For Christmas, my children received the Little House on the Prairie Series. I read them as a child so it has been fun to read a chapter or two each night for the past few weeks.
I can't help but think about frugal living when reading these books. Things back then were a lot simpler and people took more time to enjoy the important things in life. Clutter didn't exist and purchases were based upon needs.
Christmas, if you were lucky was a tin cup, a candy cane and a penny. Today, our floors, cupboards and drawers are filled to the brim and overflowing with gifts and things.
Decorations for the home were a checkered tablecloth and a china doll for the fireplace mantle.
To borrow something without paying was avoided and to buy something on credit was unthinkable. Everyone owned their homes and bills didn't exist. Going to town was the highlight of the season and you paid for your purchases then and there.
How things have changed. I'm not saying I want to go back to the late 1800's or early 1900's and their way of doing things (at least not yet anyway) but I do think we can learn a lot of lessons from their stories.
The biggest one that comes to my mind is the benefits of a simple life. The more we can simplify, the more we save, the less we spend and the quicker we achieve financial freedom.
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