Importance of Saving Money Even Presidents Go Broke
ď śMany Americans struggle with financial issues. We all have to set priorities and decide for ourselves the importance of saving money. ď ś Sometimes we feel like no one else will understand our situation.
ď śTrust me, you come in contact with people every day that may look like they have it all together, but they have financial issues eating away at them. ď śEven some of our Presidents have had financial issues.
ď śThomas Jefferson ď śThomas Jefferson, the third President of the US, is said to have inherited debt from his father in law. More notable is the debt he accumulated by living beyond his means.
ď śJefferson had expensive taste and spent money on fine furnishings and French wines. Paying for these when he didn’t really have the money contributed to his financial woes.
One other event that affected Jefferson was a friend he cosigned a loan for. When he agreed to cosign, the friend had an estate valued at $350,000 but that depreciated and when the man died the debt left behind had to be repaid by Jefferson.
ď śUlysses S. Grant ď śUlysses S. Grant, born Hiram Ulysses Grant, became the 18th President in 1869. Most of the occupations Grant tried, he failed at. He was a talented soldier who saved the country and that led to him becoming President of the US. His unfortunate bad luck led to various business ventures that ended up with him losing money.
One such venture was in 1884, after his presidency term, when he invested in his son’s investment firm. The firm and Grant filed bankruptcy due to the other partner stealing investors’ money. Grant began writing and selling short magazine articles to make money. He also negotiated a book contract for the writing of his memoirs.
ď śWilliam McKinley ď śThe 25th President of the United States had financial woes while he was Governor of the state of Ohio. Prior to that, he had lived most of his life in a relatively stable financial state. The depression of 1893 led to a tin plate company he invested in going bankrupt.
His debts reached amounts of $130, 000.00 and he was unable to pay them, forcing him to file for bankruptcy. He tried reaching out to some of his friends to help him manage and sell off his property. Instead, they used personal connections and raised the money for him to pay off his debts.
Harry Truman Harry Truman assumed the role of president when Franklin Roosevelt died in 1945 and he became the 33rd president of the United States. Truman’s father was broke when Truman graduated high school so he took on odd jobs and helped on his father’s farm to make money.
ď śThis continued until he joined the military to fight in World War I. When he returned from war, he opened a hat shop, called a haberdashery. ď śUnfortunately, the store failed and Truman lost a large amount of money. After this, he began his career in politics.
ď śJust because someone is in position of power, or President, does not mean they are exempt from financial woes. Learning the importance of saving money is a valuable lesson and one that we should not take for granted. Comment below and tell us your thoughts.
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