Many people may think I am a “tightwad,” but I would like to think I am just thrifty.

I look for sales and bargains. I will use coupons when going to fast food restaurants. While working, I took my lunch instead of eating out every day to save money. Eating out every day can really add up over a month.

Much of this comes from my upbringing and hearing the stories of my parents and how hard times were when they were growing up.

My dad lived during the Great Depression and both of my parents knew how tough it was before and during World War II.

Mom used to cook most things from scratch. She learned to cook from my grandmother. I learned to cook by watching my mom and hanging out with her in the kitchen before she left this world when I was only a teenager.

Most of that generation grew up with bigger families than we see today, with several brothers and sisters.

Times were tough.

Like many others growing up, we used bacon grease over again for frying or making cornbread in an iron skillet.

Mom would save used aluminum foil to use again. I find myself doing that today. We used grocery bags over again. They were paper back then, but plastic today. I use them again every day as smaller garbage bags or to pick up my dog Petey’s deposits in the neighborhood.

Many people saved jelly or jam jars to use as drinking glasses or as a container for something else.

How many of you remember when certain detergent brands gave you a small juice glass inside the box of granular soap? That probably determined what detergent many bought and if you think about it was a good marketing idea.

We used toothpaste down to the last drop you could squeeze out of the tube. I still do that today. Bar soap was used down to a slither, where you could not even hold it any longer.

If you were lucky enough to get the newspaper or some magazines, you usually kept those around. Old papers could be used for different things.

If you had older siblings or cousins, you likely wore hand-me-down clothing. After all, there was nothing wrong with it; the older kids outgrew them, and you grew into those larger sizes.

You wore clothing until you outgrew it or it was completely worn out. Then you kept it as “work or play clothes” and tried not to wear your good clothes to play outside or cut the grass or any other chores you may have had.

Most people did not have as many clothes as they do today. I am bad to hold on to things I have had for years. Sweatshirts, tee shirts, old jeans and other items I just can’t seem to part with.

I am sure most of you have a junk drawer or two filled with stuff that may never be used again. Things like safety pins, buttons and other items you may need in the future.

Most everyone grew a garden in the summer to help put food on the table. This also helped save the family money when they went to the grocery store.

Like my mom and grandmother, many women in past years canned food. They would preserve green beans, corn, tomatoes and other vegetables to last into the winter months. These foods were not only healthy, but they definitely helped families with their monthly budgets.

If you had fruit trees on your property, your mother and grandma probably baked pies or made jams from those fresh fruits.

Like most families, we did not eat out very much. Most meals were made and eaten at home. Families sat down and had dinner together. Wouldn’t that be nice today?

Food was not wasted. Like I recently wrote, things like leftover cornbread were used as a snack crumbled up in a cold glass of milk. Leftovers were usually eaten and not thrown out with the garbage.

When they did go to the grocery store, they likely bought foods in bulk. Things like flour, meal, salt, sugar and other things used for cooking were a staple in homes.

Many families had a freezer to preserve meat. They may have even had hogs, chickens or beef cows to butcher for long-term meat.

Most of the men went hunting. Not only was it a sport, but they ate much of the game they killed. Venison from deer, squirrels, rabbits and others made a typical meal for big families back in the day.

Nothing was wasted and many things were deemed useful. You may not need it today, next week or even in a month, but down the road you may be looking for the right screw or nut and bolt to fix something. I still have a couple of jars and containers of nuts, bolts and screws in my garage with my tools. I’ve actually used a few over the years.

I do not think I am a hoarder, but I am sure my children and grandkids will have a job going through my stuff when my time on earth is gone.

So call me cheap, a miser or, as I prefer, thrifty, but I am just a product of my upbringing and the baby boomer generation.

And what is wrong with that?

(Kyle Lovern is a longtime journalist in the Tug Valley. He is now a retired freelance writer and columnist for the Mountain Citizen.)