The Topeka state journal., 1921-11-19
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
Information Bureau
FREDERIC j. HAsKIN. Director,
Washington, D. C.
FEMININE FINANCE.

| ly reduced income. This is a task OBJ
viously requiring much skill and care
| full thought. 1t cannot be successfully
performed in haphazard fashion The
welfare of the family. and in large
part the stability of the nation, depend
upon the ability of its women folk to
| spend money judiciously.
In recognition of this fact, several
| New York banks are preparing to
| open home savings departments in
| charge of experts, who will assist de-
positors in the wise disbursement of
their incomes. Advice on all house
hold matters will be furnished, from
the respective merits of cuts of meat
to the proper amount for Willie's
weekly allowance. Household budgets,
| cut and arranged to suit the needs
of individual families, also viii be
| provided.
In order to train experts for these
new bank positions. the department
| of finance of the New York univer-
] sity has opened a course known as
| Management of Personal I..come" in
which a large number of business
women are enrolled. 1t is taught by
| Miss Elizabeth Hallam Bohn, a well
| manag cement expert.
Women are more and more being
! called upon to give financial counsel
to their own SEX" said Professor
Bohn, in discussing the new course.
America stands today in the posi-
tion in which all of her. economic
problems must be solved thru thrift.
Pioneers in this field must teach her
sons and daughters the full and SOL
ann truth of this fact, and unless
they gain deep and sincere appre-
citation of the necessity of thrift we
cannot hope to hold the position we
occupy as flag bearer of the nations
Living within ones means is not
enough. This would simply keep the
wolf from the\ door for the time being
The business that simply comes out
eveA in this way at the end of the
year would be quickly termed fail
ure.
Keep a Budget.
Every woman should keep a bud
get, whether she is a home maker
or a business woman. The first item
| in this budget should be savings. 1
figure that man with a family of
| five earning a salary of 5000 a month
should put away at least 715 per cent
of it as savings. If he earns but $3.50
he should save at least 3 X per cent.
If he is earning only 500 a month he
still must save, even if it only a dollar
a week. The expenditures must be
guided by the incomes.
Every housewife should have a.
| budget. and as the house is her bust
ness no interference from her hus-
| band as to ths-running of it should be
| tolerated.
''If the husband in his business de-
| cides that he needs a new typewriter,
| he buys it without question. If the
| wife desires a vacuum cleaner or a.
| washing machine, she is very apt to
talk it over with her husband, and
| frequently it is decided that they can't
afford it.
Now if the wife has a budget she
can find a way to buy these appli-
! ances, and put more in the savings
| bank at the end of the year, because
| of the saving in wages for help that
| she has made"
After properly distributing her in
come on paper, the next problem of
the housewife is to see that she gets
her moneys worth for each eXpendi-
! ture. The home-saVings experts will
! aid her in doing this. If her income
/ be small, they will urge her to buy
food direct from the city markets or
| from chain stores. They will coach
| her in buying textiles, so that she will
| perceive the difference between all
woq and shoddy. and advise her in
| purchasing furniture, so that she may
know the genuine from the imitation.
Experience has shown that thrift
! is often particularly lacking in fam
| lilies of the upper middle class. where
! the income is substantial. Thus, in a
| case brought to the attention of a pio-
/
! ago, man whose income averaged
| $500 a month complained that his
| family was unable TO save anything
! and that it often ran into debt. The
| home savings expert went over his
| list of household expenses and imme-
diately saw that a large part of his
| salary was going to~servants, five be-
ing employed to do the work of a
comparatively small household. She
advised him to discharge these five
and employ two in their place, which
effected a saving of over 5000 a
month.
Women Ignorant of Money.
According to this home savings ex-
pert, the ignorance of women on fl
nancial matters is sometimes appall-
ing. In one case in which she was
personally interested. for example, a
young woman acquaintance from a
small town in the northern part of the
state came to New York as a bride
! and went to live in an attractive
apartment on Riverside Drive. Short
ly afterward, her husband was COM
PEELED to go to Canada on a business
trip. The home savings expert
chanced to pay her first call on the
couple the day that he had departed
and found the young bride sobbing
violently.
Come, now, don't cry" soothed the
good lady. putting maternal arm
around the girl of course. you will
Il shan't," replied the bride, crying
harder than eyer. Il shan't miss him
a bit. He has done. a terrible thing,
and 1 will never, never forgive him.
By degrees, the home savings ex-
pert learned from the fearful bride
that her husband had gone away with
out leaving her any money. The sit
uation appeared serious
It reminded him just before he
left" explained the young wife. land
he said he had left a check for me on
the desk. He did leave the check. but
he neglected to fill it out. Oh!'-
(here she wept violently again) 81
know he did it deliberately
The home savings expert walked
over to tbs desk and picked up the
guilty check. looked hard at it, and
then burst out laughing
You don't deserve such a husband
my dear" she declared You really
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