Were you raised in a frugal home?

**mikandmari** · 06-15-2007, 01:35 AM

I was raised in a frugal home. My parents grew up during the depression. So when I made the decision to be a tightwad, it came very naturally, I felt like I was returning to my roots!

But for several years when I was growing up, my dad had a really good job and we lived well, not elaborately, but we took nice family vacations, had a swimming pool, dinner out every Friday, etc.... Then the factory where he worked closed down, and I saw my parents income plummet.

My parents generation also did not discuss the family finances with the kids. I had to read between the lines.

I'm different with my own kids, I'm very honest and frank about money.

Wondering what my FV friends' parents were like

DISCLAIMER: Your stories may be a dead giveaway of your age

**IntlMom** · 06-15-2007, 01:41 AM

I'll just answer it plain and simply - NO I was not brought up frugal - my parents and all of my family get a chuckle at how cheap I am. (they consider me cheap b/c I garage sale shop for my kiddos clothing and I coupon) - but hey, when my Mom had a problem with a new product and she wanted to know what to do, who did she call? ME Ten minutes later I had 2 free coupons coming her way complimnets of the Kraft c/s number- so they call me cheap, but they wish they could do it too....

**Nada.Leona** · 06-15-2007, 07:05 AM

Not necessarily frugal. A lot of the frugal tips I remember my mother doing, but I don't remember us calling ourselves frugal or tightwads or anything. We just did what we had to do to make ends meet.

**baxjul** · 06-15-2007, 07:50 AM

My family was never frugal in any way. They always picked on my dad because they considered him cheap! I take after him alot!

**JustJoy** · 06-15-2007, 07:55 AM

For the most part...yes. I grew up in a very nice home in an affluent area, but I could never understand why I wasn't allowed designer clothes like most of the other kids....lol My parents rarely bought anything new for the home, furniture, etc... I honestly thought we were poor until my mid-teens. I then found out that my dad paid cash for everything including cars. He also had the mortgage on the house paid off in a few years. He made alot of wise investments too. My dad is now living his dream retirement....a house on a lake (paid with cash) and he takes at least 2 trips a year. He's been all over the world. I just wish my dad would have shared his frugal techniques and investment knowledge with me while I was growing up (we never talked about money). I was left to figure it all out on my own by trial and error.

**McD** · 06-15-2007, 08:27 AM

Yes I was. My parents were followers of the tightwad gazette. It made me kind of rebel when I got out on my own, because I wanted to have the nicest of everything. Then, I got credit card debt..stupid nichole.

**geckoace** · 06-15-2007, 08:32 AM

yes, my mom and grandmother and aunts and all are very frugal. my sister rebeled it think when she got a job and is paying for it.

my DHs family was sort of but out of neccessity not joy LOL and once it wasnt a necessary his sibs all went in the opposite direction his mom is still very moneywise.

i have bought him back to the joys of penny pinching LOL although he still laughs at me sometimes.

**DJ1972** · 06-15-2007, 08:39 AM

by necessity not by choice

**nuisance26** · 06-15-2007, 08:47 AM

~My upbringing was definately frugal. We were a family of seven living on a factory wage. My mom and dad are the masters of creative thinking. I learned almost all I know about using it up, wearing it out, making do and doing without from my parents. I think I would have felt really poor growing up if we didn't live next to 2 families that were even poorer than we were. One of the families was my Aunt & Uncle and their 6 children. I don't specifically remember my parents discussing finances with us. I'm pretty sure they didn't. They did give us allowances and showed us, by example, how to use it. My mom showed me the clearance racks and The Salvation Army, she showed me how to check unit prices in the grocery store. I saw her use coupons and pay cash. My dad can fix just about anything, but what he couldn't fix he would obtain as cheaply as possible. I remember hearing alot of discussions about finding a better price. My dad took us to the junkyard and we would pick up treasures(sounds pathetic but it was soooo fun). He'd give us cute little homemade presents and notes. My parents really taught me to love secondhand and homemade things. I love the way I was brought up. ~

**Jayne** · 06-15-2007, 09:08 AM

Yes!!...my parents lived through the depression and ww2....they raised 6 kids on one small income, bought a home, fixed it up, always had a nice car, we never did without, and they managed to leave all six of us a nice inheritance when they passed...they were very happy people who lived a simple, frugal, long life!!

**geckoace** · 06-15-2007, 09:08 AM

[QUOTE=nuisance26;726039. My dad took us to the junkyard and we would pick up treasures(sounds pathetic but it was soooo fun). He'd give us cute little homemade presents and notes. My parents really taught me to love secondhand and homemade things. I love the way I was brought up. ~[/QUOTE]

i would have loved that as a kid, my uncle used to bring home stuff from his construction sites and my cousin and i would take it and build all kinds of things. the problem was he didnt bring it home for us he brough it to use around the house.

**Cricket1** · 06-15-2007, 10:18 AM

Hmmm....good question. I guess we were frugal because we had to be. My dad was a gambler so he blew a lot of money that way. He was also laid off a few times and I can remember being on food stamps. We were a family of 6 living off of my dad's pay, which wasn't much.

**Katybird** · 06-15-2007, 10:37 AM

My mother raised 4 children on her own without any help from my father since he was the epitome of the deadbeat dad. She cooked from scratch, sewed clothing and taught us that it was nothing to be ashamed of to go to a garage sale or a thrift store. She made it fun and an adventure. I rarely ever had new clothing but I always had nice clothing and our home was tasteful decorated (well it was the 70s so as tasteful as avacado green appliances and gold shag carpeting could be

) and we always had delicious tasty meals. She never had any type of government assistance but she always made ends meet. I learned a lot from her.

**Amanda W** · 06-15-2007, 11:09 AM

Absolutely not. My parents still couldn't hold onto a dollar if their lives depended on it. My grandfather died a few years ago, and he left my parents a house and about $150,000. Three years later, the cash is gone and the house has a $115,000 mortage on it. They're 59 years old and still get their utilities turned off on a regular basis. Just clueless...

**justpeachy92** · 06-15-2007, 11:17 AM

I was raised by my dad and stepmom, alot of stuff that was done in the house are things the frugal members of this bourd do. But in my opinion alot of it was done by my stepmom because she was cheap and my siblings and I weren't here kids. I can remember numerous times her family apologizing(sp) to us for stuff she did, saying I don't know why she is like this with you she wasn't like this with her kids. Her kids were grown and moved out when we came in the picture. She never bought us clothes, not even second hand ones, the clothes we got were given to us from extended family, yet twice a year she took month long vacations to see her kids and a new car was and still is bought every 2 years.