They have always lived with little, when they had enough to improve their lifestyle. Some of our elders tell why they have chosen to continue tightening their belts.
They spent their lives putting money aside, sometimes out of necessity or by caution. Today, even with a full bank account, they refuse to improve their standard of living or agree with small pleasures. Their daily lives comes down to the essentials: staying, eating, heating and paying the bills. A way of living that intrigues, also disturbs loved ones, and says a lot about a generation marked by certain events. This is the case of Thérèse, 79, owner of a house which she inherited from her mother, in which she lived modestly all her life.
Housewife while her husband had a career in the army, she never touched fixed income. From time to time, she did odd jobs, poorly paid and never full -time, to help her family. “I never worried about making money, it was the role of my ex-husband. I completely depended on him financially”she confides to us. A reality that was the “norm” at the time. “”In my time, the woman was just starting to work, it was not yet democratized as now. We had to count on only one salary “, she recalls herself.
With her experience, Thérèse has always learned to save: even today, for her, a sou remains a penny. With this philosophy, she put money aside after year, even if it means depriving herself. His little daughter Maëva witnesses it: “In her house, my grandmother lives in very precarious conditions. Electricity is not up to standard, she heats up only with an old wood stove, her bedding is good to throw away, her kitchen is made of recovery … While she has the means to find more decent accommodation, but for her, it’s inconceivable”. But for Thérèse, like many other elderly people, only one thing counts! “For me, what is most important is to bequeath something to my loved ones: whether it is my house or money “, she admits.
Same thing for Claudio, 67 years old, for whom the money has always been taboo, according to his sister. “”As far as I remember, my brother has always had a complicated relationship with money. Today, even with a comfortable retirement of more than 2000 euros, he continues to live with simplicity. He makes no trip, no outing, he does not dare to change car while she is at the end of his life“, She says. Over the years, he has managed to save a good sum of money which he too will give to his children.”It is counted in the tens of thousands of euros anyway “indicates his sister to us.
In others, it is an economical temperament, the fear of missing or the memory of the deprivation linked to the war which pushes them to live as close as possible to their means. Most retirees are also in anticipation. In addition to wanting to bequeath some of their savings to their descendants, they especially want to be provident: “I don’t know how I’m going to age and I don’t want to be a financial weight for my children“, He says Colette, 71, who put aside in case she should pay a place in a nursing home. She nevertheless keeps her feet on the ground while enjoying the time she has left with her loved ones, and if she could go around the world, she would do it:”We do not take our money in the grave either, as long as we have health, we must benefit from it“She said with a smile.
