Long Term Investment: From the age of 17, Benjamin Franklin began to forge his path to success as a journalist, author, inventor, diplomat, and statesman. But his great success comes from knowing the virtues of frugality and industry, and his life offers us many personal finance lessons that apply to modern men.
That is why here we bring you the timeless wisdom of good Ben for you to apply in your life.
1. Understand the true value of things
Franklin learned one of his first and most important personal finance classes as a child. When he was seven years old he saw another boy blowing a whistle and was so enchanted by the sound of it that he offered the boy all the money he had in his pockets for his whistle. The boy eagerly accepted the deal. Little Franklin was delighted with his new possession and he blew the whistle happily throughout the house. But his satisfaction was cut short when his brothers and sisters found out how much he had paid for the whistle, and informed him that he had paid more than four times the amount of money it was actually worth. “The reflection gave me more disgust than the pleasure the whistle had given me.”
“This, however, was after use to me, the impression continues on my mind; so that often, when I am tempted to buy something unnecessary, I say to myself: Don’t give too much for a whistle; and saved my money.
“When I grew up, I came into the world and I observed the actions of men, I thought and I met with many, many, who gave too much for a whistle. When I saw an overambitious one in judicial disgrace, sacrificing his time, his rest, his freedom, his virtue, and perhaps, his friends, to achieve it, I have said to myself: ‘This man gives too much. For his whistle’.
“In short, I conceive that a large part of the miseries of humanity comes from the false estimates they have made of the value of things, and from giving too much for their whistles.”
– Fragment of a letter from Benjamin Franklin to Madame Brillon, 1779
2. Be self-sufficient
Franklin’s father originally wanted him in the ministry, but then decided that the boy should follow in his own footsteps and become a candlemaker. But Franklin did not like the trade, and his father, worried that he would drift, took him around to watch the craftsmen at work, hoping this would pique interest. of the young man Although Franklin did not become a mason or a carpenter, this experience inspired a spirit of self-sufficiency in him.
His penchant for self-sufficiency also led him to learn to make his own meals (using the money saved on shipping costs to buy more books), and perhaps more importantly, it helped launch his career as a printer. At the time there was no foundry in the United States that did type conversion, which was crucial to the printing trade. So instead of buying the equipment in England and waiting for it to arrive, Franklin initially built his own printing press, becoming the first person in America to do so, and also made his own woodcuts, printing ink, vignettes on etched copper, and press plate.
Franklin believed that learning to be self-reliant not only saves money, but also leads to greater happiness:
“Human happiness is not so much the product of big pieces of good fortune that rarely happen, but of little things that happen every day. Therefore, if a poor young man is taught to shave, and to have his own razor for this purpose, he may contribute more to his happiness than he does by giving away a thousand guineas (gold coins). Delivering the coins may soon pass, and the regret of having foolishly spent them will come; but in the other case, he escapes the frequent vexation of waiting for barbers, and their sometimes dirty fingers, offensive comments, and dull razors; he shaves when it is most convenient for him and enjoys every day the pleasure of doing it with a good instrument”.
3. Invest in yourself
“Since my childhood, I was passionate about reading, and all the money that came into my hands was used to buy books. This library gave me the means of improvement, by constant study, whereby I set aside an hour or two each day, to repair in some degree the loss of education which my father once directed at me. Reading was the only diversion I allowed myself. I did not spend time in taverns, games, or mischief of any kind; and the industry in my business continued tirelessly, as was necessary.”
If you want to have more time and money in the long term, in the short term you need to invest some of your money, and a large amount of your time, in yourself, instead of wasting these valuable resources on passing pleasures, investing in things that harm your health, your relationships, your education, and your career, and thus you will reap rich dividends in the future.
Franklin invested in himself by becoming a voracious reader; all his money and spare time went to accumulating as much knowledge about the world as possible, by wisely managing his expenditures in these vital departments of life, Franklin created a future for himself in which it was possible for a man who had only a few years of formal education he was able to become a world-renowned writer, scientist, and diplomat.
4. Surround yourself with friends who share your values
As for me, I immediately went to work at Palmer, a famous printing house in Bartholomew’s Close, where I stayed for about a year. I was very diligent, but I spent a good deal of my income on plays and public entertainment with Ralph. We had almost used up all my winnings and now we were just rubbing our hands over our mouths. He seemed to have forgotten his wife and son, and I gradually forgot my engagement to Miss Read, to whom I never wrote more than one letter, and it was to let her know that she was not likely to return anytime soon. This was another of the great errata of my life, which I would correct if I had to live again. In fact, due to our expenses, I am unable to pay my ticket.”
Benjamin Franklin, in his autobiography
After this experience, Franklin was much more cautious about the people he associated with and dedicated his life to finding men and women who shared his high values and forming mutual self-improvement groups, such as Together. , where he and his friends could challenge each other through brainstorming, and help lift each other’s hearts and minds.
5. Don’t compromise your integrity for money
Benjamin Franklin had great ambitions to grow in the world, but he wasn’t about to compromise his integrity to do it. For Franklin, the key to being able to choose his principles over vile metal was not to be a slave to luxury, because that makes one willing to do anything to maintain that lifestyle.
“I have carefully read your text and found it libelous and defamatory. To determine whether I should publish it or not, I went home in the afternoon, bought two penny loaves at the bakery, and with water from the pump made my supper; then I wrapped myself in my coat and lay down on the floor, and slept until morning. With the other bread and a jug of water, I made my breakfast. From this regimen, I feel no discomfort. I found that I can live this way; I have formed a determination not to prostitute my press with the effects of corruption and abuse for the sake of achieving a more comfortable livelihood.
– Franklin’s response to a person who wanted to publish in his gazette, in 1874
6. Being steadfastly diligent is the path to riches.
“I apply myself diligently to whatever business I take in hand, and do not divert my mind from my business by any foolish project that is sure to make me rich; for industry, patience is the surest means of abundance.”
So he encouraged others to realize their ambitions as he had done, with patience, constant efforts, and paid no attention to the different “get rich quick” schemes that were offered to him every day.
7. Time is money
“Time is money”, we constantly hear, and it was precisely Franklin who was the first to use this phrase, which he carried into daily life:
“What price is that book? At last, he was asked by a man who had been wasting his time for an hour in front of Benjamin Franklin’s newsstand. ‘One dollar,’ replied the secretary. ‘One dollar,’ the prospective client echoed; ‘Can’t you give me a lower price than that?’ ‘A dollar is a price,’ was the reply.
The would-be buyer looked over the books for sale, then asked, ‘Is Mr. Franklin there?’ ‘Yes,’ said the secretary, ‘he is very busy in the press.’ ‘Well, I want to see it,’ insisted the man. The owner was called, and the stranger asked, “What is the lowest price, Mr. Franklin, that you can give me for that book?” ‘A dollar and a quarter,’ was the immediate retort. ‘A dollar and a quarter! Why, if the secretary told me only one dollar a moment ago?’ ‘It’s true,’ said Franklin, ‘and it might have been better to pay a dollar than make me quit my job.’
“The man seemed surprised, but, wanting to put an end to the talk, and for his own benefit, he demanded, ‘Well, come on, tell me the lowest price for this book.’ ‘A dollar and a half,’ replied Franklin. ‘A dollar and a half!’ Why, if he just offered it to me for a dollar and a quarter?’ ‘Yes,’ said Franklin coolly, ‘and you could have taken that price because now it’s worth a dollar and a half.’
“The man silently put the money on the counter, took his book, and left the shop, having received a salutary lesson from a master in the art of transmuting time, at will, either into wealth or wisdom. ”.
Orison Swett Marden, in his 1911 book Push to the Front
8. The accumulation of money is a means to an end
“The feelings of the general weakness of humanity, in the endless search for wealth, are expressed in a way that gives me much pleasure in reading. He is extremely fair; at least, they are perfectly adequate for me. But the citizens of London, they say, have the ambition of what they call, ‘deserving a great deal to die’: The very notion seems to me somewhat absurd; and the same thing seems to me if a man has debts for a thousand superfluous things, until the end when he owes them all and is imprisoned by his creditors. It could be said that he ‘broke by a large amount’. I imagine that what we have above what we can use is not properly ours, although the rich men, who are also going to die, are no more worthy than the debtor who must pay.
Franklin’s letter to William Strahan, in 1750
For Franklin, the goal of obtaining wealth and developing virtue was not to live a life of luxury (although he enjoyed various comforts of his own making), nor to be a moral prude, but to develop into the kind of man who had the character, the wisdom, and the time to become an upright, involved citizen, capable of serving others and one’s country, which, Franklin also believed, was the best way to serve God.
Benjamin Franklin, who at the age of forty wrote to his mother, told her that after her death, “I would rather be called ‘I lived usefully’ than ‘died rich.’”
