tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5889973587380183147.post4902179003716492190..comments2023-08-25T18:09:09.834-07:00Comments on Wrote By Rote: When a Quarter Went a Long WayArlee Birdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11663942782929929334noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5889973587380183147.post-29712920300324132272014-09-12T10:57:14.096-07:002014-09-12T10:57:14.096-07:00We lived on a farm, and chores were expected to be...We lived on a farm, and chores were expected to be done w/out pay. Mom did give us a nickel or whatever she had on hand. There was a gas station across the street from the school. At the end of the school day, there was a flood of kids to buy penny candy. The bus kids had to be fast, or miss the bus.<br /><br />Fun memories.Susan Kanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09834094675218254410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5889973587380183147.post-7318490656421743682014-09-09T18:18:49.528-07:002014-09-09T18:18:49.528-07:00Give me a coca cola and a candy bar please for 25 ...Give me a coca cola and a candy bar please for 25 cents. Oh for the days.T. Powell Coltrinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02160774009926623671noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5889973587380183147.post-53936072820112835702014-09-08T10:35:59.594-07:002014-09-08T10:35:59.594-07:00I remember when I was really young a bottle of cok...I remember when I was really young a bottle of coke was about .10cents, and a chocolate bar was .5cents. Many times we'd get a quarter each to go down to the corner store, and like you said, we could stretch that quarter pretty far. A few years later, (okay, about a decade!)in the mid-seventies, I got an allowance of five dollars a week, which was substantial for the time. I saved a lot of mine, and was the envy of my brother, who spent his money pretty much as he got it. I was usually saving up for a record...I used to special order imports of albums from the local record shop...a lot of Beatles...and my collection was extensive,so that's where most of my allowance went. I still have my original Sgt. Pepper picture disc!<br />E. M. Prokophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12395951217528199963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5889973587380183147.post-66140432613637040382014-09-06T21:47:41.327-07:002014-09-06T21:47:41.327-07:00My brothers and sisters and I always had our jobs ...My brothers and sisters and I always had our jobs to do when we were kids, but didn't receive pocket money from our parents - they just didn't have enough. However, when my grandmother lived with us for a few months (I was about 10), she gave us each a shilling (equivalent to 10 cents) a week. That was amazing!<br />When we were older, only my elder brother managed to earn a bit of money by trading comics around the neighbourhood. But it was just a small, newly developing area in the 1950s, so no other opportunities for earning money presented themselves.<br />I didn't have money of my own until I started college at age 17, and was able to keep a little cash from my scholarship.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5889973587380183147.post-41855738263982379862014-09-06T19:33:39.153-07:002014-09-06T19:33:39.153-07:00We were too poor for me to have an allowance—my pa...We were too poor for me to have an allowance—my parents were scraping by as it was. Now and then I'd get birthday money from some relatives, and figuring out how to spend it was a tremendous deal. I remember having $10 once (a small fortune!) and buying a Superstar Barbie, plus some outfits. I bought a couple of MAD magazines with the change, and I remember I still had a little left.Kelly Robinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01752857506190488860noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5889973587380183147.post-3542932526088147052014-09-06T15:53:18.586-07:002014-09-06T15:53:18.586-07:00JoJo-- Whew! Now it sounds like I had it pretty ea...JoJo-- Whew! Now it sounds like I had it pretty easy.<br /><br />Richard-- I don't even remember my mom tipping grocery boys. Come to think of it I don't recall grocery boys helping to bring out the groceries that much. Then again I probably wasn't paying much attention.<br /><br />Le0 -- Do they still make RC cola? I used to love it, but my parents would rarely buy that brand.<br /><br />Dee-- I think in the 50's parents were trying to give their kids what they themselves were deprived of when they were young.<br /><br />Larry-- I remember those "cheap" books--I still have a lot of the ones I bought back then. When I was in college the textbooks were usually less than $20 and even less when bought used. Now textbooks can run over $100 each.<br /><br />FAE-- You and I were probably living under similar circumstances. We lived modestly yet often I felt like we had a life of great abundance and for the most part we did even though it wasn't a lot of material goods.<br />But we had plenty of stuff too.<br /><br />Lee<br />Arlee Birdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11663942782929929334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5889973587380183147.post-34364272096015201262014-09-06T15:31:16.786-07:002014-09-06T15:31:16.786-07:00Funny I don't remember getting an allowance. I...Funny I don't remember getting an allowance. I was expected to do chores, and I really didn't want for much, but I can't recall getting a specific amount each week.<br /><br />I do remember thinking that my parents had all the money in the world, and also thinking my mother was fibbing when she told me I couldn't have something because she couldn't afford it. As an adult I realized my parents never did have a lot if money, let alone 'all the money in the world', I also realized that bring 'rich' was more about attitude than actual wealth. As a child I never felt poor, or deprived.farawayeyeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17578277501054242356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5889973587380183147.post-15894824117803491342014-09-06T11:16:24.520-07:002014-09-06T11:16:24.520-07:00Lee-
My allowance was also a quarter, although by...Lee-<br /><br />My allowance was also a quarter, although by the time I was ten I had a paper route and the free ride stopped.<br /><br />I still remember saving up that allowance for a couple of months to buy my first record, "Diana Ross Presents The Jackson Five."<br /><br />And that's when the habit started...<br /><br />It still amazes me that with all the inflation since then, albums (well CD's or downloads) are actually a pretty good value.<br /><br />They were four or five bucks back in 1970, and they're nine or ten bucks today.<br /><br />Compare that to concert tickets-I paid $10 to see Bruce Springsteen in 1975 and he was charging $150 last year.<br /><br />Artists may have a point about not getting their due on album sales. <br /><br />If you look at books over the same period, a paperback was less than a dollar in 1970 and is now often $10.<br /><br />I wonder how much of that increase goes to the author?<br /><br />LC<br />DiscConnectedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07013919800637508392noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5889973587380183147.post-51915390495309740572014-09-06T10:52:55.443-07:002014-09-06T10:52:55.443-07:00Dear Lee, I didn't get an allowance as a child...Dear Lee, I didn't get an allowance as a child. It was during the '40s and we didn't have much money at all. I earned money each summer and fall by selling fruit and produce at a stand we had. Mom let me keep part of what I made. However, I was very aware that my grandmother was sending us out "Care packages" so usually I'd give my money back to my mom to spend as she needed. Peace.Deehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00612299013780771262noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5889973587380183147.post-90111828576697447982014-09-06T09:15:25.933-07:002014-09-06T09:15:25.933-07:00A quarter. Of course, my favorite afterschool snac...A quarter. Of course, my favorite afterschool snack, a Snickers bar and an RC Cola, cost 35 cents (in 7th grade).le0pard13https://www.blogger.com/profile/09421175808461787862noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5889973587380183147.post-37576285119029681432014-09-06T07:14:06.081-07:002014-09-06T07:14:06.081-07:00I remember when a 10-cent tip for a grocery boy wa...I remember when a 10-cent tip for a grocery boy was quite generous.<br /><br />The first thing I did with my allowance when I was an adolescent was ride my bike to the neighborhood store and buy a candy bar. I enjoyed a Baby Ruth with a glass of milk.writing and living by Richard P Hugheshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03814139767151989286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5889973587380183147.post-6979827297636737222014-09-06T05:02:34.926-07:002014-09-06T05:02:34.926-07:00Back when I was a kid almost all my allowance had ...Back when I was a kid almost all my allowance had to go into my Christmas club account b/c I had so many relatives to buy for. I spent very little on myself b/c I was budgeting all year for the holidays. I think my allowance started off as a dollar for chores which was increased quite a bit as I took on more and more responsibilities like mowing & raking the lawn, weeding/weed wacking, helping my dad paint, cleaning the entire house top to bottom each week. I lived in a rural part of town so before I got my license, I couldn't get a paying job so I worked for my parents.JoJohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18165375435543044068noreply@blogger.com