THE HABIT OF SAVINGdied in her eighty-first year, twenty-five years after my father's
death. I shall never forget her last words to me: "Will, you have
never caused me a moment's worry since you were born, and I
could not have had more than you have given me had I been
the Queen of England:'
I was making at this time four times more money than
my father had made as superintendent of public schools in my
hometown of Phillipsburg, New Jersey.
All the money, however, passed out of my pockets as easily
as water flows through a sieve. Expenses increased with every
increase in my income, which is the habit, I suppose, with most
people. There was no sane reason, though, for letting my ex-
penses go beyond my income, which I did. I found myself
piling up debts, and from this time on I was never out of
debt. I did not worry about my debts, though, for I thought I
could pay them off at any time. It never occurred to me-not
until fully twenty-five years later-that debt eventually would
bring upon me not only great anxiety and unhappiness, but
that I would lose friends and credit as well.
But I must pat myself on the back for one thing: I was
giving full rein to my big fault-spending money as fast as I
made it, often faster; but I never shirked my work. I was always
trying to find more things to do, and I always found them.
I spent very little time with my family. I would go home to
dinner every night and romp with the babies until their bed-
time, then I would return to the office and often work.
So the years went by. Another daughter arrived. Presently
I wanted my daughters to have a pony and cart, and I wanted
my son to have a riding horse. Then I thought I needed a team
to take me around with the family. I got them all. Instead of
one horse and a carry-all, or perhaps a team, which would have
been sufficient for our needs and something we could have
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