From a teenager who left home at the age of 17, Benjamin Franklin became a printer, a newspaper delivery boy, an author, an inventor, a negotiator, and a founding father. His success came from his virtues of thrift and hard work. Looking back at Benjamin Franklin's life, we can learn a lot of extremely useful knowledge.

𝟏. Understand the value of everything

Benjamin Franklin learned his first lesson about personal finance when he was still a child, a lesson that deeply influenced his financial decisions later on. When he was 7 years old, he saw another boy playing the trumpet. Because he loved the sound of the trumpet so much, he took out all the money he had in his pocket to negotiate. Finally, he got his trumpet, he brought it home and played loudly throughout the house. But the joy was short-lived when his brother and sister found out that he had used all the money he had to exchange for the trumpet. And the amount was 4 times the value of the trumpet. When he realized this, he was extremely sad, more than the joy that the trumpet brought.

After that, he kept this lesson in mind in every decision in his life. Even in a letter to his friend, he always repeated this lesson.

“The impression of that day stayed with me all my life. Every time I planned to buy something unnecessary, I told myself: Don't spend too much on the trumpet. And I saved money.

As I grew up and traveled around, I observed others and I met many, many people who spent too much money on the trumpet.

When I saw a man so ambitious that he flattered and flattered others to get what he wanted, sacrificing his time, sleep, freedom, virtue, even his friends, I said to myself: This man has spent too much on the trumpet.

When I saw a man who wanted to gain recognition and constantly rushed into messy politics, forgetting his own rules and then destroying them with his own hands, I thought he had spent too much on the trumpet.

If I knew a stingy man who gave up all the comforts of life, did not do good for others, did not value his fellow countrymen and was not generous to his friends just to accumulate more wealth, I would say: Poor man, you have spent too much on the trumpet.

When I meet a man who pursues pleasure, disregarding his mind and his possessions in order to gain material values ​​and trading his health in the process, I say: Man lost, you are bringing pain to yourself instead of happiness. You have spent too much on the trumpet.

If I see a man obsessed with appearance, with fine clothes, with a big house, with luxurious furniture or servants and valuing them more than his own property, and then getting stuck in debt and ending up in prison, I say: Oh my God, this man has paid a high price for the trumpet.

In short, I have learned that most of the suffering of human beings is self-inflicted because they have misjudged the value of things around them and they have spent too much on the trumpet.”

𝟐. Love of labor and independence

Franklin's father initially wanted him to become a pastor, but because the cost of education was quite expensive, he sent him home to learn writing and arithmetic. At that time, his father was in charge of the candle and soap making business. His father also wanted him to be able to do these jobs. However, Franklin did not like that job. His father was afraid that he would leave home to go to sea like another brother in the family did, so he sometimes took him out for a walk to meet carpenters, bricklayers, brass workers... while they were working. His father observed his attitude and tried to guide him to one of those jobs.

This ignited his love of labor and independence. He had some odd jobs around the house when the repairman could not come and also made some small machines to serve his own experiments. I believe that this was a solid foundation for his later inventions.

He shared in his memoir that becoming self-reliant not only saves money but also leads to happiness. “Human happiness does not come from great fortunes that come once in a while, but from small advantages that occur every day. If you teach a poor boy how to shave and use a razor, you will bring him more happiness than if you gave him a thousand gold coins, which he would quickly spend, leaving him with only the regret of having used them foolishly. In the latter case, he will not only no longer have to wait in line at the barber’s, but he will also not have to endure dirty fingers, bad breath, and dull blades. He can shave himself as he pleases and enjoys it every day with a good razor.”f

From a teenager who left home at the age of 17, Benjamin Franklin became a printer, a newspaper delivery boy, an author, an inventor, a negotiator, and a founding father. His success came from his virtues of thrift and hard work. Looking back at Benjamin Franklin's life, we can learn a lot of extremely useful knowledge.

𝟏. Understand the value of everything

Benjamin Franklin learned his first lesson about personal finance when he was still a child, a lesson that deeply influenced his financial decisions later on. When he was 7 years old, he saw another boy playing the trumpet. Because he loved the sound of the trumpet so much, he took out all the money he had in his pocket to negotiate. Finally, he got his trumpet, he brought it home and played loudly throughout the house. But the joy was short-lived when his brother and sister found out that he had used all the money he had to exchange for the trumpet. And the amount was 4 times the value of the trumpet. When he realized this, he was extremely sad, more than the joy that the trumpet brought.

After that, he kept this lesson in mind in every decision in his life. Even in a letter to his friend, he always repeated this lesson.

“The impression of that day stayed with me all my life. Every time I planned to buy something unnecessary, I told myself: Don't spend too much on the trumpet. And I saved money.

As I grew up and traveled around, I observed others and I met many, many people who spent too much money on the trumpet.

When I saw a man so ambitious that he flattered and flattered others to get what he wanted, sacrificing his time, sleep, freedom, virtue, even his friends, I said to myself: This man has spent too much on the trumpet.

When I saw a man who wanted to gain recognition and constantly rushed into messy politics, forgetting his own rules and then destroying them with his own hands, I thought he had spent too much on the trumpet.

If I knew a stingy man who gave up all the comforts of life, did not do good for others, did not value his fellow countrymen and was not generous to his friends just to accumulate more wealth, I would say: Poor man, you have spent too much on the trumpet.

When I meet a man who pursues pleasure, disregarding his mind and his possessions in order to gain material values ​​and trading his health in the process, I say: Man lost, you are bringing pain to yourself instead of happiness. You have spent too much on the trumpet.

If I see a man obsessed with appearance, with fine clothes, with a big house, with luxurious furniture or servants and valuing them more than his own property, and then getting stuck in debt and ending up in prison, I say: Oh my God, this man has paid a high price for the trumpet.

In short, I have learned that most of the suffering of human beings is self-inflicted because they have misjudged the value of things around them and they have spent too much on the trumpet.”

𝟐. Love of labor and independence

Franklin's father initially wanted him to become a pastor, but because the cost of education was quite expensive, he sent him home to learn writing and arithmetic. At that time, his father was in charge of the candle and soap making business. His father also wanted him to be able to do these jobs. However, Franklin did not like that job. His father was afraid that he would leave home to go to sea like another brother in the family did, so he sometimes took him out for a walk to meet carpenters, bricklayers, brass workers... while they were working. His father observed his attitude and tried to guide him to one of those jobs.

This ignited his love of labor and independence. He had some odd jobs around the house when the repairman could not come and also made some small machines to serve his own experiments. I believe that this was a solid foundation for his later inventions.

He shared in his memoir that becoming self-reliant not only saves money but also leads to happiness. “Human happiness does not come from great fortunes that come once in a while, but from small advantages that occur every day. If you teach a poor boy how to shave and use a razor, you will bring him more happiness than if you gave him a thousand gold coins, which he would quickly spend, leaving him with only the regret of having used them foolishly. In the latter case, he will not only no longer have to wait in line at the barber’s, but he will also not have to endure dirty fingers, bad breath, and dull blades. He can shave himself as he pleases and enjoys it every day with a good razor.”f