Show rides brides frenzied finances yield to budget treatment by HORTENSE SAUNDERS ONE NE day while joan was sweeping mrs airs mason her mother in law dropped in why dont you get a vacuum cleaner mrs mason asked F for or the same reason I 1 dont get a mink coat joan laughed 1 I hate cleaning said mrs ma son why I 1 have 1 the 7 ni ances e ugh a gh I 1 have had to bo borrow r to get them jack told me you never bor rowed exclaimed v joan that you always pay cash he remembers only my later years mrs airs mason laughed he also told me you keep a budget said joan 1 I cant 1 I use a budget only to show me how to spend said mrs mason 1 I was a terrible manager at first always running bills if I 1 can keep going from week to week im lucky joan put in As A s I 1 see it mrs mason said a budget is planning ahead you figure out what comes in what must go out and what to do with the rest planning is always six months ahead of spending your salary of course comes in by the week but your expenses dont and youve got to be ready to tc i meet the first of the month youre telling me joan sighed so I 1 stopped thinking ot our salary as so much a iv week e e k and figured on so much a year mrs airs mason alason went on that gave me a bett e r picture 0 f what we had I 1 got our running expenses for the year and dividing that amount by 52 gave me the amount I 1 had to save out 0 ot each ach e weeks salary to be ready for the first of the month what a headache that would save exclaimed joan also it keeps your credit good go ad mrs mason pointed out 1 I think you would find as I 1 did that these ir rusts lists absorb about 35 per cent of your income I 1 found that our food bills absorbed another 20 per cent we have nice food bills growing up right now said joan 1 I always had to watch food bills mrs mason went on we e need clothes and chairs as ins we well as food joan reminded her with 35 per cent for musts and 20 for food that leaves 45 per cent tor for clothes personal allowances furniture upkeep boctor bills recreation and savings mrs maton mabon estimated joan heaved a sigh right here is where you can cut corners and stretch dollars said mrs mason you have to makei make provision for these items in your weekly budget but of course they are not weekly expenditures but what can we do aboudi clothes joan said all I 1 can save is two or so dollars a week in a year that adds up to dollars said mrs mason your allowance for home upkeep may be small too by the week but over a period of several months it amounts to enough for a vacuum cleaner or some other work saver the budget shows how much money you have spend it to the best advantage often it is an advantage to borrow a lump sum and buy what you want outright something you cart can use while y you 0 u are paying off the V afa loan or you can borrow to buy clothes when you need them you must have r rich ic h friends laughed joan we dont dont borrow from friends mrs mason advised personal finance companies authorized and inspected by the state solved my problem they make loans to people without wa security to offer a bank but with character and good prospects they provide a businesslike business like dignified means of raising cash did you actually borrow for a vacuum cleaner 9 joan asked yes and for clothes too mrs mason replied once I 1 borrowed the limit to buy a fur coat but I 1 never borrowed unless I 1 knew I 1 could pay oft off my loan regularly and still run my house on a cash basis or unless the advantage of having cash at a particular time was enough to warrant paying the charges on the money did jacks fat father her know about it jane questioned f certainly mrs mason assured her no wife or husband can get a loan without the other member of the family knowing about it I 1 found my husband would rather borrow for one substantial item we really needed than run up small bills in this way I 1 bought better clothes better furniture and more labor saving devices than I 1 could have afforded otherwise joan went for a pencil and paper i lets tailor a nice simple little budget plan she said 1 I need al a lot of things around the house i i |