Do you know any other tips on saving or earning money that may be helpful to other users? If yes, don’t hesitate to share them here.
You have probably heard many times from financial professionals and simple people alike that the current economical meltdown is the biggest since the Great Depression. And while that is true objectively, drawing constant comparisons of today’s situation and the financial devastation of the 1930’s does nothing but scare and depress people even more. Going this way won’t be helpful in our situation. Instead of dwelling in fear and uncertainty, we should remember that there were people who have managed to stay afloat successfully during the Great Depression. And what would be much wiser, is learning how exactly they did it, that’s why we want to offer you the following 16 money saving tips from Depression era adjusted to modern day situations.
Only Buy What You Really Need
Apart from simply saving money, buying only what you need is the essential point of Depression age mentality that helped people stay on their feet. And while some people were jumping of skyscrapers after seeing their assets turn into dust overnight, others have managed to survive by tightening their belts. So if you really want to make sure you’re fortified against the crisis, make a thorough check of your needs and see which spendings are really necessary and which are not.
See Debt as a Deadly Infection
Today’s crisis (similarly to the Great Depression of the 1930’s) has resulted from excessive borrowing and debt. And it would be quite foolish to run into new debts, especially if you have already existing due debts (mortgage, car loans, etc.) Going into debt in time of recession is the worst thing that can happen to you financially, because you will face all the turmoils and storms of shifting financial service industry, with many agents striving to survive by any means. The best way of dealing with debt is adopting the Depression way of thinking: see debt as a deadly infection and avoid it by any means.
Have as Many Sources of Income as Possible
The Great Depression was called that way not for nothing, but the fact is that not all the population was hurt by the crisis. Amidst the suffering citizens, there was a small group of people that have managed not only to stay afloat but actually succeed really well, and their secret was diversifying their sources of income. Regardless of what your activity will be, the more sources of income you have, the lower will be the risk that you will be financially hurt if any of your activities fails to provide you income.
Cut Entertainment Expenditures
What Depression was also notable with is the way people cut down their entertainment spendings. So, finding less costly ways of entertain yourself rather than spending money on nightclubs, out of town weekends and expensive holidays will help you save a lot of money. There are many less costly and sometimes more helpful options for entertaining yourself: reading books, exercising, exploring the nature. If you still can’t sacrifice the fun to recession, at least try to travel during off-season or avoid going to the movies during the first screening.
Buy Used
For some of you buying used clothing would sound like “going too far”. However, the brutal truth is that new clothing (especially designer stuff) too much, and buying a used suit for a little fraction of its new price will help you save a lot. The difference can sometimes be ten-fold, and the save money could help a lot. Those who have were living during Depression were not shy a bit about buying used clothing, so think twice before buying a new suit.
Avoid Browsing Through Catalogs or Following Advertisements
There’s no secret that the environment you live in strongly affects your spending habits. And living in an environment where advertising is trying to sell you things you don’t really need is quite challenging. Those who were living during Depression have confessed to throw out mail-order catalogs upon arrival at their home, and while this might sound quite eccentric, there’s much rationality to such behavior. The less useless advertisements you see, the less temptation you have to spend money on something useless.
Other tips:
- Consume Less Energy
- Buy in Bulk
- Start a Garden
- Move to a Place Where There’s Work
- Do It Yourself For Free Instead of Paying the Others
- Make Things Yourself Instead of Buying Them