Benjamin Franklin on money

Everyday habits affected his circumstances

In his account of working in London, Franklin contrasted his habit of drinking water with coworkers who spent money on strong beer. He linked their drinking with their poverty, making everyday habits part of his explanation of material circumstances.

Frugality took practice rather than perfection

Franklin counted frugality among thirteen virtues in his effort to improve his character. He found that habit and inclination repeatedly disrupted his intentions. His account therefore placed careful use of resources within an unfinished moral effort, rather than presenting himself as faultless.

His conduct encompassed slave ownership

Franklin owned at least seven enslaved people and published advertisements selling enslaved people. His participation in slavery belonged to his time and was wrong. By the late 1750s, he had begun opposing slavery, and he later became an active abolitionist.

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