The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-04-08

70 lAhuiteiy O0unulees. Futher-
more, these resources, Is the hant
cfs have shown, are now contrcn I
ed by . few--the 3 per cent ~
are we'll to do-and opportun,tiss
for the rest have become limifsS
Thrift may now be said To h. :.
unrecognixed necessity.
The bankers. however, ara ma,
doing what they can 10 see thai !.
10 recognised. They are endeeyc,'
ing to have thrift courses intra.
duced into the public schools: thsv
are attempting by circulars ana Nv
personal advice to introduce n.
budget system into the American
home and they are putting ant
some worthy propaganda coneerr.
ing tae advisability Of caution In
spending MONEY and making inve,s.
ments. The 3ankers do not claim
to be motivated by . philanthropic
feeling in this. Their business il
to loan money; therefore it IL 10
their interest to prompt indiyiJ.
ual savings accounts.
Spend Wisely.
Nevertheless, their arguments ;,
favor Of thrift are sound, ana n.
markedly unbiased. They ~,
out, - has been said before. NM
thrift does not mean saving monav
90 much as it means spending i
wisely. They do not applaud say.
ing at the expense Of health or edu.
cation or other necessities for ths
development Of the individu,l
The weekly wage. properly spent.
is thrift" they say, "even tAoueh
not q penny may have been put into
q Savings account or into the pur.
chase Of a home.
1.-The thrifty person will spend
his income to meet certain definite
needs in about the following or
der:
First, he will provide for him.
self and his family the necess.
ties of life and such comforts and
luxuries as will sustain himself and
his family in the best physical con.
dition, and will take advantage Of
opportunities which will increase
his competence.
Second. he will look after the
health and moral welfare Of him
self and his family and expend such
sums as will safeguard them
against physical and moral decay.
Third, he will provide against
the calamities Of life, namely, un-
employment, accidents, sickness, old
age and dependency Of his family
in the case Of his death.
Absolutely nothing should be
spared from the first necessity. 70
sustain the working power Of the
individual and the physical welfare
Of the family is paramount TO ey-
cry other consideration.
Thrift substitutes plan. bas-
ed upon foresight and a compre-
hensive study of ones needs, for
an impulsive, ill-considered spend
ing"
A large number of standard bud.
gets have been worked out by econ
omists for the benefit of those Who
wish to regulate their expenses by
such a system. Usually, what Is
considered the ideal budget, pre-
pared by the late Ellen H. Rich
ards, is used as q basis. This dele.
gates one-fourth of the income for
food; one-fifth for rent; one-sev-
enth for household operating ex-
penses; one-seventh for amuss-
ment 1t is impossible to find one
budget that will fit the needs OF
everybody, however; the best way
is to improvise one for ones own
| needs, based upon expenditures in
| the past.
Then there is the question OF IN
come itself. Does it provide for all
Of the family's needs. and. II So.
how can it be increased? Thrill
say the bankers, asks certain per-
tinent questions, such as Am !
earning all the money l reasonaDly
can? How can l increase my skill
or output SO as to receive more
Is there a possibility Of additional
money income not yet realized by
members of our family? Ought We
to be receiving an income on IN
vestments? Would it be economy
to invest capital in education OF
special training?
Thus, you will see that thrih Il
no longer to be. regarded as mis-
erly instinct, but that it has be,
come q science, requiring study ana
experience. For those who are ~
terested, the public Libraries con-
tain many valuable books which
unfortunately, have not yet been
added to the public school curfl-
'cula.