Meaning of “If you would know the value of money,…”

The Way to Wealth, Franklin’s compilation of Poor Richard maxims.

Thrift, Chapter I, “Industry,” Project Gutenberg #14418. The sentence occurs in the same definition of thrift as an acquired principle of conduct: present enjoyment is subordinated to forethought so that action serves today while providing for tomorrow.

Thrift, Preface; original Preface dated London, November 1875, verified in Project Gutenberg #14418’s represented John Murray Fiftieth Thousand witness (London, 1892). Smiles introduces the book as a sequel to Self-Help and Character and writes that thrift is the basis of Self-Help and the foundation of much that is excellent in Character. This remains Victorian conduct-of-life and moral-economic argument rather than current financial guidance.

Thrift, Preface; original Preface dated London, November 1875, verified in Project Gutenberg #14418’s represented John Murray Fiftieth Thousand witness (London, 1892). Smiles links personal independence with forethought, prudence, frugality and self-denial while explaining the practical purpose of the book; the sentence is historical moral-economic counsel, not a guarantee that saving practices alone establish modern financial independence.

The Way to Wealth, where Father Abraham repeats maxims associated with Poor Richard.

The Moral Sayings of Publius Syrus, maxim 14, in Darius Lyman’s 1856 English rendering; maxim order can vary across editions.