Grandma’s Frugal Living Tips From The Great Depression You Wish You Knew Before

During the Great Depression, our grandparents were forced to apply frugal tips and tricks to survive the economic hardships. And in the current tough economic times, where most people struggle with debt, learning from our ancestors has become crucial for our financial health. That’s why today I’ll share with you some of the best frugal living tips from the Great Depression that I learned from my Grandma. Let’s get into it!

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Grandma’s Frugal Living Tips From The Great Depression

Our grandparents are the best frugal coaches out there and we can learn so much from them.

This is because the Great Depression forced most families to live on less, reuse and recycle resources, and stretch every penny as much as possible.

In this post about the best frugal living tips from the Great Depression, you’ll find all the great depression hacks, some crazy frugal ideas, and unusual frugal tips from my Grandma that will help you stop wasting money and make the most out of your available resources.

What Did People Do To Save Money In The Great Depression?

Knowing that during past economic crises so many people live with less money than most families nowadays, you might be asking yourself:

‘How to live like grandma did?’

‘What did people do for fun in the Great Depression?’

And ‘What meals were eaten during the Great Depression?’

1930s frugality can help you stretch your dollars and apply the best great depression hacks and old fashioned frugal living tips to cut costs on groceries, entertainment, and household items.

Frugal Household Tips From The Depression Era

There’re so many ways to be frugal around the house.

Grandma always tells me to make do with what I have and reuse/recycle everything.

And you’ll see that, with small changes to your habits, you can save great money.

Follow these frugal tips from grandma to stretch your budget!:

1. Forget About Clothes Dryers

Save on utility bills by line-drying your clothes.

That way, you don’t have to invest in a clothes dryer that uses high heat and damages the fibers of the fabrics.

Plus, you’ll get your clothes to smell incredibly fresh without using chemicals, and you can finish the task in less than 10 minutes!

2. Fix Instead Of Replacing

Instead of buying things to replace the ones that are broken, why not try to fix them?

Small holes in clothes can be fixed in an instant with basic sewing skills and some supplies from the nearest craft store.

A loose shoe sole can be glued back again with shoe adhesive.

A broken wooden chair can be fixed with some nails.

See? Imagine all the money you could save if you learned how to repair (almost) anything!

I’ve found a cool website where you can find tips and tricks to do from jewelry to garden, plumbing, and car repairs!

Access Fix It Club here.

3. Pay Everything In Cash

Buying on credit was one of the causes of the Great Depression.

What happened is that everyone borrowed money from the banks but no one could pay them back.

The important lesson to learn here is: never use money you don’t have!

Instead, avoid getting into debt by paying in cash.

Cash will allow you to easily stick to a budget and control your spending.

4. Cut Down On Plastic

During the Great Depression, nothing went to waste.

And this applied to any household product.

Nowadays, with the alarming amount of plastic ending up in the ocean, it’s crucial to address environmental pollution and opt for eco-friendly alternatives.

Here’s a list of single-use items and their reusable counterparts:

• Plastic grocery bag = paper bag, mesh bag, jute bag

• Plastic containers = glass containers and mason jars

• Plastic wrap = reusable silicone food savers

• Plastic straws = glass straws

• Plastic toothbrush = bamboo toothbrush

• Paper baking cups = silicone muffin baking cups

• Tea bags = infuser

5. Learn How To Compost

One of the top frugal living tips from the Great Depression is having your own vegetable garden.

But did you know that you can get soil and fertilizers 100% free?

It’s easy! Start a compost pile on bare earth.

Fruit peelings, newspaper strips, grass clippings, eggshells—you can toss lots of materials alternating moist and dry to get nutrient-rich humus to help your garden thrive.

6. Use Until Worn Out

In a world where we’re bombarded with ads that promote hyper-consumerism, it’s hard not to feel tempted to buy things over and over again.

How to make better use of your money when shopping then?

The key here is choosing high-quality products that endure the passing of time and usage.

Once you have them, use them until they are totally worn out.

Shoes, sweaters, kitchen dish towels, appliances, jeans, and backpacks are good examples of products that, when bought smartly, can last for years and years to come.

7. Make Your Own Homemade Disinfectant Spray

Plenty of brands offer cleaning products on the market.

However, there’s a more economical way of disinfecting your home and that’s making your own cleaners!

The best part is that you can make them with ingredients you already have in your kitchen.

Combine half a cup of vinegar or 70% alcohol with two cups of water and 20 drops of your favorite essential oil (I use lemon and lavender essential oils), and use your new DIY spray to clean toilets, door handles, tables, bathroom surfaces, and countertops.

8. Hand-wash Your Clothes

If you want to save money on water and electricity, you’ll definitely want to hand-wash your clothes.

Washing machines consume LOTS of water and damage your clothes in the long run.

Expand the lifespan of your clothes and save money by hand-washing them.

Just make sure to read the labels for care instructions, use dishwashing gloves, and NEVER EVER use hot water!

9. Reuse Toilet Paper Rolls

During the Great Depression, cardboard was reused and recycled on a daily basis.

For example, people would use a piece of cardboard to cover up holes in the sole of their shoes and toss cardboard to their composter to later use the humus in their vegetable garden.

In the present, there’s an unusual item made of cardboard that you can reuse and that’s the toilet paper roll!

You can reuse toilet paper rolls in a hundred ways.

Personally, I love to use them as drawer organizers.

Simply cut the rolls to fit into the drawer and arrange them inside the drawer to organize cables, underwear, socks, and other small items.

You can also use them as seed starters for your vegetable garden, pencil holders, and napkin rings!

10. Don’t Toss Soap Scraps

I used to hate it when I couldn’t use the leftover soap bits.

They were just too small and would slip out of my hands when trying to wash my hands or use them in the shower.

But I never tossed them again after discovering two new ways of recycling them, as our ancestors did!

The first one consists in collecting a certain amount of soap ends and putting them inside a sock.

This way you expand the lifespan of your soap and the sock acts as a skin exfoliator.

Another way to reuse soap is by converting your soap bars into liquid soap.

Just grate the soaps with a cheese grater and heat them with water in a saucepan.

Let it sit for 12 hours and then pour the mixture into a soap dispenser.

11. Freeze Kitchen Towels

Looking for ways to save money during summer?

Consider ditching the air conditioner and freezing kitchen towels to survive the summer heat.

Soak some of them in water, roll them up, and put them into the freezer for an hour.

And ta-da! You can wrap them around your neck for instant relief.

You can also hang frozen towels near windows or doors to cool up the air coming into your house.

12. Cut Your Own Hair

You can’t imagine the small fortune you could save if you cut your own hair!

It’s easy and today there’re a lot of tutorials available on YouTube to learn how to do it.

I cut my own hair and my husband’s and we’ve stopped going to the hairdresser altogether!

On the other hand, you can also let your hair grow and not cut it at all.

It depends on your preferences.

13. Recycle Paper

Paper was one of those staple items that were always reused or recycled during the Great Depression.

During those tough economic times, newspapers were used as glass cleaners, pee pads, and shoe stuffers.

Although nowadays we won’t use newspapers for personal hygiene, we can reuse them in other helpful ways.

At home, for example, we like to wrap fruits in newspapers to extend their shelf life and also as cat litter box liners to absorb odors and wetness.

Apart from that, we also like to recycle paper from old brochures or notepads by cutting the pages into small squares and using them as sticky notes in our home office.

14. Make A Garage Sale

Declutter your home and sell everything you no longer use.

It feels refreshing and you can get money in return!

You can also try bartering your products too.

The most important part here is that both parties get to benefit from the exchange.

Look for items around your house, such as clothes, furniture, jewels, books, and pieces of art, and be open to negotiation when customers start to come in.

15. Have An ‘Everything’ Pile

Have a dedicated jar (or jars for better organization) to store rubber bands, screws, nails, nuts, bolts, and any small item that come to your hands.

You never know when you’ll need them to make a repair!

And it’s even more important if you want to save money fixing broken household items yourself.

I even keep bread bag twist ties to wrap cables and chargers.

There’s always a way of reusing all these tiny objects; just get creative!

Frugal Entertainment Tips From the Depression Era

Immersed in a tough economic hardship, people in the 1930s sought affordable ways to forget their worries and pass the time with family and friends.

Below you’ll find some of the best fun great depression activities you can still copy today:

16. Have A Campfire

One of the top fun activities during the Great Depression was having a campfire.

But you don’t need to go to the woods to have one.

Have a campfire in your backyard to keep this fun activity budget-friendly.

You can grab some snacks, pillows, your tent, and some wood to make the firepit.

It’s a simple and cozy idea to have fun the good old-fashioned way!

17. Listen To Podcasts

Radio broadcasting was so important during the Great Depression.

This is because radio programs were free and kept the citizens entertained with soap operas, music, sports games, and news coverage.

At present, the modern version of radio programs is podcasts, with over 5 million shows worldwide to choose from.

Whether you are into gardening, business, fiction books, graphic design, politics, or pets, there’s a podcast for everyone.

You can listen to podcasts on different platforms:

• Spotify
• Audible
• Amazon Music
• Google Podcasts
• Apple Podcasts
• YouTube

18. Play Board Games

Whether it’s sunny or rainy, you can’t go wrong with board games.

Games like Monopoly and Sorry! were invented during the gloomy era of the Great Depression.

These, together with Bingo, cards, dominos, and puzzles were a cheap way of keeping the family entertained and hopeful.

If you want to have fun with no money and without leaving the house, wipe the dust off your board games and play all day long with your loved ones!

19. Go To The Movies

During the 1930s, it was common to go watching free outdoor movies projected by merchants to attract potential customers.

Hollywood entered a golden era and even Snow White was released as America’s first full-length animated movie.

Turns out that watching movies help people forget their worries and have fun with their loved ones.

Today, going to the cinema is a cool activity to have fun without breaking the bank.

Look for cinemas near you and check what deals and discounts they offer before buying the tickets.

20. Read In The Library

Reading, apart from being cheap, is incredibly fascinating.

It’s virtually impossible not to find a book that suits your interests.

Go to your nearest public library, wander around, and pick a book of your choice.

If you don’t know what to read, you can ask the librarian.

Library staff is more than happy to match readers to the perfect books, so don’t be shy!

They will recommend you authors and titles to help you find something you like.

You can even get a library card so you can read anywhere, with tons of free reading material available.

21. Play Miniature Golf

Miniature Golf grew big after the 1929 economic collapse.

With so many businesses closing, people had to find creative ways of making money.

And mini golf courses were easy and cheap to build.

Even homeowners built courses in their backyards to make extra money.

You can check some of America’s best mini golf courses here.

Croquet is also a fun alternative to mini golf and my sister and I love playing it at home!

You can get your customizable croquet course here.

22. Go To Free Community Events

Taking a walk around your neighborhood is not the only activity you can do outdoors for free!

Check your city’s website to see what free community events they offer in their calendar.

Usually, there’re plenty of options to have fun on a budget, like fairs, free music concerts, yoga classes, and art workshops.

23. Ride A Bike

Bike riding was another cheap and fun activity for kids and adults alike during the Great Depression and remains a free option to entertain yourself (and get fit too, DOUBLE WIN).

Take a ride around your neighborhood and don’t plan your route⁠—it’s more exciting and you’ll get to explore and discover new places.

Personally, I use cycling as the perfect excuse to breathe some fresh air, soak in the sights, and, most importantly, see dogs of all shapes and sizes!

24. Go Roller Skating

In the 1930s, roller skating rinks were extremely popular, attracting lots of people who wanted to have a blast at the rhythm of disco music.

There’s probably a roller skating rink in your town, but, if you don’t have one near you, you can roller skate around the block.

Have kiddos? That’s great! They’ll love to be in nature and pass some leisure time together.

Put your skating equipment on and enjoy this hobby all year round!

25. Have A Family Reunion

During hard economic times, just being together as a family is a rewarding and fun activity.

There’s always an excuse to bring all family members together, sit around, and tell funny family stories.

You can even plan some games to play in group!

Uno, Picture it!, Twister, Guess Who?, Jenga—the possibilities are endless.

After playing, you can have some homemade cookies with tea or coffee.

Great Depression Food Tips

This list featuring the best frugal living tips from the great depression wouldn’t be complete without frugal food tips.

Did you know that you can save hundreds of dollars by being more conscious about how you cook at home?

Find out how to save money on food as people in the 1930s did!

26. Reuse Fruit Peels

Peels contain the highest concentration of nutrients in plants.

They are rich in fiber, antioxidants, and vitamins.

But if you still want to remove the peel from fruits, know for sure that you can reuse them.

How? There are plenty of options to recycle fruit peels and these are my favorite:

First, you can add them to your compost bin as nutrients.

Second, you can create a homemade potpourri: simmer skins from oranges and apples with spices in low heat and let the fragrance fill your home.

Third, ground orange or lemon peels to add to your favorite vanilla cake; they give it an extraordinary citric flavor!

27. Grow A Vegetable Garden

There’s nothing more rewarding than harvesting your own organic veggies.

At home, we grow tomatoes, lettuce, kale, cucumber, peppers, and even garlic.

So yummy.

The best part is that you know that they come from a trustable source and that no one has added dangerous fertilizers or pesticides.

Don’t know where to start?

Click here to learn how to make a vegetable garden for beginners.

28. Avoid Ready Meals

The problem with ready meals is that you don’t know exactly how much sugar, salt, oils, and preservatives were added to them.

Plus, you not only can cook them at home for half the price but also you can adjust recipes according to your tastes.

Buying ready meals at the grocery store can get expensive!

Let alone eating out.

Cook your meal from scratch.

Your economy will thank you later.

29. Ration Your Meals

If you want to stretch your food budget even more, try meal prepping.

Cooking food in batches will allow you to ration your meals and make better use of the money allocated to monthly groceries.

Before going to the grocery store, check if you have canned food in your pantry to cook based on that.

Only then, go to the grocery store and get the missing ingredients for the meal prep following these money-saving tips with meal prepping.

This is definitely one of the best frugal living tips from the great depression that saved the most money!

30. Cut On Meat

With meat prices going up and up, what can you do to cut grocery costs?

It’s simple, copy the great depression habit of eating less meat and adding more veggies to your meals.

That’s not only healthier but also cheaper.

Veggies will help make your meals more abundant and nutrient-rich.

Plus, you’ll kill hunger faster.

31. Make Your Own Bread

I love the delicious scent of freshly baked bread.

What’s better than making your own bread, knowing that it doesn’t contain weird additives and that it’s also cheaper than its store-bought counterpart?

This is my favorite homemade bread:

• 440 ml of water (105°F)
• 3 spoons of sunflower oil
• 4 spoons of brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 480 g of white flour
• 120 g of whole-wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon of dry yeast

Mix all the ingredients in that order, let the dough rise for half an hour, and then bake until its crust gets golden brown.

32. Buy Groceries In Bulk

Whenever possible, make sure to buy groceries in your local bulk food shop to save extra money.

Buying in bulk means you’re not paying for excessive packaging and that you’ll be charged less per unit.

Besides, you can make several servings of one specific meal all at once.

It’s an amazing strategy to protect your pocket!

33. Try Great Depression Food Recipes

During the Great Depression, people had to make do with the available food.

Some grew vegetables and live on potatoes day by day.

Others invented some weird depression era recipes that can make your stomach churn.

No matter how bizarre some recipes may sound, we gotta admit that great depression recipes were frugal, and we can perfectly adapt them to the present time.

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Frugal Recipes From The Great Depression

Mulligan Stew

In the 1930s, Mulligan Stew was a simple stew made of sliced meat, carrots, potatoes, cabbage, and…Cigarette ends.

Yep.

Homeless people would toss tobacco into the stew to add some aroma and taste.

If you’re curious, check out this Mulligan Stew recipe to make your own at home (it doesn’t involve cigarette ends, I promise).

Navy Bean Soup

For legume lovers, here is a comfort food recipe that you’ll love.

It consists of a soup made of tender navy beans, veggies, and ham.

You can remove the meat if you are vegetarian or vegan!

Here’s the recipe to taste the best great depression navy bean soup out there.

Bread Pudding

To make bread pudding cheaper, people during the Great Depression used raisins instead of butter.

Butter was a rare commodity and so expensive!

Making your own bread pudding, with or no butter, is a wonderful way of using old bread leftovers instead of tossing them into the trash.

Here’s the bread pudding recipe I use for tea time with my family.

Bread And Butter Pickles

One of the staples in Great Depression recipes was sliced pickled cucumbers in a sandwich.

It was cheap and could last for months.

If you want to try this less vinegary version of pickled cucumbers, check out this bread-and-butter pickles recipe.

Potatoes & Gravy

Smashed potatoes with gravy was another famous dish during the Great Depression.

It’s so simple!

And it can save you when you can’t come up with new recipe ideas.

Try a modern version of the potatoes and gravy recipe here.

Canned Soup

The Campbell soups portrayed in Andy Warhol’s pieces of art helped millions of Americans survive hunger during the Great Depression.

The tomato soup from the company become a staple during dinners and other flavors, such as chicken, vegetable, and oxtail, were popular too.

Canned soup contains a high amount of sodium but can serve as a fast and cheap option if you want to eat it occasionally.

Mock Apple Pie

To make this strange cake, people used to replace apples with ground Ritz crackers covered in lemon, vanilla syrup, and cinnamon.

Surprisingly, this trick gave the cake an amazing apple flavor.

Want to try it out? Get the mock apple pie recipe here.

Milkorno

Milkorno, invented by scientists from Cornell University, consisted of powdered skim milk and ground corn.

It could be eaten as is or added to soups and other dishes.

Families also made their own Milkorno using oats or wheat and adding saltines to the mixture.

Wacky Cake

No milk, no eggs, and no butter?

Then no problem: the wacky cake, or Depression cake, didn’t use any of those ingredients and still tasted delicious.

Cook your own Depression cake using this wacky cake recipe.

Dandelion Salad

I didn’t know this, but dandelion leaves are edible!

And it seems that dandelion salads were very popular during the 1930s.

I didn’t try it yet, but I would definitely give it a shot following this dandelion salad recipe from 94-year-old cook Clara!

Jello

Gelatin kept stomachs full and was relatively affordable.

Basically, it was made of beef or bone broth.

You can cook your own gelatin in half an hour with this jello recipe.

Deviled Eggs

Sick and tired of scrambled eggs?

Then try this deviled eggs recipe.

This dish consists of hard-boiled eggs, mayonnaise, mustard, vinegar, and paprika.

It’s certainly an egg recipe worth trying on to get creative in the kitchen.

Biscuits

Biscuits were a cheap alternative to store-bought bread during the Great Depression, and they were made with no milk or butter.

Particularly, the combination of biscuits with gravy was a staple for breakfast.

If you’re interested in making homemade biscuits the old-fashioned way, this is the simplest biscuit recipe out there you can try today!

Cornbread

Cornmeal, salt, and water—this is how simple cornbread was.

Nowadays, with more ingredients available in the market, people add butter, milk, eggs, and baking powder.

Make cornbread for your coffee break with this recipe from Budget Bites.

Wrapping Up: Grandma’s Frugal Living Tips From The Great Depression

So, there you have it!

These were the best frugal living tips from the Great Depression.

If you were wondering ‘How do you live a frugal but great life?’, it all comes down to making do with the available resources, appreciating what you have, and applying all these frugal tips from grandma to reuse and recycle almost everything.

This way, you get to reduce waste and costs.

It’s good for the planet and for your pocket!

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‘Grandma’s Frugal Living Tips From The Great Depression You Wish You Knew Before’