🍗 Frugal, fierce, and maybe a little weird: What older generations knew that we forgot

Are these penny-pinching habits genius or just... old?

I once watched my 90-year-old great-uncle strip a Costco chicken so clean that it looked like it had been left in the desert for weeks, picked over by vultures and beaten by the sun. Mine? Compared to his, it looked ready to jump up and make a break for it. It wasn’t just thrift, it was art. Skills honed during the Great Depression don’t just fade, they calcify into habit.

In this piece by Ryan Reed, Redditors spill the vintage money-saving habits they find baffling, like rinsing dishes before putting them in a dishwasher, or saving every takeout container like they’re collectibles. But what if these “weird” habits are actually wisdom wrapped in Tupperware?

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🧠 The most mentally healthy state in America might surprise you

Not all “happy states” are created equal.

Everyone loves a good state-ranking list. Where did mine rank? Where did the state that I hate rank? Is California at the top again*? Give it a rest, California, we get it. (Editor’s note: Greg is Californian.)

Today’s list is much more important than most. As Erik Barnes reports, Mental Health America (MHA) has ranked the 50 states and DC in mental health.

MHA used 17 criteria, such as policies, access to mental health care, and the percentage of residents suffering from mental health issues, to create the list.

If you’re struggling with mental health, we have tips for you, too. Please get the help you need, GOOD reader, you’re important to us.

* - Everyone knows about the economy and beaches and all that, but #1 producer of table grapes? Almost 100% of the artichoke production? Most wineries and most craft breweries? Highest and lowest points in the lower 48? 90% of the country’s garlic production…

And what did we learn?

GOOD readers are a thick-skinned bunch! We talked about expert-backed ways to give feedback, then asked how you like your feedback. Over 77% of you want it straight-up, no chaser!

• Give it to me straight, I'm a grownup (77.8%)

• Notes? I don't take notes from the likes of you, buddy (5.6%)

• I'm like a pup with a pill, you have to sneak it in with cheese (9.3%)

• On the phone, so I can pretend you never said that later (5.6%)
  

💭 The honest lessons millennials learn at 40 about life, work, and happiness

Listen up, Gen Z, those who have gone before have some words of wisdom.

Ryan Reed is staring down the barrel of the big 4-Oh with melancholy and bittersweet memories. Partly that’s because he’s a writer, and writers love a chance to use words like melancholy and bittersweet, but also because it really is a major life checkpoint that invites introspection and reflection.

While reflecting on his own “what-ifs,” Ryan reports on a Reddit thread that’s basically Millennial confession hour, a mix of earnest wisdom and light chaos. Some regrets are harmless (“those frosted tips were a crime”), others hit harder (“I wish I’d asked for help sooner”). All of them sound like advice from a friend who’s been through it and wants to save you the trouble.

This is a story about learning, forgiving, and figuring out how to do the next decade better.

You know how it goes. You drop $300 on a used Chevy Malibu, the universe drops a 27-pound meteorite right through it. Tale as old as time. On this day in 1992, a stray bit of space-rock set its sights on Peekskill, New York. On its mad dive through the atmosphere, it was recorded by a record-setting 16 different cameras before finding the rear bumper of one Michelle Knapp’s shiny red car. (Or, that’s what she told her parents, you know how teens drive!)

Michelle turned the intergalactic fender bender into a tidy profit, eventually selling the car and the meteorite for a combined $75,000. No word on how the insurance claim looked.

A GOOD Throwback is a new segment we’re trying, in which we explore things we might have covered if we’d been around at the time.

Do you have something GOOD to share?

We’re always on the lookout for uplifting, enlightening, and engaging content to share with readers like you. If you have something you think should be featured in the Daily GOOD, let me know!

💬 From the group text…

There’s “sit when told” level Good Boy, then there’s “help the police find the fallen elderly woman” S-tier Good Boy.

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