{"id":4040,"date":"1957-11-01T01:00:00","date_gmt":"1957-11-01T01:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/about-us\/history\/letter\/november-1957-vol-38-no-11-on-making-ends-meet\/"},"modified":"2022-11-28T13:17:29","modified_gmt":"2022-11-28T13:17:29","slug":"november-1957-vol-38-no-11-on-making-ends-meet","status":"publish","type":"rbc_letter","link":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/about-us\/history\/letter\/november-1957-vol-38-no-11-on-making-ends-meet\/","title":{"rendered":"November 1957 &#8211; VOL 38, NO. 11 &#8211; On Making Ends Meet"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"layout-column-main\">\n<p class=\"boldtext\">It seems absurd that in days of                     relative prosperity we should find trouble in making ends                     meet. Family budgetary difficulties were commonplace in depression                     days, but surely, we think, with wages so high we should be                     living on easy street.<\/p>\n<p> The answer, of course, lies in the fact that although we                     have reached a new level of living the basic impulses of human                     nature have not changed.<\/p>\n<p>Our desires for luxuries and extravagances seem to increase                     more rapidly than our earnings. Our wants grow into needs.                     When we earn $100 a month we complain that we are barely breaking                     even; a few years later, if we are making $300 a month, we                     will still have the same complaint. When our table is laden                     with delicious things we go and cry before Mother Hubbard&#8217;s                     cupboard.<\/p>\n<p>Whatever high plateau of living standard we reach, the principle                     of wise use of money still applies: we need to plan so as                     to get the best use of every dollar.<\/p>\n<p>While the standard of living in many parts of the world                     is mere subsistence, the explosion in Canada&#8217;s industrial                     development has given her a level of living among the two                     or three highest in the world.<\/p>\n<p>It has happened so fast that we are not yet accustomed to                     it. In the past hundred years we have developed into a country                     where it is possible for men to get enough to eat without                     having to stumble out of bed at rive to milk the cow and crawl                     back in again after dark. The change has taken place here                     in a couple of generations, instead of being spread, as in                     other countries, over centuries.<\/p>\n<p>Between 1926 and 1956 personal income in Canada climbed                     from $4,092 million to $21,706 million, an increase of 430                     per cent. This meant an addition of more than $560 per person                     per year in buying power, even allowing for the higher cost                     of living. In the same period, cash income from the sale of                     farm products went up from $966 million to $2,662 million.<\/p>\n<p>Look at the increase in our possessions in less than one                     generation:<\/p>\n<table width=\"415\" border=\"1\" cellpadding=\"2\" cellspacing=\"0\" class=\"smltabletxt\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\">&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"center\"><em>Twenty years ago<\/em><\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"center\"><em>Latest count<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\">automobiles registered<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">1,279,536<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">3,187,099<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\">owned homes<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">1,459,357<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">2,685,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\">electric vacuum cleaners<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">624,178<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">2,199,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\">telephones<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">1,037,298<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">2,930,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\">radios<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">2,002,889<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">3,817,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\">mechanical refrigerators<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">538,535<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">3,186,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\">electric or gas stoves<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">1,019,421<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">2,619,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\">furnace heating<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">997,588<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">2,266,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\">bathtub or shower<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">1,169,760<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">2,656,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\">running water<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">1,558,586<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">3,249,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\">flush toilets<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">1,342,198<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">2,906,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\">powered washing machines<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">3,344,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h3>What is the problem?<\/h3>\n<p>Yet, in view of all this earning and buying, despite the                     fact that high-fashion clothing is worn universally by                     women, that we are the biggest smokers in the Western world,                     and that the size of our factory parking lots is used by visitors                     as a measure of our prosperity ( in spite of all this varied                     evidence of welfare we find difficulty in making ends meet.                     We are always striving for something new.<\/p>\n<p>Much of the service we have come to take for granted is                     of a ceremonial character. We feel discomfort in its absence,                     not because its absence causes us physical distress, but just                     because we have become accustomed to having it.<\/p>\n<p>We have become spendthrifts in the necessaries of life.                     It has been said that what is thrown out of our kitchens would                     support a frugal people in almost any country of Europe.<\/p>\n<p>We are, in short, in danger of becoming so carried away                     by material prosperity, so absorbed in enjoying things, that                     we lose touch with that sense of the realities our pioneer                     great-grandfathers knew so well, a sense that made us                     a well-rounded people. In the words of the cartoon caption:                     &#8220;What does Grandpa know about hardships? He only did without                     things&nbsp;.. he never had to pay for them!&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>What we need is to take a balanced attitude toward our needs,                     desires and income, and to so plan that we get the utmost                     in real satisfaction. This is not penny-pinching. It                     does not demand austere living. It does not involve losing                     face socially. All it means is getting value for every earned                     dollar. It is a rather exciting venture, much more interesting                     than spending money at will.<\/p>\n<p>By making savings in everyday household management we can                     provide for satisfaction of other needs and desires. The struggle                     in this country is not for subsistence but to attain and maintain                     certain standards. We desire cultural participation according                     to the customs of the community where we live and in keeping                     with the standards we have set up for ourselves.<\/p>\n<h3>What do you want?<\/h3>\n<p>This is one of life&#8217;s important questions. A Greek philosopher                     taught that the chief good is freedom from wants, and Leonardo                     said &#8220;He is poor whose wants are many.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>We have a limited cluster of needs in order to survive,                     but our potential of wants is unlimited. What we call our                     &#8220;needs&#8221; will always grow to match our income unless we take                     care. Then we have nothing left with which to satisfy our                     desires, and we find ourselves &#8220;unable to make ends meet.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>When we, nevertheless, indulge a desire, we have to take                     the price of it out of a need, and that is where the hurt                     occurs. Even petty prodigalities can run away with a lot of                     money, but little savings mount up too. While saving hall                     pennies on the kitchen bills will not pay them, the hall pennies                     may buy something to make kitchen work easier.<\/p>\n<p>The obvious device to ensure getting what you want is a                     budget. It helps you to be master of your spending destiny                     by enabling you to make your money go where it will do you                     the most good. A good budget will not only make ends meet                     but will even add some cake to the plain fare it provides.<\/p>\n<p>The purpose of your budget is not to save for the sake of                     saving. A budget will, indeed, help you to cope with the cost                     of your raised standard of living without dangerous guessing.                     But on the positive side it will conserve your buying power                     for the satisfaction of your important desires.<\/p>\n<p>Even if you are impatient of detail you need not be discouraged,                     because the best budget is a simple budget. Here are the steps:                     (1) determine as well as you can what your income will be                     during the budget period, which should be not less than a                     year; (2) figure out what your necessary running expenses                     are, using receipted bills, memos, and other records to refresh                     your memory; (3) write down your needs and wants, so that                     you know what you are aiming at; (4) consult all members of                     your family as to their needs and wants; (5) apportion the                     money you will have to these various needs and wants in proportion                     to their importance as you see it; (6) check your progress                     periodically to see that your money is going where you want                     it to go and that your spending is reasonably in line with                     your life plan.<\/p>\n<p>Keep your budget simple. No double-entry bookkeeping                     or anything of that sort is necessary. This bank will give                     you, free, a ready-made budget book with a ruled page                     for every month, a place wherein to summarize your year&#8217;s                     experience, detailed directions for all operations needed,                     and a sample month&#8217;s entries. All you need do is ask at any                     branch or write to head office.<\/p>\n<p>One word of caution may save you from disappointment: you                     can&#8217;t cheat a budget. You need to face facts and recognize                     the demands that will be made upon your income. You don&#8217;t                     get far toward a solution by ignoring awkward evidence.<\/p>\n<h3>Should you save?<\/h3>\n<p>Saving money means that you refrain from spending now in                     order to have something you want more later on. It is deferred                     spending.<\/p>\n<p>A miser saves for the sake of accumulating money, but misers                     are notoriously unhappy people. When you save for specific                     future expenditures it helps toward happiness. First, you                     have a feeling of security as your savings accumulate, and                     then you have the pleasure derived from buying and possessing                     the article you saved for.<\/p>\n<p>We may save for other things besides purchases. We may wish                     to provide a sum that will be like the icing on the cake of                     our retirement allowance. For example, the young man who starts                     in his early twenties to put aside $250 a year will assure                     himself a bonus retirement allowance of about $1,000 a year.<\/p>\n<p>There is no secret or mystery about compound interest, though                     most of us shy away from it because of the difficulty of calculating                     it. But it is an important feature in saving money. Through                     it, the $10 you put into your savings account this month will                     have grown at present bank rates to $11.46 by Christmas 1962.                     And, of course, the amount will be available all through the                     years, with proportionate interest added, to meet emergencies                     should they arise.<\/p>\n<p>Our Canadian banks have introduced a system that makes saving                     easier than before. They have two sorts of account available                     to everyone: a savings account and a personal chequing account.<\/p>\n<p>Everyone knows the temptation he suffers when he is trying                     to save for something in the same account he uses for current                     budget expenditures. It is like having loose cash burning                     a hole in your pocket. The banks provide an account specially                     for savings, earning compound interest now at the rate of                     2 3\/4 per cent. For paying bills, there is the other account                     ( you obtain from the bank a book of ten or twenty cheques,                     you pay your accounts by writing cheques, and every quarter                     the bank sends you a statement, together with your paid cheques                     which provide proof of payment.<\/p>\n<h3>Keeping records<\/h3>\n<p>In addition to the records which the bank keeps for you,                     you will need to mark things down in your budget book if you                     are to keep your hands firmly on the steering wheel. There                     is no use in plotting a course, however detailed the map,                     unless you make sure that you are following it.<\/p>\n<p>It is the checking of performance against your plans and                     estimates that establishes budgetary control.<\/p>\n<p>Even the best managers have uninspired moments. Caught off                     guard, or acting in a fit of perversity, or counting a bonus                     prematurely, they make an outlay that was not provided for                     in the budget. The fact of having to record it in the budget                     book may seem like an act of penance, but it has its usefulness                     in that it reveals the amount of correction needed to bring                     you back upon your course.<\/p>\n<p>Just because of an incident like that, you should not give                     up. Getting back into line will show you the possibility of                     using your budget to redeem an error without all the heart-burning                     that might result if you were faced with a similar crisis                     without a plan. Every such experience will give you a brisk                     injection of confidence.<\/p>\n<h3>A family affair<\/h3>\n<p>It has been said over and over, but it cannot be said too                     often, that family budgeting is a family affair. Only through                     co-operative planning and carrying out tan you make your                     ideals and your hopes of family happiness come true.<\/p>\n<p>Before discussing this aspect of budgeting further, it should                     be said that the dictum applies not only when money is short                     but in times of relative affluence. Much money, poorly handled,                     can be more damaging to family bliss than little money if                     the little is jointly and wisely handled.<\/p>\n<p>This judgment is not based on hearsay, but on the evidence                     of statistics. The records show that divorce rates shot up                     in the United States to 16 for every hundred marriages during                     the jazz-age prosperity after World War I. In the depression                     years they declined to 13. With easing of conditions they                     took another spurt, reaching 21 to every 100 by 1940, and                     climbing to a new high in 1954 of 25, or one divorce in every                     four marriages.<\/p>\n<p>What uses are there in a combined family budgetary plan?                     It means a united effort to avoid debt, to avoid neglect of                     essentials, to avoid worry, to assure fair treatment of ail                     family interests, and to make provision for future responsibilities                     and eventualities.<\/p>\n<p>In comparison with the united approach to handling family                     finances, there is little good to be said for the dictatorial                     or autocratic handling of finances by either the husband or                     the wife.<\/p>\n<p>Let us look at a few examples of budget problems in which                     family co-operative discussion will be helpful. Take                     first the wife&#8217;s desire to reach a standard of living beyond                     her husband&#8217;s capacity to provide. How deadly to family hopes                     that can be! An example is the case of the executive military                     officer who was top man in his camp; whose wife, therefore,                     was top woman. At the war&#8217;s end he returned to civilian life,                     where his earnings are not so big, his perquisites not so                     liberal. His wife is disappointed; she may try to drive him                     into greater effort. The result will be, if not broken health,                     a life of unhappy squabbling.<\/p>\n<p>Women must not fail to see that while love of them will                     inspire a man to try to become president of his company he                     may not have the natural ability to win out. We recall the                     tormented Willy Loman in <em>Death of a Salesman<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Another example might be the man who has an overwhelming                     ambition. He deprives his family of comfort, education, and                     culture now so that he may set them on a pinnacle at some                     future time.<\/p>\n<p>Or the family may have demanding children, depriving their                     parents, it may be thoughtlessly, of the material rewards                     to which their long life of devoted service may have entitled                     them.<\/p>\n<p>These, and other, inequities in family living can be tackled                     through the practice of family budgeting. When everyone sits                     around the dining-room table to wrestle with the question:                     &#8220;How can we make this amount of income work to the best advantage                     of all of us?&#8221; then there can be great hope of an honourable                     and happy outcome.<\/p>\n<h3>A family standard<\/h3>\n<p>The first thing to be determined in family planning is the                     standard of living that is to be maintained. When this has                     been arrived at, the proper administration of finances can                     be attended to without great difficulty, and with the great                     blessing of family solidarity.<\/p>\n<p>There should be succeeding conferences periodically, and                     provision should be made for emergency talks. If problems                     are discussed immediately, they will be much easier to solve                     than if they are allowed to build up into crises. Even if                     there should be a dispute over some point, it is better to                     have one good fight than months of resentment, worry, or covering                     up.<\/p>\n<p>Most families will find, after frank discussion, that there                     are things they desire that are worth more to them than &#8220;keeping                     up with the Joneses&#8221;. Some spending should be for those things                     that will advance and promote the self-improvement of                     every member of the family. Perhaps the father could improve                     his business position by taking a correspondence or university                     extension course; perhaps the mother has a talent for writing                     and should have a typewriter; perhaps daughter can draw or                     paint, and should have materials and lessons; perhaps a son                     has mechanical aptitude and needs tools for self-expression.<\/p>\n<p>A budget run along these lines will not be a straitjacket                     but a plan for mutual benefit and advancement, a balance between                     spending freely for present pleasures and apportioning the                     available income for deep satisfactions and individual realizations.<\/p>\n<h3>Value for your money<\/h3>\n<p>It takes as much ingenuity to spend money well as to make                     it and budget it. The chief aim of the sound buyer is to get                     the most value for the money spent.<\/p>\n<p>There are no hard and fast rules by which the value of any                     purchase may be measured, because buying must be tailored                     to fit individual needs. A basic principle is that a thing                     is worth precisely what it can do for you, not what you choose                     to pay for it.<\/p>\n<p>Usually, when we talk about the price of a thing we mean                     the amount of money it exchanges for. That price may not be                     the value. For example, it is not necessary to buy the highest                     priced commodity if one of lower price will fill your need                     equally well. No person requires the highest quality in everything                     that is bought.<\/p>\n<p>This is not to say that budgeting money means going in for                     shoddy merchandise, but only that we should decide the quality                     we need and then find the article which promises to satisfy                     our requirements most exactly within our resources.<\/p>\n<p>It has been estimated that the woman who knows what she                     wants, the sources of supply, and how much she should pay                     for the quality she desires, will be able to get up to 30                     per cent more for her money than the woman who buys haphazardly,                     carelessly, or with the idea of getting such-and-such                     because so-and-so has it.<\/p>\n<p>We have available to us many helps. There are publications                     put out by government agencies, articles in magazines and                     newspapers, booklets sent out by commercial and financial                     firms, pamphlets distributed by the Better Business Bureau,                     and periodicals produced for the information of consumers.<\/p>\n<p>Whatever we buy, we should be careful not to buy too much.                     The continued gratification of any want leads to satiety,                     than which nothing can be more boring. It is a rule in economics                     that every addition to our supply of anything gives us smaller                     satisfaction than the previous addition. This is the law of                     diminishing utility.<\/p>\n<p>The budget maker must know when to stop even a good thing.                     Four pieces of cake will not be four times as gratifying as                     one to junior. A month&#8217;s vacation will not be twice as pleasurable                     as one of a fortnight: in fact, the last two weeks may be                     positively tiresome. Our nerve cells lose their energy for                     continuous keen response to the same stimuli. Said Prince                     Rasselas in Samuel Johnson&#8217;s romance: &#8220;I have already enjoyed                     too much: give me something to desire.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h3>Summing up<\/h3>\n<p>It is probably true to say that for all practical purposes                     the family standard of living will be determined by the amount                     of money available, what kind of living that money will buy,                     and the good judgment used in spending it.<\/p>\n<p>When the whole family participates in reaching the necessary                     decisions, intense unhappiness may be avoided, because there                     will be neither selfish extravagant spending nor miserly control.                     When everyone in the family knows the limiting factors there                     will be less likelihood of the development of financial crises                     due to unwise spending. The children will learn not to aim                     at too much too soon, and their elders will learn not to plan                     for too little, too late.<\/p>\n<p>One good bonus to come out of budgeting is the experience                     that much ingenuity with a little money is vastly more profitable                     and amusing than much money without ingenuity. There is a                     sort of triumph in working things out, in mastering a situation,                     in progressing toward a goal.<\/p>\n<p>As a Vedda cave-dweller, surely on one of the lowest                     subsistence levels, said to an explorer: &#8220;It is pleasant for                     us to feel the rain beating on our shoulders, and good to                     go out and dig yams, and come home wet and see the fire burning                     in the cave, and sit round it.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Today&#8217;s budgeteer, like the cave-people, may even feel                     a little sorry for the bridal pair so richly endowed with                     presents that they have only to write thank-you notes                     instead of saving up and acquiring their furnishings piece                     by piece.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":79,"featured_media":0,"template":"","categories":[1],"rbc_letter_theme":[],"rbc_letter_year":[37],"class_list":["post-4040","rbc_letter","type-rbc_letter","status-publish","hentry","category-uncategorized","rbc_letter_year-37"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.4 (Yoast SEO v27.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>November 1957 - VOL 38, NO. 11 - On Making Ends Meet - RBC<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/about-us\/history\/letter\/november-1957-vol-38-no-11-on-making-ends-meet\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"November 1957 - VOL 38, NO. 11 - On Making Ends Meet - RBC\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It seems absurd that in days of relative prosperity we should find trouble in making ends meet. Family budgetary difficulties were commonplace in depression days, but surely, we think, with wages so high we should be living on easy street. The answer, of course, lies in the fact that although we have reached a new [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/about-us\/history\/letter\/november-1957-vol-38-no-11-on-making-ends-meet\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"RBC\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-11-28T13:17:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"15 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rbc.com\\\/en\\\/about-us\\\/history\\\/letter\\\/november-1957-vol-38-no-11-on-making-ends-meet\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rbc.com\\\/en\\\/about-us\\\/history\\\/letter\\\/november-1957-vol-38-no-11-on-making-ends-meet\\\/\",\"name\":\"November 1957 - VOL 38, NO. 11 - On Making Ends Meet - RBC\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rbc.com\\\/en\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"1957-11-01T01:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-11-28T13:17:29+00:00\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rbc.com\\\/en\\\/about-us\\\/history\\\/letter\\\/november-1957-vol-38-no-11-on-making-ends-meet\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rbc.com\\\/en\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rbc.com\\\/en\\\/\",\"name\":\"RBC\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rbc.com\\\/en\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"November 1957 - VOL 38, NO. 11 - On Making Ends Meet - RBC","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/about-us\/history\/letter\/november-1957-vol-38-no-11-on-making-ends-meet\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"November 1957 - VOL 38, NO. 11 - On Making Ends Meet - RBC","og_description":"It seems absurd that in days of relative prosperity we should find trouble in making ends meet. Family budgetary difficulties were commonplace in depression days, but surely, we think, with wages so high we should be living on easy street. The answer, of course, lies in the fact that although we have reached a new [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/about-us\/history\/letter\/november-1957-vol-38-no-11-on-making-ends-meet\/","og_site_name":"RBC","article_modified_time":"2022-11-28T13:17:29+00:00","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"15 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/about-us\/history\/letter\/november-1957-vol-38-no-11-on-making-ends-meet\/","url":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/about-us\/history\/letter\/november-1957-vol-38-no-11-on-making-ends-meet\/","name":"November 1957 - VOL 38, NO. 11 - On Making Ends Meet - RBC","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/#website"},"datePublished":"1957-11-01T01:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2022-11-28T13:17:29+00:00","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/about-us\/history\/letter\/november-1957-vol-38-no-11-on-making-ends-meet\/"]}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/","name":"RBC","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/rbc.com\/en\/about-us\/history\/letter\/november-1957-vol-38-no-11-on-making-ends-meet\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"November 1957 &#8211; VOL 38, NO. 11 &#8211; On Making Ends Meet","url":"http:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/about-us\/history\/letter\/november-1957-vol-38-no-11-on-making-ends-meet\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/about-us\/history\/letter\/november-1957-vol-38-no-11-on-making-ends-meet\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":""},"articleSection":"Uncategorized","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"amandeepsingh"}],"creator":["amandeepsingh"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"RBC","logo":""},"keywords":[],"dateCreated":"1957-11-01T01:00:00Z","datePublished":"1957-11-01T01:00:00Z","dateModified":"2022-11-28T13:17:29Z"},"rendered":"<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"wp-parsely-metadata\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"headline\":\"November 1957 &#8211; VOL 38, NO. 11 &#8211; On Making Ends Meet\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.rbc.com\\\/en\\\/about-us\\\/history\\\/letter\\\/november-1957-vol-38-no-11-on-making-ends-meet\\\/\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.rbc.com\\\/en\\\/about-us\\\/history\\\/letter\\\/november-1957-vol-38-no-11-on-making-ends-meet\\\/\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"url\":\"\"},\"articleSection\":\"Uncategorized\",\"author\":[{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"name\":\"amandeepsingh\"}],\"creator\":[\"amandeepsingh\"],\"publisher\":{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"name\":\"RBC\",\"logo\":\"\"},\"keywords\":[],\"dateCreated\":\"1957-11-01T01:00:00Z\",\"datePublished\":\"1957-11-01T01:00:00Z\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-11-28T13:17:29Z\"}<\/script>","tracker_url":"https:\/\/cdn.parsely.com\/keys\/rbc.com\/p.js"},"featured_img":false,"coauthors":[],"author_meta":{"author_link":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/author\/amandeepsingh\/","display_name":"amandeepsingh"},"relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 69 years ago","modified":"Updated 3 years ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on November 1, 1957","modified":"Updated on November 28, 2022"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on November 1, 1957 1:00 am","modified":"Updated on November 28, 2022 1:17 pm"},"featured_img_caption":"","tax_additional":{"category":{"linked":["<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/category\/uncategorized\/\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Uncategorized<\/a>"],"unlinked":["<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Uncategorized<\/span>"],"slug":"category","name":"Categories"},"rbc_letter_theme":{"linked":[],"unlinked":[],"slug":"rbc_letter_theme","name":"Themes"},"rbc_letter_year":{"linked":["<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/year\/1957\/\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">1957<\/a>"],"unlinked":["<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">1957<\/span>"],"slug":"rbc_letter_year","name":"Years"}},"series_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rbc_letter\/4040","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rbc_letter"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rbc_letter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/79"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rbc_letter\/4040\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4040"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4040"},{"taxonomy":"rbc_letter_theme","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rbc_letter_theme?post=4040"},{"taxonomy":"rbc_letter_year","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rbc_letter_year?post=4040"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}