South Branch intelligencer. [volume] (Romney, Va. [W. Va.]) 1830-1896, 1892-05-13
WHAT TIE AVERAGE BOY CAN DO

An American boy OF fourteen,
under the ordinary circumstances
which surround youth of those
years. can generally earn three dol
lars a month above his actual ne
cessities. This amount regularly
spent on follies, vanities, and tho
Qualification Of hurtful appetites,
will almost infallibly make him a
sot or spendthrift by the time he
is OF age; and with that much ac-
complished, his epitaph is not hard
to write.
But suppose wiser counsels should
prevail, and that he should wisely
determine to save this surplus. and
invest it in a safe Building and
Loan Association. These three
dollars applied monthly to the pur-
pose will carry five shares of install
ment stock in the Iron Belt or any
other good national company; and
the stock will mature in about
seven years. Thus at twenty-one,
he will be worth five hundred dol
lars in consequence of his having
saved three dollars month.
IL he has been able to live with.
out these three dollars a month
this long, he Will be able to con-
tinue to do go, and may be so en-
ployed as to be able to invest his
matured stock in paid-up stock
yielding a semi-annual dividend of
fifteen dollars, and in another seven
years, during which, we will sup
pose that he has continued the
policy of saving three dollars as
before, and carried instalment
stock to the same amount as at
first. At twenty-eight, therefore,
his ten shares of paid-up stock and
his five shares of the other stock
will have. matured, and he will be,
worth fifteen hundred dollars; while
he himself will have matured a
character in which thrift, fore
handedness, prudence and self.
denial are reliable corner stones.
III his circumstances are such as
to enable him to do so, certainly
very wise plan will be for him to
invest this sum in thirty shares of
paid-up stock, which Will yield him
a scmi-annual interest of forty-five
dollars, which will more than pay
the three dollars per month of in
stalment stock to the amount OF
five shares. If he should so
invest, at thirty five he will be
worth thirty five hundred dollars,
which may be invested in seventy
shares of paid-up stock that will
yield a seml-annual interest of
$4,000.
If now he carry his instalment
stock in the same amount, at forty
two, he will be worth seven thous-
and dollars from the paid up stock
and five hundred dollars from the
other, the semi-annual premiums
Of the former carrying the latter,
and having a comfortable little sum
for current expenses, and he will
now have the means Of buying one
hundred and fifty shares of the
p!id-up stock, and If he carry the
instalment stock to the same mod
est amount OF five hundred do lars,
at forty-nine, he will come ont of
the transaction with fifteen tkous-
and five hundred doll .rs, an inter
esting bank account to retire on, Il
he should choose, thus cary to re
tire. His annual income during
these seven years has been four
hundred fifty dollars. These
results, it will DO noted, have been
reached through tho monthly lay
ing aside OF three dollars for
the first seven years, afterwards,
the premium bearing stock, has
nearly carried the instalment stock
for seven years, requiring TO be
pieced out with six dollars o year
from the earnings of the holde~,
Beyond this it carries itself clear,
and yields q regular income.
A healthy man at forty-nine
however, has a good winning
chance to live long enough to make
three more turns of this stock,
which increasing at the same rate,
will give him at seventy the round
sum OF moro than S125,OO0.
Money thus acquired is not like
ly to slip through the fingers, like
suddenly gathered wealth which 80
often takes to itself wings and
flies away. Besides oil this, how
greatly IS the character strengthen
cd and how profitable to others is
the example of putting away some
| thing for the rainy dayi