At this point in time, I don’t think it’s difficult to develop correlations to how growing up during the Depression is like growing up in the Recession:
“Living through the Great Depression has caused me to be tight. I don’t ever want to throw anything away. My old coats, dresses and pant suits hang in the closet; well, we might need to use them again. I guess I’m not so bad that way now, but I used to be. My advice for the future: don’t splurge; be economical with everything.” – Verla Hendrickson Daniels Brienholt
“I would say they better start saving as soon as they get married so they’ll have something to fall back on if there ever comes a depression. Savings is one of the best things you can do, save a little bit out of your pay check each month, so you always have a nest egg. I remember that both banks closed when the depression started and that made it so much worse for the people in town because they couldn’t get to their money. And it was just rough all the way through it.” – Crystal Bell
After reading this article by the Daily Telegraph, I would not be surprised if we started hearing comments coming out of Millennials in the years to come that echo the ones above. Even though it’s not as extreme now as it was during the Depression, the youth of today are still affected on a global level:
Financial data on teen money habits, obtained when researchers for Australia’s largest credit file bureau Veda Advantage interviewed 2000 children aged between 12 and 18, uncovered a disturbing trend of money stress.
Nearly 70 per cent worried about money, most have a savings account and plan to pay for their own cars, education and house.
“Teens are considering their financial future and putting their quality of life ahead of immediate materialistic goals,” teen researcher Habbo Asia Pacific director Jeff Brookes said.
These are just observations for the time being. I will note that CNN.money says it best. Thusfar, “Comparisons between this economic recession and the Great Depression are common, but the granddaddy of all downturns was far worse.”
My grandmother and I discuss things like this quite often. She, a child of the great depression, me, a Gen-X’r. The one thing I can always remember her saying, even now is: “if you can save a nickel, save a nickel”. It’s the voice in my head when I go shopping. It reminds me to buy the best quality I can, but at the lowest price humanly possible.
While I haven’t always taken her advice and used cash for everything, I do listen and the older I get, that is my preferred way to purchase. I just don’t like the idea of holding debt. Especially in the volatile economic climate we live in.
Even now, we are working at becoming more money conscious. Frankly, living with an economist and looking at his view on the current economic climate scares the hell out of me. While this is no Great Depression, it’s a royal mess that is going to take a long time to come out of. I don’t care what the suits on the Hill have to say.
Hi Lisa! Thank you for stopping by and taking the time to comment!
I touched on this a little bit in my post called Gen Y & the Economic Collapse in 2012 where the economist noted that it was our success is our worst enemy. A lot of correlations were drawn between then and now as well. The Art Deco movement was one of beauty and decadence in life, shortly followed by economic collapse. Today the Crate & Barrel movement is one of excess and consumption. What’s next? Who knows, but I find it really sad that kids TWELVE YEARS OLD and older are experiencing money stress.
I remember my grandmother telling me about how her mother repaired the soles of her shoes with used tires because they were so poor they couldn’t afford new ones. I think it’s of the utmost importance that the lessons learned by the Silent Generation are passed onto Gen Y. If I had any way to facilitate that, I’d do it. The most I can offer right now is my blog… and to suggest you take your little ‘un to see the grandparents as much and as often as possible.
I have to agree with that CNN quote. I mean a picture of a bank exec getting a pink slip isn’t as heart wrenching as this iconic pic.
Still, I’m sure it’s leaving it’s mark on many, I know it has on me.
I definitely have noticed within my social circles more people making comments like “oh, I’m staying in tonight. Gotta stick to my budget!” or “Sorry, I’m grounded. I can’t afford that right now.” The faux pas has lifted, much to my relief. I was always the girl in school wearing vintage stuff and got made fun of because “ewwww it’s olllllld”. Now I’m the cool chick with a full closet of vintage stuff that I’ve been collecting for 10 years. LOL I’m personally glad to see the climate change towards a more conservative one in fiscal terms. You’re totally spot on, too. A pink slip is not the same as hungry, tired and cold women and children out on the streets.
If the existing economy has made people more “aware” of what they are spending………… then I like that, even if it’s not really a major economic disaster (For the folks running the show)
I have been trying to get my 10 year old to understand we just don’t decide on a whim to get/buy a certain item – that there is, or at least should be some discussion on the merits/lack thereof, for purchasing said item. I definately encourage ALL people to think about purchases in such a manner. I am SO much more encouraged by stories like this; F*%$ the CC – it will get you in the end and you know it…….
[...] Everything is available and with the pairing of disposable material items and economic hardship similar to the Great Depression, Gen Y is already pre-disposed to being [...]