In 1970 I was single, cleared $120 bucks a week, had a car bought and paid for with allotment money from the military, maintained a one bedroom apartment for $65 a month with utilities included. So lets break it down.

$480 is the income - $80 month went into savings = $400 - $65 rent = $335 - $60 month food = $275 - $40 gas money = $185 left per month spendable income. $46.25 cents a week was what I could spend, sometimes I did most of the time I did not. When I did not I put the money back in the expense envelope. Let me explain.

when I was young I had a system set up so that I knew where every nickel went that I earned. When I got paid I put money in 5 different envelopes. Money for rent, food, gas, savings, and spendable money for that week. At the end of the month I took my savings of $80 dollars from the envelope along with any money left over from gas or food or spendable cash and put it in the bank. I always had money for the rent and always paid on time. I never even heard of a credit card or would I have wanted one at the time.

Man when gas was 30 cents a gallon, hamburgers were 17 cents, fries a dime, and milkshakes 25 you could bust a gut on a dollar! I can truthfully say I have never been in need of money through out my whole life for anything I ever needed.

When I was married we combined both the incomes into one and did the bills the same way as I described above. When the wife needed a washer or dryer we had the money to pay cash. When I needed bucks for a pair of tires the money was always there. The trouble with kids today is that they want everything now and do not want to wait to buy anything. The problem with that is you pay a nice interest rate on that plastic to go along with your impulsive desires.

You manage your income by living within your income, not outside of it. With plastic you are playing a dangerous game, especially if you are married. The number one thing that sends your marriage into a death spiral is debt and not seeing any light at the end of the tunnel. It can also lead to alcohol and drug abuse when the spousal abuse starts and believe me it will when you see your money disappearing every week on debt that need not be incurred.

Always have savings or enough money to live on for 3 months in case you lose your job, get injured and cannot work. I saved 15% of my income always from my net pay and the wife also. Make your work pay off and you will never hurt for bucks. 401k, IRA, pension funds, are a good way to work towards retirement and believe me it can be done without touching it. Stay within your budget always and money problems will fade like snow does with an early spring.

Learn more about this author, Gary Boyd.
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