The exact words
“Beware of little Expences; a small Leak will sink a great Ship.”Benjamin Franklin, The Way to Wealth (1758), as said by Father Abraham quoting Poor Richard
✓ VerifiedFound in a primary source: the original book, speech transcript, letter or recording.
What people get wrong
Common reading
Franklin speaking in his own voice.
Franklin speaking in his own voice.
Closer to the original
Franklin puts the line in the mouth of a fictional speaker, Father Abraham, who is quoting the almanac's fictional author, Poor Richard. It is a gentle joke, too. At the end, the crowd agrees with every word and then goes straight back to spending.
Franklin puts the line in the mouth of a fictional speaker, Father Abraham, who is quoting the almanac's fictional author, Poor Richard. It is a gentle joke, too. At the end, the crowd agrees with every word and then goes straight back to spending.
Timeline
- 1732–1758Franklin publishes Poor Richard's Almanack every year, filling the margins with short sayings, many of them borrowed and sharpened from older proverbs.
- 1758For the last almanac he writes, Franklin strings the best money sayings into a speech by an old man, Father Abraham, at an auction. It is later printed on its own as The Way to Wealth.
- TodayThe leak line is a favorite of budgeting guides and is often paired with the modern idea of the “latte factor.”
Use it in a speech
Benjamin Franklin warned, “Beware of little expenses; a small leak will sink a great ship.” That goes for habits as well as money. Watch the small things.
~9 secondsto say aloud
Pauseafter “great ship”
Best spotthe advice section
Franklin's “small leak” that sinks “a great ship” captures how ordinary spending, not dramatic losses, empties most budgets.
~7 secondsto say aloud
Pausenone needed in writing
Best spotopening of a paragraph
Questions people ask
Who said “a small leak will sink a great ship”?
Benjamin Franklin, in The Way to Wealth (1758), through his characters Father Abraham and Poor Richard.
What does the saying mean?
Small, repeated expenses can do as much damage over time as one large one.
Cite this quote
These cite the original source directly, so you can use them in an essay or paper. Always check your teacher's required style.
MLAFranklin, Benjamin. The Way to Wealth. 1758. Project Gutenberg, www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/43855.
APAFranklin, B. (1758). The Way to Wealth. Project Gutenberg. https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/43855
CHICAGOBenjamin Franklin, The Way to Wealth, 1758.
IN TEXT (APA)(Franklin, 1758)