CHAPTER V. THREE WAYS OF USING MONEY. THESE three ways are spending, saving, and giving. We cannot do better than give you three Latin sentences which convey the moral underlying these methods: Quod expendi, habui. What I spent, I had. It is a good thing to drink in the spirit of these sentences at the outset of life. They do not contain a whole truth, but they convey a very lofty one. He who takes home their warnings and encouragements could never become a mere moneygrubber. Money is but an instrument for man's use; and he has surely found out the best means of employing it, who obtains or circulates the greatest amount of happiness through its agency. The givers of society are often regarded as a set of harmless fanatics; but they often show far more solid sense than the spenders, and certainly far more than the spendthrifts of society. Money is the symbol of wealth. We are not speaking in this chapter of mere coin; we are referring to that of which it is the recognized standard. Your labour fetches so much in the market. You are paid in cash; but you may also be paid in influence and in power. Milton only received £10 for "Paradise Lost;" " * yet his labour was well expended, and in the end was well rewarded. You will make a great mistake if you value everything in life by a money standard; and our views of the worth of life's achievements will affect the way in which we use money. The weathercock shows which way the wind is blowing; and so a man's method of employing his wealth will reveal his mind and purpose. Very much domestic happiness depends upon the art of buying. I am writing for people with limited incomes, not for those of boundless wealth: for the many, not for the few. To these, then, I say that the following rules will, if acted upon, be of immense service to you :— * Milton received £5 down, and was to receive three subsequent instalments of £5 each after the sale of three editions. Milton received £10, and his widow received £8 in the year 1680, in discharge of all claims.-Masson's "Life of Milton," vol. vi. pp. 509, 780. 1. Always buy for cash. 2. Always spend less than you receive. 3. Always buy the best in quality, or as good as you can afford. 4. Always keep an account of your expenses. Perhaps the first of these rules is the most important; for, in a large measure, it covers all the others. If you buy for cash you will be forced to keep within the limits of your income. A few weeks of self-denial will enable you to get cash in hand, instead of being always indebted to your future earnings. The coat will wear a little longer; the dress need not be laid aside for a few weeks. It is astonishing how soon you will get accustomed to say contentedly, "I can't afford it." Payment down, means a free mind, lower prices, an independent spirit, and, above all, honesty. In nothing will the co-operation of man and wife be needed more than in this. If the wife is to be kept without a new dress, the man must do without a new suit. Mutual sacrifices will provoke many a merry laugh; and care will be kept at arm's length so long as the dangerous art is not learned of "running up bills." I need not say that husband and wife should have no secrets from one another. There must be no unpaid accounts of which the one does not speak to the other. This is a wretched state of things. But, apart from this, my point is that, both before and after marriage, neither young man nor young woman should run into debt. There are many tradesmen and money-lenders who would be only too glad to get you into their meshes. Never enter a shop without having the money for your purchase in your pocket. The most depressing things to people of small means are "doctors' bills." It is not that the money is grudged. Far from it. There are few workers whose art is more highly appreciated by all classes than those who attend our sick friends. But they are called in on emergencies, and their fees accumulate till they seem exceedingly large. Here again, I say, the best plan is to pay cash. But the doctor would be offended! Try him. Tell him that you hate doctors' bills, but that you are only too glad to pay him his charges, and, if he is a sensible man, he will tell you what to give him at every visit or so. If he is not sensible, why ask him to attend you? You mean to pay him, you prefer to pay cash; and in nine cases out of ten he would prefer to receive cash. If you prefer to pay these and ́other matters in a lump sum, see that you have a margin to fall back upon. Do not live too near your income. Pay your savings bank the cash, and take it out when required. You will escape |