What Your Grandfather Knew About Money and Careers

Saving money is hard, and these days, it's getting even harder. Our capitalist society is so focused on consuming more and buying the latest and greatest product that deciding to not spend money is a tough decision. It seems like anywhere you go, you'll be bombarded with advertisements telling you why you should buy more stuff.

Over the past few years, I have been watching more and more television programs and movies online, rather than paying for a cable subscription. Recently, I decided to try cable again, and my biggest adjustment was dealing with commercials. I hadn't even realized how often programs are interrupted by advertising. Right now, I'm so sick of the Wendy's girl that I cringe every time she pops up on my screen to tell me about a bacon mushroom burger.

If you want to get serious about saving money, you have to find a way to block out these messages and get back to basics. Our grandparents knew a lot about saving money, and since they lived through the Great Depression, they have some useful information to share. If you look at the numbers, the average American household has increased their debt and slashed their savings over the past few decades. Take a look:

It becomes more and more apparent that our grandfathers had better ideas about how to save and avoid debt. Here are some savings and career tips that our grandfathers knew, adapted from a piece by the Art of Manliness:

Be resourceful. These days, if something doesn't work, we throw it away and buy a replacement. It drives my grandfather crazy because he still believes that if something is broken, you should fix it. The motto was "use it up, wear it out and make do." It's a good way to live, and I'm just as guilty as the next person of not taking that advice. We live in a fast-paced world and things like mending torn clothes, repairing appliances and buying things that are built to last are being forgotten. Although I'm not suggesting that we should all just become cheapskates, I think that we can all learn more about how to use our resources effectively in order to save time and money.

Being resourceful means that you are able to look at what you have and find creative ways to make them work. This skill doesn't just help us financially, it can help us succeed in our careers as well. Employers like to hire people who are able to find creative solutions to their problems and who are willing to think outside of the box. In addition, this type of resourcefulness can give you a leg up if you decide to open your own small business or work for yourself. Getting started with everything you need can be outrageously expensive. Instead of waiting until you can have everything, a resourceful entrepreneur will be able to make it work - even with limited supplies.

Practice awareness. One of the things I remember from my childhood is that the grown ups would watch the local and national news every night, without fail. Of course, with only three channels to choose from, there wasn't an option to watch something else, since each of them had their own version of the news. Because of that, our grandparents were much more aware of what was going on in their communities and in the world. On the weekends, they were involved with the community (even if it was just standing outside of the grocery store) and frequently talked about community issues with their neighbors. Being aware of what's going on can help us find opportunities to help others and to grow. Networking isn't a new concept, it's been going on since the beginning of human civilization, and our grandparents were great at it. My grandmother loved to bake and would trade baked goods with a woman who raised chickens for eggs. By networking with the people around her, she was able to market and use her skills in exchange for products or services she needed. Over time, her efforts saved her family a great deal of money.

Another way that our grandparents were more aware than we are is that they always wrote things down. From pocket notebooks to checkbooks and passbook savings accounts, they were able to track their money, their expenses and their savings with ease. By writing things down, they could follow where their money was going, making it easier to find places to save. Today, we have plastic cards that don't feel much like money. It's so easy to just swipe and pay that most of us don't bother to write it down. Sure, we have online banking and smartphones that make keeping tabs on our balances easy, but it doesn't do much to help us become aware of each time we spend money.

Awareness helps in our careers too. Employers notice applicants who are knowledgeable and who take the initiative to find things out. Showing up at an interview without knowing anything about the company or the position makes a negative impression because it shows just how unaware we are.

Everything's negotiable. It's funny how things change over time. It used to be common practice to negotiate things like large purchases and salaries. Our grandparents would never have walked into a store and bought a new television without some type of negotiation. These days, negotiation has become a dying art form. In fact, many of us are hesitant to ask for discounts for fear that people will think that we are poor or a cheapskate. Somewhere over the years, wanting to save money has become a bad thing, and I'm not sure why. We all want to cut our costs, and saving money on large purchases can really help. Our grandparents understood that the value of an item was determined by what someone was willing to pay for it and that they had a right to negotiate that. Because of all of these little negotiations, they weren't afraid to negotiate their salaries as well. All too often, employees are willing to accept whatever the employer offers to pay instead of asking for what they feel that they are worth. When you negotiate your salary, you are showing your boss what you are worth. Most of the time, your boss will respect you more for the effort.

You aren't entitled to anything. This is one lesson that is really difficult for people in my generation. We feel that we are entitled to lots of things, but in reality, we are only guaranteed the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That's right - the pursuit of. Not happiness, just the ability to go chase after what will make us happy. In fact, if we want to be happy, we have to be willing to go out and chase it down - it doesn't get handed to us. In our society right now, fast credit is easy and we can just charge what we want today and hope that we can pay for it tomorrow. Our grandparents knew that in order to have the things we want, we have to work hard to get them. For them, no job was beneath them and no employer was lucky to have them. In our careers, it's important to get over the idea that we are entitled to a high salary and an easy job. In several offices I've worked in, I've heard co-workers complaining about how a certain task was beneath them or that it wasn't part of their job descriptions. Our grandparents knew that whatever their boss asked them to do was what had to be done.

They say that history is a great teacher and there is so much that we can learn from previous generations. When it comes to surviving hard times, finding ways to earn money when the job market is bad and making savings a priority, our grandparents have a lot to teach us.

What other tips can we take from previous generations? Please share your thoughts in the comments.

Image Source: The National Archives