured out and I’ve been in remission for a full year

We have over the years, however, seen family members and friends lose jobs, and how well it plays out depends a lot on the generation before and whether not they can help out, along with a willingness or unwillingness to make the cuts you suggest.  Most of them didn’t change their expenses and things didn’t go well, with bankruptcies and even one house lost.  I was never able to get one sibling to understand why $175 per month for cable television/internet with movie channels and an extra package for watching sports isn’t a “necessity”.  I don’t even blame individual people anymore, as it is an entire cultural expectation that makes people think things like children’s activities, cell phones for everyone in the family etc. are absolute necessities.  Obviously, this is mostly middle class people I’m writing about, as those who are truly poor already make do without these things.

Karen S. Just yesterday my husband and I were talking about the real estate market.  Where we live people are snapping up small houses in the $600K - $700K range.  These are typically small houses for the United States, usually under 1200 square feet.  But it’s what they can get into, and it’s no longer young couples buying this kind of house, but families.  My guess is those $600K - $700K houses are being purchased by or subsidized by the generation before, because a $600K house requires about $145K to get into (down payment and realtor fees), with mortgages around $4000 per month (more if there is an HOA).  What young person can afford that.

My husband asked me why Baby Boomers aren’t selling their houses and downsizing, as generations before them did, and I told him I suspect it’s because their own children can’t afford to get into houses and they are hanging onto the family home to pass it on or are living multigenerationally.  Whereas when previous middle class generations retired, their adult children usually all had already bought houses.

My kids can’t afford market rent, much less to save for and buy a house.  One lives in a situation below market rent offered by a family friend, and the other lives at home with us. ?

Becky Sue K., I loved your story about selling potholders so you wouldn't end up in the poor house.  I wonder if your mom knew how literally you were taking it!  I never heard about the poorhouse as a child, but my own mom used to say that if she lost her job, we'd have to live in a cardboard box behind a dumpster.  

Karen S., That's interesting and so tragic about the family history you found.  

Terri C., I think I'm quite a bit younger than most on this forum, so I grew up waaay post WW2, in the 80's and 90's.  My grandparents grew up during the Depression, and my mom was born in the 1950's.  As far as money habits or who I'm living more like, my mom is actually very frugal and responsible with money too, but she raised three children alone on a part time minimum wage job, so (when I was young) her talk about money always seemed to be coming from a place of stress and scarcity.  No debt, and never quite paycheck to paycheck, but a lot of struggling to meet everyday expenses without dipping into her hard-earned savings, and a lot of financial help from her parents for big things.  I think my grandparents had more influence on my own attitudes toward money just because they had done well for themselves, and financial responsibility was a topic they enjoyed.  

Stephanie G., I wish you success, and hope you find the method freeing.

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Everyone else who commented on the not spending income until the following year method, thanks for weighing in.  I already knew my Millennial peers were unfamiliar with it, but I think many of you are older, so found your collective input really interesting.

This thread has been a great read in general.  I find the different ways people manage budgets really fascinating, and also the different ways we arrive there.  

When we were first married we opened a bills account which earned some interest and we both paid in as much as we could after the mortgage was paid, to build up a reserve. DH could collect a cheque to pay a bill in his lunch break. I was always a saver, he needed to learn about budgeting for household expenses first. There was a small surplus at the end of the year and we had more idea of the expenses, when the bills were due, and how much we had to live on. We have both worked hard, I did years of night shifts, and we have never gone overdrawn at the bank, or bought things without having the money saved first, to pay for them.

Our first house was a shoddily built, town house with single glazing and no central heating. It is cold and wet here in the Midlands, with freezing winters. We had second hand furniture, and couldn’t afford a television. We struggled when the mortgage interest rate went up to 17.4%, and every week the local news reported thousands more people being made redundant as one factory after another closed down. DH was unemployed for 10 months some years later, which was very difficult. He worked for 47 years before he got his small state pension. 

I learnt to be frugal from my parents, they were raised during the 1930s depression, we were brought up in the post war austerity, food rationing ended in 1954, Britain was bankrupt after WW2. 

We continue to live frugally, still in a small property, and like many parents and grandparents, we have helped the children with their mortgage and childcare. 

Our neighbours’ lovely children all went to university, starting work years later than we did, then working shorter hours. They are well travelled, foreign holidays several times a year. They all drive new, large Audis, changed regularly for the new model. They have all the latest technology, and a dining out and delivered, fast food habit. The mother does the housework and laundry. I don’t see these children becoming mature and independent adults any time soon. 

Back in the 1930's (and perhaps before) each county in Iowa had a "County Farm" which was often referred to as the poor house or poor farm.  People without resources went there to stay.  Later they became places for indigent elderly or others for people with mental health issues.  Most closed by the 1990s.  

Originally these were actual farms, and the residents did the labor.  They would have raised a large portion of the food used by the facility.   In later years the farmland was rented to help fund the place.  

My husband's great grandparents lived at the "poor house" for a time during the Depression.  I was always suspicious as to why they adopted a child during that timeframe until my dd's DNA showed the adopted child's grandchildren shared hers.  

I am loving all of these stories!  I was always the one in my family to be a saver and frugal.  When I married I had to be as I was a stay-at-home wife and mother for the most part.  When first married I worked and then was laid off, hubby was then laid off and our unemployment money was just enough to cover rent/utilities and very few groceries. Thankfully we had a garden and I canned and processed everything I could. I do remember we had no money for the laundromat. I washed our clothes in the bathtub with a new rubber plunger  as an agitator, wrung them out as best I could and hung them to dry . We had some stiff jeans and towels but they were clean and we got thru it.

I have a question/observation and while it has not much to do with budgeting will put it here.

Since I have been doing my best to follow the 1930's study I am finding I have more time on my hands, not complaining but also not really understanding how this happened.  

I am a singleton so don't cook for a family most of the time: sometimes I make a meal for family because they all work and I like doing it to relieve some of their time pressure.

I do know when I am doing a housekeeping job I am being much more intentional and being more present in what I am doing. Somehow I am getting more done in less time. I seem to have far fewer distractions and "wants". I am liking it but wonder if anyone else has experienced the same?

Joyce C - are you eliminating media from your daily schedule?  If you are, that might be the answer to your question.  Also, having a schedule for household chores and keeping to that schedule, should save you time.  Simplifying life can sometimes lead to additional time spend doing things from scratch but with the non-necessary modern-day activities eliminated that should balance.

I'm ashamed to admit that I have not been able to find the self-discipline to make the schedule work.  My fault entirely.  I have always cooked primarily from scratch, so no real changes needed there.  I've always budgeted carefully so again no changes needed there.  

One good change, I've stopped letting dishes accumulate for days and try to do them daily or at least every other day.  It is so pleasant to get up in the morning to a clean kitchen.  I tend to cook once and then eat leftovers so sometimes it takes a couple days to accumulate enough dishes to make the use of water and dish soap thrifty.  Several nights I've been doing dishes at 11:00 or even 12:00 to accomplish that, but I have trouble sleeping so might as well make good use of the time.  So easy to get sucked into watching stuff on the Internet which accomplishes nothing.

Yes, I have eliminated most TV and I limit my time on the computer, have never spent much time on the tele and this may sound terrible but resent it when someone calls and just wants to jabber. I am fine with a tele visit but I really don't want to hear a blow by blow retelling of their day. I have a friend that does this, I do know she is lonely and is very hard to get along with.  Thankfully I can usually say "I have XYZ going" and get away from it.

I watch a bit of local news in the AM a bit of evening news in the PM and then the TV is off unless I am having "a trip to the movies".

Having a schedule and a place for everything has freed up a lot of my time. My garden is coming on so I will soon be canning and processing. I love doing it.

Hello Donna.  I am so excited to hear that Charles will be retiring soon!  I know it is a hard decision to make.  I retired two years ago but my husband is still working because we need the insurance.  I love watching the old videos of Clara.  I also have her cookbook which I love because it not only has her recipes, but she also tells little stories throughout the book.  It is supposed to be 100 degrees here in Richmond, VA for three days in a row next week, then it drops to 98 degrees!  I'm looking for recipes that don't involve the oven.  I think your pasta salad sounds good!  Blessings to you and Charles. 

Joyce, I am the only saver on my side of the family (parents, siblings, and even most extended family) and this is true for my husband as well.  I find it really hard, in part because frugal habits and intentional saving create a domino effect, helping our finances to be better as we get older.  There’s a resentment that starts to build up from the others.  There’s was a time when we were all young and broke, but my husband and I wanted to break out of that after the first 8 years of marriage, once we got our educations finished and our careers started.  I said no to so much they all wanted to do because it wasn’t in the budget, but my siblings don’t see that, they see it as us being lucky and them being unlucky.

Cutting down screen time has also free up time in my day!

We are looking at a major income reduction in retirement, with well less than half of our current net income to work with.  But that has been the plan all along, to retire with the amount of money we think will work for us, not what the experts say we need, and to pay off all debt (done) and then save more money for retirement.  When we put the plan in place we didn’t realize that the main expense each month will be health insurance, prescriptions, and copays.  Knowing that, we need to find more ways to save in the other areas.

My husband mentioned the other day that he’ll be able to work with me on food production tasks, not only cooking meals but also some things we’ve talked about, like canning salsa and making even more foods from scratch.

I’ve tried two buttermilk pies so far (because I use buttermilk to make crème fraiche).  One was crustless and absolutely delicious.  The other had a crust and while it was well reviewed it was far too sweet for me, and having made the crustless version first, I found I prefer that as it seems a little less rich without a crust.

I made chocolate syrup the other day, and realized I’ve been using the same recipe for 30 years!  I am drinking more milk (and eating more dairy) now that some of my gut issues are under control, because I’ve had a lifetime of not getting enough calcium.  I’ve found a small mug of hot chocolate is a nice breakfast for me — milk is very filling!  We have some mugs that hold about 8 ounces, versus our large mugs which hold more like 12 - 14 ounces, which is far too much for hot chocolate!  Using the smaller mugs I remarked to my husband how this was the size of a hot drink when we were growing up (or even smaller) and how it’s just more evidence of how everything has gotten bigger in terms of serving sizes.

Kimberly,

That is so true about serving sizes. I dug out my restaurant china and the coffee mugs from my grandparents, they are heavy but I have no trouble handling them. The plates are smaller and just right for me as I am not a big eater anyway. They also hold heat better so no cold food.

I also use some dinnerware from the Elk's club....my aunt worked there for 40 years and would bring home a plate of their "specials" once in a while and the dinnerware then stayed at her house...oops LOL . Now everything is served on disposable. 

The Elks club has changed so much, it used to be the members had to be vetted and it was a service organization with alot of the members being upper-crust, doctors, lawyers and business owners. It is no longer exclusive at all. Times have changed.

Family members also thought we were lucky but it was really a lot of saving, doing without the extras and finding contentment with what we had.  I know I was called cheap but we turned down invites to go out all the time or take expensive vacations. I don't regret any of it. I am a contented homebody, I have traveled but refuse to go into debt for such things. Have no desire to go overseas anymore.

Thank you, Grandma Donna! I really enjoyed this article about the meals, shopping, and budgets. As usual, I am encouraged to be more old-fashioned and frugal!

DD

Grandma Donna,

I've been reading your blog for some time now and always enjoy it.  The 1930's study has inspired me to join the forum. Recently a comment on the Rural Revolution blog mentioned books by Janet Van Amber Paske --"Stories and Recipes of the Great Depression of the 1930's. I ordered the books, 5 of them, spiral bound paperback books. most a little over 200 pages.  The books are amazing, facts about the depression (how the weather played a part, I knew about the droughts, but did not know about the killing frost that hit part of the country in late August), to name one. The stories are written by the people who actually lived through them, I've laughed, I've cried, I cannot imagine how difficult it truly was, they survived with almost nothing and the children went to work very young to earn a few cents.  I am so impressed with these little books as a learning tool.  I purchased mine from Amazon, it was the least expensive for me.  Just wanted to share this information with you and your followers.

My husband and I are in our late 70's, a few health issues, however, we keep on going.  We're very conservative, we don't eat out, cook from scratch, make our own bread, usually have a large garden, not this year, though. We are working on following some of the 1930's ways.  Won't be turning the a/c off.  We live on the eastern New Mexico (that's NEW) border, 10 miles from Texas and have been having days in the 100's, so we will keep the a/c.

Thank you, Grandma Donna for your excellent research and wonderful articles, I'm so excited about this study, I have a lot to learn, these people had grit.  I read over and over how it was up to the women to stretch the food and keep spirits up, that's a tall order in tough times!!

Stories and Recipes of the Great Depression of the 1930s, Vol. IV is available for free reading at Archive.org.

Another good book about the Depression is The Dirty Thirties.  I don't have it to give further info because I read it from the library.  I think I'm going to check it out again and re-read.  There are a number of books of pictures from that time produced by photographers and artists with the WPA.  

There were many weather extremes during those years.  Hundreds died of the heat especially in cities.  A lady I visited at the nursing home back in the 1980s, had pictures of snow drifts much higher than men.  Her husband had passed away that year and a group of neighbor men dug through the drifts to bring her coal.  No snow blowers, all dug by hand.

There are reports of blowing dirt from the dust bowl area reaching the east coast.  My family lived in Southern Iowa and told of blowing dust obscuring the sun.  Drought killed crops which probably didn't matter much since there was no market for corn at the time.  Government was buying livestock and milk.  Killing the livestock and dumping the milk.  I think the purpose was to reduce production to raise prices.  It was an ugly time for farmers and there were riots by farmers.  Foreclosures were epidemic both houses in town and farms.  

My great-grandmother was widowed with three children.  During the Depression she lost the farm because her son, who was farming the land, could not pay the $6 taxes.  

I am so enjoying these topics. It's such a wealth of information, support and friendship. It feels a safe space of likeminded people even if there are variations to how we implement and carry out aspects of our home lives we all have a goal of creating a safe, warm, nourishing and loving home using home economics wisely. I think joy and peace becomes a result of this too. Our pension in New Zealand gets paid out fortnightly. I have a small notebook where I write in the category title and the amount to come out or budgeted for e.g Power- $240. The usual categories for this are; Power, Phone/Internet, Petrol, Groceries, Cash ( personal spending money each...not much lol) and Giving. Sometimes it will have other things that I know will fall into that fortnight like a vet or doctors appointment. At the bottom of the page I write the equation of income minus expenditure. This works for us as I can clearly see what is expected and if there is hopefully a surplus. The surplus is put into savings or there maybe a planned purchase.                                                                                       I also have a large notebook that has the annual budget in it where I record the actual spending under categories. These categories are more extensive than the fortnightly budget book and include things like clothes, insurance etc but also include the fortnightly budget categories I.e all  annual spending. On the back page I write down all the big annual bills in order of the month so I can scan ahead and not get a nasty surprise ???? All of this has taken a few years to tweak and now it works for us. We have to dip into retirement savings to cover some of the big bills. Karen S and Linda from The Little Homestead you are in New Zealand so may I ask you do you or could you manage on the pension alone? From my conversations with people it seems they can't.  Sorry this is so long everyone but I took the time to write what we do as it may help someone just as I learn from you all.

Ingrid M. Yes we easily manage on the pension BUT this is only because we rented a house from a friend's brother and it needed to be rewired ( now done), re roofed( now done) and re piled ( way to expensive) Done by our landlord using the rent money. The second reason its cheap is because I cook him 2 meals ( covers 4 nights), 1 dessert and 1 lot of baking a week and he gets a share of the fruit etc I bottle from.the fruit trees on his farm. He looked after both his parents and has never married . My husband mows his lawns and keeps the gardens weeded. We are able to harvest free firewood from around the farm..We have 2 fireplaces in the house.

The Landlord is still working full-time on his farm.

The other thing is we have no debt. I cook from scratch. Shopping is one day a week and I.hate being in town to be honest.  I pay our electricity a set amount every week as well as insurances so we're always in credit.. Our grocery bill is $150 a week for EVERYTHING. We have chickens and when I'm able I grow a veggie garden.  We can save. BUT as I said the cheap rent in the biggy and I am very aware of how blessed we are.

Thanks Karen S. I remember now you telling us some of that. It's a wonderful barter system and a caring one you have there. You spend about the same as us on groceries. If I buy mainly ingredients then it is doable. Our groceries include toiletries and miscellaneous too. I make our cleaners, soap and laundry powder. Sometimes I bake bread by hand. However like anywhere in the world the grocery bill is creeping up and it needs to be kept in check.  We too are debt free through hard work, saying no to lifestyle choices from peer pressure through the years and are mortgage free. That was so difficult at times but it meant we have some security now. Everyone's life stories are different and their circumstances that change options and results. If we didn't have some sort of savings or you didn't have your agreement it would be extremely hard to get by on the pension don't you think? World over it seems housing and healthcare determines security. I'm constantly shocked at the US health care system and costs. I admire all who negotiate it. Like you I'm happy at home and not a town person although I do like to go in to be around people about once a week.

My great aunt Lois used to tell me that she remembered her mother in the late 20s early 30s crying as she had only enough money to light the stove to cook or the ingredients.  Her husband had left her so she was a single mother of 3 children. Aunty Lois never forgot that and right up until she died she was very thrifty. She sewed her home furnishings and kept them until no longer serviceable. She made everyone's clothes and was very stylish. She was horrified I liked enamel ware ( I loved my duck egg blue teapot ) as that was all they could afford as a child. I admire a lot about her.

Ingrid M... Yes it would be extremely hard to survive on the pension here if one didn't have savings or low rent. I have a friend whose taken an overseas student into her home as a means of getting extra income. 

Things are even harder for those who them or their spouse has ongoing health issues. My husband has Huntingtons and has been pretty stable for 5 years but now it's his memory and speech that's mostly affected and his gait is starting to be impacted. I am so very grateful for our healthcare system here. Recently our son came back from overseas where he'd spent thousands medically trying to get help for himself. I believe he wasn't far away from blood poisoning when he arrived. Less than 3 weeks at home the issue was sorted and he's on his road to recovery. 

Donna doing her blog has been a real lifeline to connect with other like-minded women and I feel that thanks to her we all have a great support network across many countries. Bless you Donna.

You can get the above-mentioned book, The Dirty Thirties, for free at Archive.org. There is one for the U.S. and one for Canada. I started reading the book already, and it looks really good, so I ordered it on eBay. I got some other books about the 1930s, too. It should make for some interesting reading. I saw something on there that I haven't seen for years. It was 1930s paper dolls. I didn't buy them because I guess I'm a little too old to play with paper dolls but it brought back good memories.

Becky Sue, your comment about paper dolls brought back lots of memories! Another wonderful, slow activity. I didn't actually have that many paper dolls as a child but I remember my cousin showing me a drawer in Grandma's dining room that was full of them.  That inspired me as a mom to collect a number of paper doll sets for my daughters. They had hours of fun cutting them out with me and their grandmother. I still have a box of the sets they cut out and some uncut now waiting for my granddaughter to be old enough to enjoy. 

One of my daughters was a reluctant reader. I bought her Anne of Green Gables paper dolls which she loved. It inspired her to read the books which she also loved and that turned her into a reader! She has quite a book collection now as an adult. 

I read recently that viewing screens is rewiring kids brains not in a good way. I can't help but think that the old fashioned fun kids used to have helped turned them into different people than the kids of today who do nothing but watch stuff from a young age.

2-5 years spend an average of 2 hours daily in front of a screen. For teenagers it's 9. 

My grandkids come over to my house several times a week. Their fun is coloring, cutting & gluing, building with blocks, cooking (real & pretend), dolls, trucks, planting, dusting, washing, folding laundry, watering, etc, etc. No sitting around in front of a screen. To me that sounds like a whole lot more fun than sitting in front of a screen! But then I don't watch tv and think life has too many interesting things to do than to sit around having tv time.

Margaret P.'s story about paper dolls reminded me of the years my sister and I loved making paper dolls out of Sears or Penneys catalogs.  When the new catalogs came out, we were given mom's and grandmother's old copies so we each had our own.  We made families with clothing, toys, furnishings all from the catalogs.  We would have our entire bedroom covered with everything.  We'd work together to be sure each of our "families" were different.  We also occasionally got store bought paper dolls, but the ones from the catalogs were a lot more fun.

Ann, I love your story! I've heard of children doing that years ago. Honestly,  I wish I'd thought of that as a kid. It sounds fun! Lol

RE:  Paper dolls

I had such a strong imagination that I'd be surprised when I surfaced to realize it was hot as blazes instead of winter which was the catalog we were using.

Even today if I get totally immersed in a book about a blizzard, I'll surface and be surprised it's hot as blazes.  Likewise, If I'm immersed in a book set in the summer, I'll be surprised to see snow on the ground when I surface.  Handy way to deal with unpleasant weather!!

I wonder if the violent video games affect our youth the same way blurring the line between the game and reality.