Most procrastinating high school and college literature students know that when they’ve put off their reading assignments to the point where they no longer have the time to actually read the book, they can always rely on Cliffs Notes.
Some kids are hooked on Cliffs Notes like a bad drug. Heck, I’ll bet well over half of you used them when you were in school.
Don’t deny it; I know you did.
Not me, though. Okay. Maybe I did a few times — but only as a study guide after reading the books in their entirety.
Well … most of the time.
Anyway, for those of you who want a quick and easy read on the basics of good personal finance, I’ve put together a series of quotes and general wisdom regarding money and personal finance that are the official Len Penzo dot Com version of Cliffs Notes.
In fact, you can call this my A-B-Cs of good personal finance.
Best of all, after reading these little nuggets of financial wisdom, you may not become an instant expert on the subject — but you should have enough knowledge to at least get a passing grade.
Here we go:
Annual income, twenty pounds; annual expenditure, nineteen pounds; result, happiness. Annual income, twenty pounds; annual expenditure, twenty-one pounds; result, misery. — Charles Dickens in his book David Copperfield*
Buy when everyone else is selling and hold until everyone else is buying. That’s not just a catchy slogan. It’s the very essence of successful investing. — J.P. Getty
Content makes poor men rich. Discontent makes rich men poor. — Benjamin Franklin
Don’t tell me what your priorities are. Show me where you spend your money and I’ll tell you what they are. — James W. Frick
Empty pockets never held anyone back. Only empty heads and empty hearts can do that. — Norman Vincent Peale
For a happy marriage, wise is the husband who understands that what’s hers is hers and what’s yours is hers. — Len Penzo
Good habits result from resisting temptation. — an ancient proverb
He is richest who is content with least. — Socrates
If you owe the bank $100 that’s your problem. If you owe the bank $100 million, that’s the bank’s problem. — J.P. Getty
Just remember: Any man who has $10,000 left when he dies is a failure. — Errol Flynn
Keep an emergency fund of at least three month’s living expenses. — common financial wisdom
Lend your money and lose your friend.– English proverb
Money never made a man happy yet, nor will it. — Benjamin Franklin
Never spend your money before you have it. — Thomas Jefferson
October: This is one of the particularly dangerous months to invest in stocks. Other dangerous months are July, January, September, April, November, May, March, June, December, August and February. — Mark Twain
Plenty of people despise money, but few know how to give it away. — Francois Duc de la Rochefoucauld
Quit using credit cards for making any purchases unless you intend to pay off the balance in full at the end of every month. — common financial wisdom
Rich people plan for four generations. Poor people plan for Saturday night. — Gloria Steinem
Solvency is entirely a matter of temperament and not of income. — Logan Pearsall Smith
The art of living easily as to money is to pitch your scale of living one degree below your means. — Sir Henry Taylor
Understand that there is no dignity quite so impressive, and no independence quite so important, as living within your means. — Calvin Coolidge
Volatility in your retirement portfolio can be minimized via diversification, including precious metals. — common financial wisdom
Wants may be easily satisfied either by producing much or desiring little. — Marshall Sahlins
Xerox stock price on April 17 of selected years (adjusted to account for any splits and/or dividends): 1970 – $14.15; 1999 – $55.13; 2009 – $5.92. The moral of this story is that even buy-and-hold investors need to know when it’s time to sell. — Len Penzo
You’ll be much better off financially if you strive to be anonymously rich rather than deceptively poor. — Len Penzo
Zillow should never be considered an accurate gauge of your home’s value. — Len Penzo
So there you have it: My Cliff’s Notes version of Personal Finance for Dummies. By the way, did you notice the predominant theme among the majority of those quotes? Here’s a hint: It’s the first commandment of my Ten Commandments of Personal Finance.
In the meantime, keep studying these notes — I guarantee they’re your quickest path to success in Personal Finance 101.
Now go get your ‘A’.
____
* From what I learned after reading Cliffs Notes
Photo Credit: Cliffsnotes.com
Nice writing. You are on my RSS reader now so I can read more from you down the road.
Allen Taylor
Thanks, Allen, and welcome! I appreciate the kudos. Your check is in the mail. 😉
But seriously, I visited your site and I liked what I saw too.
Len
Excellent quotes! 🙂
Indeed!
Thanks, P. I do too… especially the ones from that “Len Penzo” guy. 😉
Len
My favorite money quote: “The best way to double your money is to fold it in half and put it back in your pocket.” Will Rogers
If only it really worked that way, Libby! 😉
I never used Cliff Notes in either high school or college. I didn’t see the point in buying both the full text (required) AND paying for Cliff Notes too. I guess you could say I was too cheap to cheat. 🙂
That, and more than one professor promised their tests were designed to be “anti Cliff Note.” That is, they would ask questions on material they knew the Cliff Notes didn’t cover.
Speaking of Cliff Notes… did you modify the Charles Dickens quote a bit for American readability? I thought it sounded a bit off, did my own quote search, and found this:
‘My other piece of advice, Copperfield,’ said Mr. Micawber, ‘you know. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen and six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery. The blossom is blighted, the leaf is withered, the god of day goes down upon the dreary scene, and – and in short you are for ever floored. As I am!’
Or in other words, a single shilling – not 2 pounds – can make the difference between happiness and misery.
Good catch, DC. Yes, that Dickens quote was the Cliffs Notes version.
I purposely shortened it to make it more to the point.
That Penzo guy sure has good quotes!
The Jefferson one was a little ironic. Wasn’t he in debt up to his eyeballs?
I had forgotten about that; you’re quite right.
Thomas Jefferson’s wife was the one who managed the books – an unusual arrangement at the time. After she died, that’s when his finances went to pot.
He was a big-time debtor! I read somewhere that it was to the tune of about $2,000,000 in today’s dollars.
I used it on a couple of occasions. I believe I used them on The Great Gatsby. I think I used it on a Hemmingway book too — can’t remember which one though.
This is beautiful! It is not often I read a post and I think: I wish I wrote this one. Well…I did!
Great idea, Len.
One of the more creative pieces I’ve glanced at this week.
Aww, thank you. 🙂
I suddenly remember those Cliffs notes I used Len. By the way, this ABC is really great! It seems like you almost covered it all. I like the concept of “anonymously rich rather than deceptively poor.”
Glad you enjoyed it, Jamie!
You sound like a wise husband with a happy marriage. 🙂 I like the B one. Warren Buffett put it, “be greedy when others are fearful, and fearful when others are greedy.” Sounds simple but very hard to do.
Sounds good Len, very creative list of personal finance knowledge. I enjoyed it so much that I might do my own ABC’s. Good luck
Lovely idea and quotes. Thanks for sharing.
Love this article Len!
My favorite one was Good habits result from resisting temptation. I think it’s so true that to build better habits, you need to focus on the long term and give in to every desire. Give up a little today for a better tomorrow.
Cheers,
Fiona
Thanks, Fiona. Although I think it’s okay to splurge every once in a while. After all, everybody deserves a little reward every now and then.
All work (saving) and no play (spending) would drive me crazy; the key for me is in staying disciplined and not letting those “occassional” treats get out of hand.
For some reason I keep hearing The Jackson Five, “ABC 123”.
Good advice. Finance really isn’t that hard. People just have to learn to be responsible adults. AKA grow up.