Quotes from U.S. Presidents~

During this President's Day week, here are some quotes 

from U.S. Presidents that are worth repeating:

George Washington

"To contract new debts is not the way to pay old ones."

George Washington wrote this truth in a letter nearly 240 years ago, but our modern government still doesn’t get it. Of course, the world is a different place now and things have changed, but this one truth about money still stands: You’ll never improve your financial situation by robbing Peter to pay Paul.

Thomas Jefferson

"Never spend your money before you have it.”

This advice came from Thomas Jefferson’s “A Dozen Canons of Conduct in Life.” The irony here is that Thomas Jefferson died with a lot of debt (although much of it was inherited from his father-in-law). However, the advice is solid.

Abraham Lincoln

"Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed 

is more important than any other one thing."

If you want to succeed at getting out of debt, saving for retirement, or another financial goal badly enough, you’ll succeed. If you just kind of, sort of want to succeed, then you’ll never get out of debt, build your ideal business, or reach your financial independence number on target.

Ronald Reagan

"A recession is when your neighbor loses his job. 
A depression is when you lose yours. 

And recovery is when Jimmy Carter loses his."

This was one of Reagan’s slogans during his 1980 presidential campaign. Politics aside, it’s pretty funny. But it also points to a greater truth—everyone around us might be in a financial mess, but it doesn’t hit home until it affects us personally.

John F. Kennedy

“No matter how big the lie, repeat it often enough 

and the masses will regard it as the truth.”

That’s exactly why our culture has embraced credit cards and debt. We’ve been sold debt for so long that we’ve come to believe it’s just a way of life. But if you’ve figured out that you can live without debt, then you know that’s just not the case. JFK wasn’t talking about debt when he made that statement, but the principle still holds true.

Harry Truman

“Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers.”

The average millionaire reads one nonfiction book a month. Leaders spend time learning and growing as leaders. They don’t sit and wait for the world to come to them. They go out and get it. No matter what you do—whether you’re a corporate CEO, an unpaid intern or a stay-at-home mom—reading is an extremely important part of a healthy lifestyle.