The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1881-07-14
How to Live CheapIy.

which most people are obliged to live is |
not very large. The man who earns |
two dollars q day, and has to support |
. wife and six children out of that,
must bring his expenses down to twen-
ty-ive cents per head. There are |
many who have to work hard for less |
than this, and not very many who earn |
more. There are thousands of clergy |
men, and officials in other departments, |
whose salaries do not reach more than |
$400 per annum. 1t is, therefore, a |
matter Of great importance to find out |
how to get the full value out of dollar. |
u they understood this, the mass of the |
community might live twice as well as
they do on the same amount of money.
] viii go somewhat into details.
In almost every family there is a
great waste of fuel. A Frenchman
would stand aghast if he could see how
coal and wood are disposed of in this
country. When his meal is cooked he
puts out his little fire until the time
comes for another meal. We keep the
kitchen fire going all day-in the sum-
mer. perhaps, as wen as in the winter
when the heat is q nuisance. 1t
would be the easiest thing in the world
to get rid of this annoyance and ex-
pense by the use of gas or kerosene. If
the latter is used-and by very simple
arrangement it can be made to do every
variety of cooking-the cost of fuel is
reduced to the minimum.
Those who understand what they are
about will get more warmth and COM
fort out of q cord of wood or ton Of
coal, than others do who use treble the
amount.
The buying of household supplies in
small quantities takes the purchasing
value out of dollar. When coal is five
dollars per ton, those who buy it by the
pound or peck are sometimes obliged to
pay at the rate of ten or fifteen dollars.
The trader must be paid extra for the
| trouble incident to small sales, and the
tare and tret may be expected to in
| crease, according to the degree in
| which the article is divided up in the
process of selling. The eight single
quarts meted out to eight different GUS
TONERS, altogether may not make very
full peck. The salesman is not likely
| to throw in an extra handful when he
deals in small quantities. The Co
operative store may help to relieve this,
and where such institutions do not ex-
ist several families might combine to
purchase their supplies at something
nearer the wholesale price.
The buying on credit is another thing
which effects the value of the dollar.
Wages should always be paid promptly
and then, with the money in hand, let
the man pay cash for everything that he
needs. Very likely he may find that
there are some things which LIE can get
along without, that he would have
boug int if he had only to say: "Charge
it in the bill" Credit may be the life
of business, when it is conducted on a
large scale. but it is likely to be death
to those who deal in small things.
The value of the dollar is impaired
by injudicious buying. The costliest
. food is not always the most nutritious.
Extra super6ne flour is not as servicea-
BILE IS that which retains more of the
original elements of the grain. The
whitest sugar is not always the sweetest.
: What are called the best cuts of beet
have no more nutriment in them than
the cheaper parts. The potato contains
comparatively small amount of nour.
ishment.
Again, a great many people do moi
know how to make the best of what
8 they buy. Salaratus bread, rank butter,
! bad coffee, tough pastry, soggy vege.
tables, badly-cooked and favorless
. meat, are responsible for many of oul
J. national sins. In the great majority
i of families better dinner could be
e served than they now have, at half the
|. cost, if the superintendents of the
q kitchen had the skill to treat the cheap
II er articles of food. which abound i'm Oul
e markets, SO as to make them pafatabfe
The waste is also enormous. Schools
d have been established to teach children
all the arts of housekeeping and wher
B. they come into the field of active lif
'e we may expect to see change. Som
l. little instruction of this sort might no
'r be out of place in our public schools.
There is great room for economy il
the matter Of clothing. But for the in
d exOrable demands of fashion, both mel
H. and women might clothe themselve
-, more comfortably to-day. and at cheap
er rates than ever before. 1t is the ap
AZ pendage and ornamentation. and no
I'd the dress, that draws hard upo
" the purse, but there are fe,
y who are willing to dispense wit
"a the appendages. If man
" hard up in cold weather he will fin
that an old newspaper folded up an
laid upon his chest will be equivalent t
an additional suit of clothes. No on
needs to sleep cold If there are an
~ newspapers around. One or two {
I'd them will be as effectual as woole
i'd blanket. The poorer class of peopl
have a strange affection for feather bed
- and pillows, which are costly and az
n- to be pestiferous. Good straw or corr
". husks, or any other cleanly materia
y. which costs almost nothing and can b
y. changed often. is a thousand times be
!, ter and more wholesome.
In the general business of house fu
nishing, a great deal of money
on wasted. I have been in houses whel
on a great deal had been lavished upO
An carved work and claw legs and show
-. curtains, while there was not con
- Portable chair in the establishment.
'oo this department change for the bett'
An is now in progress. By the exercise
ose little good taste, the most satisfaction
m and pleasing results are obtained at
~ very trifiing cost. Artistic paper ham
10" ings are cheap. graceful draperies a
made of the most inexpensive material
zen barrel may be transformed into
Ihe pretty pier table, an oblong box into
sw graceful lounge, the touch of pent
"A converts common pottery into work
eo' art, and there is no limit to the CO
Wv tr1vanCeS Dy Wnlcn d nuIuDtc udDiLdtlS
= may be made attractive.
lar To one who feels the necessity of Ii
ing ing very cheaply would say-bewa
I of the small leGkages. A few cents e
pended carelessly every day amounts
ne quite sum when multiplied by 81
,an There is no country in the world whe
nan people of limited means live as we'll
they do in the United States, and,
they understood the matter better, tn
nes might live a great deal better than tn
lies do. 1t would be well for those who {
ght pend upon their wages, or are in the
Tres ceipt of limited incomes, to organ
ouv both for the purpose of informing the
selves as to the most economical moo
~ of living and also to provide fuel a
hin clothing and food for their own
far. without having to pay two or thu
i'm. prices tor what they buy. This