The History of our Financial Lives

[Actress Joan Fontaine Doing the Household Bookkeeping]

When I was a young teenager, I was intrigued by the cash books in my local store. I bought one and brought it home. From that day forward, I did my best to keep track of my income and spending. I started earning money when I was 11 years old. I did a variety of things like sales, cleaning and babysitting. When I was 15, I had my first real job in a clothing distribution center. I continued to keep track of my spending in my little book, even after I married just a few years later. At that point, I no longer worked. I started to keep a household account.  Because of this, I can now see my budget from when I had one or two children. I can see what I was buying and how much things cost. It is an amazing history!

My Cash book - circa 1980

Many years later, when my oldest child was around 10 years old, I bought her a cash book. I taught her how to write down her income and expenses. I still have her book and love to read it over. I can sense the excitement in her entries. I enjoyed seeing how she wrote down what she bought or the income she received. She was thrilled when she would find money while cleaning. She would promptly write this down, even if it was 25 cents.   Here is her book:

My oldest Daughter's Cash book when she was 10. 

As my children became of age (around 10 years old), I bought each one their own book. They enjoyed writing things down, but as they got older, the practice fell away. I intend to buy each one  a new book this coming year and encourage them to keep track of their financial histories.

Right now, I am having trouble finding old fashioned cash books in the local stores. People seem to prefer computer spreadsheets and such. Sadly, my current cash book is more expensive. Even though I'd rather the old cash book of yesteryear, this one does serve its purpose.  Here is my current ledger book:

It is harder to keep track of all the things I buy. There are just so many needs and expenses. I am looking for ways to cut back. This coming year, I plan to consume less. I want to spend less. I want the items I do buy to be worth writing about.

Blessings
Mrs. White

You can find more about this in my book:

 

For old time encouragement in living simply on a limited income, order Mrs. White's book:

"An Old Fashioned Budget: Humble Financial Management for the Christian Housewife"

 77 pages, paperback.

 

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Cleaning the Museum

Library of Congress: Rita Cyr and her children, 1940 Maine

As I worked through the house yesterday, I thought of my home as a museum. I found "vintage floors" with "exposed" wood underneath (on account of the torn linoleum). I found cracked door frames. I swept stairs which were in "old" condition. There were cobwebs in out-of-the way areas. I had to sort and archive files and bills and other such family histories.

I became the keeper of the Museum. And I was the mistress and secretary of this estate. It made things so much more fun!

We "take" guests here-and-there and do our best to make sure they are comfortable while they visit. We provide refreshments. We show them around the quaint rooms, with the mismatched furniture.

I spend much of the day taking care of this old place and the lovely people who reside here. I want their remembrances of home to be unique and endearing.

Torn carpets and other such nonsense are part of the charm of my home. Thus, it is when I am cleaning that I am most attached to this old place.

blessings
Mrs. White

From the Archives -

Peace and Joy - Old Fashioned Duty of a Homemaker.

What Many of Us Crave - An Ordinary Life at Home.


- To find out more about this blog, or Mrs. White, please visit our About page. -

Find Home-keeping Inspiration, in Mrs. White's book - For The Love of Christian Homemaking.  Paperback, 274 pages.

Mothers with Christmas Courage

LOC: Baby with Mother by Geo B Petty, 1912.

 

Tonight is Christmas Eve. The stores and banks will close early. Families will be gathered at home, or visiting one another. There will be church services tonight and everyone will be pondering the birth of Christ and enjoying the Passages from the book of Luke. It is a heartwarming time of year.

Yet, in some homes, there are financial woes. When these mothers think of Christmas, they despair at the idea of coming up with money for presents. They pray and cry out and wish they could afford gifts for their children. Perhaps the heating bill was too high this month? Or the car was acting up? Maybe the cost of basic food is getting to be impossible to manage. Regardless of the source of their worries, these mothers cannot imagine Christmas morning without some sadness.  They hear others say their shopping is done and the presents are wrapped, and they weep in their hearts, because they have not.

We must remember that many years ago, this mass idea of multitudes of presents was not the normal custom. Remember Laura and Mary Ingalls? They received an orange, some Christmas candy, a knitted scarf and a Christmas penny. They were thrilled and delighted!

Alas, we want to buy our children nice things. We love them dearly and enjoy seeing their happy, surprised faces when they open gifts! We have to be ever so careful to come up with the money and choose just the right items. The depression-era mothers would spend months filling up their money jar, scrimping and saving so they could buy a special gift for each child. It was an enormous sacrifice, but one these mothers would willingly make.

I remember, years ago, when I only had two little girls. I stayed up late each night, all week long, before Christmas and sewed matching dresses for my children.  I used a dark calico print with pretty pink hearts all over it. I trimmed the dresses with lace and made matching hair ribbons. My girls were so surprised and wore them to church on Christmas morning. It was such a sacrifice for me, but worth every moment!

In these hard times, Mothers of today must have courage. We walk into our kitchens and wonder what we are going to feed the family. We have to smile and pray and come up with creative ways to make  nutritious, filling meals. We need to keep the thought of hardship, suffering, and want out of our homes. Our children need to feel secure. We must be brave and inventive! We have to avoid giving- in to depression or sorrow.

We Mothers in this generation are facing hard economic times. I pray these Mothers have Christmas courage. It is a special kind of courage and will carry us through for months to come!

Blessings
Mrs. White

From the Archives -

A Precious, Quiet Time - The Sewing Hour

To Encourage You - A Mother's Legacy

Financial Woes - Focusing on the Blessings at Home

 - To find out more about this blog, or Mrs. White, please visit our About page. -