I remember one lady who grew up in in Southeast Saskatchewan in the Depression. Her “desert-like” upbringing gave her a great talent for reusing water. For example, the toilet tank was seldom full of fresh water. She would use dish or bath water in the toilet tank, which was a lot of extra housework. She just could not get rid of her water conservation habits even when water became easy to replace. Drove her family crazy.

People’s spending style is rooted in their past — and difficult to change.

Unfortunately, we have gone in the other direction: spending money we don’t have for things we do not need. This will be difficult to change as well.