CAREFUL HOUSEKEEPING.

Auckland Star, Volume L, Issue 187, 8 August 1919, Page 9

CAREFUL HOUSEKEEPING.

(To the Editor.) Sir, —In reference to "Careful Housekeeping" every one who has £4 per week ought to be ashamed of themselves in not being a house owner, and continuing a payer of rent. At the time of the strike —1914, I think just before the war— prices of food began to rise. I had eight permanent lodgers at 5/. per week. Four of the men were paid for by the Union, and four men were not in the Union, but could get no work. My rent was 13/0 per week, which left 0/C to live on—four working men and myself. I managed to give three meals a day and five of us had a good substantial meal. An extra shilling now and then gave mc about 1/3 per day for five adults. It could not be done now for leas than 2/6 or 3/ per day perhaps. Speaking afterwards to a lodger, he said rightly "there was no waste." A few weeks of this and the men got work, but , it shows what can be done in an emergency. —I am, etc., A.W. (To the Editor/t Sir, —Re your competition in regard to living on £4 a week. To mc a disappointing feature was the absence of any indication that other than bottling fruit and making sauces was commonly practised. There were no suggestions offered in regard to many goods that may be made up by the housewife herself at less cost than the purchased article, and with the knowledge as to what the ingredients are. Perhaps the weighing and mixing is the bugbear, but the matter is worth following up. Very good 'books of formulae are nowadays obtainable, and can be seen at our reference libraries free of charge. The fact that staples should be purchased in quantities to get the cheapest rate was stressed by your correspondents. In order to do this and stick to the same weekly amount of household expenses I should like, with your permiesion, to explain a method we used to manage this. We purchased, say, a bag of sugar. The price was paid out ot money other.than housekeeping money, and as the housewife filled her bin from the bag she put in an envelope marked "sugar" the price payable at the shops for the weight of su:rar put into the bin. When the sugar was finished the envelope contained the price of a new bag, plus che savings by buying the larger quantity. We did the same with good* like fruit (bought by the case), soap, flour, tea, and so on. Goods put down for winter u?e, like eggs, fruit, and jam, were treated in the same way. When the cheap season came round the envelope contained sufficient to purchase a new year's supply. The only difference we found was that a few pounds were in tho envelopes instead of the bank, bit the savings were many times more than interest, and, best of all, we could start off with a definite amount to be expended weekly, and could stick to it without having to buy in shillings worths. I can strongly recommend this to any housewife who lias sufficient grit to keep it going, and see that no "dipping" into the envelopes is allowed. —I am, etc., AKARANA,