6 Money-Saving Tips From the 1970s & How to Use Them Today

How was everybody beating inflation in the 1970s? A My Money Wizard article is reviewing a Life article about money-saving tips to beat inflation, which was printed during the 1970s.

I think we can learn a lot from seeing what strategies people were employing in different eras to help them beat inflation since we are facing a little bit of inflation now, as well.

LIFE magazine article

The Life magazine reports that consumer costs have gone up 6.1% in the last year, and to me that does not sound so bad, considering what we are going through and the ridiculous cost of eggs. I have recently seen a dozen eggs going for $10 at the supermarket, which is ridiculous.

Frugal living tips with a big impact

According to CNN, eggs are 60% more expensive than they were last year, hence all the memes about how expensive eggs are. This is a rate not seen since 1973. Funnily enough, this means that the article that I am looking at is super fitting because egg inflation is the same.

Frugal living tips

Mortgage rates in the 1970s were also 8.5%. This sounds familiar. I do not think we have gotten there quite yet, but we are on the verge of 8.5% for mortgages.


My parents are saying that when they bought their first house if you got under 10% interest on your mortgage, you got a great deal. Over the last few years, the interest rates have been incredibly low, and now they are rising back up, and that can be painful.

Side-stepping the money gap

The Life magazine suggests looking into your rare stamp collection or your art collection and investing in some quirky things that will hopefully turn a profit.


I know that people buy designer handbags and those appreciate over time, so they can sell them for a profit later – that is probably a 2023 version of investing in strange things that still gain value even if everything else is losing value.


This is super risky because you do not know what things are actually going to gain value, so you are just buying random stuff and hoping it will be valuable later. I am not sure that is a good bet.

Frugal money-saving tips from the 1970s

A lot of the frugal money-saving tips in the 1970s according to Life magazine are about cutting costs, and some of them you may have heard before.


1. Grow your own garden

I know that can be a way to save money sometimes, but I am very curious about an analysis of the time spent, the water costs, the opportunity costs, and so on, to see if it is actually a good use of your time to grow a garden.


Other frugal living tips like learning DIY, plumbing, and sewing - I am all for them. Whatever things you can fix around your house on your own can save you so much in labor costs. At my house, we try not to hire many things out, because that can be expensive.


2. Cutting your hair at home

This sounds very 2020. I do that for my boys and my husband with Costco shears, which do the job. I really enjoy getting my hair done and it is worth it to me, but yes, you could save money if you cut your own hair.


3. Shopping at thrift stores and flea markets

I guess these have been around since the 70s, and they really can often save you money. Goodwill has been raising the prices since thrift shopping has become a trend, but garage sales are still a great option. We always go to those for kids’ clothes.


4. Doing your own auto maintenance

In 2023, because cars have so many computers, it is not mechanical anymore, but very technical. This is why what used to be called “mechanics” are now called “auto technicians”.


It is almost a tech job because the biggest part is the diagnosis and figuring out which computer is talking wrong to the other computer. In the 1970s, cars were a little bit simpler and did not have so many computers running the show.


Therefore, I think it could have been a lot more straightforward to fix your own car. I think the best we can do is buy a car that is known to not break down very often, take really good care of it, do your maintenance, and find a mechanic that you trust to tell you the truth and give you the right answers.


5. Shopping in Mexico

This one is a little bit interesting and probably not practical for everyone, but it says that you should cross the border to Mexico to shop for tomatoes since they are one-seventh of their American price there.


If you are not on the border, this is probably not a reasonable solution, not to mention I am not sure that the price comparison still stands.

The Money Doctor

6. The Money Doctor

In the 70s they called them Money Doctors, but I think now we might call them a financial coach or a financial advisor. Apparently, though, they had much more freedom. The doctor prescribed a 46-category budget. That is too many categories to keep track of, which means it will not happen, so it defeats the purpose.


Also, I guess they received access to people’s bank accounts, because they took the paycheck from the person that was not managing their money well, and then gave them an allowance as if they were a kid like a kid. I am not sure I would want my financial coach to be giving me an allowance.


The article also contained some other generic advice, like saving 10% of your income, do not overspend on your credit cards, and use a shopping list – all things that we have heard before.


I am not sure these tips can qualify as fighting inflation; they are mostly just about not overspending. This is something that remains relevant, because our own spending and our own income are the only things that we have control over, unlike all those politics and regulations.


The author of the My Money Wizard article did however add something about beating inflation in the long run: buy assets as fast as you can. I totally agree: this is a proactive way to beat inflation. If you are not getting ahead, you are getting behind.


Money-saving tips from the 1970s

What are your favorite inflation-fighting tips? Do you have any other frugal living tips with a big impact you would like to share? Leave a comment below!

Comments
Join the conversation
Next