Penny-wise and pound-foolish' is the epithet applied to that man who is very unwilling to spend small sums of money, with the result that he is obliged to spend a larger sum that it would have been necessary if he had not been so miserly in the beginning. Such a policy is usually followed by men who are either very miserly or short-sighted.
In these days of keen economical struggle, the majority of men have to struggle hard and they earn perhaps just sufficient to make both ends meet. Under the pressure of their financial circumstances, those people are naturally led to adopt a penny-wise and pounding foolish policy. The temptation of being able to do by spending little for the time being makes them blind to the consequences of such a policy. They think that they will eventually find to their amazement that, as a matter of fact, that have had to spend more than it would have been necessary had they been a little more farsighted.
Every moment of our lives we find illustrations of this fact. For instance, penny-wise and pound-foolish persons, when they have to purchase the necessaries of life, always look at the cheapness of the article without paying any attention to its durability or good quality. The inevitable result is that the article in question does not last long, and where one of good and durable quality would have sufficed, he has to buy several. Thus, by spending a little more in the first instance, he would have been spared the subsequent drain of money. But foolish men of this type have never the heart to do it.
The proper method is to exercise prudence and forsight in all cases. If some necessity arises, which requires to be satisfied at once, it should be so satisfied immediately. Unless this is a done. the necessity might grow so urgent with the lapse of time, that not only shall we be able to avoid it but we shall have to spend more to meet its demands, which must necessarily have increased on account of the delay.
To take a homely example: a man suing six piece of cloth finds that one of them is worn out and unfit for use. If he be a prudent man he will at once replace this worn-out cloth by a new one. This will make the other clothes last longer and save him from the difficulty of having to buy several clothes all at once. But if he be a short-sighted man, he will think it unnecessary to spend money in buying a new piece of cloth when he still possess five pieces.
Being put to more use than formerly, these five pieces will wear our sooner and in trying to save the cost of one cloth, he will have to spend money for more than one. It is false economy not to meet immediate necessities. If a person does not do a thing early, he will be compelled to do it later, and that at a great sacrifice. A penny spent in proper time will save the expenditure of a pound at a later time. The wisest method, therefore, is not to grudge spending a small amount of money at the beginning, for that will mean the saving of a large sum of money in the long run.
In these days of keen economical struggle, the majority of men have to struggle hard and they earn perhaps just sufficient to make both ends meet. Under the pressure of their financial circumstances, those people are naturally led to adopt a penny-wise and pounding foolish policy. The temptation of being able to do by spending little for the time being makes them blind to the consequences of such a policy. They think that they will eventually find to their amazement that, as a matter of fact, that have had to spend more than it would have been necessary had they been a little more farsighted.
Every moment of our lives we find illustrations of this fact. For instance, penny-wise and pound-foolish persons, when they have to purchase the necessaries of life, always look at the cheapness of the article without paying any attention to its durability or good quality. The inevitable result is that the article in question does not last long, and where one of good and durable quality would have sufficed, he has to buy several. Thus, by spending a little more in the first instance, he would have been spared the subsequent drain of money. But foolish men of this type have never the heart to do it.
The proper method is to exercise prudence and forsight in all cases. If some necessity arises, which requires to be satisfied at once, it should be so satisfied immediately. Unless this is a done. the necessity might grow so urgent with the lapse of time, that not only shall we be able to avoid it but we shall have to spend more to meet its demands, which must necessarily have increased on account of the delay.
To take a homely example: a man suing six piece of cloth finds that one of them is worn out and unfit for use. If he be a prudent man he will at once replace this worn-out cloth by a new one. This will make the other clothes last longer and save him from the difficulty of having to buy several clothes all at once. But if he be a short-sighted man, he will think it unnecessary to spend money in buying a new piece of cloth when he still possess five pieces.
Being put to more use than formerly, these five pieces will wear our sooner and in trying to save the cost of one cloth, he will have to spend money for more than one. It is false economy not to meet immediate necessities. If a person does not do a thing early, he will be compelled to do it later, and that at a great sacrifice. A penny spent in proper time will save the expenditure of a pound at a later time. The wisest method, therefore, is not to grudge spending a small amount of money at the beginning, for that will mean the saving of a large sum of money in the long run.
Seeing that it is not at all safe to be penny-wise and pound-foolishing it should be our motto in life not to yield to the temptation of apparent economy. Such economy is always misleading and only leads us into the pitfall of extravagance, which brings want and woe. But from this it must not be supposed that one should not be economic. Economical we must be by all means. But we should always guard ourselves against false economy, which is never paying.
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