All our lives, we hear helpful mnemonic devices, rhymes, and simple tips that help save time, money or sometimes, our own lives. Take for instance, one of the most valuable phrases I learned back in middle school: lefty loosie, rightie tighty. I’ve never had trouble removing a light bulb or turning on a faucet since (with the exception of select 3rd world country hotel shower faucets).

A good example of a helpful rhyme, albeit more complicated, ensures you never miss payday:

Thirty days hath September,
April, June and November;
All the rest have thirty-one,
Excepting February alone,
Which hath but twenty-eight, in fine,
Till leap year gives it twenty-nine.

Taking it to the next level entirely, is the song, Fifty Nifty United States. As I explained in an earlier issue of Anvil, the catchy tune can get you to the finals on Jeopardy or at least get you extra credit in 8th grade Social Studies class.

Some advice can be misleading, however. When I was a wee lad, my grandfather once told me never to spit gum on the street, as a car can run over it and get stuck. I didn’t spit gum out until I was in high school, and that was to avoid getting beat up for being a nerd. Perhaps he had the environment’s best interest in mind, and that’s okay.

Speaking of high school, my 11th grade Social Studies teacher, Mr. Anderson, doled out some of the best advice on how to be an upstanding citizen, including the importance of a credit history. He told us to build credit in high school by getting store credit cards and paying them off just to build credit for when you need it later in life. Not taking his advice cost me dearly, as I was unable to get a credit card until after college, when I finally followed his advice.

My parting thought to you is to think about some of the best advice you’ve ever gotten from friends, family and coworkers, and thank them for making your life that much better. After all, a bird in the hand is better than two in the bush.