By far one of my favorite finds yet! And totally getting framed on my wall! too, haha… Look how OLD that bad boy is! Rainbows and pills?? It’s like an internet meme from 40 years ago ;) And what’s even funnier are all the ADS that are littered across the magazine – I’ve never seen so many car and liquor promotions in my life, haha… (I scanned some of them in for you below, you’re welcome).
What’s also interesting – yet not that surprising – is how similar the topics discussed back then are still just as relevant in today’s world for the most part. Not much has changed with the basics of money over the past 40 years, and I reckon it won’t in the next 40 either – besides new laws and investment vehicles, etc etc.
Here were all the columns of this premiere edition:
- Shopping Center — Tips on shopping and what to buy that month…
- Washington Memo — How our government is affecting our money…
- The Angry Consumer — Pretty self-explanatory ;)
- Early Warning — Things to be aware of in the future…
- One Family’s Finances — Sneak peaks into other people’s personal finances – my favorite part of all these magazines! ;) And one of the main reasons I continue to share our net worth every month too – we all love comparing ourselves to others.
- On The Job — Career and benefits stuff…
- Money Matters — People writing in with their questions…
- Reviewing Stand — Book reviews associated with money…
- Wall Street & Beyond — Investment stuff…
And here are some of those ads I mentioned earlier – 3 out of the 54 of them (no joke, I counted. And only 22 of those having anything to do with finance ;)):
Then of course we have all the actual *articles* that were featured back then too. Check out how similar a lot of these are! Except for maybe that “wife going back to work” one, which has fortunately changed quite a bit since then. (Also, take note of that net worth link down there – it pops you up to their worksheet the inserted in the mag!):
- “Daylight on Prescription Prices” — Secrecy about costs lead many patients to pay more for medicines than they need to. But you can part the veil.
- “Inside the Property Syndicates:” — Real estate limited partnerships have made many investors an offer they can’t refuse: cash profits plus tax losses. But not everybody wins.
- “The Half-a-Loaf Life of the Working Wife” — Child care, discriminatory wages and hidden expenses can devour 70% of a woman’s contribution to family income. So why work?
- “How Much Can You Borrow?” — A nationwide tour of the outer limits suggests that if pressed, you could probably raise more than you think.
- “Car Insurance: Enough is Enough” — Though no on should leave the garage without adequate coverage, the penalty for careless buying can be stiff.
- “Quick, What Are You Worth?” — [A net worth worksheet to chart your progress so far: your assets minus liabilities]
- “The High Road to Nice” — Seven days among the shrines and wines of provincial France can still be contentment itself. But keeping to even a generous budget – $500 for two – is no picnic.
- “How the Chairman of Merrill Lynch Invests” — Donald T. Regan has minimalized brokerage fees on his own multimillion-dollar portfolio mostly by buying and holding shares in a single good company – his own.
Neat stuff, huh? I feel like the tone and word usage is a bit more casual these days than it was back then too, which is definitely better for people like me who has quite the magazine addiction and/or A.D.D. ;) I’ll be excited if they make it another 40 years too! Can you imagine the world without printed paper anymore? Bleh. Take note, Money Magazine, take note…
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PS: Looking for a new family car? Hurry up and get your ’73 Ford Country Squire! These new “hatchbacks” are all the rage – watch out! ;)
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Definitely a great find. I currently subscribe and I’d say they got a bit better at putting their magazine together over the years. I like the paragraph symbols on the cover. Very classy :). That magazine definitely pre dates me though.
As a former Money employee, this made me smile from ear to ear. I was working there while they were going through (one of many) a redesign and the original issue was just about everywhere to make sure that they were still keeping within the brand concepts, while at the same time, being ahead of the trend.
Favorite headline from your list: Half a Loaf of Working Life – an interesting look back at how women were viewed in the marketplace going from “why work” to where we are today. It’s great to see how far Money has come, and how much advice they’ve provided over the years (and I agree, will hopefully continue over the next 40).
What a great find! Wonder if the article “How Much Can You Borrow” is foreshadowing of our most recent economy problem! Planted a few too many seeds in someone’s mind! :)
WOW, this is a great cover! Prescription drugs and healthcare are still in the main light. Muy interesante! Gotta love archival research!
@Lance@MoneyLife&More – Haha, yeah – lots has changed over the past 40 years! :) Big fan of their magazine myself, and I read every single issue.
@Melissa – COOL!!! I didn’t know you used to work there, that’s awesome :) I bet it’s a killer place to work… if I were to ever go back into the work force, they’d be on my list to ping :)
@Andrea – Right? Pretty crazy to look back and think about the stuff that people had nooooo idea was coming down the pike… we always gotta be on our toes! :)
@JMoney – It was a great a place to work – super intense/cut-throat and full of brilliantly smart people. The knowledge dripping from the writers is amazing – I tried to learn through osmosis as much as possible. ;)
“When it comes to wagons, nobody swings like ford!” Nice ad!
This is awesome! You’re right about the fact that personal finance fundamentals doesn’t change.
@Melissa – Haha, I bet :) Not many people can say they’ve worked there before!
@Brian D. – Isn’t that funny? There were a ton of other great ads in there too, but would have taken me forever to post ’em all up :) Blasts from the past, for sure.
@Romeo – Yeah! 40 years and we’re still talking about pretty much the same thing. Kinda like that book – The Richest Man in Babylon too, you ever read it? Love this old stuff :)
Love the idea of hanging it as wall art.
On the hunt for a good frame now :)
I’m amused by the phrase “working wife.” These days it’s morphed into “working mom,” but I guess 40 years ago, balancing work with being a wife was the topic of discussion …
Definitely interesting indeed :)