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Boomer and Gen X Americans share the money advice that got them through tough economic times

"Perseverance. One of our best traits."

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Boomers and Gen Xers share financial advice for making it through hard economic times.

Surviving hard economic times builds grit and character, and almost every generation has had to deal with difficult financial challenges. Two generations who are especially equipped to offer their wisdom about weathering through tough times, though, are Boomers and Gen Xers.

In a Reddit forum, member @Fit_Trifle2469 posed the question to followers: "Dear Boomers and Gen X: What got you through tough economic times?"

They followed up with more explanation behind the prompt. "Millennial here (33). I wanted to reach out and hear from those of you who’ve lived through major recessions, such as 2000 and 2008," they wrote. "I'm really interested in your perspective — not just for myself, but for others who might stumble across this thread someday when times get rough again."

Boomers and Gen Xers who have been through difficult financial times and hardships opened up to share their wisdom. These are some of their best pieces of advice for tough economic times.

penny pinch, save, money advice, saving, count moneyMoney Management GIF by Robert E BlackmonGiphy

"When I graduated HS in 1981, unemployment was 10 percent and mortgages were 17 percent. Inflation was 8 percent. I had no job and couldn't find one. That's when my step-father threw me out. I was going to be homeless so I joined the Army. It was one day at a time, one foot in front of the other and I marched on. What else can you do? Eventually things got better. Much, much better." —@Distwalker

"Perseverance. One of our best traits." —@SharonWit

"Downsize everything ......phone...phone plan.... car.... cook food at home .....pack a lunch for work....debt consolidation and make that one payment........no credit card usage..... entertainment was checking out free library books and reading them......thrift store shopping......trade/barter services and items on craigslist." —@Express-Rutabega-105

meal prep, prep meals, food prep, cheap meals, food savingsGIF by NRDCGiphy

"Don’t waste any food - plan meals accordingly so as not to waste anything, buy discounted meat, bread, fruit and veg. All meat gets cut up for meals so it can last longer - nobody gets a steak for themselves, one cheap, marinated steak cut into strips and added to rice and veggies for 3-4 meals. Eggs (they’re still cheap where I live) and a 50lb bag of potatoes are your new best friends unless you like pasta then you are much easier to feed. Get condiment packets from restaurants -my partner made an order and forgot to grab ketchup etc. I don’t miss being poor but I can still feed the fam relatively well on a very, very tight budget." —@drivingthelittles

"Living as cheap as possible out of sheer spite."—@OldLadyMorgendorffer

"I'll be adding to this list with edits as my brain dump continues:

  1. Everyone will lie to your face brazenly about layoffs - don't believe anyone when they say things are fine. The more they say everything is fine, the worse it actually is.
  2. Understand when your industry is getting f@cked and start developing alternatives or fallback options early, not AFTER you get laid off. (Software engineers right now should have realized a year ago at least their industry was getting screwed, as a specific example)
  3. Know the impact of systemic shifts (outsourcing and drive to the internet previously, AI now) and how you can counteract those as best possible, move to a role that isn't as likely to be clobbered as hard.
  4. Learn to cook healthy meals on the cheap - take out is $, but so is eating like sh!t. You can cook en-masse on Sunday and freeze for the week, but work on a plan to move to "high efficiency meal planning".
  5. Reduce your systemic expenses - if you've had "lifestyle creep" ratchet that crap back before you are in the crosshairs financially.
  6. Do your planned maintenance of stuff - now now now, later is NOT going to be better. If it's due, get it done." —@GreatResetBet

rolling stones, cant always get what you want, mick jagger, rolling stones gif, jaggerthe rolling stones GIFGiphy

"Live within your means. Avoid debt. Don’t worry about keeping up with the Jones. Focus on your partner. We in our mid 60s, lived through tough times and even though we didn’t have the income to support it, put both their children through private high school at their request. Money was tight, but there’s a lot of ways to enjoy life that don’t include having a lot of money. Remember the line from the Rolling Stones: 'you can’t always get what you want, but if you try, sometimes, you get what you need'." —@ethanrotman
"Save during the good times. During the ‘08 crash, we had several friends who lost their homes to foreclosure. These were all hardworking people. We had been very good about saving and living below our means. The rainy day fund helped tremendously. They say, pay yourself first. I know it can be difficult but even 50/week will grow over time." —@joysheart

potluck, potluck dinner, potlucks, potluck meal, potluck mealsPot Luck GIF by PartifulGiphy

"Do everything to keep a job, when the recession hits if you at least have a job you can pay the bills. Stop buying things except for food and must haves. Do you really need a lot of cleaning supplies? Makeup? Clothes? Dinner out? No. Cook your own food, learn to enjoy the outdoors, have pot luck dinners with friends." —@eatmore-plants
"It's honestly just lowering expectations and cutting out all but necessary expenses and shopping sales. We're still in our starter home because of the housing collapse. We were underwater for years and then the kids started school. It's about appreciating the little things." —@whatevertoad

grit, understanding, hard work, perspective, resilientRobert Redford Yes GIF by GritTVGiphy

"The things that get you through tough times emotionally are your social network, keeping perspective, and your own personal grit. The things that get you through tough times financially are things like keeping your living expenses relatively low, living below your means, putting money away for hard times, and keeping up your job skills and professional networks." —@Shot-Artichoke-4106
"We got hit hard in both recessions and it was really hard to rebound because we were young and not well-established. We made it through by living as frugally as possible and avoiding 'lifestyle creep.' Also, one thing we got in a habit of doing was every year when we got our income tax refund (back when we still got refunds), we’d pay our car insurance in full for the year, put some in the kids’ college accounts, and put the rest in our house down payment fund." —@Mammoth-Ad-4806
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Education

The 25-year-old money-saving 'bible' that millennials and Gen Zers absolutely need to read

This book has saved me thousands of dollars and changed my entire perspective on "frugality."

Photo by Josh Appel on Unsplash

"The Complete Tightwad Gazette" offers timeless money-saving advice.

As an Amazon Associate, Upworthy may earn proceeds from items purchased that are linked to this article, at no additional cost to you.

Let me start by saying that young adults these days absolutely do have economics stacked against them. There's no question that stagnant wages, the unaffordability of housing, outrageous college costs, post-pandemic inflation and good ol' American corporate greed have all combined to create a tough financial reality for us all, but particularly for the millennials and Gen Zers who are starting off their adult lives feeling already underwater.

If you're in that boat, allow a Gen X auntie to give you some sage advice. Absolutely, rail against the man and shake your fist at the skyscrapers and vent on TikTok if it makes you feel better. But also, none of that is going to change super soon, so you've got to own what you actually have control over, and that's managing the money that you do have (however little it may be).

When my kids were little back in the early 2000s, my husband and I were living on one not-at-all-amazing income. I had been raised quite frugally, so I was comfortable penny-pinching as needed, but I was looking for more creative ways to stretch our dollars.

I had no idea how much one book would change my entire view of saving money—or how much money it would actually save me over the years.

"The Complete Tightwad Gazette," by Amy Dacyczyn (pronounced "decision") is exactly what it sounds like—a newspaper for tightwads—only in this case "tightwad" isn't used as an insult. From 1990 to 1996, Dacyczyn published a newsletter about frugal living as a lifestyle called "The Tightwad Gazette," and this book is a compilation of her life's work.

The book offers a combination of overarching mindset shifts and specific tips for saving money on specific things. Some of the advice is outdated now ("Do I really need a computer?" is a no-brainer question in a way that it wasn't in the early 90s, for instance), but the principles underlying pretty much everything in the 959-page tome still ring true. Now that my kids are young adults with their own financial experiences, I find myself passing along a lot of Dacyczyn's frugal wisdom to them.

Here are a few of the helpful bits of wisdom it contains:

1. Pennies matter a lot more than you think.

If I told you I was going to hand you $200 in cash every year on your birthday, you'd probably be thrilled. But if I gave you three pieces of advice that each saved you 20 cents a day, would you be as excited? Probably not. But the latter would actually put more money in your pocket (the equivalent of handing you $219 on your birthday) in the long run.

Lots of small amounts add up to a large amount, and when you wrap your head around that concept, small money-saving decisions start taking on greater importance. Pennies really do add up—both positively and negatively.

2. Think of saving money as income—literally.

"A penny saved is a penny earned" is an old saying, but a useful one to help us understand the value of going out of your way to save a few cents.

Let's say your closest gas station sells gas for $4.39 a gallon. A station down the street, two minutes away, is selling it for $4.29 a gallon. To fill a 15-gallon tank would only cost $1.50 less at the second station—not even enough to buy a cup of coffee. Is that really worth your time?

Let's calculate. If you think of saving money as earning income, you're taking two minutes to "earn" $1.50. That's $0.75 a minute—translate that into an hourly income, and you've earned the equivalent of $45 an hour, simply by driving two minutes to save 10 cents a gallon. Even accounting for the gas it took to drive a few extra blocks—less than 10 cents—you still come out with a hefty hourly wage.

This "time x money saved = hourly income" equation was a life-changing perspective shift for me. If it only takes a minute or two to save a dollar, that's a solid hourly earning.

3. Use the absolute smallest amount necessary to do the job.

This is simple common sense when you say it out loud, but most of us don't live this way in reality. We use more than we need of most consumable things most of the time, simply out of habit. When you pull out that string of floss, so it wraps around your fingers four times? What if you pulled out less and only wrapped it three or two times? 

Start by cutting the consumables you use on a daily basis back by half—everything from toothpaste to dish soap to shampoo to toilet paper. We all get excited about 50% off sales, when we could easily save 50% ourselves simply by using less of the things we use all the time, with the same result. If you need to add a little back in after cutting back by half, go for it. But you might be surprised by how little you need to actually get the job done.​

The Complete Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczyn

"The Complete Tightwad Gazette" by Amy Dacyczyn

Amazon

4. Do the math to determine what's actually cheap and expensive to eat.

Even with the cost of groceries being ridiculously high, cooking from scratch is, in most cases, drastically cheaper than eating out or getting takeout.

I know the old folks like to tease you about your affinity for avocado toast, but it's pretty eye-opening to compare the cost of buying something like avocado toast out and making it yourself at home. With current prices at my local grocery store, it would cost less than $1.00 to make avocado toast at home, and that's even with good bread and a generous serving of butter and yummy seasonings. Add another 30 cents, and you can slap an organic fried egg on top. We're talking $1.30 tops for super bougie breakfast toast at home.

But even within the "cooking at home" category, some meals are way, way less expensive than others. One of my favorite Tightwad Gazette investigations focused on how much various kinds of breakfasts cost per serving. Personally, I'm a huge cold cereal fan, which is bad news because it's actually one of the most expensive breakfasts you can eat. Toast and eggs is (generally) cheaper. Pancakes are even cheaper, especially if you make them from scratch and not a mix. Oatmeal is super cheap. Oatmeal bought in bulk? Even cheaper. And the differences can be significant—again, looking at my current grocery store app, a serving of Cheerios costs 300% more than a serving of quick oats.

All of those choices add up, both positively and negatively. By doing the math, figuring out per-serving costs and choosing less expensive meals, you can cut your grocery bill by a lot.

This is just barely scratching the tip of the iceberg—there are so many tips and tricks for saving both small and large amounts of money. Since the economy isn't going to be any kinder to us in the near future, learning how to make the most of what we do have is the best way to help ourselves. Find "The Complete Tightwad Gazette" here (or, in true tightwad fashion, at your local library, but it's a good one to keep on hand for reference). Highly, highly recommend.

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Pop Culture

19 super practical life hacks people swear by to save money, time and aggravation

“Life hacks” may be cliché, but all these deliver.

via Karolina Grabowska/Pexels

Happy woman in blue long sleeve blouse holding money.

There isn't a person on the planet who doesn't have some trouble with the basics in life, whether it's time management, focus, money, health, children, waking up, staying organized, getting enough exercise, or making sure they can find their car keys.

Some of us do better than others, but we could all help with the basics. The good thing is that we have each other to help us along the way. One of the great things about the internet is that it allows us to crowd-source great advice on conquering life’s struggles from strangers.

Now, imagine how extraordinary our lives would be if we could only put them into practice.

A Reddit user called angelicasibs asked people on the LifeProTips forum to share their “favorite” life hack that has “saved you money, time, or made your day-to-day activities easier.” They received over 3,300 responses, and many were super practical but not necessarily obvious, life hacks they swear by.

Many of the hacks are for developing the focus and dedication it takes to handle small tasks before they get out of hand. A lot of times, it’s not the big things in life that cause us stress, but a dozen small things that add up to a big headache.

People also shared their tips on how to save money, keep their kids on task and stay hydrated. So, here are 19 of the best life hacks to give you money and time or make your day-to-day activities easier.

1.

"When my kids started school, I set an alarm on my phone for about 10 minutes before we had to leave. That way, it was only the clock/alarm telling them to hurry up, not their mother. They’re in their final years of schooling now, I still have the alarm and in those 13 years, I’ve only had to yell to get ready maybe 5 times and my kids have only been late for real reasons (car trouble etc). It really helped us." — Technical-General-27

2.

"I keep a $2 Great Value feather duster in the glove box of my car. At the first sign of dust accumulation on my dash, vvvt vvvt my dashboard and vents are pristine again. Learned this LPT from the most awful woman I've ever had the displeasure of dating, which just goes to show you can learn something from everyone, folks." — NeverEnoughCharacter

3.

"When the butter is cold use a potato peeler to get a nice thin slice that spreads easier." — ldawg413

4.

"'Just 10 minutes': Put on a timer, and start doing what needs to be done in the house. Folding the laundry, washing dishes, putting away clutter, etc. When the timer goes off, you can stop. But far more often I'll just keep going until everything is done." — feestfrietje

5.

"Mine is 'Might as Well' when walking past laundry on the floor, might as well take it to the bin if I am heading that way. Walking past trash on the floor, I Might as Well pick it up and put it in the bin. Going downstairs Might as Well take a cup and put it in the sink. Trying to compress multiple activities into one when it is convenient." — w13szczus

6.

"Batch cook lunches. It takes an hour out of your Sunday but is so much cheaper and ensures you don't just eat junk food because it's easier." — looj87

7.

"Stop caring if things go well or not. Literally revolutionized my life and how I enjoy the world. Being frustrated by circumstances out of your control will drive you insane. And if you look closely, basically everything in your life is out of your control. It’s just raining circumstances on you every day." — unnameableway

8.

"For dealing with emails: The Four Fs - Finish it (read and reply), Forward it, File it, F… it (delete it)." — knownuthinatall

9.

"When my 3 kids were little, and there were lots of taco Tuesdays and spaghetti dinners, I would buy hamburger meat in bulk and go ahead and cook it and then freeze the cooked burger crumbles in 1-2 cups freezer bags. Easy to pull out, defrost and reheat." — srchd4

10.

"Don’t drink your calories. A small glass of orange juice is 130 calories. A can of soda is 140. A bottle of beer is 160. Swap those out for water/tea/black coffee and that’s 430 calories you didn’t consume each day." — ernurse748

11.

"Weekly menu planning combined with meal prep. Once a week, my fiance and I go through our pantry and freezer, and plan out a menu for our evening meal. This allows us to grocery shop once a week for only the items we need for said meals that we don't already have in the house. When we make those meals, we make enough to have a couple leftover containers for the next day's lunch, or put in the freezer for a future meal." — 306ughmyknees

12.

"Lifting weights. It literally makes every aspect of my life better." — marshall_chaka

13.

"At stores or anywhere that has a membership connected to a phone number, I always use whatever area code I’m in + 867-5309, usually someone has it set up to that number and you get the discount." — UhOh_its_Rambo

14.

"Floss. Get some floss picks and use them after every meal. It doesn't have to be a crazy process. I'm in my late 40s and still have all of my teeth, and when I go to the dentist, they always say, 'Whatever you're doing, keep doing it.' There is a lot of evidence that poor gum health can lead to heart disease and other issues. Lazily using a floss pick after meals can make a huge difference." —LostMyKarmainElSegundo

15.

"Minimalism and going low waste. Both saves a ton of money, minimalism saves a lot of time as well (managing and cleaning a household becomes way easier and faster)." — SquirrelTail13

16.

"Always put your keys, wallet, phone, or any other everyday important item in the same place every time. Don't put it down anywhere else, but its designated place. This will save you 5-10 minutes searching for any one of these items on a regular basis. This time adds up and helps prevent you from being late to things. It very well might save you from losing your job." — ShiverMeTimberz

17.

"Deleted all social media. Do not regret it at all. Have so much more time, concentration has improved drastically, and mental health has improved." — jmffett

18.

"Home automation definitely; robot vacuum and turning on ACs before I come back home." — Legitimate-Station45

19.

"The quicker you do it, the quicker it's over with. You still have to do it if you put it off, but now instead of sitting there dreading doing the thing you can be glad it's already done. Exercising is a good example. Do it in the morning and the rest of the day you don't have to think about how much you don't want to." — ThatVaultGirl101

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