Mr. Micawber is my financial guru

[nun]

"Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery."

I heard a piece on NPR this morning about the early 19thC financial crises that influenced Dickens and I was reminded what a strong impression the comically tragic Mr. Micawber in David Copperfield made on me as a small boy. I read the book in school and deciding that debt was something to be avoided in almost all circumstances. Now 35 years after my only debt is a 4.5% fixed mortgage that will be paid off in 5 years time. So I must thank Dickens and Mr. Micawber and point out that novels are not just entertainment, but many contain useful lessons. Now, as I'm a single man "I must be in search of a wife" so I'll go and re-read "Pride and Prejudice" and see if I can learn something else that will be useful.

 

[Culture]

"Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery."

I recently re-read David Copperfield as an adult, and this quote definitely stuck out in the book. There is nothing new under the sun.

To bad that 90% of America today does not understand this simple homily that the world understood well 150 years ago.

 

[d]

has been one of my favourite lines for many years

 

[tightasadrum]

" Now, as I'm a single man "I must be in search of a wife" so I'll go and re-read "Pride and Prejudice" and see if I can learn something else that will be useful.

Choose very, very carefully. A spouse is undoubtedly the single most important factor influencing debt.

 

[harley]

I actually got my first serious financial advice from a Gilligan's Island episode when the castaways were putting on a musical version of Hamlet (I forget why). They used the music from Carmen, which Mr. Howell had on LP (played on the old palm tree turntable). The skipper was Polonius, and he sang "Neither a borrower nor a lender be. Do not forget, stay out of debt. Think twice, and take this good advice from me, Guard that old solvency." It made me crack up, but I've never forgotten the advice either. And it made much more of an impact than studying it in school ever did.

 

[CuppaJoe]

"Barkis is willing." i'll put an APB out on Peggotty.

 

[nun]

"Barkis is willing." i'll put an APB out on Peggotty.

This is intended as romantic advice, right, not financial, although I try to stash cash like Barkis. Dickens always struck me as one of the least romantic of authors.

 

[nun]

Choose very, very carefully. A spouse is undoubtedly the single most important factor influencing debt.

That sounds as if it could have come straight from Austen's pen. Or maybe it's a quote form Lincoln

 

[Meadbh]

Jane Austen on finance:

It is a truth, universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good forture, must be in want of a wife.

Pride & Prejudice​

A large income is the best recipe for happiness I ever heard of.

Nothing amuses me more than the easy manner with which everybody settles the abundance of those who have a great deal less than themselves.

Mansfield Park​

 

[mews]

The skipper was Polonius, and he sang "Neither a borrower nor a lender be. Do not forget, stay out of debt. Think twice, and take this good advice from me, Guard that old solvency." It made me crack up, but I've never forgotten the advice either. And it made much more of an impact than studying it in school ever did.
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harley, as a college instructor, I've found that if you can make people laugh - they remember the information. Emotions are a very powerful part of learning.

ta,
mews