ProverbWisdomEnglish origin1640

A penny saved is a penny earned

Meaning: Saving money is just as valuable as earning it.

Origin: Benjamin Franklin never wrote this exact line. The thought was already in George Herbert's Outlandish Proverbs (1640) as "A penny spared is twice got," and Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanack (1737) gave its own version, "A penny saved is two pence clear." The tidier modern wording came later.

Equivalents in Japanese, German, Dutch, Russian, and Polish

  • Japanese: 一銭を笑う者は一銭に泣く (Issen wo warau mono wa issen ni naku) (literally: Those who laugh at a penny will cry over a penny)
  • German: Wer den Pfennig nicht ehrt, ist des Talers nicht wert (literally: He who does not honor the penny is not worth the thaler)
  • Dutch: Wie het kleine niet eert, is het grote niet weerd (literally: Whoever doesn't honor the small isn't worthy of the big)
  • Russian: Бережёная копейка рубль бережёт (Berezhyonaya kopeyka rubl' berezhyot) (literally: A saved kopeck saves a ruble)
  • Polish: Grosz do grosza, a będzie kokosza (literally: Penny to penny, and there'll be a hen)

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