The Secret Of Wealth
132 total pages.
True economy is the wise handling of not only our money but our things. Taking care of what we have after we have bought it constitutes economy. In many households food is wasted, furniture is abused, clothing is improperly cared for, the house itself is needlessly battered up, the recently decorated walls are marred and soiled, the piano is neglected, the victrola is played with by the children, the kitchen utensils are burned, the dishes are cracked and chipped, clothing not in use hangs on pegs instead of hangers, surplus bedding is dumped in the corner of a closet, garden tools are caked with mud, the new automobile goes unwashed and is allowed to rust--these things are the reverse of economy. They represent the most woeful waste and yet in America they are the rule rather than the exception. The people of America are wealthier on the average than the people of any other nation, largely because America is a Country of such wonderful and almost inexhaustible natural resources. Half of the Americans would die of starvation in any Asiatic country and in almost any European country. As a people and as individuals, we might be much richer and we can be much richer if we will use more wisdom in the care of the things we have and in the spending of our money. Instead of trying to learn to hate the people who are wealthy, we should try to find out how they became wealthy. Only a handful of the rich people received their wealth through legacies-- only another handful made their money through a lucky turn--still another handful acquired their money through great business sagacity, but the rank and file of the rich--and the number of wealthy people in America is enormousthe great majority of these accumulated their money through wise spending and through taking care of the things they possess. The secret of wealth is buying once for all. When we buy, we should buy a thing which will last; buy something good even though it costs considerably more than a similar article which is perishable. Real economy consists of building a house that will last for generations, buying furniture that will last a lifetime, selecting clothing that is good for more than a fleeting season, choosing carpets that can be used by our children's children and then, having bought these good things, economy demands that we take care of them.
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The Secret Of Wealth