South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1913-10-22
To F IND OUT WHERE
THE MONEY GOES
Lucille Game Gives Helpful
Hints -on How to Spend
Money and Explains the Sci
ence of Expense Accounts.
By LUCILLE CAME.

However the money goes 1 can't
make out.
A young lady made that lament to
me the other day. She looked at me
with eyes wearied with sums she had
been making on scraps of paper
housekeeping expenses-and waved
at me the stump CT a lead penciI@feag-
fully bitten at the top. She had been
biting IL while in the throes of trying
to get things to balance" She has
been married a few months since, and
has suddenly found herself faced with
housekeeping difficulties, her husband
allowing her only a small amount a
week. 1t was married on the strict
est economy"
I'VE shall have 10 be fearfully
careful. of course" the young lady
told me. We shall have TO look at
ter every penny"
Her first shock was when uneX-
peCted bills, amounting TO FIVE pounds
II shillings and eight pence came III,
for things she had not paid for at the
time and had forgotten afterwards.
She kept that awful secret from her
husband for a whole day and a half.
Then he saw clearly she had some
thing on her mind, and insisted on
knowing what il was She has start
ed afresh now. Those household ac-
counts worry her frightfully.
II is, of course. just at the COM
mencement of married life that the
accounts are the great worry. The ac-
counts OF single life are marvelously
simple if one keeps any at all, which
90 people out of 100 don't. But
house. however small is another mat
ter.
Oneself VS.. the House.
While one is single" pointed out
i
the woman spend money solely on
themselves. 1t is easier far to re-
member how the money goes when il
all goes on oneself. But when ii comes
to a house most of the money is spent
in directions outside oneself It is a
far different thing remem boring il
then. And, while single, probably one
has had no credit with tradesmen.
After marriage tradesmen appear un-
accountably inclined to trust one. SO,
as regards money. ones life is utterly
different. 1t is the time when the
utmost care is necessary, and mex
perienced In carefulness and with an
utterly new state Of things to contend
with. what wonder If the wife makes
mistakes?"
After a while she gets accustomed
to things. a great number of house
keepers seek to escape the trouble by
giving UP keeping any accounts at all
and taking bills as they CONF Others
pay cash down and fatter themselves
that they can. make no mistakes then.
Can't they? 1 remember an Incl
dent 1 witnessed some time since.
Excuse me just a moment" said
my fish dealer to me as / was talking
TO him in the shop. He darted away.
A rather eXtravagantly dressed lady
had entered the shop. She was evil
IDENTIFY q desirable customer" HaV-
ing ordered five pounds Of salmon,
she disappeared, and the dealer re-
marked TO me after she had gone that
she was nice lady who knew what
she wanted. asked for it, and gave
no trouble" That salmon was booked
to her. She never inquired the price.
moment or two later another lady
also entered the shop. She also was
seeking salmon. She asked the price,
bought some pounds. and paid for
them on the spot. The dealer bowed
her out and informed me that she
also was a nice lady to serve-'gave
no trouble"
Now, did the lady who paid cash
down, and who, I expect, thinks she is
remarkably economical in doing so,
realize that salmon was at an eXorbi-
tant price that day? Would she have
bought il if she had known that sal
mon was "up?" She made no re-
marx about It's dearneSS, ana IL Is my
belief that she was utterly ignorant
though she asked the price, whether
it was dear or cheap. She got it at
the price of the day, paid the price.
and that was all she bothered about
Prices Easily Forgotten.
In paying cash down. unless one
keeps a record Of each purchase, the
danger is that one will forget what
one paid for a thing a few days ago,
and so will not know whether it is
cheap or dear today. And making
minute of each purchase is a task
that the flesh and blood or most
housekeepers revolt from.
The person who has certain
amount to spend each week. and who
pays cash down, cannot exceed the
allowance" pointed out Mrs. Havart.
the clever American expert on house