The Importance of Being Solvent
By JONATHAN CLEMENTS
“Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen [pounds] nineteen [shillings] and six [pence], result happiness,” opines the character Wilkins Micawber in Charles Dickens’s David Copperfield. “Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery.”
I used to think that quote was simply about the virtue of living within your means. Depending on your income relative to your expenses, your wealth would either grow or shrink.
But now, the quote strikes me as a commentary not just on financial happiness and misery, but on overall happiness and misery. If you’re locked into an expensive lifestyle, you won’t just suffer financial stress. You may also find it tough to lead the life you want.