4 Grandparents’ Lessons for Today’s Cost of Living Crisis

MAMA SAY WHAT?!

My grandmother is flying out to visit us for the holidays. Not every grandparent can afford to travel because they didn’t manage their money well in their younger years.

Today’s cost of living crisis has meant all generations including Gen Z and Gen X are struggling to make ends meet.

For our grandparents’ generation, instead of traveling, they have to work longer or live on a shoestring budget because they can no longer physically work but can’t live the retirement of their dreams because they can’t afford it.

These are a few tips my wife and me picked up from our own grandparents and great-grandparents (who lived through the Great Depression).

Don’t Buy Everything

This is my own opinion but I do believe there’s a correlation between the number of possessions and the size of our houses.

Let’s see how the average house size has grown over the past century for a single family home: – 1920: 1,048 sq. feet – 1940: 1,177 sq. feet – 1960: 1, 289 sq. feet – 1980: 1,740 sq. feet – 2000: 2,266 sq. feet – 2014: 2,657 sq. feet

Avoid the Throw Away Society Mentality

An often quoted statistic is that the U.S. GDP is 70% consumer driven. Basically, the stock market ticks higher and our economic growth is measured almost entirely on how much money people spend.

People spending money is a good thing, especially when a boss is paying me a salary, but it’s not good if spending makes you go into debt.

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