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Robert Wheeler / Time & Life Pictures
Ann Cox Williams poses with a week's worth of groceries in 1947.
With drought gripping the nation, grocery prices are expected to head higher soon even as many are facing economic hard times. A new generation of home economists, armed with mobile applications and Internet couponing sites, is driving renewed interest in frugal consumption.
In these tough times it's comforting to know that generations before us have faced similar challenges and responded in similar ways -- without all the technology, of course.
A 1947 issue of Life magazine, in a package of stories on “High Prices,” profiled Atlanta housewife Ann Cox Williams, who was held up as a superstar saver for feeding her family on just $12.50 a week.
The author of the article called Williams “the 1947 heroine of the Battle of the Budget,” saying she:
allows herself $12.50 a week to buy all her groceries except milk. On this she manages to feed herself, her husband, her four-year-old twins and even the family cat. The job takes considerable doing. Mrs. Williams is an avid student of grocery ads and shop windows. She limits herself to one shopping expedition a week, at which she weights every penny against the family’s full week appetite. She serves no meat at lunch and limits her evening entrees to such items as meat loaf, hamburgers and chili. Yet she manages to provide two desserts daily and such frills as cookies for a party.
“If all American housewives had the spunk and ingenuity of the woman on this page -- Mrs. Hamilton Williams of Atlanta, Ga. -- inflation would be less of a swear word,” said the article, which showed Williams shopping, studying the newspaper and preparing cookies for a PTA party.
Courtesy of Williams family
Ann Williams with her twin daughters Marcy and Kappy in an image from the 1940s. "My twin sister and I were identical, and at the young ages even we couldn't tell who is who in pictures," said Kappy Williams Bowers.
The spunk and ingenuity needed to save money today has changed a lot, thanks to things like cyber coupons and mobile deal alerts; not to mention the fact that more women work today and don’t have the time to devote to finding the best deals that Williams had.
But the basics of saving money haven’t changed much -- cut back and spend less.
“The more things change the more they stay the same,” said Doug Bachtel, a professor of consumer economics at the University of Georgia’s College of Family and Consumer Sciences.
“There is something ingrained in American society about penny pinching,” he noted, and many see the thrifty as “wise people who don’t spend frivolously.”
Unfortunately, he added, U.S. consumers these days have found it hard to emulate such budgeters thanks to a mantra of consumption fueled by easy credit; endless supplies of food, a lot of it unhealthy; and television and the Internet that has influenced the young and old to spend, spend, spend.
“Kids today get a $20 lunch box and want their mothers to stick in some high-priced sexy food,” he explained, “not just a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.”
Indeed, Williams daughter Kappy Bowers, who was a toddler when she was included in the Life Magazine photo spread, said the world has changed a lot since her mother was profiled in the piece. And she also admitted she wasn’t as budget-minded as her parents when raising her kids.
“I am distressed by the things now, living to get things as opposed living to enjoy life,” she stressed.
Bowers doesn’t remember the Life story being published but has vague recollections of the photo shoot. She also doesn’t remember feeling like her mother was doing something out of the ordinary when she was growing up.
“Mom made all of our clothes -- even our winter coats and rainwear. I don't think we had a store-bought dress until we were 10 or 11,” she recalled. “I loved my mom dearly, but I learned to sew in self defense. Our prom dresses were always marked down and somewhat remade bridesmaids dresses -- need I say more? We were regular visitors to the Atlanta Junior League shop for used clothes.”
Her father, a high school teacher, was also a penny pincher. “Dad would gas up the current wreck of a car we were driving and we would head out on Saturday and Sunday afternoons to the rich part of town where we would check out the trash at the curb for things for our home and the lake place,” she said.
The "lake place" referred to a cabin the family built, furnished with items from the junkyard, including a used toilet and a metal shower stall that had a habit of shocking its users.
Williams’ Life magazine spread was recently resurrected in a story published in Reminisce Magazine.
“The remarkable frugality is what piqued our interest," said John Burlingham, senior editor for the magazine. "We were curious to learn more about this judicious housewife and felt our readers would be, too.”
For some consumers today, the frugal lifestyle has become far more than a curiosity.
Melissa Garcia could very well be the budget-battle heroine of our day.
Known as the “Consumer Queen” online, she has two kids, ages 12 and 15, and a husband with a degenerative disease who is unable to work, so savings money is a priority.
The main difference she sees today compared with Williams’ time has been the explosion of the dual-parent working family. “It’s not just the stay-at-home mom clipping coupons anymore,” she said.
Today, she continued, working mothers and fathers have become savvier and take advantage of deals they can find via the Web. “You can get them on your mobile phone, on Facebook and Twitter,” she said. “It’s more accessible to people.”
For consumers who are struggling, she suggested you “rethink what you buy. More spouses and families need to be more honest with each other and with their kids. They don’t understand what saving money is because they’ve been given everything they want in life.”
In her family she talks with her kids, letting them know when it’s time to stretch the budget for the week.
Some of her tips on purchases include buying fruits and vegetables in season; investing in a standing freezer to store things when they go on sale; and stockpiling things such as canned foods, cleaning supplies and even tooth brushes.
The key, she advised, is convincing yourself that living within your means and saving money isn’t some unattainable goal.
Even in 1947, consumers were shocked at Williams’ budgeting prowess.
The Life magazine piece stated that when Williams' story was shared in the local paper, “less enterprising housewives sent in letters of disbelief that any family could eat so cheaply.”
But her daughter can vouch for it.
Williams died last year at age 95, and the one thing that stands out in Bowers’ mind most is: “I never felt deprived.”
She does remember being the only family in the neighborhood without a television, but she added, “We played games. I was very happy.”
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I was born in 1947, and this is how my mother shopped. We seldom had everything we wanted, but we always had everything we needed, and that was all anyone needs. We might have had a few dollars on a store charge card now and then, but I know there was never any other debt besides the house payment and a car payment when necessary. It was a good way to grow up, cautiously and thoughtfully.
That doesn't sound unusual I was born in 47 too. We lived across the street from the grocery store and only shopped once a week. We had 3 adults, 1 kid and a dog and my mom never seemed to really spend that much even with a treat like the french bread from the bakery. We didn't eat out much. But my uncle Ralph was a professional chef before becoming disabled and did the cooking so it was great. Today I don't buy that much when I shop but I have an advantage I can only buy what I can carry on a motorcycle. Many costly things like bakery cakes are out.
The generation that grew up in the late 1940's had parents who survived the 1930's depression, as my mother did. Like the generation raising kids today, many have learned to do what is needed to get by on less and often are using the wisdom of their parents to get through hard times.
A few things you can't get by without: a hug, a kind word and love. They do more than any sweet, treat, or toy.
I was born in 49 but still have good memories of the 50s and 60s. We never ate fancy but we never went hungry. There were 3 channels on TV and they weren't on 24 hours. Advertising was done in monochrome or a few colors. We had board games and played outside.
My goodness bones1, you were spoiled. We only had one channel on our black & white.
I feed myself, 2 cats and 2 dogs on as little as $50 / week. . . and we eat well. My goal is 1 major shopping per month. I do shop more than 1x / week if I go to the farmers' market which is held twice a week, I opt to do a Monday run which is a discount day at a local store, I need something really fresh in produce.
Since I buy larger bags of high quality kibble from the feed mill, that is bought as needed. We have an excellent farmers' market so what little meat I buy is from there. I can get a minimum of 4 meals from 1 whole fryer + I boil and grind the bones for cat and dog treats. I grow my own berries for jam but I buy my cucumbers for pickles at the farmers' market.
Since I am gluten and lactose intolerant, most prepared and snack-type foods are off my list. Gluten free bread is a little spendy but the savings on other things more than makes up for it.
Quoting Mrs. Williams, "The key, she advised, is convincing yourself that living within your means and saving money isn’t some unattainable goal."
My Mom would tell us that the most expensive food is that which you throw away, meaning plan your meals and portion size around what family members will eat, use up leftovers, and don't let food go to waste (freeze, chop into soups, etc.).
The amount of food waste in this country is a CRIME!
According to the CPI calculator, 12.50 in 1947 is worth 128.63 today, not really that impressive of a feat.
I agree Mike. $128.63 is my average WEEKLY shopping bill for a family of 5, two dogs, 1 cat and a tank full of goldfish! That amount includes hygiene necessities and cleaning supplies, so I think I do pretty good!! We don't get all the extra goodies, but we have breakfast, lunch and dinner each day as well as clean clothes and other needs.
Supply and Demand; buy only what you NEED and the cost of the things you want will go down (i.e. ice cream, cookies, etc...)!!!!!
I was thinking the same thing- I don't think my parents spent much more than that for a family of six a decade later in the late 50's. My brother loved boot camp because he could eat all he wanted!
True, but that CPI calculator is for everything - not just food. I believe that many individual food items were actually much more expensive back then than they are today, especially eggs and dairy. Rents were much cheaper. I recently came across a 1940's restaurant menu. A Prime Rib dinner and a Roast Pork dinner were $5.25 but a Roast Chicken dinner was $5.75! Chicken cost more than beef and pork back then. Go figure.
If you were to read the Marshmallow Fluff history page you will learn that sugar cost the equivalent of $2.00 PER pound (today's dollars) back in the 1930's. I just paid $2.75 for a 4 pound bag. And that $10 cheapo Walmart China toaster equaled $100 when it was quality made in the USA. The CPI is skewered. Time to roast me a chicken!
I still think feeding 2 adults, 2 growing children, and a cat on the equivalent of $18 a day is pretty impressive. I see 3 dozen eggs, fresh produce, and 4 butcher's packages in that photo.
$128.63 I spend just for lunch per day..its only money..can't take it with you...when dead!
When I was little, our mother would take us to the market, put us all in one cart, and fill up the other cart completely with groceries (they were big carts back then, too). She paid with a $20 bill, and got change back. We were a family of 6. That was in the late 50s.
I think she filled up the car with gas with the change she got back, too. And still had some left over.
Cooking nutritious meals at home is A LOT CHEAPER and HEALTHIER than take out. We stay away from HEART ATTACKS in a BAG at all costs. My husband and I are in our 50's and maintan a healthy weight and are on no medications compared to some of our much younger, heavier and unhealthy friends who practically live at McDonalds, KFC and WaWa. Eat nutritious meals at home and save a bundle of money on food, pharmacuticals and enjoy great energy and good health..................AND STAY AWAY FROM FAST FOOD!!!
You can eat fast food but most don't eat the correct portions an adult should have a kids meal.
When McDonalds started the Happy meal was the basic meal served. They had hamburgers, cheeseburgers, fish sandwiches small fries and drinks. That was the total menu.
So take $12.50 in silver coins, say quarters. That's 50 quarters which are worth about $4.50 each today.
50x$4.50 is $225. Or gold at $35/oz in 1947 is $535 today.
Or price it in Gas, Oil, Copper, Wheat etc and it shows how out of whack the CPI is.
How could I have forgotten the precious metals that average consumers are always running out to buy. I also forgot to mention stocks that have gone up hugely in value (should have spent that 12.50 every week on IBM). The CPI is flawed but still contains contains items like wheat (which is relatively cheaper now) and energy so it is a good approximation.
If you bought silver or gold stocks then you would have a lot less than if you bought actual stocks. in only the last 10 years have gold taken off.
Sure. As long as you bought the correct stocks. I just brought up the metals as a reference point.
BTW - How many original stocks are still in the DOW?
Quarters and dimes haven't been made out of silver since 1963. I'm pretty sure nickels never were except during a metals shortage during WWII. They're made of copper and nickel. Look at the cross section of a new quarter or dime. There's a thin strip of copper in the middle.
During WWII nickels were made from steel because the nickel was needed for the war.
1965 Milwaukee $3.00 would fill the gas tank on my moms car $3.00 also paid for valet parking by my HS for the month. The basic mid-sized car cost about $3,000 so did the full dressed Harley. But we earned $1.25 an hour.
Pennies were made of steel in 1943. Nickels were silver.
Money is supposed to be precious metal. Read about a history of money and how that factored in the writing of the Constitution, as well as all the arguments the founding fathers had against fiat money. This is one thing Ron Paul is completely correct on, and I'm sorry to see him sidelined.
My favorite line in this article is the one about how more people shopping carefully would make inflation less of a swear word, basically saying we shouldn't think inflation is bad. But inflation is the hidden tax that robs us more than any income, sales or sin tax. If all we had for money was precious metal rather than government printing presses, we wouldn't have inflation.
I always find it odd when people compare prices with the value of the metal in the coins.
The price of silver has absolutely nothing to do with the cost of groceries unless your groceries include camera film and who even buys that anymore.
A number of them are still their many have vanished from mergers. Being in vested in the market has always been better than Metals
Food is cheap You ahve to remember to eat portiance.
huh?
It is called not filling your fat face and eat what your supposed to. Many Americans eat more than 4,000 calories a day. When we have a chicken breast we split it.
Sure glad we've got you to interpret because no dictionary I can find has the word "portiance" in it.
Sorry but the spell Check is crappy.
With money being tight I feed 1 person on $20 a week. I buy in bulk, so depending on the sale of the week it might be all chicken, sausage, hamburger, pasta and sauce, bulk rice, careal or anything else on sale that week. I buy dairy products as needed with milk by the gallon, yogurt by the quart and cheese by the pound.
I buy 24 oz whole wheat bread at a local factory store for 99 cents a loaf because the machine cut it wrong or the bag was misprinted or some other cosmetic flaw from production.
I make soup out of leftovers I do not take to work for lunch. I buy affordable, but I am still able to watch my fat and salt intake. Which shows at the doctors office.
Above all I watch my portion sizes. With both my doctor and girlfriend loving the results.
We spend $150+ every week for a family of four to eat healthy home cooked meals. No processed junk, and we very rarely eat out. We do get a lot out of the produce department, but that's about to change as I have planted a fall garden and will be putting in fruit trees this fall and grape vines next spring. Pretty much all that stuff costs is some exercise, and I need more of that anyway.
I usually just buy milk, coffee and cereal. Mostly, I eat lunch every day at my favorite restaurant which offers a soup and salad bar. It costs far more for me to buy all the items I can get at a restaurant deal. I eat good, I eat healthy and I only spend about $70 a week total. That includes my husband who gets my leftovers from lunch.
Plan a menu in advance, make a grocery list and stick to it. I make casseroles, cook half and freeze half for another day. I also eat leftovers for lunch most days. It's just my husband and I but we don't eat beef very often, mostly fish and chicken. We use ground turkey, it used to be cheaper than beef but got popular so the price went up. It's still a little bit cheaper. We also like lots of fresh veggies in season. We spend about $100/week on food for the two of us.
I guarantee this woman wouldn't have been able to feed twin teen boys on that amount of money! Man, can growing boys eat! But seriously, careful shopping & home food prep can do wonders for the budget. It's not easy, but it is possible to live well on a shoestring. And it's great training for kids!
Lee, there's a special exemption for teen-aged boys- they're considered an act of God, just like other natural disasters ;)
This is what's in my pantry right now:
25 pounds of short grain rice
20 pounds of long grain rice
5 pounds of black beans
25 pounds of flour
1 gallon of honey
5 pounds of sugar
20 pounds of buckwheat flour (I make and freeze dozens of buckwheat waffles cheaply, and at one time)
5 pounds of oatmeal and Cream of Wheat style farina
Huge cans of tomatoes (usually costs 3 bucks and makes a huge pot of tasty spaghetti sauce, or chili)
If it sounds like a lot of food, it's not, since when you cook all your meals, you can go through this volume fairly quickly, especially if you cook in bulk and freeze it. I also make cookie dough and leave it in the freezer, so when the kids want cookies, they can make them anytime. The secret really is about buying in bulk, and just COOKING!
I am single and when I shop any meat I buy will make two or up to to 6 meals. I watch for those yellow tags and cook or freeze that day. I bought 4 flat iron steaks for $4.00. If I can't find the beef or pork at good prices I'll live off chicken. Ground turkey makes good spaghetti sauce.
My cubboard has:
100 pounds of beef, in bulk of course.
20 Pounds of chicken
6 Pounds of bacon
6 frozen pizzas
20 tv dinners
5 pacakages of vegatables with cheese added
2 pies
In conclusion, I'd rather eat good.
Yeah, all except the frozen pizzas and TV dinners and pies . . . ..for the cost of each frozen pizza - $7 to $9 each - depending on brand - one can buy a whole week's worth of fresh vegetables and fruit - like carrots and green beans and bananas under $1 per pound, onions, squash and cabbage under 50 cents a pound. Right now, markets have a huge selection of fresh stuff - take advantage of it . . . .
Jkennedy, Jamie Oliver, or that Oz guy, would come to your house and declare that your freezer is full of unhealthy choices. Just saying, thats all.
Pizza, bacon, frozen vegs in cheese sauce, red meat and sugary pies? That is not a heathy choice, at all. Are you serious. or, are you just having us on?
We spend about $100 per week for our family of four including breakfast, lunch and dinner. We keep Kosher so meat is ridiculously expensive, so we mostly eat vegetarian meals and then have chicken and fish about twice a week. I make almost everything from scratch which helps cut down on costs a lot!
I try to feed my family locally farmed milk and veggies and meat. That makes it more expensive, not less contrary to what everyone tries to tell you. Unfortunately for me, I have major food allergies, so my milk alternatives are much more expensive than real milk. For example coconut milk yoghurt is $2.50 vs. yoplait at $0.69. I don't eat much yoghurt for this reason. I'm allergic to soy, also. Anyway, it does force us to eat healthier since we have to buy whole foods, but it means they cost more. I started a veggie garden to make my produce even more local and that's helped a lot. Now we just have to find time to deal with it since we both work.
We moved about 3 years ago and I've been astounded as this is the first time I've seen it where the produce at the farmer's market is at least 50% higher than that in the store! Our daughter is allergic to cow's milk, but fortunately can tolerate goats milk, so instead of paying $2.50 - $3.50 a gallon, we pay $13 a gallon for her milk. Between that and the non-dairy substitute items, it jumps the bill up pretty fast!
That housewife in the photo could have been my mother. I was the youngest in my family, born 13 years after the photo of this housewife was taken, and my mother made my clothes all during grade school. I remember eating an open-faced grilled cheese sandwich for breakfast, bologne and American cheese sandwich on white bread for lunch, and flank steak or hamburger stew for dinner. With me being the youngest of 5 children at home, this was all my parents could afford at the time.
I remember growing up in Calif--I was born in 1948--My family always had food on the table--My Mom was one heck of a cook--My Dad was working 2 jobs at the time--My Mom made so many dishes out of hamburger I guess 1 of my favs was the hamburger roll-ups she made--I make them to this day for my family-I do however add more stuff in mine--Asked my wife why she don't make them and she said she had no bisquick??Me or mom never used it--Also Mom used to grind bologna mixed with mayo and cheese put it on a bun and broil it--damn good-Thanks for reading my post as I am just thinkin bout the good ole days---GENO
Geno, I love your story! I'm going to try making the things your mom made. She is my hero.
Hey Geno,
I came along in 1951, third out of six. I recall that meat grinder doing a lot of great things. My grandmother lived across the street from us. My parents worked together, my grandmother did alot of cooking. She used that meat grinder for grinding ham, good ham salad, bologna, the same salads went on bread. Vegetables for winter was put up along with peaches, stawberries,jellies and jams. Damn the good old days. I got to grind green tomatoes, peppers, onions, etc. for that great jar of chow chow or pickle lilly. Another thing, doing geese season the old ladies used to pick the geese and save the feathers for their quilts and pillows. Nothing wasted. Wouldn't trade those days for nothing. Always a pot on the stove and warm bread on the table. My husband and I have a good laugh once a week about those days...now these kids think they are entitled to a $20.00 lunch box, nothing wrong with that sack oh sorry, bag.
Everyone needs to have a victory garden. Even if you don't have much space a tomatoe in a large pot is much more sensible that house plants and just as pretty. A green lawn will not feed the kids. Even a window box will produce good herbs and tomatoes. My father was born in 1899 and had a vast array of hard earned knowledge. The one I grew up with and still remember is "If you can't make more, spend less" I've lived by that one all of my life and have done quite well.
My technique is to buy when things are on sale. As far as meats, we only eat poultry and fish, so when we find a good sale, we stock up. I go to several different stores; whoever has the deals for the week gets our business.
True story; we live near a Mennonite-run farm market. They sell local meat and produce, and it is always great quality. They had an outstanding 12-hour meat sale, at which they sold lean ground turkey for $1.00 lb.! I bought 20 lbs. and stocked the freezer. That will last us for a loooong time.
Anyway, since I use the stock-up method, most weeks my shopping bill is pretty low. I buy staples like milk, eggs, etcetera. I go to the farm market for fruit in season, and buy as much as will stay fresh. And, I do use coupons--though I am far from being an extreme couponer! I might use 2 or 3 per trip.
That's how I go about keeping my grocery bills low. :)
Oh, I also do try to grow salad veggies when the weather is right. The hot weather isn't helping in that department, though!
So much better to see people mastering life -- instead of the steady drumbeat of people overwhelmed and victimized by life, who can't make ends meet on two government salaries of $120,000 a year -- and not saving $5 million for their retirement, so they have to go on food stamps and other government assistance.
Depression era parents taught me to be thrifty at home. I remember washing aluminum foil and reusing it until it was full of holes. We saved every plastic bag which eventually made their way into lunch boxes and we brought them home for the next day's lunch. My mom wasn't much for sewing, so we had LOTs of hand-me-down clothes that went from cousin to cousin and back again. I probably spend more today than I should, but still watch the balance sheet and spend less than $200 a month for groceries and cleaning supplies.
I still save foil and plastic bags and things like that. They are horrible for the environment so I try to use them as many times as I can before I throw them away. It sort of serves a dual purpose I guess.
My dad did all the grocery shopping ,because my mom wasn't good at that.My dad cliped coupons before they were the popular like they are now.And he even found coupons for free stuff.He would shop every week and buy just what we needed.I was a only child .My dad worked and when I was in school my mom worked part time .And we never did without. Why my mom didn't go food shopping ,because she would buy dumb stuff. And too much.She wasn't dumb about spending money.But she would just over do it. This was durning the 50's ,60's and 70's. I don't use coupons ,because I buy store brands and whats on sale .
Spending can be controlled if you watch for what you get. I do not buy broccoli, vegetables and carrots if I know the kids will not eat. A box of pasta and sauce will feed them and not spoil. I portion the food at cooking and buy at the cheapest store. It can be done with planning. Ignore the nutritionalists and vary the meals . You will find yourself fed and not feeling hungry.
As a child in the 1920's and 1930's---if we said "I don't like that" if it was placed in front of us---we were told "you are obviously, not hungry, you may leave the table and return when your appetite returns"---------we didn't get choices!!--thus we learned not to "pick and choose!"
"You can eat it tonight warm or tomorrow night cold but you will eat it"
The loving 1948 mother who didn't have a dime to spare.
We have 2 options in our house if the kids don't like what we're eating: you may fix yourself a bowl of cereal or you may eat the same dinner later when you are hungry. The only exception is on the rare occasion (maybe 2 times per year) when I fix something that I know they simply won't eat, I'll fix them a simple alternative (mac and cheese, hot dogs, etc.).
Yes, many kids now feel that Mom's kitchen is a restaurant where they can order what they wish. And these kids grow up to be adults who still feel that the family kitchen is a restaurant where they can order what they wish. Not fun to live in a house with one of these . . ... and hard to stay on a budget . . . .
@Carolart, had to laugh, my uncle was 97 when he passed. Mind was in better shape than mine, he used to say these are Mcdonald's kids, ride up and talk to that box. We had to eat whatever was put on that table, and was glad to have it. Now on Saturday and Sundays it was always a little special meal prepared. But my grandmother handled cooking thru the weekdays and mom took over on weekends when she was off her pay check job. Now my daddy cooked also, so he and mom were a dual pair. They worked together and cooked together. Good old days, when food tasted like food.