Photo: Everett Collection (Shutterstock)
Although fears of a serious economic recession—or worse—have eased a little, no one can agree on how healthy the U.S. economy actually is. The numbers are all over the place. The stock market is in a bear market, inflation has gone down a bit but is still painfully high, consumer spending is down; but unemployment remains surprisingly low, job growth is soaring, and overall Americans’ debt-to-savings ratio is...pretty good?
While we’re nowhere near the global economic crisis seen during the Great Depression, there’s no doubt that we’re headed into some turbulent economic times. That makes this a good moment to remember that our grandparents and great-grandparents survived that Depression—and their experience has some evergreen financial lessons we can use today to get through whatever’s coming for us. Everyone knows the basics, like avoiding debt and socking away some savings for a rainy day, but the folks who actually faced a worldwide financial collapse came away with some less common advice.
Be prepared to move, if necessary
As the economy shrank in the 1930s, a drought plagued the Midwest, resulting in what’s known as the Dust Bowl. Farmers poured into the ranks of the desperate and insolvent, prompting one of the largest population shifts in American history as desperate folks packed up and fled, seeking work wherever they could find it.
The situation’s different today, with remote work being much more common, but that doesn’t mean you should necessarily stay where you are. Moving to a place with a lower cost of living will make your income go further, and even with remote jobs growing in popularity, the fact is large metropolitan areas still offer more job opportunities and more services. Finding the right balance between city rents and economic possibilities is a challenge, but it could be well worth your time.
Watch every penny
If you had a grandparent who had a little change purse they carried around and who spent every single coin judiciously, that was probably a Great Depression lesson: Spare change adds up, and even tiny amounts of money can make a difference. And today, your spare change may be more powerful than you realize.
G/O Media may get a commission
personalized skincare
Geologie Skincare
Skincare specifically for YOU
Teaming with dermatologists and cosmetic chemists for legit active ingredients, Geologie will demystify skincare and match you with a routine that fits your needs and lifestyle.
Using tools and services from your bank or other apps like Acorns, you can have the change from purchases automatically invested. Apps like ChangEd take your spare change and automatically apply it to your student loan debt. The change from rounding up a transaction might only be a few pennies in the moment, but when applied on a constant basis, it can make a real difference in your financial life.
Learn to cook
Some people just don’t enjoy cooking, and it can be a lot of work. But knowing your way around a kitchen can drastically reduce the cost of eating. Not only do you get multiple meals out of the ingredients you buy, but there are literally thousands of Depression-era recipes out there that can show you how to stretch those ingredients and make surprisingly tasty and nutritious meals out of just about anything.
Simply by cooking at home you’ll save money compared to eating out, but if you engage in meal prep—which involves cooking in bulk and then storing meals for the future—you can really cut those food costs down to the bone. And setting up a garden, learning the basics of canning, and using scraps can make your food bills stretch even further.
Fix everything
For a long time, most of us have lived in a world where you simply replaced things when they stopped working. And there are some products that are designed to be unrepairable or forced to be obsolete long before it should be inevitable.
But a lot of stuff can be repaired with a little work. Clothing can be sewn, shoes can be re-soled, and furniture can be reupholstered. While DIY projects often still have a cost to them, it’s almost always cheaper to fix something or live with a less-than-perfect user experience than to buy new—especially if you have to finance the purchase.
Conserve everything
From your electricity usage to your water bill, cutting back and paying attention to how much you’re spending on utilities can make a big difference. It can seem like you’re nibbling away at everything that makes life more comfortable (and therefore more bearable), but setting your thermostat lower in the winters and higher in the summers, turning off lights and gadgets you’re not using (and unplugging appliances when you won’t be using them for a long time) can make a big difference in your monthly bills.
None of these Depression-era tips are magic bullets—but when combined into a strategy, they will make your money go further and last longer while insulating you somewhat from future shocks.
