Frugal Living Lessons from the Great Depression 

I would add “don’t despair”. If you’re going through hell, keep going. Don’t give up. Things will get better.

My mom was born in 1927. She told me about the hobos coming to the door looking for work and food. My grandmother always had them come in and fed them at the table. They were pretty poor also, but had a large garden, chickens, and fish. My grandfather was a fisherman. I would hope these days people would do the same as they did back then.

I find a big money saver is not buying the assortment of cleaning products to clean your home. A supply of hot water, dishwasing detergent, vinegar, bi-catrb soda and a scrubbing brush will clean most things.

EAT LESS. We ALL eat far too much considering the relatively sedentary lives most of us live. Just a few bites less at each meal. Unless you’re a child or athlete or do heavy physical labor, STP snacking. This will save calories and money. STOP drinking soda or make it an occasional treat. Agains saves both calories and money. FREE entertainment. Read, do puzzles, listen to music. Start using your local public library for free books, puzzles, music, low cost or free activities. Take walks.

Please do a video about your homemade meals and other DIY toiletries. I am in my early 20s, so every bit of saving counts.

In a lot of communities where big box stores are not available, many people trade items no longer used for a need. We can also do this with friends. Example-splitting plants and sharing, when children grow out of cloths , giving to a friends children.

For building a savings fund, in addition to selling things, put away a set percentage every paycheck BEFORE you pay anything else. You’d be surprised how much you actually don’t have to buy or pay for when you’re saving first.

While I enjoy getting haircuts as a treat, I wasn’t able to get scheduled in advance due to my new job. Then I rewatched your video on home haircuts and realized that $25 dollars every 2-3 months is an insane amount of money during these times. So I purchased some Wahl scissors and will be diying my hair from here-on-out. I also lost some benefits which were helping me get food. So now it’s really making me mindful of where my money goes having that extract expense coming out of my paycheck

Yes, I am a RU-vid woman junkie!!! I have learned so much from RU-vid such as putting my own metal roof on a rental all by myself and I was 68 years old at the time and figured it out by myself. I have used videos for fixing plumbing and some electric fixing. I have built porches and small outdoor sheds as well as putting down flooring, cooking, health--you name it and I have probably search for it on RU-vid!!! I really like your channel and your various lessons from the Great Depression.

I'd love to hear about your DIY recipes and toiletries. Im always on the lookout for easy meals with only a few ingredients so I can avoid fastfood.

I have been planting a yearly garden. I think this is not only helpful because food is expensive, but it makes you more self sufficient. Even if you don’t have a lot of space, you can grow in grow bags or 5 gallon buckets. Thousands of videos on You Tube can help you. I only plant what we like and I have lots of things that come back year after year on their own like asparagus and blueberries. During 2020 I learned how to can things like plum jam and pickled peppers. I also make my own pesto and freeze it. It’s too expensive in the stores as you said.

i'm the kind of person that rarely participates on anything online (to the point i barely comment on 3-4 videos a year), but i feel the need to tell you that nowadays you are the only content creator that matters to me

I am in control of my feelings and so my finances

Such good tips! Ok here is how I’ve been saving money grocery shopping, I use the store apps to shop so I can think about what I’m buying. Once I got my items used most I have been just reordering those, I use to spend $170 each store trip, now I got it down to $70. Another tip is visiting the library, free books & dvds! Taxes- open other savings account and put a little away each month. I’m fm California and we got hit hard this year . Also I have an expensive hobby so I had to pull back on that 😢

The 1k "emergency fund" gets a lot of hate from closed minded people. It is more of a buffer fund instead of emergency fund to keep ya from going into more debt for the everyday things that life throws at ya. Have a flat or need a new car battery, need some freon in the a/c, trip to dr for unexpected sickness, trip to dentist for a cavity, etc.... So many people think that it is for the major events like home needs a new hvac unit, needs a roof, motor or transmission goes out in vehicle, etc... its there for you to use it as needed to stay on track with becoming debt free. Not to have as a security blanket that never gets touched (that is the actual fully funded emergency fund after getting consumer debt paid)

know your Values, Know your goals, have a plan, know your next step - if not research, know your ROI of the things you want to have - not only the money ROI but also other benefits, Take care of your body, your nervous system, your mindset and your overall growth

Not American, but happening in many places. I note capitalism and consumerism, and uber individualism is at the core of so much of this - no mention of mutual aid, collaborative /co-op business and sharing economies/libraries? Also, emergency funds may not amount to much if inflation really ticks up. Also, grow food wherever you can.

We are in Great Depression since 2020. It's not only about money. People are miserable. It's feel like there is no hope. And the worst thing is : Hard work doesn't make sense anymore. People work harder then ever and can't afford anything. Generation of subscribers owning nothing.

I am approaching 70 years old now. I grew up with actual Great Depression survivors. There are many new-cheap- tech methods to sew or cook food you prepare yourself. Oh, my father was an actual hobo. He would not wish this lifestyle on anyone. Much less there are not as many trains in service anyways anymore!

Great video ❤

I Love this video , great advice. my husband and I are in that mode. 😊

I'm a new subscriber and your content is what I'm looking for on RU-vid. Thank you for these insights!

Love the channel brother

Well done, sir.

I am watching you from iraq ❤

Some good numbers on this one! Great to see your channel growing, sir!

Nice 🤙

Some great points made here particularly the emergency fund; not enough people have one. when you’re been on the game of life for a while you realise that you can’t avoid the “rainy days” and even scenarios such as home appliances breaking down require summoning a moderate amount of cash. I hadn’t even thought about the literal meaning of mortgage 😂. Quite the eye opener isn’t it! I had to track down your Apple and oatmeal vid after this one 😄. Have a goodun; I hope life is treating you well amigo.

Rookie move. Make your own pesto!

Always have a backup plan. The other nice things about diy is that the stuff you learn and make are custom to your needs. And nowadays there are communities that can share ideas to better themselves and each other. In today's digital advances, saving some money such as cancelling bleeding subscriptions and finding alternatives comes a long way as well, as you mentioned before. I might cancel my cable and just focus on high speed Internet since information and entertainment is now accessible through this medium. Learning alternative software like GIMP to replace Photoshop, LibreOffice to replace MS Office, etc.

I still DIY everything I can

I DIY my pesto. No kidding- I have a nice big garden and I DIY food sourcing! And my pesto is excellent. Make it will walnuts or sunflower seeds instead to save $ 😊

Try Haluski, great cabbage dish.

Great video Spencer and really makes us look at ourselves and our lives and look to protect ourselves from any financial worries that come along. This year I felt I had to sell most of my collections to fund the year, stag and hen do's, wedding which is all costing probably a couple of thousand pounds and even then I'm not sure I'll have enough but my friend said he will help if I don't get enough cash up, which is incredibly generous of him. This is for my sister in laws wedding not mine, I've been married nearly 10 years now 😅 Would love to see a video on your deodorant and other recipes you've got! Also I paid my wife's credit card off which was a big one and the first thing I paid

Would love to hear some frugal songs Spencer. Cheers, Ian

Good idea apples in oatmeal 😊

When my husband and I got married we decided that apart from our mortgage, if we couldn't pay cash for it, we couldn't afford it. I would love to see your stewed apple porridge. That was what I fed my children when they were little. Stewed apple and cream was often our dessert. A real saver, in Australia, in the 60's, a slice of bread with jam and whipped cream was dessert.

Were ready. This family learn 24 crafts in the ladt 3 years got certificates and stored up as well as a victory garden

There are two kinds of debts. Consumer debt and debt for purchasing assets that earn more money than the cost of the loan . Debt can make you rich or poor but most people get poor from it.

Im a new subscriber 🤚🏻hello! Right off the bat you mentioned you love pesto n gnocchi but the cost has increased.. the very thing that came to my mind was why arent you making it from scratch? Get a established basil plant from the local nursery or market or grow from seed although that will take a while to grow.. once you have a plant it will give you lots if keep harvesting it.. you can use walnuts or pecans in place of the expensive pine nuts, I would suggest using olive oil but sub if you want.. you don't need to use fresh Parmesan because that is expensive although it'll taste better you can use a container of craft or whatever brand a Parmesan cheese and a little salt and there you have your own pesto.. you can make gnocchi for very very little. There is so many recipes and videos on RU-vid to show you how to make it and there is nothing like homemade. Second is I disagree with only having $1000 emergency fund with the prices of inflation most likely $1000 isn't going to get you very far or completely wipe you out just my opinion.

Woah Woah Woah , why are you just skipping over the home made deodorant. Thats so dope

Write it down! Record income, debts, bills! Until you see the numbers, you will likely not be able to manage your funds well, including savings goals.

Soon as u mentioned Dave Ramsey i shut u off

Hello, I am from Ukraine where the Russian started the war. The whole cities are being destroyed to nothing. My piece of advice - do not buy things, pay for opportunities but the lowest cost you can find. Simple food Simple clothes Simple car Dp not pay for vacation,move to the area and climate you like

капитализму не выгодно чтобы люди все делали сами и образовывали свои резервные фонды, они заставляют людей брать кредиты и потреблять сверх необходимого

I stopped watching when he said he was donating to wikipedia.

too much month at the end of the money? huh? are you okay lol?

You can afford to grow basil and make your own gnocchi. Home made pesto gnocchi costs me $0.45 per meal❤