Well, here many of us are. The age of our grandparents.
Or, in my case, WAY older.
I really try to avoid thinking about that as much as possible.
I will grant you that grandmas today are much different from the two grandmas I grew up with. And I loved my grandmothers dearly, so I mean no disrespect when I say that I have absolutely inherited some of their thrifty ways.
Both of my grandmothers were extremely frugal.
And while I feel like I live a life of abundance—and I am very grateful for that—I also feel like thriftiness is somehow inbred in me.
So how is it that being thrifty actually makes me feel more abundant?
I think it’s because many of the things I do to save money are also the things that feed my soul.
Things like making my own bread and biscuits and cookies.
Entertaining at home instead of always meeting friends at restaurants.
Reading books from the library instead of belonging to a hardbound book club.
And, of course, my all-time favorite weekly soul-feeding activity: hanging my sheets out to dry on Friday mornings.
I know. Try not to be jealous of my exciting life.
Of course, not everyone has the time, space, or interest to do all of these things. But I do think there are plenty of old-fashioned habits that are thrifty at the bottom line and somehow still feel like luxury and self-care.
And by the way, I know there are many, many more ways I could economize.
But I don’t want to.
I like showering every day.
Like one of my grandmothers, I have absolutely no talent for sewing, so I will not be making my own clothes. I can barely handle basic mending repairs. And please don’t hand me a pair of scissors if you want anything cut straight.
We’ve also discovered that trying to grow enough food to feed ourselves in the Arizona desert makes very little sense for us. Yes, we can grow a few herbs and some lettuce in the winter, but we’re not exactly going to make it through the apocalypse on basil and arugula.
So this isn’t about doing everything the old-fashioned way.
It’s about finding the thrifty habits that actually make life feel better.
Cook Something From Scratch
Eating most of our meals at home is probably one of the biggest ways we save money. But I don’t think of homemade bread, biscuits, cookies, or granola as deprivation.
Quite the opposite.
There is something abundant about a kitchen that smells like bread baking or having a jar of homemade granola ready for breakfast.
And while we’re in the kitchen, instead of always scrolling for the newest TikTok recipe, how about pulling out that 40-year-old tried-and-true cookbook? Like the oatmeal cookies I make from the 1977 edition of The Joy of Cooking?
Sometimes the best recipe is the one we already know we love.
Use What You Already Have
My grandmothers were experts at this.
Before buying something new, they looked at what was already in the refrigerator, pantry, closet, or cupboard.
I’m trying to do more of that myself—especially in the kitchen.
What can I make with what I already have? What can I reuse? What perfectly good thing am I overlooking because something newer caught my eye?
Using what I already own doesn’t make me feel deprived. Quite often, it makes me feel resourceful.
Make Staying Home Feel Like a Treat
We love entertaining at home.
We play games. We listen to music. We tell stories. We light candles and use the good napkins.
Recently, my sisters and I planned a FaceTime dance party. I created a playlist with my favorite dance songs and sent it to them ahead of time so they could add their favorites. While we chatted and caught up on life, we had our dance music playing—and yes, I was actually doing some ’80s moves.
None of that feels like economizing.
In fact, some of my favorite evenings cost very little.
Game night with my sisters. Good company, a table full of tiles, and almost no money required.
Pack the Cooler
My grandmothers would never have headed out for a day trip without provisions.
In fact, I like to imagine their mothers and grandmothers packing up covered wagons as they made their way west, where eventually all of us would be born.
Clearly, packing snacks is in my blood.
And they were onto something.
Packing a cooler with our favorite drinks and snacks saves money on the road, but it also makes the trip more fun. Somehow a sandwich eaten at a scenic overlook tastes better than the same sandwich eaten at the kitchen counter.
Proof that we really do pack the cooler. Apparently we also bring half the kitchen. But this picnic at Arches National Park came with a view no restaurant could match.
Keep Some Things Simple
I don’t need 17 different beverages in the house.
Water, coffee and tea cover most of my days quite nicely. Although I will say the price of coffee does make me do a double take!
Simplifying what we buy regularly is one of those small things that saves money without making life feel smaller.
A library book, a cup of coffee and a quiet place to sit. This is my kind of luxury.
Spend Where It Matters
Thriftiness, to me, is not about always choosing the cheapest option.
We use technology to compare prices on airfare, hotels and gasoline. We evaluate our streaming services and ask whether we actually use them. We choose road trips sometimes because we enjoy them—not just because they can cost less.
The point isn’t to spend as little as possible.
It’s to spend less on the things that don’t matter very much so there is more room for the things that do.
Wrap Up
Summer always makes me feel nostalgic. The Fourth of July was the ultimate holiday when I was growing up, and this time of year seems to bring back memories of the people and traditions that shaped me.
The older I get—and we have already established that I am apparently older than my grandmothers—the more I appreciate what the people who came before me added to my life.
I don’t sew my own clothes. I’m not growing enough food to feed the family. And I have no intention of giving up my daily shower.
But I make bread. I hang sheets in the sunshine. I pack the cooler. I use the library. I invite people into my home. And I try not to spend money on things that don’t matter so I can enjoy the things that do.
Maybe that’s my version of living like Grandma.
And the funny thing is, it doesn’t make my life feel smaller at all.
It makes me feel abundant.
How about you? Is there a thrifty habit or tradition you inherited from your parents or grandparents that still makes your life better today?
Thank you for joining me on this little trip down memory lane. Many blessings!