As a child I well remember rationing of gas, many food items including meat and sugar. Oleo margarine replaced butter. Shortage of leather for shoes meant a family got only so many coupons for shoes for the year. Shoes couldn't be resoled so they were patched at home to get a little more wear out of them. Cardboard was often seen covering the holes. Finances were not the problem but rather availability of leather. Any items made of material which could be used for the war effort was very scarce. We had black out curtains to use in the evenings and our streets were patrolled by air raid wardens to enforce lights out. Cars were repaired, not replaced; tires were retreaded. I am sure the cars on the road then could never pass today's safety checks!