We always remember arriving at grandma’s house in Saint John, NB, back in the ‘60s, and being treated to homemade pickles, chow-chow, and even mayonnaise. Grandma’s house was fill of jams, jellies, and other preserves, and their impressive vegetable patch featured herbs, carrots, and much more.

Grandma bolstered her grocery supply with home cooking, preserves, and garden produce.

Save with SPP took a look around the Interweb to see if anyone else has gathered together saving tips from their grandparents – and we found quite a few.

At the Koho.ca blog, writer Brittany Bell lists budgeting – our grandparents knew enough to spend less than what they brought home – as well as prudent spending, and finding “simple ways to save.”

Other old-school saving ideas include coupon clipping, saving your change, buying grocery items in bulk and taking advantage “of all available deals and discounts” when shopping online or offline.

The A Cultivated Nest blog adds a few more.

Make your own, the blog advises – you can create your own “cleaning supplies, your own DIY beauty products, your own gifts.” We learn again about growing your own herbs and making your own preserves, but there’s also the idea of “cut your own” which makes sense – buy a watermelon and cut it up, and do the same with a whole chicken. Every cut made at the grocery store by staffers will cost you, the blog advises.

Other good tips include using cash and not credit, to “repair or upcycle” things rather than just throwing them away, and to consider buying used instead of new.

Country Living magazine rolls out some additional ideas.

Buy direct from the farmer, the article advises. Learn to sew so you can save on tailoring costs and minor clothing repairs. “Make meat an accent,” rather than the bulk of your meal plan, we learn. Make soup more often, we are told – it is filling, nutritious, and an easy way to use up leftovers. Start saving – “it’s never too late” and make it automatic, the article continues.

Finally, the article says, “eat in,” and enjoy your own cooking while saving money.

These all ring true when we think of our grandparents. As far as we can remember, none of them used credit cards – if they had them, they were for an emergency. They didn’t have lines of credit on their houses. So, when they wanted something, they had to save up for it. These are all still sensible ideas today.

If you want to retire, you’ll have to save up for it. If you have a pension plan at work, great – that’s a big part of the battle. But if you don’t, or if you want to augment your workplace savings, check out the Saskatchewan Pension Plan. The SPP gives you all you need to make your retirement savings plan automatic – you can make contributions automatically from your bank account, and increase them over time as you earn more. What you chip in is professionally invested at a very low cost, and can – when you retire – be paid out to you in the form of a lifetime annuity. Check out the SPP, celebrating 35 years of operations, today!

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