WELL TO KNOW
When calling at a bank for your note, always give the exact date on which the note falls due.
If the note belongs to another party, and is held by the bank for collection, then mention the name of the person to whom it was originally given.
If the bank has sent you a written notice about the note, take the notice with you. It will be found to contain all the desired facts.
Banks keep their own notes in one place and those of their customers in another.
Banks keep each date by itself, and can so find required notes more readily if the owner"s names and the dates are given.
DISCHARGING LIENS
Remember a mortgage is a lien or security given for the payment of a note.
If you get a mortgage, have it recorded at once.
If you pay off a mortgage, take it at once to the office of record and have the discharge of the instrument properly entered on the folio in which the mortgage is recorded.
Many lawsuits have resulted from the temporary neglect of this important duty.
BE PROMPT, BUT NOT TOO PROMPT
Sometimes a man will give a number of notes and secure them by one mortgage.
The notes may pa.s.s into the hands of a number of people.
Let us suppose that you hold one note and the mortgage, and that the mortgagee comes to you and tenders the amount of your note, should you then surrender the mortgage to him?
By no means, until the last note is paid that mortgage remains as security, and the holder of it is responsible for its safety to the holders of the other notes.
In such a case it is better to have the mortgage held by one party for the protection of all.
BE IN NO HASTE TO INVEST
When a person not accustomed to managing money comes into the possession of a sum that it is not safe to carry about in the pocket, what should he do with it?
Obviously the first answer to this question must be "He should put it in the bank."
We have already given hints as to investments, and to these it is not necessary to refer again, we are now considering another and not an unusual phase of such a case.
Young men and women of all ages are very apt to be inexperienced in these matters. As soon as it becomes known that such people have come into the possession of a goodly amount of cash, which they are not considered competent to manage, it is surprising how past acquaintances suddenly pose as old and unselfish friends, each with a scheme for doubling the money while the owner is looking at it.
Now, there may be good, honest friends who are eager to advise and help in a case of this kind, but they are sure to be outnumbered by advisers who have their own little axes to grind.
Our advice is "Don"t be in a hurry to invest. Your cash is quite safe while in bank."
But no matter how promising, do not invest your money in a business you know nothing about, even if it does carry with it a position and a salary.
Find a good honest lawyer, despite sneers to the contrary, we believe most men in the profession are of this character, and ask his advice, and pay for his help if papers are to be drawn.
Buying rentable real estate is usually a good investment, provided always that the price is reasonable, the t.i.tle clear, and the chances of its advancement pretty certain.
MEET YOUR DUES PROMPTLY
It is estimated that every man and woman in the United States belongs to one or more societies of some character, and this is not an overstatement.
Every member of such an organization is such by reason of election and the payment of dues.
If you are a member of, or a pledged contributor to, a church, lodge, grange, or other society, you should regard the prompt payment of your dues as sacred as any other form of obligation.
The expenses of a properly conducted church are always considerable, even in small communities. It is a disgrace to the Christian organization that, after forcing down the pastor"s compensation to the barest cost of life"s necessities, then force him to run into debt if he and his family would live, or to be forced continually to remind the trustees that his salary is far in arrears.
If you belong to a lodge or other society, leave it if you honestly feel that you cannot afford the dues. Neglect to do this and your name will be dropped from the rolls on which it never should have been placed.
COUNTING MONEY
Never receive money from any one without counting it. Count it at once and in the presence of the giver.
Let it make no difference, banker, merchant, kinsman or friend, do not fear to give offence, but right then and there, count the money he gave you.
Of course, these people are honest, but did it ever occur to you that honest people often make mistakes?
Whenever you pay another money, if he does not do so himself, you should insist that he count it in your presence.
If you do this you won"t lose a friend, but if you do not do it you may make an enemy, should the man come back to say you made a mistake and underpaid him, and you very properly refuse to honor his claim.
READY MONEY
Do not, if you can possibly avoid it, keep money around your house, in your place of business, or on your person.
The professional thief is ever on the watch for chances to take unto himself all the money in sight.
Pickpockets reap their harvest from money carriers.
The burglar may steal or fire may destroy money left in the house.
A bank, if not near one then a safe, is the best place for money, though safes have been broken into and robbed.
Do not make a display of money at any time, but particularly in a public place.
If you are drawing money from a bank, count it quickly and quietly, then secure it in an inside pocket that cannot be reached without unb.u.t.toning.
Never cash a check for a man whom you do not know to be square.
The same applies to the endors.e.m.e.nt of checks.
IN TRAVELLING