Is it possible to climb in the closet of the mother-in-law while she is not at home?

Most of our parents and grandparents know firsthand what family savings are. In Soviet times, people had to make every purchase very carefully. After all, everything had to be calculated so that there was still something to live on until the next salary. But what about today? Is this attitude to money relevant in the modern world?

Editorial "Site" We share a story from our reader, which is very similar to these questions. The woman faced excessive, in her opinion, the economy of her mother-in-law. We invite you to speculate with us on whose side the truth is and where is the balance between frugality and profligacy.



On the second day of the holidays we came to visit my mother-in-law. I deliberately postponed this visit, because in 10 years of marriage I know that gatherings with my mother-in-law do not end well. The fact is that my mother-in-law, Olga Andreevna, has a very reverent attitude towards money. She grew up in a poor working family, where saving on every penny was the norm. Her father was an ordinary worker in a factory, and her mother was a seamstress in a factory. They worked a lot, and for such work they received little. Just like most people. Therefore, the childhood of the mother of her husband passed without frills. As a result, she brought her childhood habit of saving into adulthood.



In the same way she raised her son. My husband told me how as a child he had to walk for a long time in clothes that no longer had room for patches. He asked his mother to buy him other trousers or a shirt, but she always said the same thing: Why buy a new one if the thing is still there? fixable and save money? ?



In the early years of our marriage, I could hardly persuade him to buy anything. A banal trip to the store for groceries turned into a test. Every time we went around a few shopsAnd my husband wrote down the prices for the products we needed. After that, he compared the price tags and decided where and what was cheaper to buy. Such purchases usually last 3-4 hours. And all for the benefit of a few dozen hryvnia. It was unbearable. Fortunately, after a few years, I managed to change my husband’s attitude towards money.



But the mother-in-law could not be changed. She's so much. frugalSometimes it goes beyond adequacy. Olga Andreevna still works, receives a good salary, but there can be no question of buying a new one. I saw a new coat in her closet. Only when I looked closely did I remember that my mother had the same. Such coats with a large collar of some fur were fashionable 30 years ago.

How did the mother-in-law manage to keep things in this state? I asked her about it and received the traditional answer: “Things should be saved, and money should be saved.” It turns out she only wore this coat a few times. Now it, like a museum exhibit, flaunts in her closet. While my mum wore it for a few seasons and had long since forgotten she once had such a thing. To be honest, the logic of my mother-in-law is completely incomprehensible to me.



My mother-in-law often came to visit us to see my son and granddaughter. I didn't want our daughter to need anything. So my husband and I always tried to give her everything she needed, given her wishes. We bought beautiful and expensive things, toys, dolls. He loved giving his daughter what he lacked in his childhood. Of course, our position in the upbringing of the child was very disliked by the mother-in-law. So she lectured us all the time about how we were not living the right way. Why do you teach a child to luxury from an early age? Get used to everything in life getting easy. He will grow up incompetent and become a content, she repeated.



Of course, I was not silent: You, Olga Andreevna, live in the past. For you, 10 hryvnia is still a lot of money. Let our daughter grow up in luxury, as you say, and not walk in patches like your son. But the mother-in-law did not stop: Our generation grew on savings. And you are ungrateful. However, when we come to visit, the table mother-in-law covers generous, without savings. It is good that she does not spare money for food. That's how we live. Some people can’t be changed, but that doesn’t mean we have to live the same way. These are different times”.



Whose position do you support? Boldly shared with us in the comments with their thoughts on saving money. Good luck!