+-----------------+------+------+----------+---------+---------------+ | |_Food_|_Rent_|_Running |_Clothes_|_Miscellaneous | | | | | Expenses_| | Expenses_ | |-----------------+------+------+----------+---------+---------------+ | Mrs. Richards's | 500 | 400 | 300 | 300 | 500 | | Division | | | | | | +-----------------+------+------+----------+---------+---------------+ | Division | 500 | 480 | 240 | 300 | 480 | | for high rent | | | | | | +-----------------+------+------+----------+---------+---------------+ 80 60 20 The high rent is balanced by a saving in running expenses and in some item of miscellaneous expense. This is merely a suggestion of the way in which a housekeeping plan is worked out. Every family has its own needs and wants, and its income must be proportioned to suit them as far as possible. If your income is larger than the one used as an example, you will find that the department of miscellaneous expenses will grow and need to be subdivided many times--you will have more concerts than cabbages--if, on the contrary, your income is less than the example, you will find that the food and rent departments will begin to swallow up the other departments. An example of the extreme of this is exhibited by a budget of housekeeping expenses given by Mr. Arthur Morrison in the _Fortnightly Review_ a few years ago, for a family with an income of £1 10s. a week--about $7.50 a week and $390 a year. s. d. Rent 7 0 Meat and fish 5 5 Bread and flour 2 1½ Groceries 1 8 Cheese, butter, eggs, bacon 1 11 Green groceries 1 3 Fuel 2 0 Oil, etc 1 7½ Clothes 2 0 Club and insurance 1 0 Beer and tobacco 2 9 Balance 1 3 -------- £1 10s. This table, roughly calculated, gives the following proportions: A little more than 2/5 for food. A little more than 1/5 for rent. A little more than 2/25 for running expenses. A little more than 1/15 for clothes. A little more than 2/15 for other expenses.