Benjamin Franklin — "If you would know the value of money, go and try to borrow some."
If you would know the value of money, go and try to borrow some.
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More from Benjamin Franklin
"He that has a Trade, has an Office of Profit and Pleasure."
"Vessels large may venture more, but little boats should keep near shore."
"A man wrapped up in himself makes a very small bundle."
"He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else."
"God helps them that help themselves."
About Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)
Polymath Founding Father, diplomat, and Poor Richard's Almanack author who helped draft the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Closely associated with John Adams (fellow Founder, Massachusetts statesman) and Thomas Jefferson (fellow Declaration drafter). For an intellectual contrast, see Thomas Hutchinson, last royal governor of colonial Massachusetts — Franklin leaked Hutchinson's loyalist correspondence to Boston in 1772 to inflame revolutionary sentiment — Hutchinson represented the colonial-aristocrat crown-loyalty that Franklin's revolution was organized to dismantle.
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Understanding this quote
What it means
The best way to understand money's true worth isn't spending or earning it — it's trying to borrow it. Borrowing forces you to confront how scarce and guarded money really is. You face rejection, conditions, interest, and the humility of depending on someone else's trust. That experience teaches what no amount of having money can: it is finite, it is powerful, and others will not part with it easily.
Relevance to Benjamin Franklin
Franklin rose from poverty as a Boston candlemaker's son, building his fortune through printing in Philadelphia with no inherited wealth. He wrote extensively about thrift and financial discipline in Poor Richard's Almanack, publishing maxims like 'A penny saved is a penny earned.' As a businessman managing his own print shop, he dealt directly with credit, contracts, and lending — giving him firsthand knowledge of how difficult and revealing the act of borrowing truly was.
The era
In colonial America, formal banks barely existed — the First Bank of the United States wasn't chartered until 1791. Colonists relied on British merchants, local moneylenders, and personal relationships for loans. Currency was unreliable and often inflated rapidly. Credit was scarce and deeply personal; a failed loan request could damage a reputation permanently. Franklin witnessed neighbors and tradesmen struggle financially in Philadelphia, making this observation a practical truth rooted in daily colonial economic life.
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