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10+ Outdated Financial Tips Boomers Love To Share

PomeroySays
9 min readAug 5, 2024

My Boomer relatives love to share their wisdom. Sometimes they hit the mark. But other times, they are living in 1955.

Here are some of the most common financial tips that are no longer relevant:

PULL YOURSELF UP BY YOUR BOOTSTRAPS

First, where does this common expression come from? I was surprised to learn it’s from the 1800's:

The expression “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” is believed to have originated in the 1800s as a way to mock an impossible task. The phrase comes from the idea of using the loop or tab at the top of a boot, called a bootstrap, to pull the boot on. It’s physically impossible to pull oneself up by the bootstrap, and the expression was used to describe other impossible acts. For example, in 1834, a publication mocked a claim to have invented a perpetual-motion machine by saying the inventor might next try to pull himself over a river using his boot straps.

ALWAYS CARRY CASH

My dad, who passed away 8 years ago, believed this one. I think it’s good to have some cash on you, but not a lot.

I found out the hard way recently that sometimes cash is better. I was shopping in Target and when I got to checkout, my card was declined. I quickly pulled up my…

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PomeroySays
PomeroySays

Written by PomeroySays

New England born- now living in the Midwest. Blogger, author, influencer, and history addict. Say hi on KoFi- https://ko-fi.com/pomeroysays/

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