Sunday, 4 March 2018

The miser's edge

  • Prudent habits and practices could see you through even when your means are limited.
  • Being careful with money, a euphemism, you may be called by the world as 'miser'. A miser is defined as a person who is reluctant to spend, sometimes to the point of forgoing even basic comforts and some necessities, in order to hoard money or other possessions.
  • Not only money, one should be careful with all resources, including water, food and electricity. Not to waste, not to overuse and minimum use with maximum benefit. That is frugal living. 
  • Whether miserliness is an acquired habit or a hereditary trait is not clear.
  • Money is not everything.
  • Misers are blessed. They generally do not smoke or spend money on alcohol. They do not eat out. They do not go to theatres. No paid darshan in the temple. 
  • When young they save for children. Later they save for their future.
  • They generally walk to the temple, the market, the railway station, bank and post office.
  • They are usually content with what what they have. They are not avaricious. Nor they envy others. With parsimony as their personal philosophy they ensure peaceful old age.
  • They don't not run after money. They spend carefully and save the rest. This prudence may burden their children. They save for the unknown tomorrow and dark exigencies. They may not enjoy the fruits of labour and may leave entire savings to family. But that is a better option.
  • Being called a 'miser', they take it as a compliment.
  • Frugality is an intelligent and efficient use of time, energy and resources whereas stinginess is a form of fear of not having enough. 
  • Stinginess arises out of one's perceived feeling of financial insecurity. Even though a person may have lots of money, he may still feel insecure deep inside and thus behave in a stingy manner.

A miser grows rich by seeming poor. 
An extravagant man grows poor by seeming rich ... William Shenstone



A lot of rich people aren't exceptionally talented at what they do. They just have quirks and habits that let them think differently about money than the rest of us. The price of being rich is simple -  live below your means. That is hard. Most rich people try to impress others by spending money, which is the surest way to have less of it. When aspirations, desires, and wants grow faster than incomes, you are in the express lane to disappointment. Most rich people are more impressed with retiring early.


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