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My Story Seasonal Skills VideosPreparedness Preparedness Lists Try It Today 72 Hour Kit Be Prepared Water Disasters EMP Survival Evacuation Hurricanes Outdoor Survival Firearms & Self DefenseSurvival Tips Preparedness 101 Survival Action Steps If you’re new here… Survival Surveys A List of Lists25 Ways People Earned Money During the Great DepressionDecember 3, 2015by The Survival Mom 39 CommentsPin1KShare2KTweet+118Shares 4KThe most important element in survival is clean water -- but what do you do when it's contaminated?This online class teaches everything you need to know Start learning today.In a previouscareer, I was a history teacher, and I’ve always loved learning about the past and gleaning whatever wisdom I can from the words and actions of others.A couple of years ago I found an excellent book with dozens of first-person accounts from the Great Depression, We Had Everything But Money. I’ve spent hours reading through anecdotes, touching, humorous, and poignant, and one thing that struck me was the ingenuity of the Americans who lived through those tough times. Many continued to findways to earn money, even when their own circumstances were dire.I put together this list. Feel free to add any others that you know of.To earn money, people:1. Caught and sold fish, clams, and crabs2. Made homemade fudge and sold it3. Sold newspapers on the corner. Kids earned a little extra if they were promoted to “Corner Captain”, a sort of Great Depression multi-level marketing program where a kid brought in other kids to sell papers and earned a bit extra himself.4. Started a lunch truck/wagon5. Grew, picked, and sold berries6. Road work7. Shoveled snow on roads8. Multiple part-timejobs, including housecleaning9. Chopped wood or harvested driftwood10. Made and sold handwoven baskets11. Mowed lawns and other kinds of yard work12. Door to door sales of things like shoes or sewing notions13. Made deliveries for stores14. Made and sold quilts15. Sold homemade baked goods, like bread or pies16. Sold eggs for 25 cents a dozen17. Childcare18. Rented out rooms19. Mended or altered clothes20. Washed windows21. Would purchase produce and re-sell door-to-door22. Sold apples23. Loaded coal24. Piecework sewing25. Sold homegrown produceIngenuity is something that can never be stolen by thieves, confiscated by a government, or lost to flood or fire. Click To TweetIn every case it was a simple matter of looking around to see what people needed, what they wanted, what made them feel good about themselves and about life. Years ago a hairdresser friend of mine said, “Lisa, even if the economy collapsed tomorrow, women still want to look pretty. I would do business out of my home and probably continue to earn pretty good money.”This is why some people who have lived through economic collapses say that beauty products, such as lipstick, eye shadow, and lotions, are good items for barter.In addition to these creative entrepreneurial efforts, don’t forget that many people found work in the various Depression-era works programs as part of President Roosevelt’s New Deal, and keep in mind that these people had practical skills that folks today just don’t have. Perhaps some of these might be good additions to your own skillbank:Rendering lardCaring for livestock of all kindsSmoking meat, poultry, and fishButchering all types of animals from squirrels to hogs, cattle, and other “varmints”ForagingSewing by hand or with a non-electric sewing machineRaising flourishing gardensPreserving food by canningTinkering — Knowing how to fix all kinds of things.As you can see, many of these skills go hand in hand with the money-making ventures of our Great Depression-era grandparents and great-grandparents. Today, so few of us have any of these skills. We are generations removed from farm life and homesteading.How will YOU earn money in the next Great Depression?One of the main reasons for studying how people survive, whether economically or physically, is to find lessons we can apply to our own lives and circumstances. For many years, some economists have been predicting an economic collapse here in America. If you are one of the 93+ million of Americans who are out of work, your own personal economy has already collapsed.Now it’s time to consider how you will earn money, whether or not you are currently out of work. In the days of the Great Depression, it was common for grocers and landlords to provide credit to their customers. Today? That would be a rare occurrence.From the Depression days there is an abundance of stories of neighbors and church families showing up at the door, laden with bags and boxes of food for a needy family. When one desperate mom was asked by her daughter, “Mama, what’s for dinner tonight?”, the response was, “Whatever the neighbors decide to bring us!” I wish I could imagine that happening today, but our communities and families have become so fractured over the past few decades that it would be a rare event.So, what skills do you have that might offer a service during a severe economic downturn? What knowledge do you have that would be helpful, even vital, to others? What products can you produce? What skills can you teach?Ingenuity is something that can never be stolen by thieves, confiscated by a government, or lost to flood or fire. It is possible to survive during a Great Depression and there is plenty to learn from those who lived through the last one.Want to learn more about Great Depression survival?Clara’s Kitchen: Wisdom, Memories, and Recipes from the Great Depression by Clara Cannucciari and Christopher CannucciariCould You Stomach These Great Depression Meals?Stories and Recipes of the Great Depression by Janet Van Amber PaskeThe Forgotten Man by Amity ShalesThe Great Depression: A Diary by Benjamin RothThe Great Depression: A History Just For Kids by KidsCapThe Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl by Timothy EganWe Had Everything But MoneyFrom Me, To YouSign up for a chance to win a $150 shopping spree for freeze dried food from Thrive Life Foods (my favorite!)Plus, helpful food storage emails!Pin1KShare2KTweet+118Shares 4KWhile you're here, check out...Blogger Round-Up: Our very best gardening advicePrepper To Prepper: Free Preps!Learn from My Many Gardening MistakesGear up for gardening seasonSpring Gardening: 5 Common Sense Steps to Grow What You EatThe following two tabs change content below.BioLatest PostsThe Survival MomI'm the original Survival Mom, and have been helping moms worry less and enjoy their homes and families more for 9 years.Filed Under: Economy, Featured, Job Loss, Skills Tagged With: #frugal, 1930, budget, depression, Family, finances, foraging, garden, income, knowledge, livestock, Recession, sewing, SkillsCommentsBLESSEDONE333 says December 3, 2015 at 4:18 pm YOU REALIZE that thanks to the U.S. government, most of those things on the list are illegal to do now! EPA, FISH & GAME will not let you go get your own fish, collect wood or even rainwater or make anything they can’t regulate!and forget making food at home, the county department of health would shut you down in a hot minute. people don’t like door to door salesmen and with the risks of murderers and pedophiles out there in large numbers, this is not safe anyway!so thanks to the government, being poor is now a crime if you try to help yourself out of poverty! Reply The Survival Mom says December 3, 2015 at 5:04 pm These weren’t illegal back in the 30s, otherwise there would likely have been far more deaths due to starvation and exposure. Reply prsmith says December 6, 2015 at 11:08 am If we experience a second ‘great depression’ and people are hungry, nobody will care about what the government says. Reply Judy says December 6, 2015 at 7:51 pm A lot of people today would starve before eating ‘beans’. Remember the beggars who throw away food that others give them? My ‘food stamp’ relatives eat the most expensive meats, etc. They make fun of me for eating beans. Reply Wendy says September 12, 2016 at 8:24 am In some states making food at home is not illegal. Maine has a law that permits “cottage industries”, which means I could make and sell home-made preserves from my kitchen. It’s also not illegal to sell firewood here in Maine. In fact, because of concerns regarding invasive insect species and the proliferation of tourists who come to Maine for camping, a whole industry around selling firewood has bloomed, especially in my town. The State and local communities would rather allow folks to sell firewood on the side of the road than to have people from out-of-state import their, potentially, contaminated wood. Check the local laws, but there’s probably a lot less that’s illegal than we think. Reply Terry says February 14, 2017 at 11:41 pm I agree they can ship in baby food, and pet food from China that poisons both, but forbid a homemaker from selling anything out of the home, it’s so corrupt. ReplyKathy Davenport says December 3, 2015 at 4:53 pm My parents were kids during the Depression and the war years, so they weren’t trying to make a living. However, they both talked of selling soda bottles to earn enough money for movie tickets. There are very few places where you could do that now, although I have sold some jewelry to make a little extra money. Reply The Survival Mom says December 4, 2015 at 11:45 am One thing I noticed from my research is that even kids felt responsible for earning a bit of money to help out their families. Reply Lisa Cate says December 6, 2015 at 10:56 am They were returning the bottles for the deposit. We used to have a nickel deposit on bottles of soda and got a nickel for each one returned. I’ve done this to get extra change but they sell soda in plastic bottles with no deposit on them today. There went that source of spare change. Reply Carla B. says February 17, 2016 at 8:12 pm But you can recycle cans! Reply Theresa of Maine says August 7, 2017 at 9:06 pm This reminds me of a teen couple that stopped here when I was gardening, asking for my redemption bottles (but not offering to work for them). Maybe I should have given them over, but would they have just bought drugs with the profit? Another day, as I mowed, schoolgirls tried to sell me restaurant coupons, but why didn’t they offer to do yardwork to support their team? Sadly, it’s a different world now. But mama taughtme frugality. I used my saved bottles for grocery money, mowed my own yard (a no-gas pusher), and got lettuce from my garden (saving $2 a head). Yep, I’m the proud daughter of a Great Depression survivor. Reply The Survival Mom says August 8, 2017 at 1:16 pm We have purchased a set or two of those restaurant coupons and got very little use out of them! Yes, help with chores would be a great money maker, but I’ll bet in this day and age, it wouldn’t be safe. ReplyDawn says December 4, 2015 at 12:25 pm In the 1930’s, the government didn’t demand money before “allowing” people to grow & sell, or bake & sell goods. The current federal govt does all it can to quash individual self-help efforts. You need to be very careful nowadays. Reply49R says December 4, 2015 at 11:34 pm Don’t forget- prospecting for local gold will be back in action as gold goes for $10,000+ per ounce… get your Minelab detector now eh Reply PL C says December 9, 2015 at 10:33 am Not so quick! California, the Golden State, is forming legislation to regulate individual gold dredging with a $900 permit required and limits on how long you can be at any one place in a stream. We have lots of amateur gold panners and dredgers here in the Gold Country (western Sierra), who will be directly impacted by this. The gravel disturbed by these one-man dredging operations is, of course, immediately redeposited in the stream bed, and no Northern California legislator would touch this bill. A southern state legislator was recruited to propose it (where it has no impact). Regulate, regulate, and remove individual freedom to support yourself (or have fun getting cold, wet and dirty for profit)! ReplyStephen Vandale says December 5, 2015 at 12:42 am My father had 13 jobs by the time he was 13. He had a paper route, a shoe shine box and shares of other shoe shine boxes that he financed to do business outside of military facilities in Rhode Island. He also was known for knowing the neighborhoods and the people in it. Servicemenwould get a shoe shine and ask where the Ladies of the Night lived. They would tip him for the information and then the Ladies would tip him for the referral. So on and so on. ReplyNatasha l says December 5, 2015 at 8:03 am During the depression my grandfather kept bees they would sell the honey for extra money. When rationing started on sugar during the war they were in a good position to sell honey at a premium. My grandfather taught my dad how to be a beekeeper and my dad taught us three kids. It’s a skill you never forget. Reply The Survival Mom says December 5, 2015 at 9:07 am That is a great addition to my list! ReplyTamaya says December 6, 2015 at 6:41 am My mother in law was a little girl during the depression living in Nova Scotia. She said back then lobster and crab and other shell fish were not luxury items. It was what the poor ate. So I doubt many people would have bought them. They would have used them for themselves. She would often head down to the shore and catch a couple and cook them right there on the beach. She would bring extras back to the family to eat. It is like how all the bottom feeder fish that no one ate ever have suddenly become the in thing to eat not necessarily because they are better but because we have over fished the oceans and the good fish are gone. ReplySally says December 6, 2015 at 11:52 am I’m sorry, but I think your friend is living in a dream world if she thinks she would still be doing well by offering beauty services in a despression type situation. I have been living in a depression type situation for the past 6 yrs. My husband lost his 6 figure job and has struggled to find anything since. Fortunately he has a skill -being a handyman- that helps us eat, but the last few years we’ve lived off 12K a year. We’ve lost our house, our belongings, our savings, our retirement, and have scaled back tremendously on expenses that aren’t necessary. The first expense to go? Anything beauty related. I went from having my hair cut and colored every 8 weeks, to not having a haircut in SIX years! Manicures, pedicures are a long forgotten memory. There is no way when you have 35 bucks for food that you would tell your family you spent all or most of it on your hair cause Mama likes to feel pretty. Come on! Get real! I went from having beautiful undies and bras to having cotton ones from a box store and the only reason I have those is because I was down to 3 pairs of undies so my friend bought me some more. Believe me, it ALL changes when you are desperate. ALL OF IT. Reply Stephanie says December 7, 2015 at 6:56 am I’d have to agree with you. When I was making less than 20K and trying to pay of debt (I did it BTW!!) I didn’t get haircuts or buy very many beauty products. I think in two years I bought 1 tube of mascara, and I added OO to that to make it stretch out longer than it should have. I worked at a really cheap paying office. They expected everyone to look good, but didn’t want to pay us so that we could. Anyways, if I had to go back to that lifestyle I wouldn’t get haircuts and I’ve never been a manicure, pedicure type of girl, but I wouldn’t get those either. Its about whats important to you. I suppose if you were a “lady of the night” it might be important enough to have a few beauty products though. *shrugs* Reply Theresa of Maine says August 7, 2017 at 9:17 pm HEY gals, diy. I started cutting my own hair decades ago. Then youtube showed me some tricks. Get good scissors and a big mirror and go for it. (But keep a nice hat handy in case something goes wrong). Saved me at least $180 a year. I also groom my dog myself; he loves the attention. I find first aid scissors are best for pets. Reply The Survival Mom says August 8, 2017 at 1:15 pm Those are both great ways to save money AND, if you needed a second income, could develop into a side business. ReplyEunice says December 6, 2015 at 1:35 pm If things get as bad as the Great Depression it will become a matter of arranging for neighbors to protect one another from the government’s injustices. Remember the #1 way that people survived? Illegally distilling alcohol, and it was the local police, OFTEN TIMES, who protected those entrepreneurs… because the entrepreneurs were smart enough to make it worth their time to do so. That’s why any enforcement that WAS pursued came from the Federal government. The locals were “in it together.” NOT endorsing breaking laws. Just pointing out that survival is a pretty basic need, and unjust laws tend to go by the wayside when the choices are few and STARK. Reply Stephanie says December 7, 2015 at 6:59 am The people now-a-days don’t want to be bothered. Think about how many of your neighbors you actually know. I know my neighbors, because I made an effort! Some of them I know as acquaintances only, and if times got tough, I really think they would let us starve. But, bringing community back to an area is going to be the first hurdle to get over with people. Everyone is in their own little world and doesn’t care much about anyone else. Just look at how people act when you go out to eat, or to the movies, like you’re bothering them just by being there. There was a time that people knew that their neighbors were their friends and a part of each others safety net. No longer. And I don’t think the police are going to want to help people anymore after all this crap about them bullying people… ReplyRobin Stephens says December 6, 2015 at 2:18 pm I’m almost 60…. My mom and dad were older when they got me (I was adopted). They were depression-era children, Dad was in WWII, and Mom stayed home and worked at People’s Drug Store and kept their little apartment going in Fredericksburg, VA. She was one of 9 children and they would all remark that they didn’t know they were poor. Thankfully, their daddy never did lose his job….and they gardened. Her momma made all of their clothes, too. My favorite (of many) stories was hearing how her mom would hear of a neighbor in need, and would go down to her cellar and box up home canned goods and send them. They also “Fed the neighborhood” as my mom put http://it….as in there were always extra people around their table. They were NOT rich by any means….but, they were not truly poor. I wonder if the giving heart had something to do with that……….. Reply Don_in_Odessa says December 7, 2015 at 4:49 am Not to add to those ministers who’s bread is buttered by the seed and harvest message and little else of the true Gospel. But the truth is, whether in this life or the next, we do tend to reap what we sow. ReplyNWIPrepper19113 says December 6, 2015 at 2:42 pm How about raising red worms for everything from fishing to fertilizer to chicken treats. They are inexpensive, prolific, and their food, like decayed leaves etc. is free. Reply Sue says December 26, 2015 at 11:55 am I believe I may possess the only flock of chickens that will not eat earthworms. Caterpillars? Yum!! Grubs? Yum! Earthworms? Yuck! Reply Craig says June 7, 2016 at 9:12 am My grandfather had a job loading trucks during the depression. Some times, oops, a crate of vegetables fell and broke. He’d take it home, shared with the neighbors and the rest for his family. Man next door was good at carpentry, lots of trading of work for goods . Those two two neighbors became my grandparents. ReplyStealth Spaniel says December 7, 2015 at 1:05 pm What everyone forgets is that not every person was broke during the Depression. The bankers closed the banks and kept cash for themselves. Government officials still got paid-otherwise they put you in jail for not paying your taxes or they took your house and property. Also, many safe deposit boxes were rifled (read confiscated) by government officials and the gold, jewelry, etc was used to sustain their families. So, many profitted and survived by very nefarious means. Those ladies got their hair done, the families ate at fine eateries, etc. So, in the coming Depression/Collapse I expect my local IRS agent to be doing pretty well!Another point is the type of job you had. Doctors, nurses,Dentists, and hospitals still had business. They might get paid in food or other items, but they at least got something. I worked with a lady in the ’70s who started at AT&T in 1932. She was an operator, who made the royal sum of 35 cents a week to start! She kept her parents and brother until 1938 when her dad and brother got jobs as coal diggers.The most important thing is to be able, willing, and happy to do what it takes for your family to survive. Because AFDC, EBT cards, and welfare payments will be over once we have another collapse. If the choice is between paying a Senator or sending somebody a welfare check, I already know who wins. So be prepared to take what you can find.Local-local-local; and keep on prepping! ReplyAnnie says June 8, 2016 at 7:25 pm So when this collapse takes place and you and husband live in an apartment and can no longer pay rent? Guess I better buy a tent now? And remember, not all folks are living in houses. I worked all my life, lived in houses for most of the time except now since I remarried my first husband, we are living in an apartment now looking for a house so I can grow vegetables and do those everyday practical things our grandparents did. Everything is instant and convenient and not many families have passed those skills down to our generation or the newest generation. So then you’re stuck and have to teach yourself quickly from books? The way I see it, if everything collapses, how do you pay your rent? or your mortgage. If government confiscates everything? And don’t forget the internment camps located in ALL 50 states either. The New World Order is what they are trying to bring to pass. Sometimes all of this gets me so depressed, I just wish I would die now and get it over with before ISIS beheads more Americans or some idiot in the White House just decides to kill us all with our food and water contaminated with something. I grew up in the ’50s when we did “duck and cover” in school. Tell me, how in the world would a wooden desk protect any child from an attack? Come quickly Lord Jesus, this planet is in a mess! All the talk about prepping and right now, I just lost one part time job and the other ends in December. Any jobs out here? Let me know where…. ReplyBonnie Appleby says July 27, 2016 at 3:28 pm Add to your list, the man in our alley who sold strawberries off his horse and buggy! I still hear him hollering ‘STRAW BERR IES” ReplyLois says September 11, 2016 at 12:51 pm My dad told me that the only thing that can’t be taken away from you is knowledge. He encouraged us to always be learning. I used to think it was discussing that my dad got better grades than I did on his tests. He was always taking corispondence courses to better himself as a master mechanic. There wasn’t much he couldn’t fix on a car or a truck. Or anything else as far as that was concerned. ReplyJerry Haymaker says July 30, 2017 at 10:52 am I tried to buy fire brick and could not get any when I tried to order it they said they could not get any. Then I bought a kiln to make my own. Getting good clay for it is a problem here where I live. Making your own heat or hot water/ cooking heat/ electricity would greatly improve chances of survival during economic collapse. Having a job that won’t go away is important so I work at a county event center where the rich folks go to have fun. It also has tons of wood left over from events. They give it away to get rid of it. ReplyPamela Davis says February 20, 2018 at 10:59 am I just love your help so thank you. My grandparents used to tell us stories. Many of them are still happening today.i’m down in TN…We have cottage industries everything from pies to sandwiches to wood. The food is usually sold to shift workers. One create flyer stating what they off and for how much etc… Shift workers on weekends flock to these folks… and the Pie lady she lived in the slums when she started well now she has had to hire other seniors to work with her n making 7 figures… Her pies are awesome.My parents and grandparents were on a farm n my Granddad bartered for almost everything. The local Dr. loved cream well Granddad loved free medical care they worked a deal n viola! The Dr also used my Grandmere’s herbs many times along with her chicken soup He did that with many things.They had pigs, cows ( meat n milk), poultry, rabbits, quails, worms, mushrooms, smokehouse, venison, turkeys, –Gave away food at church every Sunday to others. had a road-side food stand, sold everything… If one couldn’t pay well he always needed something done on the farm.The people helped each other always…my Daddy n Uncle sold wood , my Aunts made quilts and crocheted n knitted pieces which were always raffled off. Get creative and find good old recipes. Start home business now even if only part time. We grandchildren would listen for hours to the stories.Thank goodness i am able to use that old knowledge today.Also I had need of a Food Pantry one time – well when I didn’t need them anymore I went to the Director and offered to conduct classes on putting food up n freezing and stuff.The class was free and we got some equipment and seeds and plants too, donated n it was 4 days worth on evenings n weekends to get to as many as possible. It was awesome the response and being able to share my knowledge of something I dearly love – oh wow!Thanks for letting me share. ReplyTrackbacksPrepper News Watch for December 4, 2015 | The Preparedness Podcast says: December 4, 2015 at 11:30 am […] 25 Ways People Earned Money During the Great Depression […]Monday Musings 12/7/2015: Health Benefits to Use Before the End of the Year - Apartment PrepperApartment Prepper says: December 7, 2015 at 5:01 am […] 25 Ways People Earned Money During the Great Depression […]Children Should Start Their Own Businesses – The Dangerous Child says: May 16, 2017 at 1:24 pm […] __ Earning Money in a Depression […]Leave a ReplyYour email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *CommentName *Email *WebsiteMost Popular Articles!!!Tips from a master gardenerVideo Player00:0001:16Copyright © 2018 · The Survival Mom · Built on the Genesis Framework · Web Design by: WarMarksENTER TO WIN $150 IN THRIVE LIFE FOODS!4K SharesPin1KShare2KTweet+118An Elite CafeMom Family & Parenting Publisher×