9 Money-Saving Tips from My Thrifty Mom
Mom never got rich.
Not even close.
But if thrifting were an Olympic event, my mother would’ve been a millionaire with a Wheaties endorsement deal.
Adopted as an infant by a middle-income dairy farmer and his wife, Mom was instilled with the value of hard work and frugality during her childhood. In high school, she worked summers at a grocery store, where she learned a thing or two about pricing and discounts. Growing up, my mother taught me a thing or two about thrifting. Here are 9 money-saving tips I picked up from a lifelong thrifter.
1. Make What You Can’t Buy
My parents had no car when they married. Fortunately, Mom helped keep costs down while her hitchhiking husband finally saved enough to buy one. One thrifty thing my mother did was make what we couldn’t buy. When I was little, I remember listening to the whirr of the sewing machine as my mom made her clothes and ours. She lived frugally from the start.
What’s more, she was good at it. Maybe you aren’t a talented seamstress like my mother, but you have a green thumb. Or you’re an excellent knitter or candlemaker. If you have handy skills, don’t let them go to waste. Take a cue from my mother and make something instead of rushing to the store to buy it!
2. Live Within Your Means
Mom was fifty-eight when she bought her first home. Always on a strict budget, she found a 600-square-foot single-wide trailer for $8,500. That was a steal for any dwelling located 60 miles from NYC! The tiny trailer had been used as a glorified storage shed and needed some TLC, but she was proud. With her job at a home for mentally disabled adults and her side hustle as a caretaker for her best friend’s mother, Mom even bought a used car. She excelled at living within her means.
In today’s instant gratification culture, avoiding impulse buys and unnecessary purchases can be challenging. However, living within your budget is important. So, set a clear financial limit and don’t go above it. Always live within your means!
3. Research Insurance Policies Carefully
Like most older adults, Mom had insurance policies. My mother was incredibly responsible and thought she was making a good decision. Unfortunately, her life, burial, and hospital indemnity insurance policies were fraught with so many conditional clauses and red tape that they covered nothing at the end of her life.
As a matter of fact, her situation was similar to John Grisham’s novel The Rainmaker. She wouldn’t realize her mistake until the end of her life. When buying insurance of any kind, always do your research. Read every contract carefully. If you can’t understand the insurance jargon, bring the policy to someone who can. If something seems too good to be true, it probably is. Don’t learn this lesson the hard way like my mother.
4. Do a Little DIY
Like I said, Mom’s trailer needed some TLC. Fortunately, my mom was a hard worker with a creative mind. She bought some aluminum siding paint and gave its fading white exterior a facelift. Then she painted her front door red. Next, she carried rocks from the woods behind her home to create a rock garden. Finally came the interior. That’s where her summer visits to our home came in handy. We must’ve hit every yard sale and antique store in the tri-state area.
Mom scored some true bargains—a white wicker headboard, an antique card table with four chairs, an unused rotary mower. Not everything she bought was in perfect condition, but Mom fixed it right up. If you need something, go secondhand before you hit up Hobby Lobby or The Pottery Barn. Or search the woods for rocks or other natural accessories that might look great in your garden. A little DIY can go a long way!
5. Adapt to Your Circumstances
Mom’s home was cute and tidy, and for good reason. My mother valued cleanliness. Unfortunately, the diminutive size of Mom’s home prevented her from having a washer and dryer. She couldn’t afford to run back and forth to the laundromat all the time, so like a true thrifter, Mom adapted. She washed most of her clothing by hand and hung it to dry on a small clothesline on her enclosed porch. For larger bedding and bigger loads of laundry, she’d go to the laundromat.
However, she always tried to take the economic route. If you’re in similar circumstances, try to adapt and figure out creative, thrifty workarounds. It isn’t always easy, but if my mother were still here today, she’d tell you that it’s worth it.
6. Look for Part-Time Jobs
The year Mom turned sixty-four, she lost her job. Panicked, she tried finding jobs without any success. With no pension and very little savings, she had no idea what she would do. Fortunately, my sister had just had a baby, so Mom became my niece’s full-time babysitter. Her babysitting money combined with her Social Security, kept her afloat. If you’re looking to make a little extra money, look for part-time work. It doesn’t have to be a “traditional” job.
Instead, you could take a page from my mother’s playbook and babysit. You can always offer to housesit, walk dogs, or even cater! If you can’t get out of the house, you’re not out of luck! Look for part-time remote jobs. My mom is proof that you can find part-time work, even in your twilight years.
7. Don’t Waste Food
When Mom learned that Aldi sold out-of-date food to customers at a discounted price, she felt like she’d hit the jackpot. She would make casseroles from her discounted groceries and eat them for days while freezing the rest. If she ate pizza, it was always Little Caesar’s…and she made it last for two meals. Each summer, Mom grew a small vegetable garden. Her farmer’s daughter’s upbringing came in handy, yielding plenty of fresh vegetables. Mom even canned some of her crop.
When it comes to food, as the old saying goes: Waste not, want not. Don’t throw good food away. Instead, see what meals you can make with what you have on hand. Get creative in your culinary endeavors and always save your leftovers. You never know what you might be able to do with them!
8. Don’t Overspend on Utilities
New York winters are often as frigid as fuel oil is expensive. Unfortunately, so were my mother’s utilities. Though her trailer was small, it was poorly insulated—meant for the balmy warmth of the Florida Keys. Even during the coldest winters, Mom kept her thermostat briskly low, using heating blankets and dressing warmly. If you’re anything like my mother and refuse to rely on the state for assistance, try to cut back on your utilities.
When possible, use heating blankets or space heaters during the winter. In the summer, open your windows or buy a small rotating fan. As my mother might tell you, it might not always be comfortable—but it might be worth some extra money in your pocket.
9. Get Creative with Holidays and Birthdays
Nowadays, kids seem to have it all and want it all. However, a gift doesn’t need to be expensive to be special. My mother is proof of exactly that. I still cherish the scarf she knitted me. Sometimes, she ordered flowers for my sister and me from QVC. They always arrived months after our winter birthdays, but I cherished them all the same. The baby lilac bush she bought me many birthdays ago is still blooming as I write this. In fact, it blooms most of the summer.
Flowers were a part of Mom’s love language between her and her two daughters. During the last conversation I had with her, she asked how my latest birthday floral gift was growing. If she could see them now (transplanted throughout my yard), she would smile. Maybe you can’t afford a lot, but with gifts to loved ones, it’s truly the thought that counts. Even quality time can be a wonderful present to loved ones. I know that from all the summers I spent making memories with my mom.
Takeaway
Mom’s life was never easy. Fortunately, she was an incredibly resilient soul who made the best of the cards she’d been dealt. While she struggled, she still found ways to enjoy life. As a matter of fact, the last years were her best ones, even though they were her leanest. Mom may have been thrifty, but she was never stingy with her love. That’s the lesson I continue to carry deep within my heart.
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Originally published April 28, 2025
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