3 old-fashioned money habits that need a comeback

The world is so different from the world our parents and grandparents lived in that it often feels like their way of doing things just doesn’t make sense. Considering how the economy has changed since its inception, this can be doubly important when it comes to managing your finances.

But financial expert and money mindset coach Vee says there was a lot of wisdom in those fiddly approaches to money back then. Not everything they did makes more sense – like hiding cash between mattresses during the Depression – but there is certain advice we’d do well to heed.

Here are 3 old-fashioned money habits that need to make a comeback:

1. “Your parents were right: you have food at home”

“No, we have enough food at home,” I hear my mother say as we drive past the local McDonald’s. It really seems like many of us could bear to live by this maxim again as adults.

“Maybe some of us are just making up for the fact that we heard that every time we asked to stop by McDonald’s or Burger King,” Vee said. “Now that we’re older, we’re like, OK, we’ll eat out whenever we feel the urge.”

RELATED: 10 old-fashioned habits people should cut back on to live frugally again

Whatever the motivation, we seem to be eating out all the time these days. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Americans now consume about a third of their calories at restaurants, down from just 6% in the 1970s.

When you add in all the exorbitant DoorDash and UberEats fees, it’s really a drain on the wallet. “If you’re trying to do better financially, moderation is your best friend,” Vee said. “So your parents were right: There is food at home, and the more you remember it, the more money you’re likely to save.”

Before you begin: Yes, groceries are expensive these days, but no, they are NOT as expensive as spending $30 on a DoorDashed Chipotle burrito every night, no matter what social media tells you. Go to the store!

RELATED: Man shares how his ‘cheap parents’ taught him to save money on things like internet and medical bills – ‘Their bills are usually negotiable’

2. Learn how to get along

“Overconsumption is getting out of control right now,” Vee said, “a lot of people are upgrading and buying just for the sake of it. And unfortunately that leaves a lot of people broke.”

“I honestly don’t think it used to be like that,” she added, and it’s pretty hard to argue with her. “Make do and mend” was quite literally a public message in the United Kingdom during World War II, when resources were scarce and had to be withheld to support the country’s defense efforts.

This ethos has really disappeared from our culture.

Although it’s making a comeback – all those millennial weddings where we had mason jars as glasses didn’t just appear out of nowhere! In recent years there has been a trend of younger people returning to the old ways of doing things, with pickling and canning being the most recent example.

Not only are these interesting (and sometimes delicious) hobbies, but they also save you money.

RELATED: 11 Daily Habits of Frugal People That Actually Make a Big Difference

3. Use cash for everyday purchases

For example, if you’re under 35, cash used to be ubiquitous – it was money printed on paper and sometimes lumps of metal called “coins.” In the Middle Ages, before Apple Pay, people carried it in their pockets and used it to buy things.

I’m joking of course, but be honest, unless you’re an old-timer, when was the last time you even carried cash? Vee says this is another ancient practice that should come back. “I’m all for using a credit card and earning rewards points,” she said, but credit cards easily become dangerous.

“If you’re the type of person who tends to overspend when using a credit card, your best bet is to just go back to the old-fashioned envelope method,” where you have separate envelopes for bills, expenses, and other things like income and split your money between them each week.

The key, of course, is “you only spend what you have” – which is difficult even if you rely on cash. But the intangibility that money takes on when it’s just an invisible entity attached to a card rather than the literal paper you hold in your hand can really make a difference – one that you might just notice later See your bank account.

RELATED: 10 Old-Fashioned Boomer Values ​​That Younger Generations Seem to Have Lost

John Sundholm is a writer, editor and video personality with 20 years of experience in media and entertainment. It covers topics related to culture, mental health and human interest.