The following is a beautiful text from an advertisement in the 1960s (to be specific, from First Federal Savings advertisement). It talks about why you need to save. No don’t let your preconcieved notions about such text stop you from reading this. Its beautifully written and does highlight the financial freedom angle of savings too.
Here is the original advertisement followed by the text:
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Your savings, believe it or not, affect the way you stand, the way you walk, the tone of your voice. In short, your physical well-being and confidence.
A man without savings is always running. He must. He must take the first job offered, or nearly so. He sits nervously on life’s chairs because any small emergency throws him into the hands of others.
Without savings, a man must be too grateful. Gratitude is a fine thing in its place. But a constant state of gratitude is a horrible place in which to live.
A man with savings can walk tall. He may appraise opportunities in a relaxed way, have time for judicious estimates and not be rushed by economic necessity.
A man with savings can afford to resign from his job, if his principles so dictate. And for this reason, he’ll never need to do so. A man who can afford to quit is much more useful to his company, and therefore more promotable. He can afford to give his company the benefits of his most candid judgements.
A man always concerned about necessities, such as food and rent, can’t afford to think in long-range career terms. He must dart to the most immediate opportunity for ready cash. Without savings, he will spend a lifetime of darting, dodging.
A man with savings can afford the wonderful privilege of being generous in family or neighbourhood emergencies. He can take a level stare into the eyes of any man . . . friend, stranger or enemy. It shapes his personality and character.
The ability to save has nothing to do with the size of income. Many high-income people, who spend it all, are on a treadmill, darting through life like minnows.
The dean of American bankers, J. P. Morgan, once advised a young broker, “Take waste out of your spending; you’ll drive haste out of your life.”
Will Rogers put it this way, “I’d rather have the company of a janitor, living on what he earned last year . . . than an actor spending what he’ll earn next year.”
If you don’t need money for college, a home or retirement, then save for self-confidence. The state of your savings does have a lot to do with how tall you walk.
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