Although investing is the subject of this book, we start with a few words about saving, because a man cannot in vest money until he has saved it unless he is one of the minority who inherit or marry or borrow or otherwise come into control of what others have saved.

Especially in recent years, an American with a steady job probably has sufficient income so that he can pay es sential living expenses and also save something, if he wants to. His ability to spend less than his income depends more on his mental attitude than on the size of his income. (We do not mean to imply that this problem is limited to males only; in this book the words “man” and “he” in clude women.) To save, a person must have a motive strong enough to overbalance the pressure to spend all in come immediately, if not sooner.

Some common reasons for saving are to meet unpredict able future difficulties, often called “a rainy day”; to pay for a college education for children; to pay for a home; to ‘have an income in old age; and at death to leave some thing for dependents or descendants or other heirs. Among these reasons, provision for old-age income is the one that usually calls for much the largest accumulation of capital, through either a pension system or private saving or both. Certified Financial Planner - Read More.