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View Poll Results: Were you raised by parents whose lives were impacted by the Great Depression?
Yes, I was. 156 84.78%
No, I wasn't. 20 10.87%
Something else, feel free to explain. 8 4.35%
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Old 11-09-2018, 07:28 AM   #41
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Dad was born 1926; Mom was born 1929. Dad was probably more frugal than Mom and had some stories, but I think Mom and her siblings were young enough that they figured being frugal was just the normal way of things. Dad died with over $1M and we were trying to get him to spend it almost until he died. He deteriorated very rapidly, but when we thought he could go to assisted living he wouldn't look at the nicer places but instead was looking at an old converted motel. He did like to spend on travel.

I had great aunts and uncles who never got over it. When we cleaned out one uncle's house at the end we found piles of grocery bags, egg cartons, and bread wrappers, as well as bushel baskets of slightly used hotel soaps (great aunt was a maid in a local hotel).

I have some money and generally like to spend it, but checking Quicken it looks like I'm barely at half my SWR for the year and we're 11 months in. I have to admit I inherited some of my parents' traits and still obsess over gas prices, clip coupons for groceries, etc. I need to blow that dough!
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Old 11-09-2018, 08:59 AM   #42
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Dad (born '21) lived on a farm during the depression. No running water until he was a late teen. One room school house taught by his sister. Back then, boys on the farm were expected to work the farm and didn't go to school until after their farm chores were done. Lots of talk of riding his horse to school. They really weren't paid much, if any, actual money back in the 30's. Everything was barter.

Fast forward about 80 years and he was still frugal into his 90's. I would take him to the store and spend over an hour while he might pick out maybe 10 items costing $10.

He enlisted in the Army (WWII) in order to get off the farm. He had a lot of fascinating stories that he didn't reveal until he was in his 80's and 90's (or perhaps I just wasn't listening until I was getting old).
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Old 11-09-2018, 09:54 AM   #43
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Originally Posted by Blueskies123 View Post
Yes, both parents were born in the 20's and had stories about growing up in the depression. The biggest impact on me was that my mom got hysterical every time my dad talked about investing in stocks. When my parents retired every dollar they had was in the bank and had been in savings accounts their entire life. Their retired life would have been different if they had invested in stocks.

+1
Both parents couldn't invest in stocks, as they had stories of grandmother using stock certificates to wallpaper the bathroom since they were worthless.

I had to hold my mother's hand, as I had her buy bonds.
They never bought a house.
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Old 11-09-2018, 10:05 AM   #44
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My dad was born in 1931, my mom in 1935. My dad's dad was a traveling salesman who maintained a decent household throughout the 1930s, my dad told me. My mom, who passed away in 1995, never told me about any tough times in the 1930s although she probably wouldn't remember much due to being so young by the time the 1930s ended.
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Old 11-09-2018, 10:43 AM   #45
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My dad was born in 1919 and my mom 1917. I heard all the horror stories of how tough it was but they both said they were happy for the most part. Dad didn't graduate from HS and was an airplane mechanic during WWII. He developed rheumatoid arthritis in his 20's so physical work was pretty much over when he came home from the war. He worked in a low stress job for the Air National Guard from then on. He never made much money and mom was a stay at home housewife/mom.

They were certainly conservative with their money as they had to be. Some of that spilled over to me. But nowhere near to their level. I sometimes feel guilty for having the savings I do and living such a comfortable lifestyle. But I usually get over it. They would be happy for me anyway....
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Old 11-09-2018, 10:52 AM   #46
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I guess I'm a youngster here, my parents are baby boomers.
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Old 11-09-2018, 10:57 AM   #47
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My parents were born in 31 and 32 so they grew up in that era and experienced the rationing that went along with WW2. I know that they started out as a young married couple with very little and we grew up with a fairly frugal lifestyle with hand me downs, simple meals, etc. but we always had clothes and food on the table. We heard all the typical stories about children in other countries starving for the food we might waste (and we were smacked for suggesting they ship ours to them.....)

It was more interesting seeing how they adapted as they became more financially secure. I think my dad made up for the pent up desire for things while my mom tracked every cent they ever spent. I am glad that they are in a position in their later years to be comfortable.

It is also interesting to see how we, their children approach money. One is a spendthrift with little savings (probably following my dad's desire to make up for going without as a kid) , the others are all pretty conservative.
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Old 11-09-2018, 11:54 AM   #48
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You wouldn't believe the stacks of empty plastic butter tubs, boxes of old National Geographic magazines, and the like. Or, maybe you would!
I believe you! When my mother was getting ready to move out of the house she'd lived in for ~40 years, my sisters had to double-team her to get her out of the house so I and one sister could clean stuff out and throw it out. The other sister would take Mom out to lunch while the other one and I cleaned stuff out.

I was stunned at the number of butter tubs and plastic grocery bags under the sink and had no idea it was even possible to cram that many in there!
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Old 11-09-2018, 12:11 PM   #49
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I was stunned at the number of butter tubs and plastic grocery bags under the sink and had no idea it was even possible to cram that many in there!
How about in the oven? It was crammed full of those things. And every time I cleaned it out and told Mom how unsafe that was, the reply was always "What's the problem? I never use the oven."
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Old 11-09-2018, 12:24 PM   #50
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How about in the oven? It was crammed full of those things. And every time I cleaned it out and told Mom how unsafe that was, the reply was always "What's the problem? I never use the oven."
Oh, that wouldn't do. The oven was where she kept the Tupperware....
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Old 11-09-2018, 12:29 PM   #51
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Both my parents were born in Ireland. Dad in 1912 and mom in 1916. Came to the u.s. in late 1940s. Dad's father died when he was very young and same with my mom's mother.



I saw their houses where they grew up in Ireland in 1990 and my mom's house still did not have a toilet.


They were both very frugal (my dad more so). He hated what he thought were high utility bills (he went as far as putting a lock on the house (dial) phone. He wasn't too happy to find out my brother and I knew how to compromise it.


Anyhoo, I definitely credit my dad for my frugal ways. They definitely helped me retire early. Now if my wife would just learn to turn off lights when she leaves a room.
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Old 11-09-2018, 12:56 PM   #52
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Dad was born in 1930 and Mom 1933. And my nana was an immigrant from Italy in 1929 born in 1898.
Mom came from a huge family that was very poor, their kitchen table was a door. They never went hungry as her dad was a butcher. She’s very frugal. When my parents married they were not well off, they told us the story of a sweltering night where dad asked for a glass of soda and mom said they didn’t have any, nor 10 cents to buy some. Dad worked 2 jobs, made his way with his own business and mom managed the household budget well, dad invested wisely. They did very well. Most of us 5 lbym and are doing well. The next generation was overindulged however but they seem to be lbym people too.
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Old 11-09-2018, 01:00 PM   #53
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My parents were both born in the 1920s. Their families were farmers, they lost their farms when the banks locked their doors and foreclosed on mortgages.

The big migration West called the Grapes of Wraith was my kinfolk. As a child in school, I was called an Okie in memory of that migration.

My grandparents on both sides never forgot the hardships that they lived through.
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Old 11-09-2018, 01:55 PM   #54
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I can remember very clearly, growing up right after the depression... born in 1936, my youngest years were spent in the arms of both my mom and dad's extended families. A time when those who were down on their luck were supported by the rest of the family who had jobs. WWll in the early 40's was not much better than the lack of money, as life was governed by shortages, rationing and sacrifices that would seem devastating today. No meat, walk to work miles because of gas shortage, no leather, limited dry goods..., and any metal at a premium.( it was before plastic) Wage and price control... (Emergency Stabilization Act)... unimaginable today.

Friday was payday... That meant that Thursday, when we had run out of money, we might have carrot-top soup for dinner. And... we were better off than half of our neighbors, because my dad still had a job.

In retrospect, no sacrifice... just a matter of "it is what it is", and as kids, we didn't know any better.
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Old 11-09-2018, 03:30 PM   #55
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My mom's side had money. They had horses. Just like today, horses meant discretionary $ (unless LAYM). But the GR impacted mom quite strongly.
Dad's family was dirt scrabble poor. Big family on a small homestead farm in ND during the dust bowl. Gramps saved the farm by smuggling whiskey from Canada.

Thanks Canada.
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Old 11-09-2018, 03:48 PM   #56
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Parents both born in 1914. Mom had stories about Salvation Army giving them coal, local grocer giving food. Dad's father was well off, a chemist who ran paper mills. Dad said the crash of 1929 wiped him out, had a stroke and died. Dad's mom baked bread, sugar cookies and cinnamon rolls (why I grew up with a weight problem-lol) while he worked as a chicken plucker and pin setter in the bowling alley to get by.

They always made me feel that I could have anything I wanted, but based on their example, I rarely asked.
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Old 11-09-2018, 04:28 PM   #57
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i don't have to rely on only the stories , i have photos and the ration books ( and some other keepsakes )

certainly some interesting lessons were learned from that era , could it all happen again ( it was less than 90 years ago and current times could be compared to the roaring '20s )
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Old 11-09-2018, 05:08 PM   #58
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Dad's family was dirt scrabble poor. Big family on a small homestead farm in ND during the dust bowl. Gramps saved the farm by smuggling whiskey from Canada.

Thanks Canada.
My grandmother's 2nd husband smuggled booze too! They still like to drink in North Dakota ...
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Old 11-09-2018, 07:17 PM   #59
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Yes, parents born in 20 & 28. My father WOULD NOT THROW OUT FOOD. If something went bad, he would eat it anyway. My mother used to have to throw out his raggy old clothes when he was at work.

I remember my grandmother saving and reusing string and tea bags.
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Old 11-09-2018, 07:32 PM   #60
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two uses of a tea bag and then thrown in the garden ( as fertilizer ) still works for me

and rags can be useful
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