52. Parkinson’s Law

Expenses always rise to meet income.

Parkinson’s Law is one of the best known and the most important laws of money and wealth accumulation. It was developed by English writer C. Northcote Parkinson many years ago, and it explains why most people retire poor.

This law says that no matter how much money people earn, they tend to spend the entire amount and a little bit more besides. Their expenses rise in lockstep with their incomes. Many people are earning today several times what they were earning at their first jobs. But somehow, they seem to need every single penny to maintain their current lifestyles. No matter how much they make, there never seems to be enough.

The first corollary of Parkinson’s Law is Financial independence ...

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