money and life

Chapter 14 Don't live a life of debt (5)
We may think that people who are engaged in financial careers must also be very good at managing their own money. Unfortunately, this idea is wrong.Take Pete as an example. He manages the country's money in an orderly manner, but his personal finances have been in a mess and he owes a lot of debts.Lord Carrington, who used to work in the bank, was invited by Peter to come to his house to help him sort out the bills. The Lord found that Peter's living expenses were very high. The pork alone needed a whole load of pork in a week, plus the servant's wages and other expenses. That's £2 a year.You know he can get a salary of no less than 300 pounds a year, and there is a job supervising the port that can increase his income by another 6 pounds a year, but he actually has a debt of up to 000 pounds. Repaid by the government on his behalf after his death.Regarding this phenomenon, McCauley said: "The majesty and justice of Pericles and DeWitt are clearly seen in Pete, but their simplicity is not learned by Pete. Even higher."

There are many others like Pete.Like Lord Melville, who treated money with the same extravagance, public and private.There is also Fox, who often lends money to others, and he always believes that as long as others repay him as much money as possible, he will not have to worry about money.He also often borrowed usury from Jewish merchants in the hall outside Amak, so he also called this hall "Jerusalem".The usury borrowed was spent on gambling, with debts stretching back as far as youth.Gibbon once saw him sit at the table for more than 20 hours and lose £11.In the society at that time, people with status would have different degrees of gambling addiction, and no one would cheat in gambling at that time, because everyone had gambling debts.Because of Fox's gambling debts, Selwyn compares him to Charles who sacrificed his career.

Sheridan owed a lot of debts, his life has been shrouded in debts, and occasionally he got a lot of returns in some side businesses, but the money always disappeared quickly, and there were still so many debts, no one knew what the money was. Where did it go.It's like flying snow in June, it disappears before it hits the ground.He once spent £1 on a six-week trip to Perth, which was left by his first wife.He had to pick up a pen and write some words to maintain his life, so "Rival in Love" and other works can be regarded as the inspiration for his poor life.His second wife gave him 600 pounds. He thought that life would be richer from now on. Unexpectedly, he sold the company for 6 pounds, added the 5 pounds, and bought a piece of land in Surrey. Immediately he became poor again.Sometimes his life is easy and comfortable, but these are only a few times, most of the time he is worried about debts and paying back money.Mr. Taylor, who works in the opera house, can meet Sheridan on the street from time to time. If he says hello to Sheridan, he has to pay Sheridan 000 pounds, and Mr. Taylor has to pay 15 pounds for a few words.

If the creditor came to urge Xie Ridan to pay back the money, and the creditor happened to bring another horse, then Sheridan would praise and say: "This horse looks really handsome." After hearing the compliment, the creditor said triumphantly: "That's natural, I The horse must be different." Then Sheridan said: "I don't know if it runs so gracefully, can you let me see?" So the creditor got on the horse's back and urged the horse to run a few steps for Sheridan to see. After the creditor ran away, Sheridan left quickly, and when the creditor returned to the original place, there was nowhere to be seen Sheridan.Many creditors waited outside his house early every day, and everyone wanted to find him before he went out.But after breakfast and making sure the gate was securely closed, Sheridan slipped out the small door.Whether it was the milkman, the peddler, the bakery or the butcher, he had debts.His wife often had to wait a long time before cooking, because servants were begging for food and money in neighboring houses.Sheridan once worked as an accountant in the navy. Once a butcher sent a leg of lamb. His chef asked Sheridan for money after putting the leg of lamb into the pot, but the chef returned empty-handed, so the butcher didn’t hesitate Took the leg of lamb.Another time, someone invited him and his son to go on a trip to the countryside. Although life was tight at the time, he rented two carriages generously, and he and his son sat in one each.

This kind of life prevented him from having a proper meal until his death, and his friends in the upper class kept a distance from him.The judiciary demanded that he pay off his debts immediately, and he was kept under surveillance during the last few days of his death. Although it was proposed to put him in a cell, the plan was abandoned due to health reasons.

The bishop of Cardinal Raz owed a lot of money. He mortgaged all his property and still failed to pay off the debt. He was afraid of seeing the vicious look of the creditor. them.Mirabeau is a high-ranking official, and the power in his hands should not be underestimated, but his parents have always worried about his life.Mirabeau spends extravagantly and is constantly in debt. His bad habits are hard to change. His parents have no choice but to let others arrest him and put him in prison, so as to end Mirabeau's life in debt.Despite his high status, he ended up in such a mess that, until his death, he failed to pay the artisan who sewed his wedding dress for him.

Lamartine hated mathematics very much. He believed that addition, subtraction, multiplication and division were not the abilities that a noble person should have.He had 6 opportunities to get rich, and a book of "Basic Education in Literature" allowed him to earn 20 francs a year, but so much money disappeared in his hands with just a glance.In the end, others have to donate to him, and hide debts everywhere.Some people say that his debts have accumulated to 300 million francs, but he still has not stopped wasting.At one point, a devoted Lamartine fan tried to go to the store and buy a flounder, but it was too expensive.Because of his love for Lamartine, this supporter had also planned to buy a piece of Lamartine's land, but he decided to save a little, so he didn't buy it.He was standing in the store hesitating, when a person came in, and he knew that he was a person of noble status. This person also planned to buy flounder. After looking at the fish tank for a long time, he ordered a fish to the owner without haggling over the price. sent to his home.To the surprise of this supporter, the person who bought the fish was Lamartine.

Webster is an American political scientist. He can't manage money, spends money lavishly, and often puts himself in the embarrassment of having no money.Like Bacon, Webster took bribes because he couldn't make ends meet.People describe him like this: "The debt weighed him down, he couldn't break free from the extravagant life, and when he failed to borrow money everywhere, he no longer refused money from some entrepreneurs in Boston. As a member of Congress, his The speeches smelt of corruption because of bribes..." Among the others were Monroe and Jefferson, who also had frequent worries about money, though they were honest and unavoidable.

But well-known people don’t want others to see that they are living in distress. Even if they are not rich, or even very poor, they still have to show a superior attitude outside. They can’t bear to show that they are behind others.So they borrowed money everywhere to maintain their image, and they became more bored and miserable because of their debts.

Because scientists often immerse themselves in research projects and do not have too much contact with the outside world, and their income is limited and their expenditures are not too much, it is rare to hear news of their debts.But as Germany's best mathematician, Kepler has been in debt because his income is not much.As a last resort, he sold the picture of the birth of Jesus to pay back the money. He laughed at himself: "I became a beggar several times and asked people around the treasury for alms." After Kepler's death, people found that he had only 22 left. Caroline, all her belongings are only some books and materials, plus two clothes.And Leibniz also owed a lot of money during his lifetime. Although he was a philosopher, he was also a politician. the main reason.

Spinoza didn't want his life to be bound by other people and things, so he gave up his job and subsidies, and lived on the money he earned from working in an optician's shop.When Dalton was living with a fellow countryman in Manchester, the fellow countryman promised to support him so that he could devote himself to his career, but Dalton did not love money, and he rejected the kindness of the fellow countryman.Dalton said: "A rich life prevents me from calming down and working. It will turn the career I like into a leisure activity." Although Faraday is not rich, he has the freedom and ease that others envy.Lagrange has made many achievements. He said that the people he should be most grateful to are his parents. His parents studied astronomy in Turin. The family did not have much money, but it was such a family that allowed Lagrange to concentrate on studying science.

In science, John?Everyone knows Hantel's name.He used his life savings to buy a lot of high-value cultural relics, and hired workers to build an exhibition hall to put all the cultural relics in it. This exhibition hall is now the Hantel Museum.Although his family had a very difficult time after his death and did not know how to pay off their debts, the total value of his collection was about 15 pounds, which was enough money for the government to pay off his debts during his lifetime, and also for future generations. People here firmly remember his contribution to the country.

Turning from poverty to wealth is a journey that many outstanding scholars will go through. Of course, there is another essential factor, that is hard work.However, there are also some people who still don't get rewarded after their efforts, and the main reason for this may be that they don't know how to save.Like Joan?Sten, his previous work was all related to wine. He especially loves to drink the beer he brews, and many of his works are also related to drinking.Whether he was painting or not, he often knocked himself unconscious.Because of drinking, he borrowed a lot of money, and finally was dragged down by debts and passed away.After his death, the prices of his works soared, and today they are sky-high.

Where?Deckard was born extravagant and liked to pursue a high-quality life, but his income was not much, and he inevitably incurred a lot of debts.In order to repay the money, he began to study ancient spells, hoping to get more money through spells.This kind of clueless life did not end until he realized that he would not live long. He suddenly came to his senses and decided to leave enough money for his wife and children.Rembrandt became impoverished due to his crazy collection of collections and owed a lot of debts. Therefore, he also lived under the supervision of the judicial department for 13 years, and then died.

In the book "Autobiography", Hayden highly praised the famous Italian scholars. The book said: "The Italian scholars who have made great achievements are mostly gentle and know how to control their desires. For example, Lafayette, Apeles, Reynolds, Michael Angelo, Rubins, Zeuxis and Titans, they used the wisdom in their work to manage their personal lives, and arranged them rationally so that they never owed debts, so their lives Always be happy." Although Hayden understood this truth, he did not learn from them, but instead kept getting into debt.He was sentenced to prison by the court for economic reasons, and it was during that time that he wrote the book "Hypocritical Election".In his diary, he also recorded one thing: "Weber, who runs the butter business, was educated by me. George Beaumont recommended him to me 24 years ago. Weber was very clever. He later started the butter business. From time to time, I will go to him to borrow 10 pounds." "Autobiography" also wrote: ""The Head of Lazarus" was inspired and created after others imprisoned me; the painting "Eccles ", I escaped a siege from creditors; one morning I begged the lawyer for a few days, and then I painted "Xenophon's Beautiful Face" in the afternoon; I was always depressed when I was pulling ", and someone came to ask me to pay taxes just after finishing." From these words, it can be seen that Hayden's life is always in danger, and creditors will come to collect debts at any time, and he still has to pay for his debts. Run away and ask for forgiveness from time to time.

Before reaching the ranks of adults, Byron was deeply in debt.In his 20s, he wrote Mr Becker a letter saying: "Before I was 21 I was in debts of £9 to £000. Now, my financial situation is still changing. Poor." He celebrated his coming of age by borrowing loan sharks and throwing a big party in Newstead.His debts came one after another, and even his mother was angry because of one of his debts before she died.He had said he would not earn any publishing fees, so in Childe?When the first edition of "Harold" was printed, the copyright of the book was fully transferred to Mr. Dallas, but he later changed his mind.But the money was far from enough to cover his debts, and he sold Newstead, but it was still useless.He originally thought that his wife's money would relieve his stress after marriage, but he didn't expect that he would not be able to use the money, and because there was one more person in the family, life became more and more difficult.Coupled with the constant demands from creditors and judges, it is really miserable.

Every day, creditors came to ask for the arrears. In the first year of marriage, his house was forcibly repossessed 9 times because of debts. If he hadn’t had the right not to be imprisoned, he would have been arrested by the judicial department. prison.The poor situation prompted Byron to sell copyrights in exchange for some money, but the publisher advised him not to do so, and funded a lot of money to tide him over first.But Byron was already full of scars physically and mentally, and what made him more painful was the departure of his wife, which almost drove him crazy.The first publishing fee was not received by Byron, but after experiencing a series of things, he began to understand the preciousness of money, and gradually negotiated terms with the publishing house: "This new poem in "Child? Harold" I offer 2 guineas, it depends on whether you agree or not, your 500 guineas is too low, think about it. My asking price is not high, look at the price of Mr. Moore's "La La Luke" It is 1 guineas, and the price of Campbell’s works is also 500 guineas, of course I don’t mean to look down on them, I just hope that my works can get an appropriate price.”

(End of this chapter)