From Rude Rural Rhymes by Bob Adams, New York: The Macmillan Company; 1925; pp. 93-94.
THE HOUSEHOLD BUDGET
Before he traveled far in life
Jim Henry Smith annexed a wife;
Then staightway loosened up his collar
Prepared to chase the nimble dollar.
But all he earned his bride would spend;
Her wants and needs seemed without end.
A nickel for a spool of thread
And ten cents for a thimble
And other things of higher price
From Isenstein or Gimbel.
In shopping trips she found delight.
She searched Jim’s trousers every night.
There came a daughter, then a son,
And they were dear more ways than one.
For though he loved them bona fide,
It cost to feed and clothe and didy.
Smith’s credit smashed to smithereens;
He had no jitneys in his jeans.
Then wiser grown, Jim Henry’s spouse
Drew up a budget for her house,
Assigned her dollars, dimes and cents
[94]
To balance income with expense,
A lot for food, a bit for frills
For movies, church, and pale pink pills.
So now she knows just where she’s at,
And Jim is no more busted flat.
He walks the street in manly pride
Nor looks for duns from side to side.
He pays each month the merchant’s tallies
And is not dodging through the alleys.