"I remember my grandmother telling me about life during the Great Depression.

She said it was impossible to find a job but my grandfather found one working for the Census Bureau at $1 day. That was enough because they were frugal, even living in a onetime railroad boxcar. Things were tough, she said, not like today.

After the story, a lecture would follow about the importance of saving money -- and the evils of credit.

My grandmother would buy her new car only after she saved enough money. I remember going to the showroom with her. She'd take a car home to drive -- then the next day, she'd return and write a check. It was the way things were done."

Get the Story:
Mark Trahant: In debt, we live on 'borrowed' time (The Seattle Post-Intelligencer 7/25)

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