Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, January 24, 1993 TAG: 9301260268
SECTION: ECONOMY PAGE: EC-9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SANDRA BROWN KELLY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
CASHIER LEARNS ECONOMICS LESSON
Angie Ward's first paycheck from Food Lion, for her training time, was $30 or $40.She used some of the money to pay for gas, and then she "went out and bought clothes."
However, blowing away a paycheck is not the usual practice for the Staunton River High School senior.
Ward, 17, saves at least $20 a week to spend on the senior trip to Myrtle Beach, S.C. She needs another $12 to $15 a week to feed her 1987 Toyota Tercel on trips from her Stewartsville home to school or to work near Vinton.
"And I always put a little money aside to go out," she said.
Ward has been a cashier at the Food Lion store on Virginia 24 for almost six months.
Her best friend works at another Food Lion supermarket.
She said they talk a lot about money, especially "when we're low on it.
"We both get paid at the same time so we are drained at the same time," she said.
Nights out for the girls often mean taking in a 99-cent movie.
Ward is president of the Future Business Leaders of America chapter at her school and a regional officer for the club. Her family owns Ward's TV & Appliance Center in Roanoke and Vinton, and she is considering studying business in college.
But even if she didn't already have a good sense of how the economy works, the last few weeks would have taught her.
In early November, a network television show alleged that some Food Lion stores had unsanitary practices, most related to processing of meat and seafood. In the four weeks after the show, the North Carolina chain saw sales drop by about $50 million.
Ward lost work hours because the store had fewer customers.
Things at Food Lion are returning to normal, according to the company, but Ward's experience of seeing her income fluctuate didn't go unnoticed.
Ward honed her business skills for years before being employed by a business. She baby-sat with a neighbor's children after school and during the summer, and volunteered at Community Hospital of Roanoke Valley for a year.
Operating the cash register in the hospital gift shop was good preparation for the grocery store checkout job, she said.
Since she went to work at Food Lion, Ward has tried to avoid asking her parents for money.
"I don't like them helping me out," she said. "It's part of being independent. Sometimes I'll pick up groceries. If I need shampoo or hair spray, I'll go buy it myself," she said.
She said she is glad she doesn't have monthly car payments like many of her classmates.
She likes to work on Sundays because the hourly wage rate is higher that day. When she no longer had time to use her membership at Lancerlot Family Fitness Club, she saved money by canceling it.
And when she knows an item is less expensive at one place than another, she'll go for the cheaper price.
"But I won't drive across town, and if I see something I really want, I will buy it without worrying about saving money on it."
She gave up a $10-a-month allowance when she took the Food Lion job, but, she said, she knows her parents are there for support if she needs them.
"I don't look forward to being on my own," she said.
Ward said "it's scary" seeing people come out of college and not be able to find jobs as has happened with some of her older friends.
After graduation, Ward expects to take classes at Virginia Western Community College for a year - "I wasn't ready to make that four-year university decision quite yet" - while continuing her job at Food Lion. Eventually she would like to attend Roanoke College.
Ward said she has confidence that she will find her place in the work force.
"I think I can always find a job. I just want to be happy and work with the public," she said.