~Habits of Thrift and Economy~
Thrift or private economy began...when men found it necessary to provide for to-morrow as well as for to-day. It began long before money was invented. Wealth is obtained by labor; it is preserved by savings and accumulations; and itis increased by diligence and perseverance. On the other hand, it is the wastefulness of individuals which occasions the impoverishment of states. So that every thrify person may be regarded as a public benefactor and every thriftless person as a public enemy. Society at present suffers far more from waste of money than from want of money. It is easier to make money than to know how to spend it. It is not what a man gets that constitutes his wealth, but his manner of spending and economizing. And when a man obtains by his labor more than enough for his personal and family wants, and can lay by a little store of savings besides, he unquestionablly possess the elements of person and social well being. The savings may amount to little, but they may be sufficient to make him independent. There is no reason why the highly paid wormman of today may not save a store of capital. It is merely a matter of self-denial and private economy.
The question may be asked: Is it possible for a man working for small wages to save anything, and lay it by in a savings bank, when he requires every penny for the maintenance of his family? But the fact remains, that it is done by many industrious and sober men; that they do deny themselves, and put their spare earnings into savings banks, and the other receptacles provided for poor men's savings. And if some can do this, all may do it under similar circumstances, without depriving themselves of any genuine pleasure or any real enjoyment.
--Passage from Happy Homes and The Hearts That Make Them
