Here’s another classic personal finance and success book that still has relevance today. The prose might be different than we’re used to today, but the advice remains the same. These excerpts are from just the last chapter of How to Get on in the World, or, a Ladder to Practical Success where Major A. R. Calhoun relates a tale of an old timer haranguing folks at an auction with sensible financial advice.
Small expenses add up:
You may think, perhaps, that a little tea, or a little punch, now and then, diet a little more costly, clothes a little finer, and a little entertainment now and then, can be no great matter; but remember- Many a little makes a nickel. Beware of little expenses–A small leak will sink a great ship, as poor Richard says.
Calhoun advises against “good deals” on goods that will never be used. He also differentiates between necessities and “conveniences” such as fine clothes and warns against the slippery slope of spending more than you earn. He advises avoiding buying from the beginning rather than curbing your spending because:
When you have bought one fine thing, you must buy ten more, that your appearance may be all of a
piece; but poor Dick says, It is easier to suppress the first desire, than to satisfy all that follow it.
Don’t buy that BMW if you can’t afford it:
And it is as truly folly for the poor to ape the rich, as for the frog to swell in order to equal the ox…And, after all, of what use is this pride of appearance, for which so much is risked, so much is suffered? It cannot promote health, nor ease pain; it makes no increase of merit in the person; it creates envy; it hastens misfortune.
Don’t go into debt for stupid stuff!:
But what madness must it be to run in debt for these superfluities! We are offered, by the terms of this sale, six months credit; and that, perhaps, has induced some of us to attend it, because we cannot spare the ready money, and hope now to be fine without it. But, ah! think what you do when you run in debt; you give to another power over your liberty.
But some people will only learn their lessons in the school of hard knocks:
“‘And now, to conclude–Experience keeps a dear school, but fools will learn in no other, as poor Richard says, and scarce in that; for, it is true, We may give advice, but we cannot give conduct. However, remember this–They that will not be counseled, cannot be helped; and further, that, If you will not hear Reason, she will surely rap your knuckles, as poor Richard says.’
“Thus the old gentleman ended his harangue. The people heard it and approved the doctrine; and
immediately practiced the contrary, just as if it had been a common sermon, for the auctioneer opened, and they began to buy extravagantly.
Calhoun is a treasure trove of timeless advice on ethical approaches to personal and financial success.
To purchase How to Get on in the World, or, a Ladder to Practical Success, click on the gold cover for a print version, the green cover for a formatted PDF ebook, or find free unformatted ASCII or html versions here.
