My Frugal Life: Following My Father

My author father liked to use examples from third-world countries to teach personal money management. "The father has hurried through his duties on the ... farm and has taken a few vegetables into town to be sold ... The wife has gathered more eggs than they need, and she has managed to exchange them for a few real copper pennies.

In the dim light of a grease lamp, the stair-step children watch their father, as he secrets away his little hoard in a tin box and hides it carefully where the cadres can never find it. After it is all counted and the family is relaxed, the father reinforces the lesson."

"Go to bed each night, my children, a little richer than when you awakened." He pointed out that the savings could grow enough to buy a boat for fishing and traveling, or become an investment in a local business.

Years later, I used a dollhouse model to illustrate this simpler, rural lifestyle. The house had two floors--the main one and an attic with a ladder. The main floor contained a fireplace for heating and cooking. A pump style sink suggested a well water source. The Depression era "ice box" was for cold food storage. A wide board placed on a large hay bale served as the table with smaller hay bales for seating.

A single shelving unit held jars of preserved vegetables, fruits, and condiments. Up in the attic was a bed, a chest for clothes and miniature oil lamps for lighting. With this model, I taught my sons how to subsist without electricity or city water. Further, I explained how one could cook on a barbecue or charcoal grill, haul water in if needed, and store food nestled in an ice filled cooler.

I also have exposed them to experiences in how to garden so, if necessary, they could plant and grow food stuffs such as tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, green beans and corn. They know the benefits of having farm animals such as chickens for their eggs and cows for their milk, as well as for their meat.

Saving money toward an end was learned by my youngest son, on two separate occasions, as he socked away earnings for foreign missions trip travels. As my father wrote, hope does indeed grow as the money hoard increases.

By Vivian P.

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