Economies of the Household

Financial Management

Running a household involved more than just cooking and cleaning, and most  Canadian women were required to keep household accounts.  All purchases were on credit, obtained from the local businesses, so it was important to keep accurate records. However, managing a family's finances, was more than just record-keeping, and also involved pinching pennies and cutting corners where possible.

When Egerton Ryerson wrote First Lessons in Agriculture, in 1870; he included a chapter on Economy of the Household, where he states that:  "The economy of the household is not less important than the economy of the farm, for if there is no thrifty and judicious management of matters within the house, it will avail little for the success and profit of any farming enterprise...The farmer's wife is not less essential  to successful farming than her husband." Of course, household economy was not restricted  to farmer's wives; but most women could make almost anything herself and rarely threw anything away.

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