Business Hints for Men and Women Part 31

The boy or girl is in a safe way to learn self-control and build up character when he or she, with some nickels at command, can pa.s.s a candy or a fruit shop without being compelled to spend their cash a.s.sets.

Children, wherever it is possible, should be given opportunities for earning money, which they can feel is "really and truly" their own.

They should not be made to feel that the money is not actually theirs, to do with as they please, but they should be taught self- denial, and that they must not get rid of their earnings by the purchase of things not needed.

On the farm, children unconsciously learn much through occasional work and constant observation, but away from the farm, boys and girls are apt to know little or nothing of the work in which the father, the bread winner, is engaged.

Where it is possible, the children should be made familiar by actual contact with the father's work.

This knowledge may never be used, still it will have value as a factor in the child's training, for in our modern life all business is inter-related.

Let the youngsters know something about banks by entrusting them there when old enough.

Teach them to keep accounts of their own little money affairs, their earnings, their expenditures, and their balances.

If they should borrow, even a cent, see that they return it at the time agreed on. Impress on them the fact that debt is a burden which it is well to get rid of as soon as possible, if one would stand erect and be entirely free.

All this can be quietly inculcated into the mind of the child without making him old-fas.h.i.+oned or miserly. The more he knows of the world the more he can enjoy it in a wholesome way.

CHAPTER XXV

WORTH KNOWING

If things are said in this chapter that seem like a repet.i.tion of things already told, it is that their importance warrants a repet.i.tion in another form.

OVER-GENEROSITY

"There are no pockets in a shroud," it is said. True it is that we cannot take material things with us to the other side of the grave, and so before the end comes it is well to make preparations for their disposition.

There are three ways of getting possession of property:

1. To have it given.

2. To earn it.

3. To steal it.

We shall not consider the last method; that is the business of the law, but let us look at the first.

Property is given in two ways:

1. By direct gift from one to another.

2. By will, when the amount is payable on the death of the donor.

Of course, the widow and children, if there be any, are first to be considered in either of the cases named.

Many people, when the end is nearing, think that it is better to make sure that their wealth will reach the right hands by giving it direct and at once.

Now, no matter the n.o.bility of the motive that prompts such an act, it is one which, on the whole, cannot be commended.

It is all very well to spend available means in order to set a son or daughter up in business, but such sums, if there are other heirs, should be charged against the share of the probable donee, with interest, and a record made of the same.

Under no circ.u.mstances should old people, who, after raising a family and living honorable lives, have saved enough to own their home and secure an income for their declining years, deed or give this property to their children, or to any one else, in consideration of their having all their subsequent wants met.

The better way for the farmer, the merchant, or the manufacturer, when he feels the years pressing heavily and that he can no longer attend properly to the old demands on him, is to s.h.i.+ft by a properly drawn contract the business management of the enterprise to his children, or to those whom he wishes to place in charge.

In this way the owners.h.i.+p is not changed, and if the new management should prove to be inefficient, it can be placed in more efficient hands.

CARE OF WILLS

As has been said, every person having property of any kind to dispose of should make a will.

Already ways have been given as to how wills should be made and estates administered, but to these it may be well to add another point.

Do not imagine that the making of a will shortens life.

Too often, after the demise of a testator who it is known has made a will, the heirs cannot find the doc.u.ment, and the lawyer who drew it knows nothing more about it.

Many men leave their wills with their lawyers. If this should not be done, then it would be well to keep it in the safe of the bank in which the testator has his account.

But whether in these places or another, there should be no doubt as to the existence of a will, or the place in which it may be found.

Only the last will should be kept; all preceding wills should be destroyed.

CARE OF PAPERS

While writing about the care of wills, we are struck with the recollection that wills are not the only papers of value that are apt to be mislaid or lost.

Never pay out money without taking a receipt, and never receive money without giving one.

You are not responsible for the care of the receipts you give, but you certainly are for the receipts you receive.

The trained business man has a place for everything, but there is no reason why the man not so well trained should have to turn his shop or his home upside down every time he wants a paper that proves he has paid a bill, which he must pay again if that receipt is lost.

Everything may be regarded as "lost" that cannot be found, even if you are sure "it is about somewhere."

No valuable paper should be "about." The only place for it is just where you can lay your hand on it when wanted.

In addition to keeping your papers where they can be found the instant they are wanted, see to it that every paper is self- explanatory and clear of meaning on the face of it.

CHECKS AND STUBS

It has been advised that the stub be always filled out before the check, and that the check be then copied from the stub. This course will greatly lessen the chances of disagreement between the two.

When the last check in the book has been filled and torn out, do not throw away the stubs. They contain important data and may be of use in proving payment should a question arise.