Theodore Roosevelt on Frugal Green Living

Teddy Roosevelt was trying to figure out what to do with his life. He wanted to be a scientist but knew that the pay wasn't great:

My father ? told me that if I wished to be a scientific man I could do so.... He also gave me a piece of advice that I have always remembered, namely, that, if I was not going to earn money, I must even things up by not spending it. As he expressed it, I had to keep the fraction constant, and if I was not able to increase the numerator, then I must reduce the denominator. In other words, if I went into a scientific career, I must definitely abandon all thought of the enjoyment that could accompany a money-making career, and must find my pleasures elsewhere.

"If I was not going to earn money, I must even things up by not spending it." Don't spend what you don't have. If your income goes down, so must your expenses. Of course, Teddy Roosevelt didn't have a Visa card, but people still got into debt and into trouble.

"If I went into a scientific career, I must definitely abandon all thought of the enjoyment that could accompany a money-making career, and must find my pleasures elsewhere."

This is the plight of many who watch the Wall Street Wiz kids rake in multimillions even in these times, whereas the teacher and the researcher earn middle class salaries and wonder why they are doing it. Yet many in those lower paying jobs took advantage of the easy money and rising housing market and got in over their heads and are now paying the price.

Teddy Roosevelt came from a wealthy family and never really had to worry about money, but he knew that you have to live a lifestyle appropriate to your income and not borrow the difference. Many of us might have smaller houses, fewer cars and lower debt had we learned that lesson.

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