The Way We Were Spending Money Back in 1940

In my latest desperate flailing effort to declutter, I tackled a desk drawer only to become distracted by an old friend - my mother's ledger. I have faithfully treasured this little book all my life and it is a fascinating trip in a time machine back to 1940, when my folks were living down south because Dad was a civil engineer with the Tennessee Valley Authority. In 1940, they had settled in at 1504 E. Cruise Street, Corinth, MS. As quaint as anything else about this little book is that Mom bothered to record that information on the book's flyleaf. Apparently she assumed that if the book became lost, someone would try to return it to her - a safe assumption in those days but a bit naive by today's standards.

1940 was the year before I was born and Mama didn't have a baby to worry about yet nor a 9-to-5 job of her own so one of the things she spent time on was filling this 2-1/2" by 4" book with exquisite Palmer-method (slanted) handwriting which faithfully recorded every penny, nickel and dime they spent - and in those days, you could still get a lot for pennies, nickels and dimes.

Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?

In those days, a dime was nothing to be sneezed at. For a single dime, a person could choose from a list of items which included: a tube of toothpaste, a ticket to a movie, razor blades, a bottle of perfume, a tube of lipstick, a box of Kleenix or Kotex, a comb, an issue of Time, Life, or Look Magazine, a spool of thread, a package of tissue paper, a cup of hot chocolate or a soda fountain sandwich, typing paper, envelopes, a watchband and a bracelet. A carton of cigarettes cost $1.65.

Dad could get a haircut for 50 cents and Mom could get a routine hairdo for the same amount, probably in little shops a few feet from each other on whatever main street Corinth possessed. My Dad bought a hat for $2 and Mom got a perm for $5.

The Home Front:

My parents rented the little house (along with front and back yards) for $30 a month. Among their household treasures were a bedside lamp for $1.35, a towel rack for the kitchen which cost .13 and ash trays for a dime each. Because their little house lacked a basement or washing machine, they paid someone to do their laundry for them, a relative luxury for .75 a week.

The house was out of town in "the country" and even if my Mother had driven, Dad would have had to take the car to work so during the week - unless she was able to cop a ride with a neighbor - Mama would whoop it up and spend .10 or .20 on a taxi ride into town where a pleasant afternoon of shopping might have included picking up a few groceries (bills amounting to 18, 23, or 73 cents) and maybe a nickel each for candy, gum, a Coke or a hamburger. Among her more exciting purchases were two dresses for ($4.07 and $3.04), stockings (.66) and anklets for a dime. Dad could get undershorts for .50. Somebody bought a coat for $3 and gloves for .50. One pleasant afternoon in town for both of them included 50 cents for "sandwiches and ice cream" and a .34 purchase of cookies.

All Work and No Play Were Not Part of the Plan

Mom and Dad were able to work fun into the budget in the form of occasional ice cream treats (.30 cents for both of them combined), "supper at Lloyd's" $1.37 or $1.38), "dinner at Dan's" (.50), a pair of tickets to "Gone With the Wind" (.75) and "Pinocchio" (.40). Holidays and special occasions were also duly observed with the purchase of a card honoring someone's anniversary for .03 (along with a mysterious "Pyrex gift" for .92), a birthday card for .06, a brace of Valentines for .10, Easter cards for .08 and even Easter flowers and a Mother's Day plant for $2.10 each. (Postage stamps cost .03.) Sometimes the young couple would kick over the traces for something like a "trip over to Jackson" for 50 cents.

Body Work All Around

A trip to the doctor cost $3, medicine (a prescription?) $1.25 and Dad's Polaroid glasses $1.95. They paid $1.41 monthly for car insurance, $1.45 to "fill 'er up" and nominal amounts for whatever repairs and maintenance were necessary for either the car or themselves.

Something to Think About

Of course, my folks lived in a relatively rural area peopled with little towns where things have always been traditionally cheaper than in the big cities but years later when I was a young adult and first moved to Oak Park, IL in 1965, things were still pretty reasonable. A ride on the El cost a quarter, a daily newspaper .07, monthly rent was $72, you could still buy a pretty nice blouse for $5 and a really great grilled porkchop dinner over at the Chinese restaurant was $2, served on china and a white cloth and including salad, dessert and coffee. As of that time, inflation had marched sedately on but to a reasonable, manageable degree.

What is scary to me is to consider what things cost today and how fast prices are going up. Inflation seems to be escalating at an ever-increasing rate. While it may be amusing for us now to think about what Mom and Dad paid for things 70 years ago, it is a sobering experience to look ahead into the future and wonder what things will cost 70 years from now. I'm glad I won't be here that long because by that time, my Social Security check won't be enough for a single ticket to a movie much less dinner at Dan's or supper at Lloyd's.