6 Great Money Lessons From the 1950s You Should Use Today

June 6, 2024 DINARRECAPS8

Angela Mae Thu, Jun 6, 2024,

America in the 1950s was a vastly different place than it is today. Unemployment rates were low, individual purchasing power was high, and mass production and new technologies were making everyday goods and services readily available and cheaper.

Many young adults in the 1950s grew up during the Great Depression — 1929 to 1941. As they went on to launch their own careers, start their own families and pursue the American dream, they did so with the financial lessons they learned along the way.

And those lessons? They were passed down to their children and their children’s children.

While the 1950s might seem ever so distant, many of the lessons that came about back then are still significant today. Living within your means, owning what you have, saving up for the future — these are just some of the great money lessons from back then that you should use today.

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Live Within Your Means

Learning to live within your means is just as important now as it was 20, 50 or even 100 years ago.

“In the 1950s, most families stuck to pretty much the same budget from year to year, with people spending only what they earned and never going into debt when they [could avoid it],” said Erika Kullberg, a personal finance expert, attorney and founder of Erika.com.

It helped that the first consumer credit card didn’t come about until 1958, when Bank of America launched BankAmericard. Credit simply wasn’t as readily accessible as it is today.

“In a world where credit is easy, it’s more important now than ever to shop around, practice self-discipline and save rather than borrow,” said Kullberg.

If you must use credit or loans for something, like a house or school, do so with extreme caution so that you don’t end up taking on debt you can’t afford.

Live Like Your Money’s Going To Disappear

Living like your money will disappear doesn’t mean spending everything immediately. Quite the opposite, in fact.

“In the ’50s, many adults remembered struggling through the Great Depression,” said Todd Stearn, founder and CEO of The Money Manual. “With low inflation and unemployment and high wages, the middle class had more spending money than ever in the ’50s, but many were so impacted by the things they and their parents had been through financially that they often saved carefully despite the good fortune many had found. That caution with money is just as valuable today.”

Save as Much as You Can, But Use Your Savings as Intended