One of my favorite quote to use on my daughter when she was young and didn’t understand the power of parents or the power of money was this:
“He who has the gold, makes the rules.”
It would have her stomping off in defeated disgust every time. I later found out that the quote, or one similar to it was accredited to the ancient Greek philosopher, Plato.
Now that my daughter is a mother herself, she has used the quote on her own children many times, with the same result-a sigh of defeat and the “sound of the feet” as they leave the room.
It has become a favorite family joke. Whenever anyone hints that they are broke or needs money, all my daughter has to say is, “You know my dad’s Golden Rule?’. That usually ends the discussion.
It won’t be long until my grandchildren are using it on their children. The younger generations seem to be so materialistic these days. I was a depression baby, and we felt lucky to have shoes on our feet.
I read in the newspaper this week that the disparity between the savings of the older generations and todays young adults had increased by several hundred percent. Young people live for today. They have often never realy felt what it is like to be hungry or cold.
It is time that our youth learn to respect the value of saving and investing. Having that big screen TV today will not pay the college tuition down the road.heck, it won’t even pay the power bill next winter.
I imagine my daughter and I will be able touse this quote for some years to come!