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Women as spenders of family incomes are faced with problems as serious as those of the men producing those  incomes. Women should give serious constructive thought to the possibilities of consumers’ organizations and cooperative buying societies. Furniture, in particular, is unnecessarily costly; therefore investigation of mass production and profit control should be encouraged.
Buying furniture is a very important investment for most families. In many cases it not only exhausts the family savings, but, if the furniture is bought on the deferred- payment plan, it also mortgages future income. If wisely used, the installment plan can be a service, but it is dangerous for the unwary. A family should expend only half of one year’s income for furnishings, or about one- fourth of the value of a house.
The needs, activities, objectives, and social status of families, as well as their financial situations, modify the amounts to be invested in home furnishings. The ownership of a house justifies a larger investment than tenancy. The family that is likely to move far or often would naturally buy inexpensive things that can be disposed of readily. A family with small children may not care to buy permanent furniture until later.
Any plan of procedure should take into account the fact that discrimination develops, and the untrained person is likely to buy things she will not want later. Neither should one disregard the fact that decoration is far from static, and that inventions of materials, like plastics, may produce furniture more desirable than any the world has known.
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