Do not live poor to die rich.
Meaning: Prioritize present wellbeing over deferred gratification; excessive frugality throughout life wastes the joy money enables.
Origin: Recorded in A Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases, an undated collection published in London by Whittaker & Co. around 1880 and credited to Thomas Preston. Its earlier history hasn't been traced.
More proverbs about Wisdom
- He that would be Pope must think of nothing else. — Single-minded devotion to ambition demands sacrificing all other concerns and distraction…
- A little pot is soon hot. — Small things heat quickly, so modest people reach their limit of patience or emotion fast…
- Poverty is the mother of health. — Lack of resources forces people to walk more, eat simply, and avoid excess indulgence.
- True praise takes root and spreads. — Genuine compliments, like seeds, gain momentum and influence others' perceptions through…
- Neither praise nor dispraise thyself, thine actions serve the turn. — Your deeds speak louder than self-promotion or self-deprecation; let accomplishments prov…
- Old praise dies, unless you feed it. — Reputation requires constant reinforcement; past accomplishments fade without continued e…
From our idioms
- at loggerheads — In strong disagreement, in a quarrel; at an impasse.
- at one's wits' end — At a loss about what to do next; in a state of frustration.
- at the drop of a hat — On any pretext; without needing an excuse or reason.