Over a Dozen Old Timey Ways to Save More Money

These days everyone is looking for ways to reduce expenses. Here are some ideas from the old days, about eighty or a hundred years ago, when folks were a lot longer on time, and shorter on money. This is the short list. For even more ideas, see if you can old copies of the Foxfire Magazine from the late 1960’s where students interviewed elderly mountain folk to preserve their rural history, traditions and style of life. Find some early additions of Good Housekeeping magazine too, as these have many helpful hints, recipes and projects. Look to the Amish writing for plain and simple ways to get things accomplished.

What you will find is more people were self-sufficient. They had to be because there were less products to buy and it was harder often to get things than to make them, grow them or fix what you had. Another thing you will discover is families and neighbors took up one another’s slack and helped each other out in troubled times as a matter of course.

If you are cutting your budget, cut your electric expenses by turning off your air conditioning. People are constructed to adjust to the temperature and unless you have  a medical problem or a large weight problem you should  readily adjust  and get accustomed to being warmer in hot weather. It’s actually harder on your system to adjust several times a day than it is to get accustomed to your environment. Remember not to over exert yourself in hot weather. Save more money by drinking tap or well water. Avoid sweet drinks and anything you buy in a bottle unless it’s a special occasion. Keep your curtains closed during the time of the day when the sun is shining brightly in the windows in summer. Open your windows on the cool side of the house. Don’t buy insect or fly repellent. Fill a plastic bag with water and secure it on or over your open your window or doors. For some reason this works to keep flies from coming in. You can also get the old fashioned sticky tape.

When the weather gets cooler, keep the thermometer down. Start by reducing it a couple degrees until you can tolerate it at 60 degrees. Turn it down to every time you you go out and if you work and your house is empty during the day keep it at 50 degrees while you are gone . Get a timer so it will turn up automatically an hour before you get home. turn it down to 55 degrees at night when you go to bed. Make sure your windows, particularly those on the cool side or the house or the side where the wind blows the hardest are insulated and won’t let any cold air in at the sashes. Hang heavy fabric curtains over the windows to keep the drafts down. Look for these or similar large fabric  items you can use such as comforters and bedspreads at your local Goodwill or thrift shops. Get a  warm wool blanket, and tune off electric blankets. Wear sweaters and get warm flannel nighties and  pj’s for the entire family. Use a clothes dryer as seldom as possible. This is one of the most expensive appliances to use, particularly if you have a lot of little kids and are in the habit of daily drying. Dry at least some of your clothes  inside on a clothes rack or hang some lines in your laundry area or over your bathtub. Hang clothes outside if your community doesn’t restrict this. Clothes last longer, stay fresh longer and smell great after drying in fresh air and sunshine. Save the dryer for the jeans, towels and heavy bedding. Wash and dry these things once a week and watch your electric bill go down!