Are Teen-agers Big Spenders?

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31754, 10 August 1968, Page 2

Are Teen-agers Big Spenders?

Are the teen-agers the free spenders in our society? A survey conducted by “The Press” indicates that for many it is a struggle to make ends meet.

A great deal of sales promotion is directed towards young people and, to a large extent, the livelihood of the “rag trade" and the fortunes of pop singers rest with them Probably because of this, the popular myth of teen-agers being free spenders has evolved. In Christchurch, the average teen-age girl is sensible with her wages and the majority adhere, where possible, to Dr Samuel Johnson’s dictum: “Whatever you have, spend less.” Few squander their money on clothes or records. As one

employer commented: “They know just how hard they’ve had to work for it.”

Most girls covered in the survey had a rough budget, setting money aside each pay day for board, fares and extras, such as lunches, make-up and personal effects, clothes and, according to their income. savings. Where medical, dental or other fees arise, if usually means going without something else or withdrawing money from the bank. Girls on small salaries either make their clothes oi buy them on lay-by or “pay as you wear” systems. Credit Accounts A city store which has operated credit accounts for teenagers for several years has found young people generally as good payers as adults. The system has proved popular with teen-agers, who buy mainly clothes on credit. The store will not allow large articles on credit to young people. Younger workers have to have parents’ guarantee when purchasing on credit, but this is not always necessary for the “more advanced” teenagers. The store ensures that the amount purchased on credit is restricted, according to the customer’s wages. The matron of the Young Women’s Christian Association's Christchurch Hostel (Mrs J. Hay), who has an average of 40 girls under her care, has great admiration for the way girls living away from home manage their money.

Full board, with three meals a day, costs $9 a week for a single room and $8 for a double room. The hostel is a “home away from home” and the board the girls pay entitles them to many facilities, including television. All that is required of them is keeping their rooms tidy and doing their personal washing. Mrs Hay has been amazed at the number of girls who make their own clothes. “They really are a sensible lot Most of them have just enough money to keep them going but they pay their board and never moan about being short.” Occasionally girls in financial difficulty come to the matron. If they are struggling she can be elastic with board payments, spreading them over a longer period. Assistance ■ About one-third of the permanent boarders are students and many receive.financial assistance from home. Some parents send a weekly cheque to pay for their daughter’s board.

Students are notoriously hard up, but the majority live within their income. They make their own entertainment or rely on boyfriends to pay for outings. A 19-year-old student teacher living away from home has a struggle to make ends meet on approximately 835 a fortnight. In a flat with three other girls she pays $5.50 in rent a week, plus $2 for food. Telephone and electricity account for almost $2 more a week.

Fares and personal effects cost an average of $2 a week. She pays $7.30 monthly for a typewriter on time payment and $1.50 weekly for text books. Clothes are made or bought on lay-by. A student teacher who lives at home does not get a boarding allowance and her net pay is $3l a fortnight. Board is $8.50 a fortnight, fares $1 a week, and personal effects

about $1 a week. She makes her own clothes and saves what she can “for the future.” Without financial assistance from her parents, a first year, full-time university student, aged 18, would be unable to exist. This year she has a bursary of $lO a week for 33 weeks, but there are 36 weeks in the university year and it is difficult to get holiday employment. The bursary will be increased next year. Because her parents live about 50 miles away she boards in the city at a cost of $lO a week. Nothing of the bursary is left for clothes, books (• big item) or other expenses.

A junior clerk, aged 16, who earns $14.54 net a week, pays her parents $2 for board and saves $2 for future travel. Fares cost $1 a week and lunches and other expenses are $2. Make-up and personal effects account for $l, entertainment $2, and cigarettes $2 a week. Another $2 is set aside for clothes, which are made for her or bought on lay-by. A second-year student nurse earns about $4O a fortnight, although this varies with night and week-end work. She pays $l6 a fortnight for board at the Nurses’ Home and has bought a car, which costs about $2.50 a week to run. She makes her own clothes and saves most of the money that is left over.

Clothes for an intermediate shop assistant, aged 17, are either made by her mother or bought at sales. She earns $13.15 net a week and pays $4 board at home. Each week $3 is set aside for lunches and morning and afternoon teas, as well as week-end spending. She tries to save $4 a week towards getting engaged. Make-up accounts for about $5 a month of a 17-year-old shorthand-typist’s $22.29 a week. She pays board at home of $6, spends $1 a week on fares and $1 a month at the hair-dresser. Most clothes are bought on lay-by, al- 1 though she tries to save for clothes and holidays. Lunches cost $1.50 a week. $5 Savings An 18-year-old senior hairdresser earning $23 a week pays $5 a month for linen on time payment. Board at home is $3 a week, fares 82c, stockings $1 (a pair a week), and she makes all her own clothes, spending $2 to $3 on material some weeks. She tries to save $5 to $6 a week for the future. A 19-year-old bank officer has been saving $2O of each pay for a car, which she bought recently. She earns $47.95 net a fortnight and pays $4 a week board, $1.50 a fortnight on fares, $4 a fortnight on make-up and personal effects, and $1 a week on entertainment.

Savings of $lO a week, on an average, are put away by an 18-year-old machinist, who is engaged. She earns $25 a week, with overtime of about $3 a week four months of the year. Board at home is $3 and she makes her own clothes. She has paid cash for a sewing machine, a piano accordion, and her trousseau since she has been working. Depending on the locality and the hours they worked, most girls had little opportunity for shopping during the week. Few covered by the survey spent much money on cigarettes, records or entertainment. Any money over went towards saving for something or buying odds and ends for her “box.”