Most Gen Zers know the struggle of having an empty wallet, and if that sounds like you, then you might wanna borrow a few tricks from the original budget experts—boomers. This generation was stretching dollars long before cashback apps or TikTok hacks, and while some of their ways may seem a little odd now, a lot of them still work. And weirdly well. Let’s look at eleven boomer budget tips Gen Z should hear.
Featured Image Credit: Krakenimages.com/Depositphotos.com.
Skip Dryer Sheets
Rather than buying dryer sheets over and over, boomers would crumple up some foil & throw it in with the laundry—you get the same anti-static effect but for much cheaper. It’s literally just a ball of foil that costs almost nothing and lasts for months. Best of all, you can even recycle it when it’s done, and you don’t need anything fancy, just some regular foil from the kitchen drawer that you can crumple up tight and put in the dryer.
Line Dry Clothes Indoors
Hanging your socks over the shower rod might not look the best, but boomers did it all the time, especially when the weather sucked. You don’t even need an expensive drying rack, although you may need to put a towel on the floor. Electric dryers use up a lot of energy, so skipping them now and then keeps the bill from creeping up—if you have some space by a heater or a window, that’s even better. Your clothes also last longer when you don’t bake them in a machine every week.
Use Cash-Only at the Grocery Store
Boomers remember a time before phones, and they’re used to going to the store with a card or maybe just enough cash to buy what they need, which is great for avoiding impulse buys. You’ll be shocked at how careful you get when you know you can’t go over, and you’ll actually look at prices again, since what you’ve brought is all you have. While it may be annoying at first, you’ll probably stop buying that extra snack you didn’t plan for.
Wash Ziploc Bags
It sounds gross until you try it, but boomers rinsed out sandwich bags all the time, then they’d dry them and reuse them, over & over. If you think that’s extreme, just think about how many boxes you’ve bought this year—now imagine spending that money on literally anything else. Simply flip the bag inside out, rinse it, stick it on a dish rack, and let it air dry, although you obviously shouldn’t reuse one that had raw chicken in it.
Use White Vinegar For Just About Everything
Boomers know just how useful vinegar can be, as whether they had a greasy stove, a smelly sink, or simply sticky windows, vinegar was there to save the day. They didn’t need seven different cleaners—just one jug of white vinegar and maybe some baking soda, which works great & is quite cheap. In fact, you probably have some in your kitchen right now, and you could even add a splash of it to your laundry if your towels are musty.
Cook With What You Already Have
We’ve all had those moments when we’ve gone through our kitchen and found random stuff like a singular carrot and a can of something we forgot we bought—but boomers didn’t throw these things away. Instead, they made a meal, and they didn’t care if it followed a recipe or looked pretty, because the goal was to just make food with what they had. It’s something Gen Z could definitely learn from since it’ll help them to spend less & waste much less too. Just search for “recipes with [ingredient]” and wing it, as the goal is to empty your fridge before filling it again.
Bring Your Own Snacks Everywhere
When they were younger, boomers didn’t rely on Starbucks egg bites to survive the afternoon, and they packed snacks from home, such as peanut butter crackers or hard-boiled eggs. It didn’t have to be anything too amazing, just something cheap & ready to go, which is great advice for the younger crowd who are always buying something to eat quickly. Really, you don’t notice how often you buy those $6 snacks until you stop doing it.
Use a Landline-Style Habit
The older generation grew up without the internet, and that meant that their entertainment services didn’t charge them monthly—they watched what was on, and that was that. Boomers simply picked one thing, used it, then maybe moved on, and you can do the same by pausing or canceling stuff until you actually want it again. Unless you’re using it year-round, there’s no point paying for a year-round subscription, especially since you can always resubscribe to stuff later.
Buy Appliances That Can Be Repaired
In the past, boomers didn’t replace toasters every two years because they bought solid stuff and fixed it when it broke—if a knob fell off, they glued it, and if something stopped working, they opened it up. We could all do this today when we buy new electronics, as repairable devices are much better than those with shiny touchscreens. Half the time, all these newfangled products are just money down the drain.
Keep Broken Electronics For Spare Parts
Likewise, most boomers keep a drawer of cables & random adapters so that when something broke, they’d have a stash of things to use to repair it. Of course, that doesn’t mean you should start collecting junk, but you should keep a few things around to save yourself a little cash. That drawer comes in rather handy when your charger breaks, or when a screw pops out of something and you need a match.
Write Down What You Spend By Hand
Budgeting apps are great and all, but they’ll never beat using a scrap of paper & writing down what you spend—boomers did exactly this. In doing so, you’ll notice more patterns, like how often you grab takeout or hit “Buy Now” at midnight, which makes it even more effective. Try it for a week by writing down every dollar right after you spend it, and you’ll see just how much you’re really throwing away.
Disclaimer: This list is solely the author’s opinion based on research and publicly available information.
Like our content? Be sure to follow us.
Read More:
