Say What? Penny wise and pound foolish / Take care of the pence and the pounds will ...
"Money makes the world go around," sang the nightclub performers in the musical "Cabaret." This may or may not be true, but there are a certainly a number of wise old sayings about money. We'll take a look at a rather contradictory pair of them in today's column.
According to one of the explanations I found when I was researching this topic, the expression "Penny wise and pound foolish" can be used to describe a person who is "very careful or mean with small amounts of money, yet wasteful and extravagant with large sums." However, this actually misses what seems to me to be one of the most important points of the expression: when someone is penny wise, pound foolish, he refuses to spend money that will, in the long run, save him a greater amount:
"If the prices are high here, why bother to buy anything?" asked Gojyo. "Didn't you say there's another town half a day's travel from here?"
"Well, that might seem to make sense," said Hakkai, consulting his shopping list. "But on the other hand, there's no guarantee that the prices will be any better up the road. Not buying anything at all when the market here seems to have most of what we need may prove to be penny wise, pound foolish. I'd hate to end up spending 100 yen for a withered orange up the road when we can get a whole sack here for 600 yen."
Another classic example of "penny wise, pound foolish" would be refusing to spend money on maintenance for a vehicle, when an avoidable repair would cost you more in the end. This saying has been attributed to Oxford scholar Robert Burton (1577-1640), and similar expressions have been found in works by others of the same era, so the chances are good that it goes back even further than that.
In contrast, "Take care of the pence and the pounds [or dollars] will take care of themselves" might imply that the stingy impulses of the "penny wise, pound foolish" person are in fact a good idea, because this saying means that if you are frugal most of the time, you'll have money for larger expenditures when you need it:
"What a great meal," said Hazel, seating himself in the best armchair in the parlor of their elegant suite of rooms. "And this inn is mighty comfortable too. Why the long face, Gat?"
"The price for a single night's lodging here must be very high. Didn't you tell me that your master always said 'Take care of the pennies, and the dollars will take care of themselves?'"
"Goodness, I'm not spendin' a single penny on this place. It's a gift from the grateful townsfolk. You're not sayin' we should hurt their feelings, are you? My bankroll's not hurtin' one bit."
This expression is said to be the creation of Englishman William Lowndes (1652-1724), a secretary of the royal treasury, although his original statement differs slightly: "[T]ake care of the pence, for the pounds will take care of themselves."
If you choose to use "Penny wise and pound foolish" in a story or article, remember that the situation you describe should include a clear penalty down the road for refusing to spend money in the short term. On the other hand, "Take care of the pence and the pounds will take care of themselves" (or the U.S. version, "Take care of the pennies and the dollars will take care of themselves") can be used at face value: watch your petty cash outlays, and you'll have enough money for for the high-ticket items if you need them.
Sources
- Origin of “Penny Wise and Pound Foolish,” and Some of History’s Other Most Insightful Quotes about Money (Today I Found Out website)
- Re: Penny wise and pound foolish (The Phrase Finder)
- Re: Watch the pennies and the pounds take care of themselves (The Phrase Finder)
- LOWNDES, William (1652-1724), of Chesham, Bucks. (The History of Parliament)