Look around you. You will find many needs that are not filled. Forexample， if you train yourself to be a good cook， you can probablymake money by starting cooking classes for young girls right in yourown kitchen. You can get your students by ringing door-bells.
Books have been written about how to make money in yourspare time; inquire at your public library. There are manyopportunities for both men and women. But one word of warning：unless you have a natural gift for selling， don’t attempt door-todoor selling. Most people hate it and fail at it.
Rule No. 9： Don’t gamble-ever.
I am always astounded by the people who hope to makemoney by betting on the ponies or playing slot machines. I know aman who makes his living by owning a string of these “one armedbandits”， and he has nothing but contempt for the foolish peoplewho are so naive as to imagine that they can beat a machine thatis already rigged against them.
I also know one of the best known bookmakers in America. Hewas a student in my adult-education classes. He told me that with allhis knowledge of horse racing， he couldn’t make money betting onthe ponies. Yet the facts are that foolish people bet six billion dollarsa year on the races-six times as much as our total national debtback in 1910. This bookmaker also told me that if he had an enemyhe despised， he could think of no better way of ruining him thanby getting him to bet on the races. When I asked him what wouldhappen to the man who played the races according to the tipstersheets， he replied：“You could lose the Mint by betting that way.”
If we are determined to gamble， let’s at least be smart. Let’sfind out what the odds are against us. How? By reading a bookentitled How to Figure the Odds， by Oswald Jacoby—an authorityon bridge and poker， a top-ranking mathematician， a professionalstatistician， and an insurance actuary. This book devotes pages to telling you what the odds are against your winning whenyou play the ponies， roulette， craps， slot machines， draw poker，stud poker， contract bridge， auction pinochle， the stock market.
This book also give you the scientific， mathematical chances on ascore of other activities. It doesn’t pretend to show how to makemoney gambling. The author has no axe to grind.
He merely shows you what the odds are against your winningin all the usual ways of gambling; and when you see the odds， you will pity the poor suckers who stake their hard-earned wages onhorse races or cards or dice or slot machines. If you are temptedto shoot craps or play poker or bet on horses， this book may saveyou a hundred times-yes， maybe a thousand times-what it costs.
Rule No. 10： If we can’t possibly improve our financial situation，let’s be good to ourselves and stop resenting what can’t be changed.
If we can’t possibly improve our financial situation， maybe wecan improve our mental attitude towards it. Let’s remember thatother people have their financial worries， too. We may be worriedbecause we can’t keep up with the Joneses; but the Joneses areprobably worried because they can’t keep up with the Ritzes;and the Ritzes are worried because they can’t keep up with theVanderbilts.
Some of the most famous men in American history have hadtheir financial troubles. Both Lincoln and Washington had toborrow money to make the trip to be inaugurated as President.
If we can’t have all we want， let’s not poison our days andsour our dispositions with worry and resentment. Let’s be goodto ourselves. Let’s try to be philosophical about it. “If you havewhat seems to you insufficient，” said one of Rome’s greatestphilosophers， Seneca， “then you will be miserable even if youpossess the world.”
And let’s remember this： even if we owned the entire UnitedStates with a hog-tight fence around it， we could eat only threemeals a day and sleep in only one bed at a time.
To lessen financial worries， let’s try to follow these rules 10：1. Get the facts down on paper.
2. Get a tailor-made budget that really fits your needs.
3. Learn how to spend wisely.
4. Don’t increase your headaches with your income.
5. Protect yourself against illness， fire， and emergency expenses.
6. Do not have your life-insurance proceeds paid to your widowin cash.
7. Teach your children a responsible attitude towards money.
8. If necessary， make a little extra money off your kitchen stove.
9. Don’t gamble-ever.
10. If we can’t possibly improve our financial situation， let’s begood to ourselves and stop resenting what can’t be changed.