&l;!--donotpaginate--&g;As the famous story goes, as John Adams lay on his deathbed on July 4&l;sup&g;th&l;/sup&g;, 1826, his last words were, &a;ldquo;Thomas Jefferson survives.&a;rdquo;&a;nbsp; Unfortunately, this wasn&a;rsquo;t the case. Jefferson&a;rsquo;s passing had preceded Adams&a;rsquo; by mere hours on the fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence -- a rare and unique coincidence that scholars and schoolchildren alike have reveled in.
The words &a;ldquo;Thomas Jefferson survives&a;rdquo; might also apply to our third president&a;rsquo;s financial life. He survived financially &a;ndash; but barely. Jefferson had an enviable existence as a key figure of his time, living a luxurious life few could afford. The truth is that he really couldn&a;rsquo;t afford it either &a;ndash; an example of the American Dream we still have today.
Some of Jefferson&a;rsquo;s money dramas were inherited while others were of his own making. Many of his various financial challenges could very well have occurred in 2018. From covering his deceased father-in-law&a;rsquo;s debt to lending money to friends who didn&a;rsquo;t repay him, Jefferson had a very modern financial dilemma.
In many ways, Jefferson&a;rsquo;s financial foibles are a sad reflection of modern American life and our obsession with debt. The Pew Charitable Trust found that 7 out of 10 Americans consider debt a necessity in their lives. In fact, debt pervades our society. For most Americans, the biggest debt is credit cards, quickly followed by mortgage debt and student loans per the recent study by &l;a href=&q;https://www.cometfi.com/details-of-debt&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;Comet Financial &l;/a&g;in 2018. We are a society drowning in debt &a;ndash; just like Jefferson.
&l;strong&g;Overspending and the Final Crate of Wine&l;/strong&g;
Jefferson always struggled with financial independence but by the end of his life, his financial situation went from precarious to dire. He even took steps to hold a lottery to sell his beloved Monticello so that his daughter would not inherit his debts. But despite this self-awareness, one of the final letters Jefferson wrote at the end of his life defies financial prudence, eloquently requesting delivery of expensive French wines, despite his inability to pay.
Jefferson&a;rsquo;s purchase of luxury goods during a challenging financial time could be chalked up to stress about his debts or a lifetime of behavior he could not control. His behavior was what many psychologists see with compulsive spenders who use purchases as a way to respond to the negative emotions in their lives. Overspending evolves into a vicious cycle all-to-common with many people.&l;/p&g;
Despite all the drama around Jefferson&a;rsquo;s personal finances, it hasn&a;rsquo;t hurt his reputation and historical standing. This is unusual &a;ndash; &a;nbsp;Americans may indulge in debt, but they are also highly judgmental of others in similar situations. Pew found that 79% of Americans view another&a;rsquo;s debt as irresponsible, yet Jefferson regularly tops the list of greatest US presidents. A recent study from Rasmussen Reports shows Jefferson with an 89% favorability rating right behind Washington and Lincoln. Clearly his lack of financial independence has not hurt his public perception.
&l;strong&g;A Modern Solution That Would Have Saved Him&l;/strong&g;
While he reflects the modern wealth dilemma of debt and overspending, Jefferson was ultimately denied the one privilege former American presidents have today to build wealth &a;ndash; book deals and speaking engagements. The Obamas recently signed a book deal worth at least $60 million and George W. Bush gets $175,000 per speaking engagement. In fact, the Washington Post found that in the first decade after leaving office, &l;a href=&q;https://www.thoughtco.com/former-presidents-speaking-fees-3368127&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;Bill Clinton earned approximately $104 million in speaking fees.&l;/a&g; Imagine what that type of opportunity could have done for Jefferson if he had lived in contemporary times.
In spite of his poor spending decisions, it seems Jefferson was aware of his financial foibles. In 1822, he compiled a list of Rules to Live By, which included Rule Number Three - &a;ldquo;Never Spend Your Money Before You Have It.&a;rdquo; Perhaps the greatest lesson we can learn from Thomas Jefferson is that it&a;rsquo;s important to have ideals &a;ndash; even if it isn&a;rsquo;t always possible to live by them.
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