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About The Chemawa American (Chemawa, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 6, 1920)
, 3 MAY a i The Chemawa American P r i n t e d a t C h e m a w a , O r e g o n , a n d D e v o t e d to t h e I n t e r e s t s o f I n d i a n E d u c a t io n Vol. X X III W ednesday, October 6, 1920 TH E SP E N D T H R IF T S W e have observed th a t m any of our stu d e n ts at Chem aw a fritte r away th e ir money uselessly, careless ly, and seem ingly w ithout any regard to any possible o p p o rtu n ity they may have to secure more T h e use and abuse of m oney is not in its w in n in g , but in its spen d in g . T h e great mass of people generally deal in sm all sum s, both in incom e and outgo. T h e am ounts th a t you stu d en ts, as a rule, spend is not deemed of m uch consequence to you and we s e e th a t m any of you fail to give much th o u g h t one way or the other in regard to its value. Ju st here lies the fa u lt in nearly all m ankind. T he ability to accu m u late m oney and property is closely related to the wav- in w hich the first b eginnings tow ard saving are treated T h is is tru e m ore in the spending than th e earn in g . O bservation has show n m num erous cases w here two young people sta rt out under practically identical conditions, having equal intelligence, earnestness, and academ ic or vocational train in g , the sam e kind of job w ith equal pay, th at tw enty years later, more or less, one is found rich , th e other poor. If you e x am ine into this state of affairs you will find th at the successful one has been “ th rifty ;” he had taken care of his earn in g s w ith patience and perseverence, first in very sm all sum s, then in larger, and had invested his m oney w ith m uch care; it began earn in g som e th in g for him ; later he found an o p p o rtu n ity w here a m odest capital m eant his g reat sta rt in business, and in the ju d icio u s h an d lin g of this business we finally find him a rich m an. T he o th e r fellow was careless w ith his m oney, m ade no savings, did not deny him self lu x u ries or pleasures — was a general “ good fello w .” But th ere always comes a tim e w hen th e tru th is forced on th e sp en d th rift th a t poverty h u rts and w ealth counts, and th a t o p p o rtu n ity once passed seldom re tu rn s. M oney comes to you stu d en ts in one of two ways: It isg iv en to you or you m ust earn it. If it comes as w ages of honest toil it is usually appreciated for w h at it is w orth. W hile you are y o ung money is alm ost w holly sp en t for personal needs and pleasures w ith o u t m uch th o u g h t for the fu tu re, and the habit of reckless sp en d ing and lack ot saving grow s. But it is a fact th a t No. 1 nine tim es out of ten the man who, in earlier years of sm all earn in g s and light responsibilities In s not saved from o ne-fourth to one-half of his wages, no m atter h )w small they were, will never in later years save a n y th in g w orth w hile, regardless of w hat his incom e m ay be. H e spends as he goes. And so, boys and girls of Chem aw a, and elsew here, w hether it be nickels, dim es or dollar, or thousands in your hands, or w hether the sam e is earned, inherited or given you, rem em ber that y o u r character is m ade or m arred and success shaped by the way vou spend it. S trong, successful men in business, large or sm all, invariably have a system by w hich accurate records are kept and follow’ fixed habits or principles essen tial to sound, safe business H ow ever, tw o rules are alw ays followed: F irst, is e x p e n d itu re w ithin your incom e by a m argin to be fixed at th e beginning of the year, not at the end of it, and adhered to m onth by m outh. Second, twice as m uch money put into a r ti cles of perm anent value, or th in g s w orth w uile, as in to needless indulgence, such as candy, “ e a ts ,” and other frivolities. I t is the nickels and dim es th a t count. If vou take care o f the nickels and dim es the dollars will take care of them selves. T h e m an wdio sits down on th e last day of tiie year and w onders w here his m oney has all gone, need not be feared m uch in this race of life. T h is applies stro n g ly to our stu d en ts, m any whom have accum ulated considerable sum s d u rin g the o u tin g season— sufficient to supply all their needs th ro u g h the en tire year if properly handled. T hose who have the ch aracter and steady force to use this m oney in the rig h t w’ay, alw ays m ake it sufficient to fill all re q u irem en ts th ro u g h o u t the year, but the one w ho is a good fellow, good spender, w eak, and so forth, is broke before C hristm as, or soon after. T his produces d is content w ith life in general and such stu d en ts fre quently endeavor to,m odify th e condition by leaving school, w hich is th e , m ost harm ful th in g they can do for th eir own w elfare. T h e Am erican w ishes to em phasize th e fact th a t the habit of spending by im pulse, once fixed, is seldom broken, and the man or wom an who has th is h ab it is forced to adm it at last th a t poverty h u rts, for as a ru le such a one has not saved for th at “ rain y d a y ,” and the final outcom e is m uch unhappiness for h im self and those who depend upon him . W e leave these th o u g h ts w ith you in the hope th a t you m ay th in k and act upon them tor y o u r ow n bene fit, as well as for those who may depend upon you later in life.
