When I get this question, I try to shift the conversation away from “Which strategy is best?” and towards “Are you sure you want to pay off your mortgage early at all?”  While I think it’s admirable to get out of debt and stay out of debt, I don’t believe “paying off your mortgage early” should be your number one financial priority.

“Paying off your mortgage early may NOT be

the smartest financial strategy for you.”

Instead, I believe you should use your financial resources to prepare for the future and all those mean, nasty twists and turns that life can throw at you.  I’m not suggesting a gloom-n-doom approach to the future, but we just don’t know what will happen, and paying off your mortgage early may NOT be the smartest financial strategy for you.

Focus FIRST on Building Liquid Assets 

My advice is to focus first on building liquid assets (resources you could access with little difficulty to pay for stuff) vs. paper wealth (resources that cannot be accessed easily).  Equity in your home falls under the “paper wealth” category because it is difficult to access in an emergency and you may not be able to access it at all when you really need it.

An example of what I’m talking about came across my desk recently.  The applicant wanted to refinance his home to access some of his paper wealth.  For several years, he had been paying extra on his mortgage and only owed about $70,000 on a home worth around $400,000.  On paper, things looked good, but…

…he was facing total financial collapse 

I’ll leave the gory details of his set-backs out of my story, but when he came to me, his wife had left him and the divorce had drained his bank accounts, he had lost his ability to work due to an injury and lost his business, he was 6 months behind on his mortgage payments, and he was facing total financial collapse.  He needed me to help him access some of his $330,000 in equity (paper wealth) to live on. 

All that “paper wealth” made his home an enticing target.

But because his credit scores were bad and his income was gone, he didn’t qualify for a new loan.  The bank who owned his mortgage – that same bank he had been paying extra to all those years – wouldn’t help him.  I’m sure they saw his home as a great foreclosure opportunity – all that “paper wealth” made his home an enticing target.

His only solution was to try to sell the home before it was foreclosed on in order to keep some of his “paper wealth”, but since he had been so determined to keep his home – not wanting to uproot his children who’s mother had just abandoned them – he failed to act quickly enough and now it was too late.

I wish I could tell you his story had a happy ending, but it didn’t. 

What I can tell you is that if this man had had $330,000 of “liquid assets” instead of $330,000 of “paper wealth” – his story would have turned out much differently. 

So if you are prepaying your mortgage now, but don’t have enough liquid assets available to handle life’s emergencies, please remember: 

You cannot go grocery shopping and tell the cashier, “I don’t have any money, but my

mortgage is paid off”.  Even on double coupon day, that won’t buy you any fruits and veggies.

I’m not sure if it is politically correct to call someone a “Gypsy” these days or not, but that’s what they were called when I was a little boy back in the 1960’s.  During the summer months, I remember seeing a large flatbed truck loaded with wooden patio furniture slowly driving up and down the streets of my neighborhood – parking at various corners for awhile before moving on to the next corner.

The hand-painted sign attached to the side of the truck said “Gypsy Furniture For Sale”.  The furniture was a simple design made out of unfinished wood – much like recycled pallet wood. 

The furniture was certainly nothing fancy – just solid and simple.  Single chairs, Double chairs, and small tables.  Perfect for patios and basements.  (How do I know?  Because to this day, my mom has pieces of that furniture on her patio and in her basement.)  People came out and bought it – all cash – and it didn’t take long at all to unload a whole truck full of furniture.

Could you become a Gypsy furniture maker too?

With a simple design that you repeat over and over again, until you can produce each one in a matter of minutes – you can create a load of inventory in your “spare” time.  You can do the door to door route if you have a truck or display a few pieces in front of your home with a for sale sign on ‘em.

You could utilize Farmers Markets and Craft Fairs to display your wares.  Use Craig’s List to sell locally.  Sell them at garage sales or sell on consignment to other folks doing garage sales.  Find one of them corners on the weekend to hang out displaying a few pieces for sale.

The point is that you don’t have to be highly skilled to sell something of value quickly and easily.  You can get started with a skill saw and a hammer.  Got a kid who doesn’t know how to pay for college?  Hey kid!  Have I got a job for you!

Chairs and tables too bulky for you? 

Try birdhouses and feeders, quilts, lawn ornaments, old-fashioned toys.  My grandfather made beautiful baby cradles and couldn’t keep up with orders – but I’m wondering if he could get away with that today with our litigious society.  So you might want to stay away from selling items that could cause injury.

If you do this on a large scale, be sure you follow tax laws and get any necessary business licenses you might need.  I doubt if them Gypsies had business licenses back in the day, but don’t get yourself in trouble!   As with the majority of the extra income ideas, I suggest you set a short term, fixed amount idea that you have a specific target for the money.  “Earn enough to pay off this credit card” or “Earn this amount to use as Christmas money”.

King gave his speech standing on the steps on the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC.  The speech was the culmination of the massive day-long “March on Washington” event that King helped to organize.  Thousands of people rallied together, peacefully marching the streets before listening to songs by Bob Dylan and Joan Baez and speeches by Charlton Heston, Roy Wilkins, and John Lewis before King got up to speak.

March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom

Although the event is remembered today as the “March on Washington”, the full title of the event was actually “March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom”.  Should we be rallying today for “Jobs and Freedom” too? 

An excerpt from the speech reads:  “When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” 

You don’t have the “right” to be happy

I love the reminder that King gave of the “dream” of our Founding Fathers:  that all Americans should have the right to pursue happiness.  We don’t have the right to “be happy”, only the right to pursue happiness for ourselves.  The underlying theme of the Civil Rights Movement of the early 1960’s was that hatred and predudice was preventing others from pursuing life, liberty, and happiness by limiting opportunities for employment and free association.

King wanted all people to be allowed to pursue their own individual dreams – to become all that we can become without artificial barriers in our way – to be judged by “the content of our character”.  We as a country have accomplished much since his speech and that should be celebrated today.

What is your dream?

Do you have a dream?  Are you actively pursuing happiness?  Thousands of American soldiers, civilians, and even King himself gave the ultimate sacrifice to ensure that you have the right to pursue your dreams.  Are you doing it?

Do you need a better job?  What are you doing today to put yourself in position to have a better job?  Are you daily improving your skills so your work has more value?  Or maybe you are struggling with the burden of debt?  What are you doing to attack that beast in your pursuit of financial freedom?  You have the right to be your own bailout!  To fight your way out of it!

As King said:  “I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.”

Identify your dream and pursue it with all your might!  Don’t let anything get in your way. 

Be warned that this is NOT a great job to take on for many people.  There is a lot of pressure placed on you when you find yourself in the middle of the action.  Split-second decisions must be made and you MUST know the rule book inside and out to be effective.  And even when you are good at what you do, you’ll still never receive much appreciation from your clients (which are those screaming players and their parents questioning your every call).

Still, I like this idea as an extra source of income for a number of reasons:

• You get to take assignments on when you are available.  If you have a lot of time to devote one week, you can usually get a lot of assignments.  If you are too busy that week, they usually don’t mnd you turning down assignments.  As long as you are organized when accepting assignments and don’t have to make last minute changes, the organizations that hire you are generally very accomodating.
• You are providing a much needed service.  These organizations are giving kids a positive outlet for their energies and they are often short-handed for people willing to provide this service (which is one reason they are able to pay you quite well for your time).  You are helping kids, and earning money.  What could be better?
• The pay usually comes in a lump-sum at the end of the season.  For a baseball season, for example, most organizations offer you a bonus if you will complete the entire season with them.  They hold your pay until the very end and then will add on a nice chunk if you’re still accepting assignments at the end.  So you get a nice big chunk of money all at once – which you can use to solve some specific financial problems or use for something special.
• Tournaments usually offer cash on the spot.  When you become established as a good official, you’ll often be asked to serve for weekend tournaments – which are generally outside of the organization who assigns you to weekly games.  These weekend tournaments typically pay you cash at the end of the tournament for all the games you’ve worked – which gives you some pocket spending money and isn’t something you’ll have to report on your taxes.
• You can earn better assignments by becoming better at what you do.  These organizations are always coming around to monitor new members (and keep an eye on old timers to make sure they’re still performing well).  Once you’ve shown that you can perform at high levels, you start getting better games – which pay more!  I love jobs where your pay is based on your performance!

To give you an example of this last idea, I was called at the last minute one time during my very first umpiring season to work a high school JV game.  I hadn’t been assigned anything above the 12-13 year old leagues yet, but they needed someone that next day and was wondering if I could do it.  I eagerly said “yes” and showed up.  I was supposed to have a partner work with me, but they couldn’t find one.  So I worked the game all by myself.

“Your Momma wears army boots!”

About the 3rd inning, one of the pitchers pulled an illegal pick-off move, and I immediately called a “Balk” on the pitcher - allowing the runner on 3rd base to score.  The coach of the pitcher’s team came unglued!  Their pitchers have been using that move all year, he told me, and not once had it been called a balk, and I must not know what I’m doing, and had I ever umpired a game before, and did my mother wear army boots??? 

I calmly told him that my understanding of the rule book was that it was a balk.  He was welcomed to protest the game it he wanted to, but I believed it to be a balk and it would continue to be called a balk so he better inform his pitchers not to do it again.  (I was really nervous that I was wrong, but I held my ground anyway because my gut told me I was correct.)

After the game, that coach pulled me aside and thanked me for the way I performed.  He said it was true that I was the first umpire to call that move a balk all year, but that I was also the first one to be correct.  He was impressed that I had gotten it right and impressed with the way I had handled the confrontation.  He patted me on the back and told me he’d put in a good word for me with the organization, and the next thing I knew, I was getting JV assignments the rest of the season and was even invited to do the post season playoff games – a big honor (and big money).

Will you get rich off of umpiring?  No.  But getting that check for a few thousand dollars at the end of the season for working a few evenings and weekends doing something fun and performing a service – I think it’s a great thing to do. 

How to get started:

Check with local little leagues or schools and find out who assigns the umpires or officials.  They usually work several months in advance of the actual season (baseball umpires are getting started as early as December in some places for the coming season, for example).  These organizations will have orientation meetings and some training programs (usually an all day Saturday clinic for newbies) to help you get started.  You’ll have some equipment and uniforms to buy (check second hand stores and ebay for bargains) and you’ll be ready to go.

Have fun and “Play Ball!”

This article is not intended as instructional manual for “How to become a doula”.  But I’m including it here as an illustration of the types of extra income opportunities you can find if you look for them.   And this type of “job” fits my ideal for extra income – short-term, well-defined, and a “burst” of income.

To become a doula…

To become a doula, there are many training courses you can take to get started.  Figure to get certified in your area, it’ll cost you around $600 for an approx. 40 hour course to learn the basics.  After that, it is up to you to get some clients.

How much can you earn?

How much can you earn?  For one birth, the going rate will vary by your location and your experience level, but figure you can charge anywhere from a few hundred dollars up to about $2,000.  Obviously, as you gain in experience, you’ll be able to charge more, and it will become much easier to find clients once you’ve developed a reputation for excellence and reliability.

There are very few “full time” doulas because the hours are unpredictable and the compensation is not large per birth.  It is very, very difficult to take on numerous clients at one time because you can’t predict when each birth will happen, and you simply MUST be available for each birth when the baby is ready to come.

But for people looking for a part time extra source of income, you can easily taken on one client a month with few time conflicts.  The “average” doula can expect to make around $5,000 a year for this type of schedule.

How do you find clients?

How do you find clients?  Get to know childbirth class teachers (or become one yourself), OB’s, Mid-Wives, and Pediatric physicians (because young mothers tend to have more children – so this is a good target market for you). 

You can place free ads on places like Craig’s List.  You can even be so crass as to hand information about the doula process to expectant mothers you meet every day.

Do you love the child-birth process?

If you love the whole child-brith process, love offering physical and emotional support, have a flexible schedule, and are confident enough to act as an advocate for your client during stressful times, this could be a great way to supplement your income and add some extra excitement to your life.

The problem with the idea of “just as soon as…” is that it is a sure fire strategy for disaster.  It’s called “procrastination”.  It doesn’t work – never has, never will.   Nobody likes to save.  Savings involves “delayed gratification”, and who wants to wait and hope you can enjoy your money later when you are absolutely certain that if you spend it today on a designer pair of jeans or a leopard-print steering wheel cover that you’ll enjoy it? 

But look around – the economy is becoming scary.  Unemployment is increasing.  Once “Too Big to Fail” companies have failed.  Once proud financial institutions and huge corporations have stocks trading in the pennies and the government is printing money at an alarming rate, telling us the solution to the crisis is to spend more money.

But the real solution is “Saving”.  Reduce spending and SAVE!  Don’t Delay – Start Today!  Great minds in history have warned us against delaying the building of our savings accounts.  Minds like:

• Benjamin Franklin (“Have you somewhat to do tomorrow, do it today.”) or
• Mark Twain (“Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today.”) or maybe
• God Himself (“In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil… THAT MEANS SAVINGS… but a foolish man devours all he has… THAT MEANS NO SAVINGS – Proverbs 21:20)

If you think the government is going to “bail you out” if you run in to trouble in the future, think again.  Start taking care of your own future – don’t be that “foolish man” God warns about.

I Don’t Have Enough Money To Even Start Saving…

Absolute nonsense.  You got change in your pocket?  The ashtray of your car?  That coffee cup above the washing machine?  Then you have enough to start saving.  Go open a savings account – even if all you have is two plastic baggies filled with loose change.  That’s the first step – that “journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” first step.

Then COMMIT to adding to that account on a regular basis.  And by “commit”, I mean “figuring out a way to trick yourself” into doing it.  Because if you leave it up to your own good intentions, you won’t do it.  Here are some ways to “trick yourself”:

·        Make it automatic:  Have your bank automatically transfer a fixed amount every payday from your checking account to your savings account.

·        Make it automatic II:  Request that your payroll department direct deposit a percentage of your paycheck each month into your savings account and the rest into checking.  Many companies have started offering this service to employees – go ask!

·        Make it automatic III:  Contribute to your 401K.  If you’re not already in your company’s plan – start!  Start with 3% of your income – you won’t even miss it!

·        Make it automatic IV:  Go in to your payroll department and reduce your exemptions by 1 on your W-4 withholdings form.  That means your company will start withholding slightly MORE money each month from you.  It’ll go to the IRS, which will increase your tax refund next year.  (I know, EVERY other financial advisor tells you “Don’t let the IRS have your money – they don’t pay you interest on it”.  But if you’re not saving anything now – can you think of a safer place to park your savings each month?  You CAN’T spend it, and you’ll get a lump sum back next year.  Just commit now to how you’ll use this lump sum to save for the future.)

·        Make it automatic V:  Save your change.  Many banks offer a “keep the change” program with your debit card purchases where they round up each purchase to the next dollar and put the rest into your savings account.  Cool!  And put a big jar next to where you empty your pockets when you come home, and put all your change into it – and once a month, add it to your savings.

And some other ideas:

• Make it inconvenient to access:  Just like you might have to put your alarm clock across the room so you actually have to get out of bed to turn it off, if it’s too easy to access your savings – you’ll just end up spending ‘em.  Maybe you need to set up your savings account at a different bank?  I LOVE these new on-line banks, like ING DIRECT.  They pay a great interest rate, they’re safe, and you have to go out of your way to access your money – which isn’t hard to do, it’s just slightly inconvenient so maybe you’ll think twice before you dip in to your account so you can buy those designer jeans.
• Give the account a “goal” name:  Use names like “Emergency Fund”, “Vacation Fund”, “Kid’s Education Fund”, “Christmas Fund”, “New Home Fund”, etc.  Taking money out of your “savings” account is easy.  Taking money out of your “Start My Own Business and Fire My Boss” account to pay for something frivolous might be enough deterrent to keep your spending in check.

Saving a few bucks every day may not seem like much when you first start out, but those few bucks grow as long as you can keep your fingers out of the cookie jar.  And when it begins to become a sizable amount – you’ll actually start sleeping better and feeling better about yourself.  And if you can resist the temptation to blow it on something you don’t need – you may be able to enjoy that thing you’ve heard of, called “Peace of Mind”.

1) An Automatic 401K, 403B, or IRA account.
2) Your Mortgage Payment.

First, the 401K or 403B account – if available to you – are the best way to get started with your Long-Term Bucket. Begin immediately putting 3% of your income into this account each payday. It’ll come out of your pay without you ever seeing it – or noticing it. See my article on “Easy as 3, 4, 5…” to learn how this is possible. You get to count this payroll deduction as your contribution to your Long-Term Bucket.

If you don’t have access to a 401K or 403B account through work, then setting up an IRA account on your own is the alternative – but it’s more painful because it has to be funded with after-payroll-tax dollars. You will get your paycheck and have to take some of the money and put it into this account, and those months where you’re wondering how to pay for groceries, you’ll be very tempted to skip this contribution, and the skip it the next month, and the next month…

On the flip side of things, I run in to many people – especially men – who max out their 401K contribution each month – 10% – 15% – and then they run up their credit card debt because they don’t leave themselves enough to live on. If you are NOT able to fund your Short-Term and Mid-Range Buckets each month with an equivalent amount to what you are putting into your 401K account, you need to cut back on this contribution and use the extra take home pay to pay bills and fill these other buckets.

Balance, Baby, Balance…

For number 2 above – Your Mortgage Payment. If you have bought a home – good for you. This is the number one wealth builder of all time. If you look at your mortgage statement, you’ll notice that most of your payment each month is going towards interest, and a small portion is actually going towards paying down the debt.

This “small portion” that is paying down the debt is actually a Long-Term Bucket contribution, and you get to count it as that. So there you have it. Two absolutely painless ways for you to begin filling up that Long-Term Bucket, even when you’re just starting out.

But stay in balance. Don’t go overboard on the 401K if you can’t pay your other bills. And don’t pay “extra” towards your mortgage if you’re not filling the Short-Term and Mid-Range Buckets yet.

Ahh… but once you start getting an equal amount going in to the Short and Mid, paying extra towards the mortgage or increasing the 401K amount is a quick and easy way to increase the Long-Term filling. And eventually, you’ll be using that brokerage idea and buying stocks – but more than likely, you’re a ways away from that. And that is fine.

Stay in balance. Stay even and steady. And use increases in “extra money” wisely. And you’ll be fine – regardless of where you are right now.

I know that’s what you’re thinking. And it makes so much sense to wait, right? Logically, you should start paying off your bills and start building up your checking and savings accounts. And then when you have a bunch of money saved up, you can start investing in the stock market. Right?

Wrong, Wrong, Wrong…

In order to reach your retirement years in good enough financial shape to actually retire, you’ve got to start building your Long-Term Debt Paying Funds right now! You cannot wait until you are too old to work to start building up this account, and you will simply never start building this account if you wait until you have surplus funds in your Short-Term Bucket.

Short-Term funds are too easy to spend, too easy to access, too easy to for you to just buy something you need vs. trying to figure out a less-costly alternative (the reason you got into so much credit card debt in the first place was because it was too easy to access spending funds by whipping out a piece of plastic, and your Short-Term Bucket will empty just as easily as you go along).

Get Rich Quick?

Your Long-Term Bucket will also benefit from the advantage of “Time”. Having these investment vehicles open for longer periods of time will make them more valuable. If you don’t allow them the time they need to develop for you, then you will run into the frustration of chasing “Get Rich Quick” schemes – which almost always fail. Allow enough time, and you can get rick slowly, steadily, and safely.

We’ll look at some Long-Term Bucket vehicles in the next article – and once you read that article, you’ll begin to believe that this is actually something you can do. I know what your assumption is at this moment when I’m talking about “Long-Term Investment Tools”.

You assume that I’m immediately talking about “Go out and buy 100 shares of Microsoft and hold it for the long term…” But you would be seriously wrong in that assumption.

I Get Where You’re At Right Now!

Again, the type of person who found this website are not the independently wealthy individuals among us looking to me for investment tips or the next hot commodity scheme. The people reading this website info are people struggling with day to day living, too much debt, not enough savings, and worries about the future. I know who you are.

And for me to tell you to go open a brokerage account and start learning about the Price/Value ratios of company stocks, or maybe teach you the tricks of “Puts and Calls” really has no place in your world. That is just NOT what I’m going to be talking about.

Read on. This will be accessible to you and can help you get to the point – someday – where those other “investor” things are important to you. For now, we just need to get you started on a path that will lead to a better tomorrow. That’s my goal – I hope you’ll come along with me and get started building that better tomorrow.

To review what these 3 Buckets are, here they are again:

Divide your list of goals onto 3 lists – or Buckets. You should have a:

• Short-Term Bucket (things happening in the next year)
• Mid-Range Bucket (things happening in the next 2-5 years)
• Long-Term Bucket (more than 5 years away)

Filling Your Buckets

It’ll take us a few articles to get into specifics about what types of investment vehicles you should use for each type of Bucket. This article will give you a general overview of “how” to start filling the Buckets.

Remember that most of you who found this website probably got here as you searched for solutions to credit and debt problems, and you may not think these types of articles about saving and investing apply to you just yet. You’re thinking, “As soon as I pay off my current debts, I can start saving and investing for the future.” The problem is, the future happens BEFORE that.

Life is NOT going to stop and wait for you to get ready for it. There are no “time outs” or “hold on a second’s” in life. Whether or not you’re ready, it’s going to happen. Those things that are going to happen this next year – they’re going to happen this year. Nothing you can do about it – they’re coming.

So, are you going to be ready for them? Or are you going to be cursing and acting surprised when they do happen? Making your Bucket List and then Filling your Buckets is an absolutely practical and necessary thing for you to do. ESPECIALLY if you have debt you’re trying to pay off.

Anyone Can Create a Bucket List

So don’t think that because you’re so deep in debt that you shouldn’t start a savings plan, an investment plan, a plan for the future. It is BECAUSE you have so much debt that you need to be even more careful and smart with your money. Sick people go to the doctor to get a plan to get better. Healthy people don’t need a plan to get better – whatever they’ve been doing is working so far.

Thinking of your Bucket Lists in terms of your physical health is really a great idea. If you’re sick (in debt), you need urgent and immediate care to get over your sickness. Maybe some antibiotics, ointments, or other remedies to help you beat the current sickness will help. Healthy people don’t require such things – they don’t need help beating a temporary sickness.

But both sick and healthy people can do things to take care of their bodies better. Eating better, exercising, sleeping right, etc. You can always do things that can help maintain and enhance your physical health and help you live a longer life.

The things you are doing to pay off your old debts are like the antibiotics. You’re taking steps to defeat the illness and get you back to normal health. Filling your Buckets is like the things you can do to improve your overall health – the exercise and proper diet.

It’s Okay to do BOTH!

When you’re sick, it’s okay to do BOTH! While you try to defeat the illness, it’s okay to work on improving your overall health at the same time. If you’re not sick, you can devote your full attention towards becoming healthier.

So if you’re in debt, work on getting caught up AND work on putting yourself in position for a better financial future – all at the same time. If you’re not in debt, congratulations! You can use your Bucket Lists to create a great future for yourself – and ensure that you don’t end up with debt problems in the future.

Make your Bucket List and we’ll show you how to fill them here.

I believe that “There is nothing new under the sun but there are lots of old things we don’t know”, as Ambrose Bierce once said (click the link for some great quotes and ideas at Amazon). So by studying the past, we can learn to live better in the present and set ourselves up for a better future.

Manage Debt by Spending Better

The hero in our story is Benjamin Franklin – one of the wealthiest and shrewdest businessmen who ever lived. And what I love most about Benjamin Franklin is that he earned the majority of his wealth by sharing with people how to become wealthy – my kind of guy! So, here’s the story. Enjoy!

Among the trinkets offered by a peddler at a fair was a whistle which caught the attention of young Benjamin, and which he coveted. He resisted the temptation for some time; eventually giving way he bought the whistle, paying a price in excess of its value.

In later years the memory of that transaction brought forth this sage observation:

“I conceive that a great part of the miseries of mankind are brought upon them by the false estimates they have made of the value of things, and by their giving too much for their whistles.”

This bit of wisdom holds good for today. A sense of values is essential to the proper conduct of business and personal affairs.

Overpriced pleasures and wasteful delights are to be counted among the costly whistles. Often their price is far out of proportion to the amount of permanent good they produce and contribute to human welfare. Anything is costly, no matter what its price, if it purchases nothing of importance or worth to human character and the power of personality.

If the price of our whistles are high and the use of the whistle small, the transaction is poor and the person poorer – today even as in the day of Benjamin Franklin.”

- from “The Art of Living Successfully” – April 1941