In addition to running a museum full of weird creatures (some of them real), operating a circus with a partner (Quick Quiz: What was Bailey’s first name? Answer: James), being mayor of Bridgeport, CT, and possibly making some often-quoted remarks (e.g., “There’s a sucker born every minute”), Phineas Taylor Barnum (1810-1891) went bankrupt due to a failed real estate venture. Then, to recoup his fortune, in 1880 he wrote (and widely delivered) a speech and a best-selling book, both called The Art of Money Getting. His comments and advice about debt are still relevant today. Here are some edited excerpts from his speech/book:
“There is scarcely anything that drags a person down like debt. It is a slavish position to get in, yet we find many a young man, hardly out of his teens, running in debt....Debt robs a man of his self-respect and makes him almost despise himself. Grunting and groaning and working for what he has eaten up or worn out, and now when he is called upon to pay up, he has nothing to show for his money; this is properly termed ‘working for a dead horse.’ I do not speak of merchants buying and selling on credit, or of those who buy on credit in order to turn the purchase to a profit....Some families have a foolish habit of getting credit at the stores, and thus frequently purchase many things which might have been dispensed with.”
Some things never change.
