My mother also learned to HATE OATMEAL. She always said it was served every morning without fail. Of course, conserving sugar and butter, so had to eat it plain. Also, she wouldn't eat yogurt either. Back then they didn't call it the fancy name of yogurt, but exactly what it was, i.e. clabbered milk.
My mother grew up in a frugal lifestyle and she transmitted those values to me. I still can my own food and dry others.
One story that was always told was that of course being the great depression, traveling salesmen would come around a lot. One time my grandfather (BeeKeeper) who only had broken English told the young man that if he could stand to have a bee put on his tongue for one minute, my grandfather would buy something from him. He told him too that he would also put one on his tongue too to show the young man that it could be done. Well of course, my grandfather put a drone (non-stinging) on his own tongue and put a worker bee on the salesman's tongue...well...you know what happened...and my grandfather didn't have to buy anything because he won the bet.
Another one we heard growing up was that my grandmother used to put a penny in the electric meter and almost got caught one day when the electric company was coming to read the meter.
But I'm thankful that I have learned to "waste not, want not!"
During these tough times, it's been paying off even if its not at the level of the great depression.