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DEBT

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Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Aug 14, 1900

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 77, No. 33.

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DEBT

By Mrs. Geo. A. Irwin

MRS. GEO. A. IRWIN.
It is an old saying that a woman can throw out of the window with a spoon faster than a man can shovel in at the door; and we sisters know that there is truth in this, for much can be wasted in cooking. If we have the knack of warming over what is left from each meal, we shall often succeed in making such food taste better than it did when first cooked; and in a year such a course will be the saving of many dollars. By careful planning all food can be utilized.
Care should also be taken to save as much labor as possible. Linen doilies, or side pieces, which can be easily washed, are a great saving to a white tablecloth; and to my mind, they add to the appearance of a table. In this way I can use a white tablecloth six weeks without washing. Pieces of huckaback-toweling, nicely hemstitched, are convenient for this purpose. I wish that we all could realize how near the coming of the Lord is, and that all our time should be spent in helping others to prepare for that event.
Perhaps the greatest leak in the finances comes in the wearing apparel. I know there are many pretty little toilet articles that women and girls would like to have; but, though each costs only a small sum, by the end of the year they amount to considerable, and we could get along without them a great deal better than without the money. Many times we are led to get things because some other sister in the church has them, whether we really need them or not. But this savors too much of the world to be followed by the peculiar people of God. I quote from Sister White's book, “Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene:” “Some try to appear like the wealthy by trimming goods of an inferior quality in imitation of more costly apparel. Poor girls, receiving but small wages, often spend their last cent in order to dress like those who are not obliged to earn their own living. In consequence, they have nothing laid by for sickness, nothing to put into the treasury of God, no time to improve the mind or to study God’s word, no time for secret prayer or the prayer-meeting.”
Many girls think that they can not save anything from their income. They perhaps get five, six, or eight dollars a week for their services; and if they would only count the cost of their expenses, and get a cheaper room, or board where the meals are not served in such an expensive way, and yet where the food is just as nourishing, they would soon be the proud possessors of a small sum of money for an emergency. Watch the little expenses—the candy, the sodas, the nuts, etc. A great many think nothing of spending a nickle for a car fare, when there is no special reason for it, and when it would be much better for health to walk.
A great many of our people who would receive untold benefit from such occasions are not able to attend the annual camp-meetings because of the lack of money. When my husband and I were on the farm, we began several months in advance to plan for the camp-meeting. We never missed one of them; and they are green spots in the history of our Christian experience.
In buying clothing, be sure to get good material, and do not buy anything of a flashy color. Black, dark gray, and blue are the most serviceable colors. Women who have but few dresses, and Seventh-day Adventist women should have but few, should select a color that will not attract attention. Heptonette is the most serviceable dress material that I know of. It is light in weight, and thoroughly waterproof. It is quite expensive, but it is wide, and will wear as long as three or four ordinary dresses. I have worn a dress of that material in the very roughest manner for six years, and it is still a respectable-looking garment.
About the housework, it is always best to wear dresses of wash material. Avoid having clothing that is to be laundered much, especially if you are not able to do your own laundering; and even then your time can be spent much more profitably in other work.
Some women switch out an underskirt in the course of a few weeks; and as they usually cost, when ready made, from two to five dollars each, they are quite an expense. Worn outside skirts can be made into good underskirts, and will last longer, and be much cheaper.
In regard to hats, I wish to say that there is no hat so pretty, and so becoming to most girls, as the sailor hat, and it is very inexpensive. A sister has written asking if it would not be well to have a uniform style of head wear—something that would be light in weight, and broad enough to protect from the sun. Others have suggested a uniform style of dress; but I think that each one must be left to choose that which is most becoming to her, and that there never can be a set rule for these things. The following, from an unpublished Testimony, is very definite in regard to this: “No precise style has been given me as the exact rule to guide all in their dress. Let our sisters dress plainly, as many do, having the dress of good material, durable, modest, appropriate for this age; and let not the dress question fill the mind.”
I also quote the following from printed Testimonies: “The outside appearance is an index to the heart. True refinement does not find satisfaction in the adorning of the body for display. A modest, godly woman will dress modestly. Simplicity of apparel always makes a sensible woman appear to the best advantage. A refined, cultured mind will be revealed in the choice of a simple and appropriate attire. In the sanctified heart there is no place for thoughts of needless adornment. Christ requires none of his followers to lift so heavy a burden as that to which they subject themselves as slaves of fashion. If Christian women would lead out in the good work, and set the example of dressing with neatness and simplicity, and with regard to health, there would be a universal reform. If they would work from an elevated standpoint, they could bring their habits of life into conformity with the laws of their being, and live in obedience to both the physical and the moral requirements of God. Then there would be less money, less nerves, less physical strength, squandered for artificial decorations, to the sacrifice of natural beauty. We should have more practical wives and mothers; and in many families that are now wretched because of their incorrect ideas of life, there would be a happy change.”
The personal appearance is an index to the condition of the home. Make your dresses in the most becoming and neat way, and take the best care of them, and your wardrobe will not need to cost you so very much. The strictest economy is called for in dress. In my early married life, when we were trying to pay for our farm, there was a time when for fourteen years I did not have a good new dress. During all this time I had to keep my place in society, which demanded that I look well; but by making over and caring for the clothes that I had, I succeeded well; and if a woman can economize like that for the sake of a farm, surely she can do as much for the advancement of this precious truth.