Thread by @1DeepNote

8 Personal Finance Lessons from Benjamin Franklin

=Thread

1. 1. Understand the True Value of Things

In short, I conceive that great part of the miseries of mankind are brought upon them by the false estimates they have made of the value of things, and by their giving too much for their whistles.

2. Be Self-Sufficient

Franklin’s penchant for self-reliance also led him to learn how to make his own meals (using the money saved on boarding costs to buy more books), and perhaps most importantly, it helped propel his career as a printer.

At the time, there was no foundry in America that made casting type, which was crucial for the printer’s trade.

So instead of purchasing the equipment from England and waiting for it to arrive, Franklin initially crafted his own type.

3. Invest in Yourself

If you want to have more time and money in the long-term, then in the short-term you need to invest some of your money, and a lot of your time, in yourself

Franklin invested in himself by becoming a voracious reader; all of his spare money and 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 where it was possible for a man who had only a few years of formal education to become a world-renowned writer, scientist, and diplomat.

4. Franklin was much more judicious about whom he associated with,

and spent his life seeking out those who shared his high values and forming mutual self-improvement groups which could challenge each other’s ideas and help elevate each other’s hearts and minds.

5. While Benjamin Franklin had great ambitions to rise in the world, he was unwilling to compromise his integrity in order to do so.

For Franklin, the key to being able to choose principles over filthy lucre was to not end up so enslaved to luxury that you become willing to do anything to maintain your lifestyle.

6. Franklin’s was not an overnight success story;

it took him a decade to move from runaway, to apprentice in many printing shops and houses both Stateside and in London, to opening his own shop, and turning it into a profitable business.

During that time he lived a spartan lifestyle and was far more industrious than any of his competitors.

Thus he encouraged others to realize their ambitions as he had, with patient, steady efforts.

7. It was Franklin who first promulgated this famous phrase.

Yet Franklin understood that wisely using one’s time was essential to building one’s wealth, and that the more wealth you acquired, the more of your passions you would be free to pursue.

By hustling his colonial butt off, Franklin was able to retire from the printing business at age 42, leaving the next half of his life open for doing whatever he wished.

8. For Franklin the whole point of gaining wealth and developing virtue was not to live a life of luxury nor to become a moral prude.

But to allow oneself to grow into the kind of man who had the character, wisdom, and time to become an involved and upright citizen and able to serve others.

4 Books That Every Entrepreneur Should Read:

1. The Art of War, by Sun Tzu
2. Meditations, by Marcus Aurelius
3. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
4. The Art of public speaking, by Dale Carnegie

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