From 1880-1929, wealthy New Yorkers benefiting from the Industrial Revolution spent their fortunes building lavish summer mansions in Newport with seemingly unlimited budgets. 

Budget. The word budget comes from the Old French word bouge, meaning pouch or small bag with its contents. Long before the days of credit cards, my grandfather used to keep household money organized in a hidden pouch ...

My grandfather brought home his weekly pay and divided the money into small envelopes he kept in the pouch. One envelope for the heating bill, one for mortgage payments, one for groceries, one for vacation savings, and so on. He accounted for every penny and every penny counted. He bought neither anything extravagant nor anything he could not pay for with cash. The mortgage was the only debt he carried. That was how most families managed their money in the 1930's and earlier...

Historic perspective continued... http://netwalkri.com/CLIFF_WALK.html