The Secret Of Wealth
The Secret Of Wealth132 total pages.
This was a serious case, as it so happened that the total liabilities of this bankrupt were only $8,090, so, if he had never loaned the eighteen thousand dollars, he would not have been a bankrupt and might have had $10,000 in the bank besides. Money which has been accumulated through hard work, thrift and frugality should not be loaned without security sufficient to guarantee its repayment. Loans are often made to friends out of hand and with no writing in the case, and the collection of such loans almost invariably causes bad feeling. The man who is entitled to borrow money is usually in a position to get it from a bank, or, if his credit standing and quick assets are not sufficient to justify a bank loan, he can usually give reasonably good security to guarantee the payment of his note when due. Under ordinary circumstances he has no right to ask for the loan from his relatives, friends or acquaintances without offering them unquestioned security. In the case of illness, deaths and sudden misfortunes, it is sometimes necessary for relatives and friends to come to the rescue, but these are extreme and unusual cases. The New York bankrupt has simply made it his business to idle away his time and to live indolently on the money he could borrow from his friends. Lessing must have been thinking of him when he wrote: "Borrowing is not much better than begging." The other man who failed because his friends owed him so much money now finds himself unable to provide even the ordinary comforts of life for his wife and two children. And all because he was always ready to lend a five here, a ten there and a hundred more, without security. He was honest, but we are sure you will agree with us that he was also foolish. It is better to be disliked because you decline to lend money to an acquaintance than to be disliked when you try to collect it; you will be disliked in either case, but, if you refuse to make the loan, you will still have the money.
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