Things I Wish I Had Said

Every one of us has had that "Aha!" moment when we read some pithy phrase that resonated. So pure, so right and, "Why didn't I think of that first?"

Fortunately, we have a plethora to choose from regarding financial affairs that may shed a ray of light into some heretofore gloomy corner we either did not want to venture into, or equally bad, didn't know existed.

And Lord knows, help is where you find it. To wit:

- Prediction is very difficult, particularly about the future. - Niels Bohr

- Pessimists are rarely disappointed. - Anonymous

And it usually isn't just because things may go badly...

- I'm proud to be paying taxes. The thing is that I'd be just as proud if I paid half as much. - Arthur Godfrey

On a related note, Anonymous once said, "I'm against taxation without representation, but then again, I am against taxation with representation."

- Everything should be as simple as possible, but not simpler than that. - Albert Einstein

Hmmm...

The world's death rate is holding steady at 100%. It needed to be said and we should keep it in mind while we do our financial planning. Shrouds don't have pockets, which probably helped rationalize that new car I just bought...

- And, it is better to live rich than die rich. - Samuel Johnson

- It is part of the cure to wish to be cured. - Seneca

True in finance as well as in medicine.

- A man in good health is always full of advice to the sick. - Menander

And the corollary, the rich always tell the poor how to conduct their affairs.

- Money is a terrible master, but a wonderful servant. - Barnum

Oh, Jeeves...?

- And, the most popular labor saving device is money. - Phyllis George(!)

- If you want to preserve your money, put your eggs in many baskets; if you want to make money, put your eggs in one basket, and watch the basket. - Carnegie

Something about breaking eggs to make an omelet comes to mind as well...

- Money answereth all things. - Ecclesiastes 10:19

Amen.

- He who maketh money pleaseth God. - Muhammed

Ditto.

- But, a man's true wealth is the good he does in the world. - Muhammed

- Money doesn't change men, it merely unmasks them. - Henry Ford

- Never say that you know a man until you have divided an inheritance with him. - Lavater

I know some of you are nodding sadly...

- Where a man spends his money shows where his heart is. - Keigwin

That hurts, so it must be true...

- Live within your means, even if you have to borrow to do it. - Ward

Double ouch....

- The great rule is not to talk about money with people who have much more, or much less, than you do. - Whitehorn

Unless you want to make all concerned really, really uncomfortable...

- I don't like money actually, but it quiets my nerves. - Joe Louis

- Every dollar is secured primarily by the universal demand for it. - Hightower

And thank goodness for the USA's sake.

And the people's favorite: Rich or poor, it's nice to have money...