Tried-and-tested ways to beat the recession

With a full-blown recession under way for the second time, anyone under the age of 40 is in new territory, financially-speaking.

Jobs are uncertain and money’s tight and suddenly, wartime thrift – the preserve of the so-called ‘Silent Generation’, is starting to sound like good advice.

So what can we learn from generations of the past? Quite a lot.

Lessons from the ‘Silent Generation’

As part of a generation that grew-up during and after the war, the Silent Generation will most have been through some tough times in the past. So all that tut-tutting and eyebrow raising about ‘the youth of today’ is not without reason.

They have some sense of how to cope with the new age of austerity. And, as a result, there are some truly solid financial lessons to be learned from the past.

1. Look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves

Few of us have developed the sort of savings habits that typified war-torn Britain.

With cheap and easy credit, getting what we’ve wanted has always just been a question of putting it on your credit card, or borrowing what you need. There’s never seemed any real need to save up first.

But now, as credit has dried up, jobs have started to go and money has got tighter, we’re finding that was not the best way to go about it.

Too many of us have inadvertently (or carelessly) got ourselves into debt and few of us have anything to fall back on for a rainy day.

The lesson is to start saving now. Put those pennies aside; or ideally pounds every month and they really will start to grow into pounds that can be put towards something useful and best of all, debt-free.

And the sooner you start saving, the better. While interest rates may still be laughable, times will change and anyone with a decent pot of cash in the bank will be quids in.

2. Waste not, want not

Two words – soups and stews. Having had to make the most of whatever they had in post-war Britain (and remember that austerity went on for years after the end of WW2) soups and stews were a regular sight on post-war British tables. Cheap cuts of meat and leftovers can be conjured up into not just one, but many more meals.

The lesson is to start stretching the weekly shop.  With the price of food having risen, and still going up, we’re all spending more of our weekly budget on essentials than we used to.  Yet we’re still wasting far more than we should.

The Love Food, Hate Waste campaign estimates that the average family throws away £420 worth of food a year; and then there’s the environmental effect on top of that to worry about.

Lovefoodhatewaste has tips on cutting down on the amount of food we waste, recipes to turn last nights leftovers into lunch and hints on how to make the most out of the food we buy.

Financially-speaking it could save you a packet; it’s estimated that we could save £16 a week on lunches alone; and if that means ditching the bland, pap you usually get at the local sandwich shop for a healthy and tasty lunch, then it’s clear that it’s got to be a winner.

3. Grow your own

When it comes to eating locally sourced produce and preferably organic, the Silent Generation were way ahead of their time.

Take the humble allotment. Introduced by philanthropic Victorians to provide a healthy diet and lifestyle for factory workers the allotment is part of British culture; even if they have become more of a joke than a must-have of late.

However, that could be all about to change. The fact is that the popularity of the allotment rises and falls in inverse proportion to the nation’s well-being. In times of trouble, we turn to the soil.  During the Second World War millions became vegetable gardeners in the Dig For Victory campaign.

So, stop being a couch potato and start growing your own spuds. Not only is it rewarding, you’ll also get fresher, and not to mention, cheaper produce than the wilting plastic-wrapped version you find at the supermarket.

{Image: Reemi}~RSM Photography}