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Making Both Ends Meet - The income and outlay of New York working girls by Edith Wyatt;Sue Ainslie Clark
page 21 of 237 (08%)
bath-room. The warmth from the single gas-jet was the sole heat. She made
coffee in her room for breakfast; a light luncheon sufficed; and dinner
in a restaurant cost 25 to 35 cents a day. She was often entertained at
dinner, by friends.

She usually rode to work, and walked home, eight blocks, spending thus 30
cents a week carfare. All living expenses for the week came to about $6.
She paid for six years $24 a year on an insurance policy which promised
her $15 a week in case of illness, and was cumulative, making a return
during the life of the holder; $290 would be due from it in about a year.

Zetta said that she was extravagant in her expense for clothing, but she
considered that her social position depended upon her appearance. She was
very attractive looking. Her manner had quiet and grace, and there was
something touching, even moving, in the dignity of her pure, clear
English, acquired in the teeth of a fortune that forced her to be a
little scullion and cook at the age of eleven. She was dressed with taste
and care at the time of the interview. Through watching sales and through
information obtained from heads of departments, she contrived to buy
clothing of excellent quality, silk stockings, and well-cut suits
comparatively cheaply. By waiting until the end of the season, she had
paid $35, the winter before, for a suit originally costing $70; $35 was
more than she had intended to spend, but the suit was becoming and she
could not resist the purchase. She managed to have pretty and
well-designed hats for from $2 to $5, because a friend trimmed them.

She spent her vacation with relatives on a farm in the country. Railroad
fares and the occasional purchase of a magazine were her only
expenditures for pleasure. But she had many "good times" going to the
beaches in the summer with friends who paid her way.
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