7 FACTS OF LIFE

 

                       GET THE FACTS DOWN ON PAPER!

                    WHEN ARNOLD BENNETT STARTED OUT IN LONDON FIFTY YEARS AGO TO BE A NOVELIST. HE WAS POOR AND HARD-PRESSED. SO HE KEPT A RECORD OF WHAT HE DID WITH EVERY SIXPENCE. DID HE WONDER WHERE HIS MONEY WAS GOING? NO. HE KNEW. HE LIKED THE IDEA SO MUCH THAT HE CONTINUED TO KEEP SUCH A RECORD EVEN AFTER HE BECOME RICH, WORLD FAMOUS, AND HAD A PRIVATE YACHAT.

                   YOU AND I. TOO, WILL HAVE TO GET NOTEBOOKS AND START KEEPING RECORDS. FOR THE REST OF OUR LIVES? NO, NOT NECESSARILY. EXPERTS ON BUDGETS RECOMMEND THAT WE KEEP AN ACCURATE ACCOUNT OF EVERY NECKEL WE SPEND FOR AT LEAST THE FIRST MONTH - AND , IF POSSIBLE, FOR THREE MONTHS. THIS IS TO GIVE US AN ACCURATE RECORD OF WHERE OUR MONEY GOES, SO WE CAN DRAW UP A BUDGET.

                   OH, YOU KNOW WHERE YOUR MONEY GOES? WELL, MAYBE SO, BUT IF YOU DO, YOU ARE ONE IN A THOUSAND! MRS.STAPLETON TELLS ME IT IS A COMMON OCCURENCE FOR MEN AND WOMEN TO SPEND HOURS GIVING HER FACTS AND FIGURES, SO SHE CAN GET THEM DOWN ON PAPER - THEN, WHEN THEY SEE THE RESULT ON PAPER, THEY EXCLAIM, IS THAT THE WAY MY MONEY GOES? THEY CAN HARDLY BELIEVE IT. ARE YOU LIKE THAT? COULD BE.

                      2. GET A TAILOR-MADE BUDGET THAT REALLY

                                                  FITS YOUR NEEDS!

                     MRS. STAPLETON TELLS ME THAT TWO FAMILIES MAY LIVE SIDE BY SIDE IN IDENTICAL HOUSES, IN THE VERY SAME SUBURB, HAVE THE SAME NUMBER OF CHILDREN IN THE FAMILY, AND RECEIVE THE SAME INCOME - YET THEIR BUDGETING NEEDS WILL BE RADICALLY DIFFERENT. WHY? BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE DIFFERENT. SHE SAYS A BUDGET HAS TO BE A PERSONAL, CUSOM-MADE JOB.

                  THE IDEA OF A BUDGET IS NOT A WRING ALL THE JOY OUT OF LIFE. THE IDEA IS TO GIVE US A SENSE OF MATERIAL SECURITY - WHICH IN MANY CAUSES MEANS EMOTIONAL SECURITY AND FREEDOM FROM WORRY. PEOPLE WHO LIVE ON BUDGETS, MRS. STAPLETON TOLD ME, ARE HAPPIER PEOPLE.

                   BUT HOW DO YOU GO ABOUT IT? FIRST AS I SAID YOU MUST LIST ALL EXPENSES. THEN GET ADVICE.

                   I ASKED MRS. STAPLETON, "WHAT WOULD YOU DO, IF YOU LIVED IN A SMALL TOWN, OR ON A FARM, AND WANTED PERSONAL ADVICE ON DRAWING UP A BUDGET,  SHE ANSWERED, I WOULD TERRITORY, I WOULD ASK THAT PAPER WHERE I COULD GET PERSONAL GUIDANCE IN DRAWING UP A BUDGET - AND I WOULD TRAVEL ALL DAY, IF I HAD TO, TO GET THAT ADVICE.

                                        3. LEARN HOW TO SPEND WISELY

                 BY THIS I MEAN: LEARN HOW TO GET THE BEST VALUE FOR YOUR MONEY . ALL LARGE CORPORATIONS HAVE PROFESSIONAL BUYERS AND PURCHASING AGENTS WHO DO NOTHING BUT GET THE VERY BEST BUYS FOR THEIR FIRMS. AS STEWARD AND MANAGER OF YOUR PERSONAL ESTATE, WHY SHOULDN'T YOU DO LIKEWISE?

                                4. DON'T INCREASE YOUR HEADEACHES

                                                    WITH YOUR INCOME

                   MRS. STAPLETON TOLD ME THAT THE BUDGETS SHE DREADS MOST TO BE CALLES INTO CONSULTATION ON ARE FAMILY INCOMES OF FIVE THOUSAND A YEAR. I ASKED HER WHY. "BECAUSE" SHE SAID, "FIVE THOUSAND A YEAR SEEMS TO BE A GOAL TO MOST AMERICAN FAMILIES. THEY MAY GO ALONG SENSIBLY AND SANELY FOR YEARS- THEN, WHEN THEIR INCOME RISES TO FIVE THOUSAND A YEAR, THEY THINK THEY HAVE ARRIVED. THEY START BRANCHING OUT. BUY A HOUSE IN THE SUBURBS THAT DOESN'T COST ANY MORE THAN RENTING AN APARTEMENT. BUT A CAR, A LOT OF NEW FURNITURE, AND A LOT OF NEW CLOTHES - AND THE FIRST THING YOU KNOW, THEY ARE RUNNING INTO THE RED. THEY ARE ACTUALLY LESS HAPPY THAN THEY WERE BEFORE - BECAUSE THEY HAVE BITTEN OFF TOO MUCH WITH THEIR INCREASE IN INCOME.

                   THAT IS ONLY NATURAL. WE ALL WANT TO GET MORE OUT OF LIFE. BUT IN THE LONG RUN, WHICH IS GOING TO BRING US MORE HAPPINESS - OR HAVING DUNNING LETTERS IN THE MAIL AND CREDITORS POUNDING ON THE FRONT DOOR?

                                          5. TRY TO BUILD CREDIT, IN THE EVENT

                                                               YOU MUST BORROW

  

                          BE SURE YOUR INSURANCE POLICIES HAVE A SAVINGS ASPECTS, IF YOU WANT TO BORROW ON THEM, FOR THIS MEANS A CASH VALUE. CERTAIN TYPES OF INSURANCE, CALLED "TERM INSURANCE" ARE MERELY FOR YOUR PROTECTION OVER A GIVEN PERIOD OF TIME AND DO NOT BUILD UP RESERVES. THESE POLICIES ARE OBVIOUSLY OF NO USE TO YOU FOR BORROWING PURPOSES. THEREFORE, THE RULE IS, ASK QUESTIONS! BEFORE YOU SIGN FOR A POLICY, FIND OUT IF IT HAS A CASH VALUE IN CASE YOU HAVE TO RAISE MONEY.

                        NOW, SUPPOSE YOU DON'T HAVE INSURANCE YOU CAN BORROW ON, AND YOU DON'T HAVE ANY BONDS, BUT YOU DO OWN A  HOUSE, OR A CAT, OR SOME OTHER KIND OF COLLATERAL. WHERE DO YOU GO TO BORROW? BY ALL MEANS, TO A BANK! BANKS HAVE A REPUTATION TO MAINTAIN IN THE COMMUNITY, AND THEY WILL USUALLY DEAL WITH YOU FAIRLY. FREQUENTLY IF YOU ARE IN A FINANCIAL JAM, THE BANK WILL GO SO FAR AS TO DISCUSS YOUR PROBLEMS WITH YOU, MAKE A PLAN, AND HELP YOU WORK YOUR WAY OUT OF YOUR WORRY AND INDEBTEDNESS. I REPEAT, IF YOU HAVE COLLATERAL GO TO  A BANK!

                         HOWEVER, SUPPOSE YOU ARE ONE OF THE THOUSANDS  WHO DON'T HAVE COLLATERAL, DON'T OWN ANY PROPERTY, AND HAVED NOTHING TO OFFER AS GUARANTEE EXCEPT YOUR WAGES OR SALARY? THEN AS YOU VALUE YOUR LIFE, HEED THIS WORD OF WARNING! DO NOT DO NOT APPLY TO A "LOAN COMPANY" WITHOUT MAKING SURE THAT IT OPERATES UNDER STATE LICENSE. THE 32 STATES WHICH DO HAVE THIS LAW, HOWEVER, THE LICENSED LOAN COMPANIES CAN USUALLY BE DEPENDED ON. MOST OF THEM ARE ETHICAL, HONEST, AND STRICTLY ON THE LEVEL. THEY ARE DOING A SERVICE TO THOSE PEOPLE WHO ARE FACED WITH ILLNESS OR EMERGENCY AND HAVE TO RAISE MONEY. THEY CHARGE A HIGHER RATE OF INTEREST THAT THE BANKS, BUT THEY HAVE TO DO THIS, FOR THEY TAKE GREATER RISKS AND HAVE GREATER EXPENSES IN COLLECTING. BUT, IF YOU LIVE IN A STATE WHERE LOAN COMPANIES ARE UNREGULATED. BEFORE DOING BUSINESS WITH ANY LOAN COMPANY, GO TO YOUR BANK, TALK TO ONE OF ITS OFFICERS, AND ASK HIM TO RECOMMEND TO RECOMMED A LOAN COMPANY THAT HE KNOWS TO BE FAIR.

                 RULE NO 6. PROTECT YOURSELF AGAINST ILLNESS, 

                                        FIRE, AND EMERGENCY EXPENSES.'

                       INSURANCE IS AVAILABLE, FOR RELATIVELY SMALL SUMS, ON ALL KINDS OF ACCIDENTS, MISFORTUNES, AND CONCEIVABLE EMERGENCIES. I AM NOT SUGGESTING THAT YOU COVER YOURSELF FOR EVERYTHING FROM SLIPPING IN THE BATHTUB TO CATCHING GERMAN MEASLES - BUT I DO SUGGEST THAT YOU PROTECT YOURSELF AGAINST THE MAJOR MISFORTUNES THAT YOU KNOW COULD NOT YOUR MONEY AND THEREFORE DO COST YOU WORRY. IT'S CHEAP AT THE PRICE.

                       RULE NO 7. DO NOT HAVE YOUR LIFE-INSURANCE 

                                    PROCEEDS PAID TO YOUR WIDOW IN CASH

                         IF YOU ARE CARRYING LIFE INSURANCE TO PROVIDE FOR YOUR FAMILY AFTER YOU'RE GONE, DO NOT, I BEG OF YOU, HAVE YOUR INSURANCE PAID IN ONED LUMP SUM.

                       WHAT HAPPENS TO "A NEW WIDOW WITH NEW MONEY? I'LL LET MRS.MARION S.EBERLY ANSWER THAT QUESTION. SHE IS HEAD OF THE WOMEN'S DIVISION OF THE INSTITUTE OF LIFE INSURANCE. 60 EAST 42ND STREET, NEW YORK CITY. SHE SPEAKS BEFORE WOMEN'S CLUBS ALL OVER AMERICA ON THE WISDOM OF USING LIFE-INSURANCE PROCEEDS TO PURCHASE A LIFE INCOME FOR THE WIDOW INSTEAD OF GIVING HER THE PROCEEDS IN CASH. SHE TELLS OF ONE WIDOW WHO RECEIVED TWENTY THOUSANDS DOLLARS IN CASH AND LENT IT TO HER SON TO START IN THE AUTO-ACCESSORY BUSINESS FAILED, AND SHE IS DESTITUTE NOW. SHE TELLS OF ANOTHER WIDOW WHO WAS PERSUADED BY A SLICK REAL-ESTATE SALESMAN TO PUT MOST OF HER LIFE-INSURANCE MONEY IN  VACANT LOST THAT WERE "SURE TO DOUBLE IN VALUE WITHIN YEAR". THERE YEARS LATER, SHE SOLD THE LOTS FOR ONE TENTH OF WHAT SHE PAID FOR THEM. SHE TELLS OF ANOTHER WIDOW WHO HAD TO APPLY TO THE CHILD WELFARE ASSOCIATION FOR THE SUPPORT OF HER CHILDREN - WITHIN TWELVE MONTHS AFTER SHE HAD BEEN LEFT FIFTEEN THOUSAND DOLLARS IN LIFE INSURANCE. A HUNDRED THOUSAND SIMILAR TRAGEDIES COULD BE TOLD.

                     THE AVERAGE LIFETIME OF TWENTY-FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS LEFT IN THE HANDS OF A WOMAN IS LESS THAN SEVEN YEARS". THAT STATEMENT WAS MADE BY SYLVIA S. PORTER, FINANCIAL EDITOR OF THE NEW YORK POST, IN THE LADIES HOME JOURNAL.

                     YEARS AGO, THE SATURDAY EVENING POST SAID IN AN EDITORIAL: THE EASE WITH WHICH THE AVERAGE WIDOW WITHOUT BUSINESS TRAINING, AND WITH NO BANKER TO ADVICE HER, CANBE WHEEDLED INTO PUTTING HER HUSBAND'S LIFE-INSURANCE MONEY INTO WILDCAT STOCKS BY THE FIRST SLICK SALESMAN WHO APPROACHES HER - IS PROVERBIAL. ANY LAWYER OR BANKER CAN CITE A DOZEN CASES IN WHICH THE ENTIRE SAVINGS OF A THIRTY MAN'S LIFETIME. AMASSED BY YEARS OF SACRIFICE AND SELF-DENIAL, WERE SWEPT AWAY SIMPLY BECAUSE A WIDOW OR AN ORPHAN TRUSTED ONE OF THE SLICK CROOKS WHO ROB WOMEN FOR A LIVELIHOOD.

                    IF YOU WANT TO PROTECT YOUR WIDOW AND YOUR CHILDREN, WHY NOT TAKE A TIP FROM J.P MORGAN - ONE OF THE WISEST FINANCIEAR WHO EVER LIVED. HE LEFT MONEY IN HIS WILL TO SIXTEEN PRINCIPLE LEGATEES. TWELVE WERE WOMEN. DID HE LEAVE THESE WOMEN CASH? HE LEFT TRUST FUNDS THAT INSURED THESE WOMEN A MONTHLY INCOME FOR LIFE.

HOW TO ADD ONE HOUR A DAY TO YOURF WAKING LIFE

 

                               BEFORE ONE HOUR A DAY

                              WHY AM I WRITING A CHAPTER ON PREVENTING FATIGUE IN A BOOK ON PREVENTING WORRY? THAT IS SIMPLE FATIGUE OFTEN PRODUCES WORRY, OR LEAST, IT MAKES YOU SUSCEPTIBLE TO WORRY. ANY MEDICAL STUDENT WILL TELL YOU THAT FATIGUE LOWERS PHYSICAL RESISTANCE TO THE COMMON COLD AND HUNDREDS OF OTHER DISEASES, TO THE COMMON COLD AND HUNDREDS OF OTHER DISEASES, AND ANY PSYCHIATRIST WILL TELL YOU THAT FATIGUE ALSO LOWERS YOU RESISTANCE TO THE EMOTIONS OF FEAR AND WORRY. SO PREVENTING FATIGUE TENDS TO PREVENT WORRY.

                          DID I SAY, "TENDS TO PREVENT WORRY? THAT IS PUTTING IT MILDLY. DR.EDMUND JACOBSON GOES MUCH FURTHER. DR.JACOBSON HAS WRITTEN TWO BOOKS ON RELAXATION AND YOU MUST RELAX, AND AS DIRECTOR OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO LABORATORY FOR CLINICAL PHYSIOLOGY, HE HAS SPENT YEARS CONDUCING INVESTIGATION IN USING RELAXATION AS A METHOD IN MEDICAL PRACTICE. HE DECLARES THAT ANY NERVOUS OR EMOTIONAL STATE "FAILS TO EXIST IN THE PRESENCE OF COMPLETE RELATION". THAT IS ANOTHER WAY OF SAYING, YOU CANNOT FATIGUE AND WORRY, THE FIRST RULE IN REST OFTEN. REST BEFORE YOU GET TIRED.

                   WHY IS THAT SO IMPORTANT? BECAUSE FATIGUE ACCUMULATES WITH ASTONISHING RAPIDITY. THE UNITED STATES ARMY HAS DISCOVERED BY REPEATED TESTS THAT EVEN YOUNG MEN- MEN TOUGHENED BY YEARS OF ARMY TRAINING - CAN MARCH BETTER, AND HOLD UP LONGER, IF THEY THROW DOWN THEIR PACKS AND REST TEN MINUTES OUT OF EVERY HOUR. SO THE ARMY FORCES THEM TO DO JUST THAT. YOUR HEART IS JUST AS SMART AS THE U.S. ARMY. YOUR HEART PUMPS ENOUGH BLOOD THROUGH YOUR BODY EVERY DAY TO FILL A RAILWAY TANK CAR. IT EXERTS ENOUGH ENERGY EVERY  TWENTY-FOUR HOURS TO SHOVEL TWENTY TONS OF COAL ONTO A PLATFORM THREE FEET HIGH. IT DOES THIS INCREDIBLE AMOUNT OF WORK FOR FIFTY. SEVENTY OR MAYBED NINETY YEARS. HOW CAN IT STAND IT? DR. WALTER B. CANNON, OF THE HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL, EXPLAINS IT. HE SAYS, MOST PEOPLE HAVE THE IDEA THAT THE HEART IS WORKING ALL THE TIME. AS A MATTER OF FACT, THERE IS A DEFINITE REST PERIOD AFTER EACH CONTRACTION. WHEN BEATING AT A MODERATE RATE OF SEVENTY PULSES PER MINUTE, THE HEART IS ACTUALLY RATE OF SEVENTY PULSES OUT OF THE TWENTY-FOUR. IN THE AGGREGATE ITS REST PERIODS TOTAL A FULL FIFTEEN HOURS PER DAY".

                   DURING WORLD WAR 2, WINSTON CHURCHILL, IN HIS LATE SIXTIES AND EARLY AFTER YEAR. DIRECTING THE WAR EFFORTS OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE. A PHENOMENAL RECORD. HIS SECRET? HE WORKED IN BED EACH MORNING UNTIL ELEVEN O'CLOCK READING REPORTS, DICTATING ORDERS, MAKING TELEPHONE CALLS, AND HOLDING IMPORTANT CONFERENCES. AFTER LUNCH, HE WENT TO BED AGAIN AND SLEPT FOR AN HOUR. IN THE EVENING, HE WENT TO BE ONCE MORE AND SLEPT FOR TWO HOURS BEFORE HAVING DINNER AT EIGHT. HE DIDN'T CURE FATIGUE. HE DIDN'T HAVE TO CURE IT. HE PREVENTED IT. BECAUSE HE RESTED FREQUENTLY, HE WAS ABLE TO WORK ON, FRESH AND FIT, UNTIL LONG PAST MIDNIGHT.

                  THE ORGINAL JOHN D.ROCKFELLER MADE TOW EXTRAORDINARY RECORS. HE ACCUMULATED THE GREATEST FORTUNE THE WORLD HAD EVER SEEN UP TO THAT TIME AND HE ALSO LIVED TO BE NINETY-EIGHT. HOW DID HE DO IT? THE CHIEF REASON, OF COURSE, WAS BECAUSE HE HAD INHERITED A TENDENCY TO LIVE LONG. ANOTHER REASON WAS HIS HABIT OF TAKING A HALF-HOUR NAP IN HIS OFFICE EVERY NOON. HE WOULD LIE DOWN ON HIS OFFICE COUCH- AND NOT EVEN THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STTES COULD GET JOHN D. ON THE PHONE WHILE HE WAS HAVING HIS SNOOZE!

                     IN HIS EXCELLENT BOOK, WHY BE TIRED?  DANIEL JOSSELYN OBSERVES, "REST IS NOT A MATTER OF DOING ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. REST IS REPAIR". THERE OS SO MUCH REPAIR POWER IN A SHORT PERIOD OF REST THAT EVEN A FIVE-MINUTE NAP WILL HELP TO FORESTALL FATIGUE! CONNIE MACK, THE GRAND OLD MAN OF BASEBALL, TOLD ME THAT IF HE DOESN'T TAKE AN AFTERNOON NAP BEFORE A GAME, HE IS ALL TUCKERED OUT AT AROUND THE FIFTH INNING. BUT IF HE DOES GO TO SLEEP. IF FOR ONLY FIVE MINUTES BE CAN LAST THROUGHOUT AN ENTIRE DOUBLE-HEADER WITHOUT FEELING TIRED.

                  WHEN I ASKED ELEANOR ROOSEVELT HOW SHE WAS ABLE TO CARRY SUCH AN EXHAUSTING SCHEDULE DURING THE TWELVE YEARS SHE WAS IN THE WHITE HOURSE. SHE SAID THAT BEFORE MEETING A CROWD OR MAKING A SPEECH, SHE WOULD OFTEN SIT IN A CHAIR OR DEVENPORT, CLOSE HER EYES, AND RELAX FOR TWENTY MINUTES.

                  I RECENTLY INTERVIEWED GENE AUTRY IN HIS DRESSING ROOM AT THE MADISON SQUARE GARDEN, WHERE HE WAS THE STAR ATTRACTION AT THE WORLD'S CHAMPIONSHIP RODEO, I NOTICED AN ARMY COT IN HIS DRESSING ROOM. I LIE DOWN THERE EVERY AFTERNOON. GENE AUTRY SAID, AND GET AN HOUR'S NAP BETWEEN PERFORMANCES. WHEN I AM MAKING PICTURES IN HOLLYWOOD. HE CONTINUED. I OFTEN RELAX IN A BIG EASY CHAIR AND GET TWO-OR THREE TEN-MINUTES NAPS A DAY. THEY BUCK ME UP TREMENDOUSLY.