The Art of Money Getting, 1880, vs. Mr. Money Mustache

I found this book online, The Art of Money Getting, from 1880. I've been extremely amused by the similarities to MMM's blog, and frugality advice generally. Most of it is about running a business, but it seems some of the basic principles of frugality haven't changed much in a long time!

For example:

"[L]et money work for you, and you have the most devoted servant in the world. It is no "eye-servant." There is nothing animate or inanimate that will work so faithfully as money when placed at interest, well secured. It works night and day, and in wet or dry weather."

Art of Money Getting, 3

vs.

"Every dollar is actually a little employee that will work for you, 24 hours a day, for as long as you keep it."

Mr. Money Mustache (this is actually a quote from a guest blogger, "The Realist")

And:

Young men starting in life should avoid running into debt. There is scarcely anything that drags a person down like debt. It is a slavish position to get in, yet we find many a young man, hardly out of his "teens," running in debt. He meets a chum and says, "Look at this: I have got trusted for a new suit of clothes." He seems to look upon the clothes as so much given to him; well, it frequently is so, but, if he succeeds in paying and then gets trusted again, he is adopting a habit which will keep him in poverty through life. Debt robs a man of his self-respect, and makes him almost despise himself.

Art of Money Getting, 3

vs.

YOUR DEBT IS NOT SOMETHING YOU “WORK ON”. IT IS A HUGE, FLAMING EMERGENCY!!! ... If you borrow even one dollar for anything other than your primary house or a profitable investment, the very next dollar you can get your hands on should go to paying that back. You don’t space it out all nice and casual with “monthly payments”, and you don’t have a “budget”, “entertainment allowance”, or any other such nonsense. You don’t start a family or get yourself a dog, and you don’t go out for drinks and dinner with your friends. There will be plenty of time for these things later, and they will feel much better when they are not set against the backdrop of Incorrect Debt Due to Error.

Mr. Money Mustache