Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-05-14
Two Ways Of Usif6 Money.
BY RUTH CAMERON.

Two young women in my acquaintance
are earning about the same salaries, bat
they use their money in very different
ways.
One of them spends as little as possible
on her daily needs. She walks to save
car fares: she eats at cheap places: she
denies herself any amusement which
costs anything; she thinks twice before
she spends quarter: she is always say
ing she cannot afford this or that little
thing. and she religiously jots down every
penny in her account book. With the
money that she thus accumulates, she
buys very expensive big things-a hand
some set of furs, costly vacation trip,
a mahogany dresser for her room, etc.
People are always saying: What a lot
Mabel does get out of her money"
The other girl always has plenty of
money for little things. She goes to the
theater or to some lecture almost every
week: she gratifies her love for pleasant
surroundings by eating in one of the most
attractive restaurants in town. despite
her friends Mortified protest that every
thing costs ) 10 cents more there.
She never thinks about car fare or any
or the little expenses, and she despises
account books. Consequently, she never
has big things like her friend. She has
only enough to help her family save a
reasonable amount and buy fairly pre-
sentable clothes. The people who praise
her friend are always saying: Isn't it
strange that Lucy doesn't have more to
| show for her money with the good salary
she has,
Now this point of view is so familiar
as to be a truism. but there are times
when l quarrel with it. May 1 recall to
have quoted before? 1.-The right use of
money is to accomplish what you wish
with it,
Presumably both these girls want the
largest amount of happiness possible for
their money. The question is: Which gets
it? The first girl is always tied down to
thoughts of money. Spending a quarter
bothers her. She scrimps herself and
denies herself to save a dime. She gets
big things for her money and is proud Of
it and boasts of it. but is 1t worth while?
If some of the money which she put into
that mahogany dresser-she scrimped for
1t six months-had been distributed over
that six months as oil to make the ma
chinery of her daily living run more
smoothly, wouldn't she have been happier
on the whole?
The second girl never thinks of money
She allows herself plenty to oil the ma
chinery of daily life and she gets as
much as she can out of the rest. and is
content. To be sure, she has an oak
bureau in her room instead of a mahog-
any dresser. but l wonder If her peace
of mind and her freedom from money
WORRY do not make the balance pretty
nearly even.
Now please do not think | am advising
YOU to spend all your money on little
things. I'm not advising any extreme.
Inn just trying to get the opposite point
of view from the conventional one
1t Is good to get the full value of your
hard earned money. but in trying to do
that do not forget that peace of mind
and freedom from money worry are some
of the precious things of life, as well as
costly furs and mahogany dressers
Remember that there Is such a thing
as thinking too constantly of saving
money and consequently claiming your
self down to continuous thoughts of
money. To my mind, nothing but duty
| or necessity can make that worth while.