The 1980s can be described as a decade of a drastic political shift within the United States of America. The end of the Democratic Jimmy Carter presidency in 1981 was met with the abrupt exchange of power to a fiscally and socially conservative Republican Ronald Reagan government. This drastic shift in the popular political ideology within the USA could be associated with the apprehension that most Americans felt towards the current affairs regarding rising crime, foreign affairs debacles and economic uncertainty. The Reagan government would introduce new economic policies deemed to reinvigorate the American economy by reducing the growth of Federal government spending, reducing government regulations, reducing the capital gains tax, as well as numerous other fiscally conservative policies. As a result, materialism and consumer culture would regain notoriety during this decade, encouraged by the laissez-faire Reagan policies. Although published one year before the election of President Reagan, Marry Ellen’s Best of Helpful Kitchen Hints, published in 1980, embodies the mindset of the decade, demonstrating fiscally conservative hints and tips for domestic work that would help an individual save time and money completing such tasks, disregarding any notion of the extravagance and overindulgence that one might define the decades prior. The decades of the 1950s and 1960s saw the American populace being far more liberal in the sense of trying new and exotic things, engaging in social movements, and the manner in which people used their monetary assets. The 1950s and 1960s saw a booming post-war economy, reinforced by a new and growing middle class who were desperate to own a house, car and other items that were before deemed to be out of reach for the non-elite. During these decades, the consumer class was confident in the economy as wages were high and inflation was low. Although, the economic prosperity experienced in the post-war era of the 1950s and 1960s would see stagnation and eventual decline. The 1970s would still obtain the social and cultural legacies of the 1960s but economic conservatism would see notoriety as the post-war economy would finally come to an end. Individuals would find books like Marry Ellen’s Best of Helpful Kitchen Hints appealing due to the book's content, encouraging people to complete domestic work and other similar activities in a manner that would help them save time and most importantly, money. Examples of the money-saving tips and hints can be directly observed in the book's sections discussing household cleaning, where the author encourages the reader to use already available household products as cleaning agents rather than commercial goods, such as baking soda, vinegar and toothpaste.