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After writing about Time is Money last night, I climbed into bed and began to read John Bogle’s new The Little Book of Common Sense Investing. In the introduction, Bogle raves about the magic of compound returns. I turned to Kris, who was reading about birds, and said, “This reminds me of that bank song from Mary Poppins.” I paused. “I wonder if it’s on YouTube.”
Of course it is. Everything is on YouTube. This song bored me when I was a kid, but now it cracks me up. Being smart with money is no fun if you can’t laugh at yourself!
Fidelity Fiduciary Bank
If you invest your tuppence wisely in the bank, safe and sound,
Soon that tuppence, safely invested in the bank, will compound.
And you’ll achieve that sense of conquest as your affluence expands
In the hands of the directors who invest as propriety demands.You see, Michael, you’ll be part of: Railways through Africa!
Dams across the Nile! Fleets of ocean greyhounds!
Majestic, self-amortizing canals! Plantations of ripening tea!All from tuppence, prudently, fruitfully, frugally invested
In the — to be specific — in the
Dawes, Tomes, Mousely, Grubbs Fidelity Fiduciary Bank!When you deposit tuppence in a bank account, soon you’ll see
That it blooms into credit of a generous amount semiannually.
And you’ll achieve that sense of stature as your influence expands
To the high financial strata that established credit now commands.You can purchase first and second trust deeds!
Think of the foreclosures! Bonds! Chattels!
Dividends! Shares! Bankruptcies! Debtor sales!
Opportunities! All manner of private enterprise!
Shipyards! The mercantile! Collieries! Tanneries!
Incorporations! Amalgamations! Banks!Tuppence, patiently, cautiously trustingly invested
In the — to be specific — in the
Dawes, Tomes, Mousely, Grubbs Fidelity Fiduciary Bank!
“If you feed the birds, what have you got? Fat birds!” Heh.
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March 27th, 2007 at 11:50 am
The Sibley Guide to Birds is a wonderful book, but not exactly bedtime reading!
Funny, after I saw Mary Poppins as a child, I thought I’d try feeding the birds myself: I put some sunflower seeds in my hand and stuck my hand out the window. Within minutes, a chickadee landed on my hand and took a seed, and a little while later a tufted timouse came and took one too.
March 27th, 2007 at 12:05 pm
March 27th, 2007 at 12:37 pm
Sorry, but giving is a very important part of the budget as well. The Bankers were wrong in their hearts even if right in principal about compound interest. Having a giving heart releases the importance of money and has the affect of respecting it more.
Giving should take a little “bite”, be a little difficult to the budget. However, in the end, everybody is the better for it.
March 27th, 2007 at 12:43 pm
Tim, you’re right–and that’s pretty much the larger point of the movie. Remember that it ends with the bankers all out flying kites?
We’ve watched Mary Poppins many times with the kids, and that song always cracks me up. Particularly the little warble on the line, “Plantations of ripening tea”.
March 27th, 2007 at 3:05 pm
What a classic film clip! It is a reminder that investing should be fun, not so tedious that you must painfully overcome it!
March 27th, 2007 at 8:08 pm
I love this film, and I love your website but I’d like to point out the elephant in the room. This aspect of the film is against banks. When the people come demanding their money back, the bank is panicking but it’s because banks get to lend more money they have.
This production of money is how banks, through the Rothschilds, etc have managed to control countries, including our own with the Federal Reserve - a private company who takes most of the money we spend on income taxes in the repayment of debt. England, and the US as well, have had struggles with banks but in England the bank was taken over after Napoleon was defeated and he King became a slave to the bank.
The kids wanted to give their money to the lady with the birds. The dad wanted to invest in the bank. Social use versus the system, at the top of the system is the banks. The people we all work for.
I’m all for your site, and financial blogs because I want to be smart in this financial system and use banks as opposed to letting them use me. However, I just thought I’d point out the role of the banks in that film because it’s not just humorous how its presenting, the old man coughing and the chronie he’s made their dad is artistic expression of corruption.
March 27th, 2007 at 8:10 pm
Oh and don’t even get me started on the men laughing, drinking tea (mad hater anyone?) and getting ‘high’
I love that film.