The 5 Best Financial Quotes

Quotes convey a lesson given by a learned and respected person. We try to remember the good ones so people will think we are smart. I am including some of my favorites that have a financial application.


1. "You can finance for your child's education, but you cannot finance for your retirement."


 I don't believe this a notable quote but maybe just a motto used by financial planners. It's true because the first goal makes the second goal harder to do. Every penny you put into that college fund is one that you can't put into the retirement fund. Those of you without children skip this quote. If you are smart the idea of financing is wrong. Replace the word finance with saving and you'll be better off.


2. "The most powerful force in the world is compound interest."


This quote is attributed to Albert Einstein, one of the smartest men ever to have lived. It's strange to have a scientist make such a quote. You would think he would have his mind on more scientific things. But, it makes sense that someone who spent much of his time putting the universe into mathematical equations would notice, compound interest. He seemed to be a frugal and down to earth man so saving must have been important to him. His professor salary must have been meager and saving was a necessity. He was involved with the most powerful energies of the universe and equating it with compound interest is incredible. He was a student of math and must have been impressed with the beauty of such a simple formula and it's encompassing benefits.


3. "A man is not a retirement plan."


I don't know who said this statement, but I can agree with it. This quote is so important. I would say it to my sister or my daughters.  It's a truth and also a warning. It means you must prepare for your own financial future and not depend on anyone. It's something you don't usually say to a male because you take it for granted a man will support himself. But in our culture we want to take care of our lady's. It was the culture coming out of the 50's and a chivalry mindset. If you have daughters like I do you probably have already drilled in the notion to stand on your own two feet. That's through a good education and a good paying job.


4. "Money doesn't buy happiness."


This is one of my favorite quotes. I don't really know who said it but I take it as an axiom. I think we can all agree it's true. It's only when we don't have a lot of money  can we truly agree with it. But the idea is true happiness is a state of mind which can not be attained by  material things. It can only be had by positive interactions with other people. While money buys material things, that decay with time, and experiences that can give momentary happiness. Real happiness can only be attained a giving and receiving heart.


5. "A penny saved is a penny earned."


Of course we all know Ben Franklin gave us this quote. It's a colloquialism  for saving money. But I has a deeper meaning. It could mean that the function of saving money is actually akin to work. You are performing a unit of work by saving money. Or maybe it means that the money you save is more valuable than the money you spend. The money that is spent has a value received that immediately dissipates after the purchase. While money saved maintains it's full value and gains more value with time.