How did your waspy old money ancestors show their thriftiness?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:driving to the next town to save 10 cents on 2-liter store brand soda.

Buying soda is very NOKD.

Well dear you might need some mixers for the gin

That would be tonic. Or perhaps bloody mary mix.

Tonic is a type of soda. And soda water is the original soda.

k

Please. You know the PP wasn’t referring to tonic when she mentioned “2 liter store brand sodas.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ll play. My grandparents, born circa 1910, were quite literally the millionaires next door.

My grandfather didn’t go to college although money was there; he ended up inheriting stocks from two generations prior upon his father’s death in 1970. By this time, he was about five years from an early retirement.

Instead of looking at this as a windfall, he truly continued on with a very simple life. He always had a company car and my grandmother didn’t drive. When he retired, he bought a car with cash. I don’t think they ever had a credit card.

They shopped sales and were the first couple I knew who had stockpiles of essentials like tissues, toilet paper and their favorite foods.

My grandparents made no impulse purchases, ever. Everything from furniture to decor to lawn equipment was carefully researched with an eye on end of season or clearance sale. My grandfather could and would repair and fix anything himself and did a beautiful job.

Controversial: they gave little to nothing to charities. They didn’t believe in “spoiling” the grandchildren and didn’t adjust for inflation. We each got $50 for high school graduation, from 1975-1990. They held to buying us each one clothing item during a visit with them and they’d expect reimbursement from their DC!

My parent intervened about 5 years before they died and diversified their stocks and grandparents under slight duress gifted all GC whatever the max amount was w/o tax implications. It was enough to put a down payment on our first home.

Where on earth do you live that this could possibly be true?

you can give $17,000/person/year without having to count towards your lifetime exemption, but you can give up to $13m/couple right now without paying taxes. After that, you’re subject to the estate tax. It’s likely that this PP just doesn’t know why the gifts were what they were and their parent just said something offhand and inaccurate about the “tax implications.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ll play. My grandparents, born circa 1910, were quite literally the millionaires next door.

My grandfather didn’t go to college although money was there; he ended up inheriting stocks from two generations prior upon his father’s death in 1970. By this time, he was about five years from an early retirement.

Instead of looking at this as a windfall, he truly continued on with a very simple life. He always had a company car and my grandmother didn’t drive. When he retired, he bought a car with cash. I don’t think they ever had a credit card.

They shopped sales and were the first couple I knew who had stockpiles of essentials like tissues, toilet paper and their favorite foods.

My grandparents made no impulse purchases, ever. Everything from furniture to decor to lawn equipment was carefully researched with an eye on end of season or clearance sale. My grandfather could and would repair and fix anything himself and did a beautiful job.

Controversial: they gave little to nothing to charities. They didn’t believe in “spoiling” the grandchildren and didn’t adjust for inflation. We each got $50 for high school graduation, from 1975-1990. They held to buying us each one clothing item during a visit with them and they’d expect reimbursement from their DC!

My parent intervened about 5 years before they died and diversified their stocks and grandparents under slight duress gifted all GC whatever the max amount was w/o tax implications. It was enough to put a down payment on our first home.

Where on earth do you live that this could possibly be true?

you can give $17,000/person/year without having to count towards your lifetime exemption, but you can give up to $13m/couple right now without paying taxes. After that, you’re subject to the estate tax. It’s likely that this PP just doesn’t know why the gifts were what they were and their parent just said something offhand and inaccurate about the “tax implications.”

Thanks, I understand how estate taxes work. That PP already replied that it was a $10k gift in 1999, which you might have seen if you weren't so busy schooling me with your vast knowledge on estate tax.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Weird of OP to start a thread asking about “your WASP ancestors”. Very few people are from WASP lineage nowadays…

Anyhow, a lot of these things people are talking is just about people dealing with poverty. We are much wealthier than our ancestors. We don’t need to live like England during the air raids

??? Huge swaths of the Southeastern US are nothing but WASPS. Even in the NE/Midwest there are plenty but you mix in more Irish/Italian Catholics.

No. White Southerners don’t count as WASP. They tend to be Southern Baptist Protestants and tend to be of Scots-Irish stock.
The true WASPS are from the Northeast, historically

Plenty of white southerners are Anglo Saxon, with ancestors from England descended from the three Germanic peoples the Anglos, The Saxons, and the Jutes. There are also tons of southerners who are not southern Baptist.

Geez. It sounds like you have never been to "the south" and know nothing about it so you are just promoting stereotypes. My WASPY grandparents would be horrified if you assumed they were Scottish, Irish, or - heaven forbid - BAPTIST.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Weird of OP to start a thread asking about “your WASP ancestors”. Very few people are from WASP lineage nowadays…

Anyhow, a lot of these things people are talking is just about people dealing with poverty. We are much wealthier than our ancestors. We don’t need to live like England during the air raids

??? Huge swaths of the Southeastern US are nothing but WASPS. Even in the NE/Midwest there are plenty but you mix in more Irish/Italian Catholics.

No. White Southerners don’t count as WASP. They tend to be Southern Baptist Protestants and tend to be of Scots-Irish stock.
The true WASPS are from the Northeast, historically

Plenty of white southerners are Anglo Saxon, with ancestors from England descended from the three Germanic peoples the Anglos, The Saxons, and the Jutes. There are also tons of southerners who are not southern Baptist.

Geez. It sounds like you have never been to "the south" and know nothing about it so you are just promoting stereotypes. My WASPY grandparents would be horrified if you assumed they were Scottish, Irish, or - heaven forbid - BAPTIST.

And not to mention the scotch-Irish are called Ulster Scots in the UK, many of which who came to early colonial southern U.S. were second sons of aristocracy and were the beginning of what is “WASP” now. Ulster Scots were mostly Englishmen/Lowland Scots of Protestant landed gentry origin who participated in the highland clearances and the plantation of Ulster.

You can draw a straight geneological line from many/most “WASPy” families in the north and south to an unbroken chain of transfers of wealth/property that go back to at least then English civil wars, if not William the conqueror. The 3 epicenters of waspy-ness heritage are Virginia, Massachusetts, and New York (with New York developing this later). The Carolinas are on the bubble. Typically these families are of long lines of Episcopalians or Methodists (technically methodist episcopal). But Presbyterians aren’t uncommon, depending on where their ancestors fell on the questions of the English civil war and some may even be Baptist, though Baptists tended to be much more plentiful in lower class early immigrants, but many higher class British intermarried with higher class Baptists of lowland Europe and Rhineland Germany origins.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Weird of OP to start a thread asking about “your WASP ancestors”. Very few people are from WASP lineage nowadays…

Anyhow, a lot of these things people are talking is just about people dealing with poverty. We are much wealthier than our ancestors. We don’t need to live like England during the air raids

??? Huge swaths of the Southeastern US are nothing but WASPS. Even in the NE/Midwest there are plenty but you mix in more Irish/Italian Catholics.

No. White Southerners don’t count as WASP. They tend to be Southern Baptist Protestants and tend to be of Scots-Irish stock.
The true WASPS are from the Northeast, historically

Plenty of white southerners are Anglo Saxon, with ancestors from England descended from the three Germanic peoples the Anglos, The Saxons, and the Jutes. There are also tons of southerners who are not southern Baptist.

Geez. It sounds like you have never been to "the south" and know nothing about it so you are just promoting stereotypes. My WASPY grandparents would be horrified if you assumed they were Scottish, Irish, or - heaven forbid - BAPTIST.

And not to mention the scotch-Irish are called Ulster Scots in the UK, many of which who came to early colonial southern U.S. were second sons of aristocracy and were the beginning of what is “WASP” now. Ulster Scots were mostly Englishmen/Lowland Scots of Protestant landed gentry origin who participated in the highland clearances and the plantation of Ulster.

You can draw a straight geneological line from many/most “WASPy” families in the north and south to an unbroken chain of transfers of wealth/property that go back to at least then English civil wars, if not William the conqueror. The 3 epicenters of waspy-ness heritage are Virginia, Massachusetts, and New York (with New York developing this later). The Carolinas are on the bubble. Typically these families are of long lines of Episcopalians or Methodists (technically methodist episcopal). But Presbyterians aren’t uncommon, depending on where their ancestors fell on the questions of the English civil war and some may even be Baptist, though Baptists tended to be much more plentiful in lower class early immigrants, but many higher class British intermarried with higher class Baptists of lowland Europe and Rhineland Germany origins.

How do you know all this? Genuinely curious. Did your family pass along this information or did you learn it by researching? Both? Or do you simply have an interest due to your family history. Thank you for sharing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:driving to the next town to save 10 cents on 2-liter store brand soda.

Buying soda is very NOKD.

Well dear you might need some mixers for the gin

That would be tonic. Or perhaps bloody mary mix.

Tonic is a type of soda. And soda water is the original soda.

It is pretty clear that that wasn't what that pp was referring to. Context matters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Weird of OP to start a thread asking about “your WASP ancestors”. Very few people are from WASP lineage nowadays…

Anyhow, a lot of these things people are talking is just about people dealing with poverty. We are much wealthier than our ancestors. We don’t need to live like England during the air raids

??? Huge swaths of the Southeastern US are nothing but WASPS. Even in the NE/Midwest there are plenty but you mix in more Irish/Italian Catholics.

No. White Southerners don’t count as WASP. They tend to be Southern Baptist Protestants and tend to be of Scots-Irish stock.
The true WASPS are from the Northeast, historically

Plenty of white southerners are Anglo Saxon, with ancestors from England descended from the three Germanic peoples the Anglos, The Saxons, and the Jutes. There are also tons of southerners who are not southern Baptist.

Geez. It sounds like you have never been to "the south" and know nothing about it so you are just promoting stereotypes. My WASPY grandparents would be horrified if you assumed they were Scottish, Irish, or - heaven forbid - BAPTIST.

And not to mention the scotch-Irish are called Ulster Scots in the UK, many of which who came to early colonial southern U.S. were second sons of aristocracy and were the beginning of what is “WASP” now. Ulster Scots were mostly Englishmen/Lowland Scots of Protestant landed gentry origin who participated in the highland clearances and the plantation of Ulster.

You can draw a straight geneological line from many/most “WASPy” families in the north and south to an unbroken chain of transfers of wealth/property that go back to at least then English civil wars, if not William the conqueror. The 3 epicenters of waspy-ness heritage are Virginia, Massachusetts, and New York (with New York developing this later). The Carolinas are on the bubble. Typically these families are of long lines of Episcopalians or Methodists (technically methodist episcopal). But Presbyterians aren’t uncommon, depending on where their ancestors fell on the questions of the English civil war and some may even be Baptist, though Baptists tended to be much more plentiful in lower class early immigrants, but many higher class British intermarried with higher class Baptists of lowland Europe and Rhineland Germany origins.

Oh, blah blah blah. I'm a descendant of president John Adams. He was a Congregationalist turned Unitarian. Both traditions were very common with Massachusetts WASPs at the dawn of our Republic.

[Anonymous]

Not PP with the history of Anglo-Saxon migration to the American colonies, but I learned all this in high school while taking American history (2 years advanced). Not just that but including that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Weird of OP to start a thread asking about “your WASP ancestors”. Very few people are from WASP lineage nowadays…

Anyhow, a lot of these things people are talking is just about people dealing with poverty. We are much wealthier than our ancestors. We don’t need to live like England during the air raids

??? Huge swaths of the Southeastern US are nothing but WASPS. Even in the NE/Midwest there are plenty but you mix in more Irish/Italian Catholics.

No. White Southerners don’t count as WASP. They tend to be Southern Baptist Protestants and tend to be of Scots-Irish stock.
The true WASPS are from the Northeast, historically

Plenty of white southerners are Anglo Saxon, with ancestors from England descended from the three Germanic peoples the Anglos, The Saxons, and the Jutes. There are also tons of southerners who are not southern Baptist.

Geez. It sounds like you have never been to "the south" and know nothing about it so you are just promoting stereotypes. My WASPY grandparents would be horrified if you assumed they were Scottish, Irish, or - heaven forbid - BAPTIST.

And not to mention the scotch-Irish are called Ulster Scots in the UK, many of which who came to early colonial southern U.S. were second sons of aristocracy and were the beginning of what is “WASP” now. Ulster Scots were mostly Englishmen/Lowland Scots of Protestant landed gentry origin who participated in the highland clearances and the plantation of Ulster.

You can draw a straight geneological line from many/most “WASPy” families in the north and south to an unbroken chain of transfers of wealth/property that go back to at least then English civil wars, if not William the conqueror. The 3 epicenters of waspy-ness heritage are Virginia, Massachusetts, and New York (with New York developing this later). The Carolinas are on the bubble. Typically these families are of long lines of Episcopalians or Methodists (technically methodist episcopal). But Presbyterians aren’t uncommon, depending on where their ancestors fell on the questions of the English civil war and some may even be Baptist, though Baptists tended to be much more plentiful in lower class early immigrants, but many higher class British intermarried with higher class Baptists of lowland Europe and Rhineland Germany origins.

How do you know all this? Genuinely curious. Did your family pass along this information or did you learn it by researching? Both? Or do you simply have an interest due to your family history. Thank you for sharing.

They made it up. DP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Weird of OP to start a thread asking about “your WASP ancestors”. Very few people are from WASP lineage nowadays…

Anyhow, a lot of these things people are talking is just about people dealing with poverty. We are much wealthier than our ancestors. We don’t need to live like England during the air raids

??? Huge swaths of the Southeastern US are nothing but WASPS. Even in the NE/Midwest there are plenty but you mix in more Irish/Italian Catholics.

No. White Southerners don’t count as WASP. They tend to be Southern Baptist Protestants and tend to be of Scots-Irish stock.
The true WASPS are from the Northeast, historically

Plenty of white southerners are Anglo Saxon, with ancestors from England descended from the three Germanic peoples the Anglos, The Saxons, and the Jutes. There are also tons of southerners who are not southern Baptist.

Geez. It sounds like you have never been to "the south" and know nothing about it so you are just promoting stereotypes. My WASPY grandparents would be horrified if you assumed they were Scottish, Irish, or - heaven forbid - BAPTIST.

And not to mention the scotch-Irish are called Ulster Scots in the UK, many of which who came to early colonial southern U.S. were second sons of aristocracy and were the beginning of what is “WASP” now. Ulster Scots were mostly Englishmen/Lowland Scots of Protestant landed gentry origin who participated in the highland clearances and the plantation of Ulster.

You can draw a straight geneological line from many/most “WASPy” families in the north and south to an unbroken chain of transfers of wealth/property that go back to at least then English civil wars, if not William the conqueror. The 3 epicenters of waspy-ness heritage are Virginia, Massachusetts, and New York (with New York developing this later). The Carolinas are on the bubble. Typically these families are of long lines of Episcopalians or Methodists (technically methodist episcopal). But Presbyterians aren’t uncommon, depending on where their ancestors fell on the questions of the English civil war and some may even be Baptist, though Baptists tended to be much more plentiful in lower class early immigrants, but many higher class British intermarried with higher class Baptists of lowland Europe and Rhineland Germany origins.

How do you know all this? Genuinely curious. Did your family pass along this information or did you learn it by researching? Both? Or do you simply have an interest due to your family history. Thank you for sharing.

They made it up. DP.

They didn’t make it up, PP. Did you graduate from high school in a state that requires a basic US history class and proficiency exam to graduate? If so, you would have learned all this but without the neat summary that PP provided.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Weird of OP to start a thread asking about “your WASP ancestors”. Very few people are from WASP lineage nowadays…

Anyhow, a lot of these things people are talking is just about people dealing with poverty. We are much wealthier than our ancestors. We don’t need to live like England during the air raids

??? Huge swaths of the Southeastern US are nothing but WASPS. Even in the NE/Midwest there are plenty but you mix in more Irish/Italian Catholics.

No. White Southerners don’t count as WASP. They tend to be Southern Baptist Protestants and tend to be of Scots-Irish stock.
The true WASPS are from the Northeast, historically

Plenty of white southerners are Anglo Saxon, with ancestors from England descended from the three Germanic peoples the Anglos, The Saxons, and the Jutes. There are also tons of southerners who are not southern Baptist.

Geez. It sounds like you have never been to "the south" and know nothing about it so you are just promoting stereotypes. My WASPY grandparents would be horrified if you assumed they were Scottish, Irish, or - heaven forbid - BAPTIST.

And not to mention the scotch-Irish are called Ulster Scots in the UK, many of which who came to early colonial southern U.S. were second sons of aristocracy and were the beginning of what is “WASP” now. Ulster Scots were mostly Englishmen/Lowland Scots of Protestant landed gentry origin who participated in the highland clearances and the plantation of Ulster.

You can draw a straight geneological line from many/most “WASPy” families in the north and south to an unbroken chain of transfers of wealth/property that go back to at least then English civil wars, if not William the conqueror. The 3 epicenters of waspy-ness heritage are Virginia, Massachusetts, and New York (with New York developing this later). The Carolinas are on the bubble. Typically these families are of long lines of Episcopalians or Methodists (technically methodist episcopal). But Presbyterians aren’t uncommon, depending on where their ancestors fell on the questions of the English civil war and some may even be Baptist, though Baptists tended to be much more plentiful in lower class early immigrants, but many higher class British intermarried with higher class Baptists of lowland Europe and Rhineland Germany origins.

Oh, blah blah blah. I'm a descendant of president John Adams. He was a Congregationalist turned Unitarian. Both traditions were very common with Massachusetts WASPs at the dawn of our Republic.

DP here. Nothing you bolded contradicts what you wrote. PP didn't say EVERYONE was Methodist or Episcopalian, although IME those are the two most common WASP religions.

[Anonymous]

I’m not a wasp- I’m first generation American, but my MIL is (Mayflower, names on schools, running into portrait of great uncle whomever in the museum wasp). She is adorable and I love her but it took me a while to get used to it:

- Very thoughtful, but very inexpensive gifts
- Furniture and toys that are over 100 years old, including Steiff, gifted to my children
- lots of inherited wooden furniture and lace tablecloths
- inherited starched white baby bibs
- coupons and keeps cars forever
- furnishes house once and never redecorates but does buy a piece of art every decade or so
- is allergic to any extra food in the kitchen and tells kids not to eat too much and they shouldn’t be fat.

[Anonymous]

Why don't wasps get ants?


Because they don't have any food.

[Anonymous]

Built a canal across Panama.