SPENDING. SAVING. INVESTING
There is only one way by means of which we may know accurately how we are
spending our wages. To know this we must keep accounts. Perhaps the girl
has an impression that accounting is dull and troublesome. But this
impression, if she has it, is a mistaken one.
This chapter on Spending, Saving and Investing is not written to keep the
girl from having what she wants. It is written to help her to make the
most of her wages, so that she will get the most use and pleasure from her
spending. A pretty blouse does not make up for the prettier colour that
ought to be in the girl's cheeks; it rather makes one notice more readily
that the girl herself is not looking her best. To be well dressed and well
cared for, to make the best of herself, a girl should learn to keep
accounts and to plan her expenditures carefully. She has often seen a man
poring over his business books, because he knows that by doing so with
good judgment he can improve his methods. Similarly, the time a girl
gives to the study of her accounts will also be to her advantage.
One business woman who has made a study of her expenditure has the
following list of headings for her private account book: Board and
lodging; clothes; laundry; dentist and doctor; car tickets and stamps;
contribution to family life; books, magazines and papers; church and
benevolence; gifts and entertainment of friends; holidays and travel;
recreation, candy, music, and the theatre; study; clubs and societies;
miscellaneous; taxes; saving and investment. The girl at work can usefully
make a study of these headings since they, or others of the same character,
are used by women in business who desire to lead normal, generous and
helpful lives. The business woman just mentioned says that the money she
has for her income would give her no satisfaction if she had not people of
her own to love and if she were not helping to take care of them. From
this statement any girl will understand the meaning of the heading
"contribution to family life" in this business woman's accounts.
The girl at work, however, can begin her accounts in a much simpler form
than the foregoing. The list of headings given above have been evolved
to fit the life of a woman who has been at work for a number of years.
A girl's first accounts may be as follows: Board and lodging; clothing;
recreation and holidays; dentist and doctor; church and charity; savings;
miscellaneous.
Mrs. Ellen Richards, whose work in teaching people how to live wisely
is making her name more famous every year, gives in one of her books a
division of a family income which every girl should study and try to
understand: Food; clothes; rent or housing; light, heat and wages
(operating expenses for the house); miscellaneous, including books,
education, church, charity, savings, life insurance, doctor, dentist,
travel and pleasure. Various divisions by percentages have been made of
the family income. The one chosen by Mrs. Richards is based on an income
of $1,000 a year. The percentages are 30 per cent. for food; 20 per cent.
for rent; 15 per cent. for clothing; 10 per cent. for operating expenses;
and 25 per cent. for miscellaneous.
It will be seen that there is a great deal for a girl to learn about the
spending of money. She will readily understand that it is impossible for
her to use her wages or income to the best advantage unless she knows what
she is spending it for, and in what proportions. Every girl should make
a division of income fitted to her own needs.
It is not always possible to follow the percentages which Mrs. Richards
recommends, but it is possible and wise for every girl to know what are
regarded as proper divisions for a family income, and to plan her own
expenditures with such percentages as a guide.
Sometimes girls are called "fortunate" or "lucky" because their affairs
seem to turn out well. In reality, these girls have planned carefully and
have carried out their plans faithfully. A well managed life is not an
accident, or a piece of luck; it is the result of careful planning, and
persistent application.
The girl who saves has a freedom of action unknown to the girl who has
never had a bank account. We all find a compelling necessity to spend
money for food, shelter, clothing, carfare and other incidentals. But when
these wants are satisfied, the wise girl puts by a certain part of her
income. Then she can begin to exercise a power of choice. She may take
some training which will help her to get a better position, she may learn
a new occupation, or she may study music or designing. Possibly she needs
a rest and change; if she has money saved, she may rest for a few weeks.
If she has spent all her money, she must continue at work. Then, too, she
should guard herself by the possession of a bank account against sickness,
and being out of work. Even a small sum saved every week enables a girl to
feel strong and self-reliant. The habit of saving calls for self-control,
far-sightedness and imagination.
Girls invest their savings in various ways. A girl may help her people to
buy a house, sometimes with a garden attached. This is a good investment in
most circumstances. The girl should take an interest in the garden and help
to grow vegetables and flowers. Possibly the garden lot may be large enough
for poultry as well as vegetables. Or the girl's family may live outside
the city, in which case a good part of the food for the household may be
produced in the garden. It was one of the glories of Belgium before the war
that many of her wage-earners lived in the country and grew a good part of
their own food. They kept hens and pigs; and there was almost no
unemployment or destitution in Belgium.
The girl who saves generally begins with a bank account and should learn to
understand banking. The Canadian Government has an advantageous system of
annuities which offers young investors an excellent return for them money.
Girls and boys alike should study these annuities. Life insurance is a
helpful form of investment for those who have dependents. The girl at work
should not put her savings into speculative investments. Business men of
the best standing say it is pathetic to see the waste of girls' savings in
unwise investments. One of the best investments a girl can make is to
continue her education.