The Washington herald., 1915-01-24
Bank Accounts and the Self-Supporting Woman

The American girl who makes her own
living is not as a rule as thrifty as she
is capable. She earns money, but she
does not save it. She spends as she
goes. and often fooIIshly. To every work
ing woman who has a bank account of
her own making you may count a hun
dred whose available finances will bare
iy cover the expense of car fares and
lunches until another pay day
II does not require an abnormaIIv keen
ihtelliEcnc" t" perceive that this Is cs-
sentially unsafe and unwise. Every girl
VINO Is self-dependent should have the
satisfaction of knowing that, laid safely
ASIDE for the inevitable rainy day, is the
rewithal to weather the storm and
Keep warm and comfortable meanwhile.
1t may be perfectly true that the sal
airy she earns is but a small onc-too
small, indeed, to admit of any great
amount being deducted from il to form
a nest egg: nevertheless. unless she does
make point of systematically putting
oy a portion OF il, the time Is fatally
sure TO come when she will find herself
with actual want staring her in the face.
The fact that she can at best save but
little does not justify her in saving moth
ing.
80 ''iV tuolilL oCDlCl DTONGTD mas II.
Many mickle makes a muckle" and
the odd pennies and nickels and dimes
put carefully away mount with aston
ishtng rapidity into the dignifed region
Of dollars.
the love of money may be the root
OF all evil, but the possession of money
is also the source of great good With
out 1t there is no such thing as personal
independence, for in these days lack of
f1Oa OCia1
out money one is hampered at every turn
IN the road of life, and although one may
struggle on by sheer force of will so long
as health and strength remain, there
looms ever in prospect the day when
sickness may come and find one utterly
unable to meet the hundred and one ex-
penses that invariably come with it.
Then, too, money is so essential to
happiness nowadays that the working
woman who simply lives from week to
week. using up all of her salary as it
comes. really has not learned to live al
all. 1t is quite undeniabIe of course that
millions of people do exist in this hap
hazard fashion, but the fact that half
the world Is grievously improvident is no
logical argument for improvidence in the
Individual
There is only one way to accomplish
anything in the direction of saving
ject in view to begin with. and then |
to make it an infiexible rule to put by |
a certain sum each week toward that |
object.
The French working woman, who re- |
CARDS matrimony as the be-all, and end |
all of feminine existence, saves religious |
ly for her uowry, knowing that she can
not secure a husband withone one. The |
American girl would scorn to do this, |
but she can find other objects as well |
worth while-a sick fund, for instance,
or a Christmas gift account, or even a
the habit that counts rather than the
incentive.
The amount saved should be fairly pro-
portioned to the individual earnings and
The woman who earns $25 a
week might be able to lay aside s. Of
that sum, even though she have to con-
tribute her share to the family exchequer;
and she will do wisely to put It straight
put Of her pay envelope into a savings
bank. where it will not only be safe, but
earning interest for itself beside.
The average working girl, however,
ioes not earn anything approaching this
comfortable salary. In fact. the weekly
.oilers does not exceed s.. and out of
his sum it is clearly impossible for the
;elf-supporting girl to put by any con-
siderable amount.
However, by dint Of practising small
economies and refraining from small ex-
she should be able to save
ilarly into a small lookup bank, and Il