The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1891-05-31
HOW THEY DID IT
Theory and Practice in House
keeping.
LIVING ON TWENTY A WEE
The Climax Came at the End of the Year
When Something not Previously Con-
sidered Happened to Papa.

johnson was only twenty three years old,
he had made up his mind to get married.
His friends told him it was absurd; that he
could not do it, 1t would be cruel, they
said, to take a young woman out of a COM
Portable home, where she had been used to
having everything she wanted and every
thing her own way and make her share 800
week with a man who could barely get
along on that amount himself.
To all this advice Johnson replied that he
guessed ne knew what he was about. He
had studied the matter over carefully and
knew it could be done. He had been en-
gagged to Nellie for whole year. He was
in love with her, and he knew she was dead
in love with him, for she had told him so
lots of times He could not fool around
waiting to get enough money to suit his
friends ideas before getting married. 1t
had been bad enough waiting a year.
Moreover, he had read au article in the
paper where it was all laid down in black
and white, just how young couple, with
out extravagant tastes, could live comfort
ably, even luxuriously, it seemed TO him, on
$40 week.
So in spite of the advice Of his friends he
married.
He had saved up 500 by dint of staying
in nights for the past year-what he
thought would be enough to take a short
wedding trip with But the day before the
wedding he was informed by his employ
ers that they were very sorry, but as it was
the busiest time of the year they would re-
quire his strict attendance to business, and
the best they could do for him was to give
him day Off So Johnson and his bride
spent the day on a trip to Harlem, hunting
for boarding place where they could live
for Sl3 week, for according to the printed
slip which he had carefully cut out, this
was the most which could be used for board
if expenses were to be kept within the $40
VIEWING THE PALISADES AT THIRTEEN DOL
LARS WEEK.
After a long and tiresome search. during
which he discovered that everything at al
| of his liking averaged about three times as
much as he could afford they finally de
cided on place on One Hundred and Fifty
| fifth street where, as the landlady explain
ed in glowing terms, being very high up
they could command magnificent view OF
all of Harlem and the house tops and the
Palisades across the Hudson.
By the time johnson had moved into hi:
new quarters and had bought several thing:
which he thought he could not possibly d.
without, the 500 he had intended to devote
to honeymoon had disappeared But thi.
did not make any difference, he told hi.
wife, because now that they were settled
they could adhere closely to the direction!
given on the printed slip, and all would bt
plain sailing. He had calculated with grea
nicely that after deducting S13 week fol
board there would be 81 left for their Other
expenses. Of these 81, 81 was TO be appro
priated for car fares, 50 for washing, 81 fol
clothing and 81 for pin money for his wife
For week this plan worked very well
and they had good deal of fun evenings
as they sat up late together and calculated
how they could save little every week b,
skimping their wash, and by Mrs Johnson
not taking any rides on the elevated.
''You see, my, dear" said Johnson, 81
you can be satisfied with two trips dow
town every week this will only cost 20 cents
and we can save the other 20 cents. Twent
cents week is 5000 year, you know"
So by visiting her father and mothe
twice week and having them visit he
twice they got along very well indeed TO
one week.
But at the end of that time, as johnson
was riding to business IN the car one morn
lux uS uuOOuSlCUuSIy ldlu OUT d lew cent
for paper, as he used to do before he wa
married He did not think anything of i
at the time, and bought another the mex
morning and another on the morning after
AT the end of the week he found he ha
spent just 10 cents for papers. 1t worrie
him greatly, but he made clean breast @
it to his wife.
EIGHTY-FIvE CENTS IS PLENTY
"Never mind, dear John, can let 70
have that much out of my pin money. / d
not really need 81 week, you know. VIII
IS cents is plenty"
So John went on buying papers. Th
following Saturday night he brought HON
S19.05. and explained the deficiency by say
ing that he had bought three cigars at il
cents each, 10 cents worth of newspapers
and had met some of the fellows and coul
drinks. These sums added together mad
J 95 cents, and Mrs. Johnson had to go tina
week on cents pin money
1t was not long before Johns little per
sonal expenses began to foot up more tina
the allowance he had made for his wife an
then they began to ''stand Off their credi
tors. They got so much into debt after
while that they were obliged to change tn
Sl3 boarding place for an Sl1 one. But
did not seem to do any good, for little ex
penses would crop up unexpectedly, an
they had to retrench again by going to
still cheaper place. His father-in-la,
visited them one day and offered to bel
them out.
"Why, it is foolish, "he said, ''for you tw
to live from hand to mouth in this fashio
when you can just as well come down an
stay with US for time until you get
| raiea