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Show I already know how we spend money By MARCELLA WALKER The Bureau of the Census is going to conduct a survey in the next few weeks on how people spend their money. I have the answer. They spend it frivolously. I based this answer on what I observe at home and all around me. Everyone I know walks around with a plastic container, with a lid which has a hole in it for a straw, which holds 32 ounces of drink. I did a survey of my own and found out that 89 per cent of the folks I know buy a big 32 ounce drink nearly every day because it is such a good buy. It only costs about 31 to 39 cents for one of those big drinks. And you can get a refill, same size, for only 24 cents. That is darn near as cheap as water. Almost. The markup on pop is phenomenal. It probably costs about four or five cents for the pop. Throw the paper cup in and that is a few pennies more. Even at 31 ceots the proprietor is making a good deal on pop. It costs more to buy a smaller container of drink than it does a 31 cent one in many places. It is a good come on. You can take your plastic cup anywhere and they will fill it up. That way the store doesn't even need to furnish the paper cup. You brought your own. One of my favorite eating places in Pleasant Grove has begun to charge for water. Not because of the water, but because of the ice and the paper cup. Come on now. Not that many people ask for water, anyway. p.fj. blab - - ; - Surely the cost could be worked into the overhead somewhere. That is one way people spend their money frivolously. Another is on fast food. I did a survey here too and learned that 73 per cent of the people eat at a fast food place at least once a week. I also found out that 98 per cent have at least craved a Big Mac or an Arby's Regular in the past week. I have a child who goes into the shakes if he doesn't have some tortilla chips every day. His friends are as bad. My survey here showed that junk food is a great way to spend your money without getting a great return on your expenditure. Another child cannot walk past the candy vending machine at school without having a nervous attack. My survey showed that 84 per cent of the students at the high school have to stop at one of the vending machines at least once per day. The other 16 per cent stop a minimum of five times per day, once before school, once after school and once after each class period. I know of several cases where the ward has picked up the cost of an activity for kids who could not afford to attend otherwise, and then the youth leaders have watched those same kids spend a fortune-and-a-half at the vending machines during the same outing. My survey gave one astonishing figure. Only 33 per cent of those interviewed go to a sit down restaurant for dinner or lunch each month. Several interviewees asked if a sit down restaurant included MacDonalds when you stay to eat at the establishment. I told them no. It did not even include places like Golden Corral because you order your meal at the counter. A sit down restaurant is one, for the benefit of this survey, which has a waitress come to your table and take your order and bring it to you when it is ready. It is getting harder and harder to find these kinds of establishments. Technology has come up with another way for us to spend our money. Fifty per cent of those surveyed said they rent a video movie at least once a week. Ac tually, this is a pretty good bargaj especially if you have a whole of kids and you can get them all t agree on the same one or ti movies. If you have your own VCR you jit have to rent the movies and thisi generally cheaper, because of ili competitive prices, than takings them to a $1 movie at the theater. E you have to rent a VCR, like us, fe you end up spending a little bit men than it would cost to go to the cheapo movie. The thing that amazes me is so many people rent so mr movies. It seems there would ;,: something else to do with their tiri but I guess not. The teens think that videos aret only way to entertain anymore ai: guess that is good. At least it t not cost mom and dad anarmai: leg. But what happened to i fashioned fun and games? Myt: have been to enough video pan: that they have seen nearly tt;: show at least once and some a: more than that. I don't suppose the Census Bur:: will accept my survey and wife on doing one of their own but Ik their loss. The government is al: trying to find a way to spend our: money and wouldn't want to r this fine opportunity either. If you are contacted for is survey tell them you spend; money on gas, electricity, food, r; and educating your kids. D: mention pop, junk food and vii Okay? |