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| Library of Congress: Sunday dinner, McLelland homestead in Florida, 1942. |
In old literature, we read of the importance of making a good match before marriage. If a girl married a poor man, she would expect to spend her life working hard at home (cooking, sweeping, baking) under the strictest economy. She could certainly be content and feel peaceful and joyful with a good outlook and a love of simple living. On the other hand, if a girl were to marry a wealthy man, she would assume she would have hired help around the house and that she would have plenty of free time and luxuries around her. She could spend a portion of her time in acts of benevolence, helping the less fortunate, finding peace and joy in such a life.
In either case the way of life would generally be paved based on whether the family came from a lower income or from the upper class. I don't think many people need encouragement on how to live a wealthy life. Yet they do need to follow basic principles of managing money so they do not waste and fritter away what may have taken someone years to build up.
Living on a low income, in our current culture, has become confusing and difficult. There is pressure to make more money in order to rise in the ranks of the upper class. There is little teaching on how to live with less money. The circumstances of this way of life may be that health, age, or situations make it impossible to strive for more money. Some households are trying to learn to get by and thrive regardless of their limited funds.
In previous generations, people generally lived an old fashioned life. Less money was needed. Consumer debt was uncommon. People didn't buy things on credit. They owned fewer material goods. They made all their meals from scratch, using common family recipes. They ate simple, wholesome food that didn't cost very much money. It took a great deal of planning, time, and effort to run a thrifty kitchen.
I was reading some of the current teachings on budgeting for people who don't have much money. Their advice sounded unrealistic to me. There are households who genuinely don't have many resources and they certainly don't have car payments, credit card debt, or are out buying new clothes. These people are not seen in restaurants. They don't have the money for any of those things. Generally speaking, they are too poor to even afford monthly credit payments. So the current advice will not help these families.
I don't have all the answers because, frankly, it is a struggle to live on limited means. I do the best I can by keeping a close watch on the income. I record all the necessary spending. We work on keeping the bills and utilities as low as possible. We pray each day for the blessing of the food we receive and we pray before shopping, hoping to get all we need with the little bit of money that is available. The struggle has to do with having enough cash for basic necessities, heat for the winter, and praying for a decent car to get us to the doctor appointments. We are not hoping to have enough money for shopping, eating out, buying gifts, or treating ourselves to luxuries. Those things would be lovely but they are not within our means.
How do you live on a low income? I believe it takes a great deal of creativity, hard work, and a good attitude. If we are thankful, content, grateful, and willing to serve in the home, we will do well. We need to adjust our standard of living to manage on the lower funds. But we do not lower our standard of cleanliness, neatness, grace, and dignity.
I believe the greatest help for living with little money is understanding that it is the Lord who provides. We must pray for all our needs. We need to learn to live by prayer and by faith. We do our part by practicing the art of old fashioned thrift and then watch God do the rest. It is like receiving smiles from Heaven every time the Lord provides a precious gift. It makes every day an adventure!
Blessings
Mrs. White
From the Archives -
Old Fashioned Living - Retirement Planning for the Poor.
Wisdom from Colonial Days - To Earn and Not to Spend.
Some Help - The Secret to a Clean House.
Advice for Hard Times - How the Old Time Mothers Survived Poverty.
- To find out more about this blog, or Mrs. White, please visit our About page. -
Learn How To Manage Money on a Small Income, with this helpful book:
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-An Old Fashioned Budget: Humble Financial Management for the Christian Housewife.
Paperback, 77 pages.
9 comments:
I find that writing down all that I buy helps me see where the money goes, and helps me to keep a record of what I might need. I have always cooked from scratch and see it as the healthiest way. Here in the UK prices seem to rise every week and it is a struggle for so many people, which is why we have Foodbanks.
So much of life, hard or easy, can be faced cheerfully when we have a gratitude attitude toward God for all His blessings. Having money helps, but it isn't the end-all or be-all.
Blessings!
I do not manage our household finances. I do most of the grocery shopping, though, and I try to shop as frugally as I am able. We spend $350-$400 dollars a month to feed my husband myself and 4 children. I use a lot, and I mean a lot of chicken quarters. I buy them in 10 pound bags for 79¢ a pound. It is the cheapest meat available. I cut them into sections. I skin the thighs and boil them if I need meat for chicken and dumplings, chicken and noodles, tocos, soups, chicken salad, etc...... I cook the skins to render out the fat, which I collect in a jar, and use as a replacement for oil and butter in cooking. I try very hard to make sure that nothing goes to waste
"Use it up,
Wear it out,
Make it do,
Or go without."
I love that motto!
"Poor but respectable" was an oft-spoken phrase when I was growing up. It was not a shame to be poor, because folks strived to be clean, neatly presented (yes, in threadbare clothes), as well educated as possible, have good manners, and unimpeachable morals. With those qualities, we were taught we could stand on equal footing with kings and queens.
Managing a meager income is very important, as is being a good steward of everything we own And don't forget there is help out there for those needing extra help stretching those few dollars.
There are fuel assistance programs, property tax relief abatements, SSI for the disabled, food banks, and libraries that provide free reading/viewing materials, as well as free museum/entertainment passes. Use these programs if you are in a place where you and your household can use the grace and respite.
Good morning Mrs White 😊
It was refreshing to read your thoughts about those who do not have debts, yet have a very low income, and how they really do not have options to cut expenses, especially when they are already being thrifty and careful with the family finances. I grew up in very poor circumstances with my grandparents, and slept on a couch in the tiny living room…but Nana kept us well fed with simple meals, all home made from scratch; our clothes were clean and pressed; our door was open to those in need; and we laughed a lot together. Nana would begin so many sentences with “God willing…” and so I learned from her example to include the Lord in every plan and pray to Him for every need.
She and Pop had no debts apart from the utility ones we all have, but their small income was stretched to its limit. We bought cheap dresses on sale, and we’re grateful. One day a lady told Nana that she made even a cheap Woolworths frock look like it came from a boutique. 🥰 I think that’s because Nana smiled a lot and was generally very happy. Her cheerful attitude was obvious in her beautiful blue eyes.
Blessings to you and your family,
Jennifer
Like you, my husband was disabled at age 59 and so our income dropped to half and in January will drop another 25%. We were fortunate to be debt free and have a reliable vehicle. God has led us to be very generous with others despite our reduced means and He has opened the windows of heaven and poured out a blessing over and over. You cannot out give God! One of our DIL's grandparents live on only $800 a month but every Sunday they cook a huge dinner and send plates of food out to everyone in the neighborhood who is sick or hurting and God continues to provide those large amounts of groceries needed every week for this ministry to others. I cannot encourage others enough to consider giving from what you have with a generous and grateful heart and just watch how you will be blessed. It also takes the focus off of what you don't have and onto others needs which makes all the difference.
I really enjoyed reading this. I feel that although it can be very hard living on limited means, there is often more happiness in that house, than the wealthy home. The people I've known who have plenty seem to still be looking for more.
Remembering who our provider is, and being grateful goes a long way!
Oh how I appreciated this so much! I said a couple of "AMENS" as I read :)! Thank you for your very encouraging post! Blessings to you & yours Mrs. White.
The things that help us the most are things are the things that help me keep my chin up in bad financial times-- "use it up, wear it out, make do, or go without" has been my mantra for 2 decades. I think what's missed in that saying by people who aren't at the moment living on a shoestring is that staying true to it regardless of feast or famine can change your perspective. Saving all of my veggie scraps and making broth, learning how to ferment ( homemade kimchi, sauerkraut, kombucha, sour pickles- YUM), learning how to can, learning how to sew/mend/darn, learning how to repair things around the house-- every time I manage to get something out of the "nothing" that so many people throw away, I feel more connected to my surroundings. We have access to the most extensive database of human knowledge that has ever existed- a century ago I would've had to spend years tracking down the right person to talk to in order to even come close to learning some of the skills I have just from YouTube! Learn how to change the oil on your car. Learn how to make bread. Learn how to buy extra large clothes and tailor them down to the right size (this is legit what celebrity stylists do- mine come from the thrift shop sometimes, but same diff). Learn how to administer first aid. Join a mutual aid organization- I promise you, delivering food to senior citizens in nursing homes and people without transportation and means is 100% something Jesus would've done. Try planting a small vegetable garden, fail (sort of) at it, try again. You'll learn a lot about your local climate, animals in the area, what's good to plant and when. If you're in a personal season when it matters if it fails, plant greens and root vegetables, things most likely to succeed. Oh, and peas! Those things can survive even a way-too-late Colorado frost! The biggest thing for me that's made the difference between "making do" and feeling legitimately wealthy has been giving even when I barely have enough. I've found that's the best time to give...of my time, my attention, anything I have to spare. Even when I'm really really poor (especially then), if I can manage to give something to someone else, it's impossible to see myself as destitute.
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