10 financial lessons from Russian classics

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Keep track of expenses, don’t hide money under the mattress, and keep paperwork in order.

1. Do not forget to keep track of personal finances and plan expenses

Vronsky, despite his seemingly frivolous social life, was a man who hated disorder. … In order to always conduct his affairs in order, he, depending on the circumstances, more or less often, five times a year, retired and made all his affairs clear.

"Anna Karenina" by L. Tolstoy

Financial accounting is the first and most important step on the road to personal economic stability. And a vivid example of this is Alexei Vronsky. He was attentive to personal finances and was a scrupulous bookkeeper. And when his income was almost halved, he did not lose his head and quickly figured out how to optimize expenses and where to find the missing money.

The hero divided all bills into three groups: those that need to be paid first, less important ones, for which money can be given in installments, and those that you don't have to worry about yet. Then he cut costs, sold the expensive racehorses and borrowed the remaining money from the moneylender at interest to pay the bills.

And later, when Vronsky left the service, moved away from the world and became a landowner, he "did not upset, but increased his fortune", because "he kept the simplest, risk-free methods and was extremely thrifty and prudent in household trifles."

Start keeping track of income and expenses. Having a clear idea of what and how much money is spent on, you can reconsider expenses, find opportunities for savings and start saving money. Or decide to look for additional earnings and higher-paying jobs.

2. Set financial priorities

Ostap came close to Vorobyaninov and, looking around, gave the leader a short, strong and imperceptible blow to the side.

- Here's the police! Here is the high cost of chairs for the working people of all countries! Here are the night walks for the girls! Here's a gray hair in your beard! Here's a devil in your ribs!

"Twelve Chairs" I. Ilf, E. Petrov

It is important to be clear about what, in fact, you need money for. And not to waste your time on small and secondary expenses to the detriment of more significant ones.

Ostap Bender and Kisa were going to buy 10 chairs at an auction, into one of which Vorobyaninov's mother-in-law sewed her diamonds. After all the twists and turns, they had 200 rubles each. But when they won the auction and, taking into account the commission, they had to pay 230 rubles for the chairs, it turned out that Kisa had only 12 left.

He had missed the rest the day before: he took the girl to the cinema and to a restaurant, got drunk, bought bagels from his grandmother along with a basket. What happened next, he could not remember. As a result, there was not enough money to buy the chairs, and the headset was sold out piece by piece. And along with one of the chairs, the coveted diamonds left Kisa.

Of course, Vorobyaninov is a comic character, and the episode is hardly worth taking seriously. But this is a clear example of the fact that spending money on entertainment is worth it only when the main items of expenses have already been covered.

Analyze what you want - to live with maximum comfort, without saving money, or, for example, to buy an apartment and make repairs. If the latter, then you may have to postpone going to a cafe or buying computer games until later.

3. Collect information and assess the costs soberly before investing money

“Of course, a lot of work is needed, but we will work, you, Avdotya Romanovna, me, Rodion… other publications now give a glorious percentage! And the main basis of the enterprise is that we know what exactly needs to be translated. We will translate, publish, and study, all together. Now I can be useful because I have experience. For two years now, I have been poking around with publishers and I know all their ins and outs …"

"Crime and Punishment" F. Dostoevsky

Before starting your own business, you should first understand what exactly you are going to do.

Dmitry Razumikhin is Raskolnikov's best friend. Like the main character, he is very poor, and therefore he even has to leave the university. However, Dmitry does not get lost and gives lessons, is engaged in translations and editing, makes connections among publishers and booksellers.

For one of them, he even becomes not just a translator and editor, but also a kind of consultant. And after two years of work, having thoroughly studied the issue, he decides to open his own project. Razumikhin is confident of success, because the publishing world is familiar to him. And besides, he calculates the initial capital and manages to find investors: at interest he takes a thousand rubles from his uncle, and turns to Avdotya Raskolnikova for the remaining amount. Over time, he is also recovering at the university and is not going to back down from his plan.

Before starting your own business, study the theory, find and analyze practical examples, make useful contacts, and draw up a business plan. Otherwise, the whole further journey will be similar to wandering in the dark and is unlikely to end in success.

4. Take the money to the bank, do not hide it in the bank

Akaky Akakievich used to put aside every ruble he wasted in a small box, locked with a key, with a hole cut in the lid for throwing money into it. After every six months, he audited the accumulated copper sum and replaced it with fine silver. So he continued for a long time, and thus, over the course of several years, the accumulated amount turned out to be more than forty rubles.

"The Overcoat" N. Gogol

Austerity is not always the path to wealth. For example, titular counselor Akaki Akakievich is a very thrifty person. He keeps a careful record of finances and lives in a regime of the most severe economy: he does not allow himself any entertainment, does not light candles in the evenings, he goes hungry and drinks empty tea, and walks the streets “almost on tiptoe” so as not to “wear out the spot”. Bashmachkin receives 400 rubles a year - about 33 rubles a month. From each salary, he sets aside 33 pennies, and for several years he manages to save 40 rubles.

With such a modest income, this is admirable, but Akaky Akakievich does not invest money anywhere - they lie dead weight in a box locked with a key. It is not known when exactly the action of "The Overcoat" takes place, but in the year of writing the story (1841) the first savings bank in Russia was opened, where money could be deposited at interest. And if Bashmachkin had used her services, he might not have had to save so long for a new overcoat.

Times have certainly changed. But money still should not lie like a dead weight, otherwise inflation will eat it. Buy stocks, invest in real estate, or at least put them in a bank at interest.

5. Be wary of promises of big earnings with little investment

In the Land of Fools there is a magic field called the Field of Miracles … Dig a hole in this field, say three times: "Krex, fex, pex", put gold in the hole, cover with earth, sprinkle with salt on top, fields well and go to sleep. In the morning, a small tree will grow out of the hole, gold coins will hang on it instead of leaves …

"The Golden Key or the Adventures of Pinocchio", A. Tolstoy

The world will never run out of swindlers who want to pocket other people's money. Be on the lookout if someone offers you fabulously high returns for a modest investment.

The swindlers Lisa Alice and the Cat Basilio convinced the simple-minded hero that by sowing four coins, he could grow a real golden tree. Pinocchio, dreaming of getting his alphabet back and buying a jacket for Pope Carlo, believed their promises and, of course, was left without money. The cat and the fox sent him to the police, while they themselves dug up and took the coins.

Despite the fabulous component, the story is symbolic and quite relevant: we can say that Buratino, by his naivety, lost all his coins in the financial pyramid.

Before investing money somewhere, find out as much as possible about the person who offers you earnings. Look for reviews on social networks, ask for additional information. Otherwise, there is a risk of losing hard-earned money in a dubious network business or online casinos.

6. Prepare a financial cushion by investing large sums

“Your lady has been killed,” Chekalinsky said affectionately. Herman shuddered: in fact, instead of an ace he had a queen of spades. He could not believe his eyes, not understanding how he could turn off.

"The Queen of Spades" A. Pushkin

It seems that the more money we invest in stocks or businesses, the more income we will get. Therefore, it is difficult to give up the temptation to use all the money, and even get into debt. However, the consequences can be disastrous.

At the beginning of the story, the protagonist Herman follows the principle “I am not able to sacrifice what is necessary in the hope of acquiring what is superfluous”. He did not receive an inheritance and lives modestly, on one salary. However, having learned the secret of three cards, which, according to legend, should bring him wealth, Herman puts all his savings on the card table - a bank note worth 47 thousand rubles. At first he is lucky and he doubles his capital. But the last bet turns out to be fatal, and Herman loses all his money.

Are you investing in stocks, buying an apartment at the pit stage, opening your own business? Set aside some of the amount in case of failure. Stock prices can fall, developers have repeatedly deceived buyers, and the success of their business is often unpredictable.

7. Measure expenses against income

… If the energy that you spent throughout your life looking for money to pay interest went to something else, then, probably, in the end you could turn the earth …

"The Cherry Orchard" A. Chekhov

It happens that in pursuit of momentary pleasures and status things, we inadequately assess our own income and get into loans. And it doesn't lead to anything good.

Boris Borisovich Simeonov-Pishchik, the main character of the play, is bankrupt. He has no money, the estate is mortgaged. The hero borrows money all the time, cannot give it back, over and over again borrows and endlessly searches for someone to get funds from. He is ready to humiliate himself, flatter, please. His whole life is spent in this rat race, but at the same time he does not even think about reconsidering his own attitude to finance.

On the contrary, he borrows more and more, debts grow like a snowball, Pischik even thinks about a crime: "And now I am in such a position that at least make fake pieces of paper!" But at the same time he continues to hope for the "favor of heaven" and dreams that he will have money by itself: "Dasha will win two hundred thousand … she has a ticket."

Analyze your expenses, see if you can reduce them and do not go into debt unnecessarily. Taking out a fresh iPhone on credit until your mortgage is paid off is not a good idea.

8. Look for opportunities for additional income

“One step - and I made seven rubles ninety-five kopecks! The step was meaningless, child's play, I agree, but it nevertheless coincided with my thought and could not help but excite me extremely deeply … However, there is nothing to describe the feeling. The ten-ruble was in my waistcoat pocket, I put two fingers in to feel it - and I walked on without taking my hand out."

"Teenager" F. Dostoevsky

Sometimes real ways to make money lie right under our noses - you just need to show a little patience and ingenuity.

The protagonist of the novel, Arkady Dolgoruky, is obsessed with the idea of becoming the second Rothschild and believes that this requires "perseverance and continuity." Therefore, the hero saves - for example, he does not take cabs, and thanks to this he manages to save 60 rubles. And having got a job and having received his 50 rubles, the hero goes to take the first step.

He goes to the auction and for two rubles buys a battered girlish album with poetry, and then resells it for 10 rubles, thus adding 8 rubles to his salary. It is unlikely that they would have helped the hero become a Rothschild, but if he continued in the same spirit, he would have saved at least 100 rubles in a year. And four monthly salaries are not so little.

True, the ethical side of this act is questionable. The "teenager" took advantage of someone else's grief: the album belonged to a bankrupt family, whose property was auctioned off.

Dostoevsky's "teenager" tried himself in the role of a reseller. But today there are more honest ways to earn extra money. Look for orders on freelance exchanges, register for cashback services and partner programs of stores, find out how you can make money on bank cards.

9. Don't be afraid to spend money to increase your income

He walked every day through the streets of his village, looked under the bridges, under the rungs and everything that did not come across to him: an old sole, a woman's rag, an iron nail, a clay crock - he dragged everything to him and put it in that heap that Chichikov noticed in the corner of the room…

"Dead Souls" N. Gogol

Thrift is good, but you shouldn't make hoarding the main and only goal of life.

Stepan Plyushkin was once a successful landowner, but over time he changed beyond recognition and devoted himself to collecting "wealth", most of which have no value. Moreover, he not only "collects" unnecessary trash, but is also terrified of spending at least a penny and is sure that everyone around him is only dreaming of how to rob him. Plyushkin does not want to part with the products that are made on his estate, is gradually moving away from people and losing trading partners.

Thinking only about how to increase his fortune at the expense of any little thing, the landowner loses sight of the main sources of income, and his estate gradually falls into complete decline. What would not have happened if the character was not afraid to spend money and engage in trade.

Do not be afraid to part with money - this opens up opportunities for new earnings. We've already talked about stocks and bank deposits, but another great investment is your own education. Spend money on professional courses, and as a specialist, you will become more valuable, which means that your salary will also increase. Or go on vacation: a rested worker is a productive worker.

10. Treat your financial documents with care

He saw, firstly, that Dubrovsky knew little about business, and secondly, that a person so hot and imprudent would not be difficult to put in the most disadvantageous position.

"Dubrovsky" A. Pushkin

A careful attitude to securities will help to avoid financial losses and unnecessary worries.

The landowner Troekurov, having quarreled with Andrei Gavrilovich Dubrovsky (the father of the protagonist), decided to sue him for the estate of Kistenyovka. Troekurov's father once sold the estate to Andrei Gavrilovich's father. He issued a bill of sale (sale and purchase agreement), paid the entire amount to the seller and took over the property.

But the bill of sale and the power of attorney burned down in the fire, and Andrei Gavrilovich did not even think about taking an extract from the records of serfdom. He also ignored the first court request and for a long time did not make any attempts to prove that he was the rightful owner of Kistenyovka. However, without documents, it turned out that the Dubrovskys did not buy the estate, and it is still owned by Troekurov. And as a result, the court sided with the plaintiff.

Keep your financial documents in order: sales and purchase agreements, loan agreements, payment receipts, and the like. If you buy or sell something, provide or seek services, try to avoid verbal and informal agreements - be sure to conclude a legally correct contract.