section one of the art of money getting or golden rules for making money by pt barnum this is a librivox recording all librivox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit librivox.org recording by ruth golding in the united states where we have more land than people it is not at all difficult for persons in good health to make money in this comparatively new field there are so many avenues of success open so many vacations which are not crowded that any person of either sex who is willing at least for the time being to engage in any respectable occupation that offers may find lucrative employment those who really desire to attain an independence have only to set their minds upon it and adopt the proper means as they do in regard to any other object which they wish to accomplish and the thing is easily done but however easy it may be found to make money i have no doubt many of my heroes will agree it is the most difficult thing in the world to keep it the road to wealth is as dr franklin truly says as plain as the road to the mill it consists simply in expending less than we earn that seems to be a very simple problem mr micawber one of those happy creations of the genial dickens puts the case in a strong light when he says that to have annual income of twenty pounds per annum and spend twenty pounds and sixpence is to be the most miserable of men whereas to have an income of only twenty pounds and spend but nineteen pounds and sixpence is to be the happiest of mortals many of my readers may say we understand this this is economy and we know economy is wealth we know we can't eat our cake and keep it also yet i beg to say that perhaps more cases of failure arise from mistakes on this point than almost any other the fact is many people think they understand economy when they really do not true economy is misapprehended and people go through life without properly comprehending what that principle is one says i have an income of so much and here is my neighbor who has the same yet every year he gets something ahead and i fall short why is it i know all about economy he thinks he does but he does not there are men who think that economy consists in saving cheese pairings and candle ends in cutting off two pence from the lawn dress bill and doing all sorts of little mean dirty things economy is not meanness the misfortune is also that this class of persons let their economy apply in only one direction they fancy they are so wonderfully economical in saving a half penny when they ought to spend two pence that they think they can afford to squander in other directions a few years ago before kerosene oil was discovered or thought of one might stop overnight at almost any farmer's house in the agricultural districts and get a very good supper but after supper he might attempt to read in the sitting room and would find it impossible with the inefficient light of one candle the hostess seeing his dilemma would say it is rather difficult to read here evenings the proverb says you must have a ship at sea in order to be able to burn two candles at once we never have an extra candle except on extra occasions these extra occasions occur perhaps twice a year in this way the good woman saves five six or ten dollars in that time but the information which might be derived from having the extra light would of course far outweigh a ton of candles but the trouble does not end here feeling that she is so economical in tallow candles she thinks she can afford to go frequently to the village and spend 20 or 30 dollars for ribbons and furbillows many of which are not necessary this false connote may frequently be seen in men of business and in those instances it often runs to writing paper you find good businessmen who save all the old envelopes and scraps and would not tear a new sheet of paper if they could avoid it for the world this is all very well they may in this way save five or ten dollars a year...