St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1871-08-11
Ihr managing UUe.

|
II find" said her husband, "that M
expenses during the last year have beer
thirty seven cents over IA thousand dol
lars"
"And your income has been ii thou
san dollars -
''lr<. managed pretty well, diln'l
,"
''Dn You think it managing well t,
exceed your income - SAID his wife
Nv hats thirty seven cents ," asked
MIR. Newton, lightly.
"Nnt much, II he sure, but still some
tlin. 1t seems 10 me that we uu"ht tu
hav" saved instead of falling behind"
But how can we save on this salary,
Elizabeth ! We havn't lived extra, a
%anlly, still it seems IL have taken it
all"
"Perhaps there Is something in which
We might rrtrench. SUPPOSE you men
ton some of your items"
The most important are house rent
one hundred and fifty dollar, and anti,
cIc, OF food, five hundrcd dolar,'
".Iusl halt"
"lr-, and you'll admit that We can't
Irtrcnch there, Elizabeth. | like To- live
well. had enou"h poor board hci"le
| married Euw mean To live a, we'll
a. can"
"SIill We ought 10 be sa,in" up some
thing against il rainy day"
That would be like carry ing an um-
hrclla when the sun Shines
"Still it is well 10 have an umbrella
in the house"
Il can't controvert your logic, Eliza
bc:h, but I'm afraid we won't bc able TO
save anything this year. When | get
my salary raised, it will be time cnou.h
10 think of that"
Let me make Il proposition 10 you ,"
~ail Mrs Newton. "You say unc-hali
of your income has been expended "n ar
ticles OF food. Are you willing To allow
me that sum for the purpose -
"l"u guarantee 10 pay all the bills
out of it -
"Ics."
"Thcn will shift the responsibility
upon you with pleasure. But can tell
you beforehand you won't be able 10
save much out of it,"
"Prrlaps not At any rate will en-
rage not TO exceed it,
That's well. | shouldn't relish h,v-
ng amy additional bills to pay. A. |
am paid every month, will at each
payment hand you halt the money"
The different characters of husband
and wife may be judge! from the convcr
sation which has been recorded. Mr.
Newton had but little prudence or fore
sight. lie lived chiefly for the present.
and seemed to fancy that whatever con-
tingcncicS might arise in the future, he
would somehow bc provided for. Now,
trust i'll Providence Is Il very proper feel
ng, but there Is good deal of truth in
the adagc that God will help those who
hell p themselves.
Mrs Newton, ON the contrary, had
been brought up in n family viii ch was
compelled 10 be economical, and although
she was not disposed TO deny herself COM
forts, yet She felt that it wa, desirable
10 procure them at u fair price.
The time at which this conversation
took place was at the commencement OF
the second year of their married life.
The first step which Mrs. Newton
took on accepting the charge of the
household expenses was 10 institute the
practice of paying cash for all articles
that came under her department. She
accordingly called ON the butcher and
inquired
GLOW often have you been in the
habit Of presenting your bills, Mr. Viii
Iiams ~
"Oncc III six months" was the reply. |
And | suppose you sometimes have
bad bills :"
"lcs, onc-third Of my profits, un IN
average, are swept oil 10y them"
"And You could afford, | suppose, to
sell cheaper for ready money -
"Yc-, would b. clad if all my Gus
toners would give me chance to do
So
81 will set them an example, ihen,'
said Mrs. Newton. thereafter, what |
ever articles shall he purchased of you
will be paid for on the spot, and we
shall expect you TO sell as reasonable as
you can
This arrangement was also made with |
the others, who, it Is scarcely nccdiul 10
say, were very glad TO enter into the ar
rangcment. Ready money is the great
support Of trade, and n cash customer is |
worth two who purchase OH credit.
Fortunately Mrs. Newton had small
supply of money by her, which lasted
till the first monthly inStallmcnt from
her husband became due. Thus she was
enabled TO carry out her cash plan from
the beginning.
Another plan which occurred 10 her
As likely 10 save expense, was to pur-
chase articles IN lar4e Quantities. She |
had soon saved enough from the money
allowed her, to do this For example /: |
instead of buying a few pounds of sugar
at time, she purchased barrel, and
SO succeeded in saving a cent on "a pound. |
This perhaps amounted TO but trihe in
the course of Il year, but the same sys-
TEN carried out In regard to other arri-
cles yielded a result which was by no
means trifle.
There were other ways in which a
careful housekeeper is able TO limit cx-
pense which Mrs. Newton did not over
look. With this object in view, she was
always on the lookout to prevent waste,
and to get the full value OF what She cx-
pended.
The result was beyond her expccta-
tions. AT the close of the year, ON ex-
amining her bank book-tor she had