Golden Rules for Making Money (1880) • Hacker News Board

Re: Golden Rules for Making Money (1880)

#101

Post by gridlockd » Mon, Mar 25, 2019, 6:03 PM UTC

"Unless a man enters upon the vocation intended for him by nature, and best suited to his peculiar genius, he cannot succeed. I am glad to believe that the majority of persons do find their right vocation. Yet we see many who have mistaken their calling, from the blacksmith up (or down) to the clergyman. You will see, for instance, that extraordinary linguist the “learned blacksmith,” who ought to have been a teacher of languages; and you may have seen lawyers, doctors and clergymen who were better fitted by nature for the anvil or the lapstone."

#learntocode

Re: Golden Rules for Making Money (1880)

#102

Post by sigmaprimus » Mon, Mar 25, 2019, 6:03 PM UTC

dang wrote: post #96

2007: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=88544 2008: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=310056 2016: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11320169

Isn't that interesting, makes me want to post a link to "How to Win Friends and Influence People" I wonder how great P.T. Barnum would be at creating click bait today as after almost 150 years his writings keep getting posted over and over again! He definitely had a gift for capturing people's attention by exploiting their base desires.

Re: Golden Rules for Making Money (1880)

#103

Post by gridlockd » Mon, Mar 25, 2019, 6:07 PM UTC

loudmax wrote: post #19

JeanMarcS wrote: post #8

> Young men starting in life should avoid running into debt. There is scarcely anything that drags a person down like debt. It is a slavish position to get in... Well, that put student debt in perspective no ?

Barnum himself spent much of his life in and out of debt. He was a great showman and many of the performances he arranged were extreme financial successes, but he was a profligate spender and he was always one disaster away from going deep into dept.

"Do as I say, not as I do!"

Re: Golden Rules for Making Money (1880)

#104

Post by astura » Mon, Mar 25, 2019, 6:12 PM UTC

pseudoanonymity wrote: post #67

jobu wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He clarified this point it a bit in the second paragraph: "Mr. Beecher advised young men to get in debt if they could to a small amount in the purchase of land, in the country districts. “If a young man,” he says, “will only get in debt for some land and then get married, these two things will keep him straight, or nothing will.” This may be safe to a limited extent, but getting in debt for what you eat and drink and…

Many full-time students use their loan funds to pay for food and clothing, in addition to tuition and housing.

So?

In my case the choice was use student loan money to pay for living expenses (which were extremely meager) while in college or not go to college at all. It was part of my educational investment.

It was totally worth it, the loans are long paid off, and the investment has paid untold dividends in the form of a salary I wouldn't have the chance at if I didn't go to school.

Re: Golden Rules for Making Money (1880)

#105

Post by stronglikedan » Mon, Mar 25, 2019, 6:26 PM UTC

nathanvanfleet wrote: post #90

loudmax wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Barnum himself spent much of his life in and out of debt. He was a great showman and many of the performances he arranged were extreme financial successes, but he was a profligate spender and he was always one disaster away from going deep into dept.

Is this a good reason to go into debt?

Strange inference of yours, but regardless, the answer is "no", and I'm sure Barnum could provide the anecdata were he still able to communicate.

Re: Golden Rules for Making Money (1880)

#106

Post by billfruit » Mon, Mar 25, 2019, 6:28 PM UTC

Balgair wrote: post #77

sixhobbits wrote: post #57

Funny how some of it seems like good common sense and then you get > Some men have a foolish habit of telling their business secrets. If they make money they like to tell their neighbors how it was done. Nothing is gained by this, and ofttimes much is lost. Say nothing about your profits, your hopes, your expectations, your intentions. And this should apply to letters as well as to conversation. Goethe makes Mephisto…

In The Count of Monte Cristo , the Count ruins Danglers' fortune via bond market manipulation per his revenge plans. One of the ways he keeps track of how the ruination progress is via Danglers' own words. At first, Danglers boasts loudly in parties about how much he has lost, but eventually he is cowed and no longer talks about money or his fortune. The Count keep track of his boisterousness as a barometer of his re…

The Count of Monte Cristo, is such a rollicking story from beginning to end, almost the entire 1300+ pages.

Re: Golden Rules for Making Money (1880)

#107

Post by robbrit » Mon, Mar 25, 2019, 6:35 PM UTC

The first few paragraphs remind me of a book called "Your Money or Your Life", which provides a simple way of expense tracking that can help build up savings. I recommend it for anybody who likes money.

Re: Golden Rules for Making Money (1880)

#108

Post by pmoriarty » Mon, Mar 25, 2019, 6:38 PM UTC

derekp7 wrote: post #38

SketchySeaBeast wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also mortgages.

Are mortgages really debt though? Because even though you owe, you also own as much as you owe (except during a market downturn of course). Whereas debt for a depreciating asset (like a car, or most things that go on a credit card) are what I would consider "real" debt. In other words, keep your net debt low or non existent (when looking at a balance sheet).

"Are mortgages really debt though? Because even though you owe, you also own as much as you owe (except during a market downturn of course)."

You also pay interest, which could be a huge amount (depending on how quickly, if ever, you pay off your principal).

Re: Golden Rules for Making Money (1880)

#109

Post by billfruit » Mon, Mar 25, 2019, 6:47 PM UTC

One modern trick to earn a tiny bit of extra money: Use credit cards for buying/paying anything at all, never use debit cards or cash: Credit cards usually pay a small reward point for spends which can often be redeemed as a cash discount later, and also since the expenses go to the credit card, the cash in the savings account stay untouched till the day you make the credit card bill payment, which will keep earning interest for the additional days it remains in your account(Which may be a significant amount over long term, in a high interest rate country).

In some countries you can route large payments like insurance premium payments through the credit card. Sometimes insurance companies even have investment products which they claim are "insurance policies", that can be bought with credit cards too.

Re: Golden Rules for Making Money (1880)

#110

Post by Gpetrium » Mon, Mar 25, 2019, 6:50 PM UTC

dang wrote: post #96

2007: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=88544 2008: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=310056 2016: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11320169

This is an interesting point you may have raised regarding re-post. At one end, repeated information will lead some to think it is counter-productive, think it is a karma-hungry person or lead to backlash. On the other end, there are many individuals that can benefit from older articles that they have yet to see.

Where to find the balance? We have yet to see.