>>>http://www.ameshistoricalsociety.org/exhibits/events/rationing.htm
>>
>>That was a different world, all right.
>>
>>Both my parents were born in the UK in 1933, in the depths of the Great Depression. Rationing started in the UK in early 1940, both my parents were bombed out of their homes as young children during the war. They married and emigrated to Canada in 1955. Since rationing didn't fully end in the UK until 1954 (vs. 1947 in the US), until they emigrated they had spent basically their entire lives either in the Depression, WWII or under rationing.
>>
>>Boomers and later generations don't have a clue - they think they're hard done by when they can only buy a 37" big-screen TV instead of a 50".
>
>My parents were born right around the same time. They have the same characteristic of never feeling safe enough economically. You wonder if there are kids growing up now who will be the same way.

After the war everybody did what they called 'economizing'. When I retyred, I tried it out. I still do it. Just by turning lights and electical items off when not in use, even while nagging you from my computer, I reduced my power bill to $28.41 - Now I have solar panels, a solar charger and a battery bank to help me too. To make a long story short, I have adopted a competitive attitude. It's me against the utility companies to see how much I can keep. :))