Few people have left us as many sayings about time as Benjamin Franklin. Printer, scientist, diplomat and tireless self-improver, he filled his almanacs with short, sharp lines about hours and how to spend them. Below are the best Benjamin Franklin quotes about time, where each one first appeared, and what he really meant by the most famous of them all: “time is money.”
Where Franklin’s time sayings come from
Most of them come from Poor Richard’s Almanack, which Franklin published in Philadelphia every year from 1733 to 1758 under the pen name Richard Saunders. Between the weather tables and tide times he tucked proverbs, some his own, many polished versions of older sayings. In 1758 he gathered the best of them into a speech by a character called Father Abraham, later printed on its own as The Way to Wealth. The other big source is a short piece from 1748, “Advice to a Young Tradesman, Written by an Old One”.
Benjamin Franklin quotes about time, with sources
“Remember that time is money.” From “Advice to a Young Tradesman” (1748). Franklin made the phrase famous, but he did not invent it: it was already in print in a London newspaper in 1719.
“Lost time is never found again.” From Poor Richard for 1748, and repeated in The Way to Wealth. Of all his lines on time, this is the one that has aged best.
“Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that’s the stuff life is made of.” Also from the almanac, and the gentlest of the set: here time is not a currency, it is life itself.
“You may delay, but time will not.” From The Way to Wealth (1758). Nine words every procrastinator knows to be true.
“One today is worth two tomorrows.” Another almanac proverb, and a neat summary of his whole philosophy.
“Never leave that till tomorrow which you can do today.” Very widely credited to Franklin, but the proverb is older than he is. Credit him with popularising it rather than coining it.
What “time is money” really meant
Out of context, “time is money” sounds like a motto for working every waking hour. Franklin’s point was narrower. His example is a tradesman who could earn ten shillings a day but idles half of it: the sixpence he spends on his amusement is not the only cost, because he has also thrown away the five shillings he could have earned. It is an early description of what economists now call opportunity cost.
Franklin himself was no joyless clock-watcher. The daily timetable in his autobiography sets the evening aside for music, diversion or conversation. The lesson is not “never rest”, it is “know what your hours are buying.” That is why we like to pair him with a line from our own book: money represents value, but time is value itself. Money lost can be earned back. Lost time, as Franklin says, is never found again.
If you enjoy tracing where famous lines really come from, our earlier post on Einstein quotes about time does the same detective work for “time is an illusion.”
Franklin-inspired prints for the home or office
Each of these is set on warm parchment beneath our antique clock face with no hands, and is available as a printed poster or as an instant download to print at home.
They belong in a home office. A study. A kitchen. Anywhere you need a quiet, grounded reminder that the gap between intention and action is always smaller than it feels.
Why No Hands Art
✦ A reminder that doesn’t need willpower: the wall remembers for you, every time you glance up.
✦ The words are checked: quotes are correctly attributed, never pinned on the wrong famous name.
✦ Your choice: printed to order, or an instant download to print at home in A4 or US Letter.
Lost Time Is Never Found Again – Benjamin Franklin
Franklin’s cleanest line on time, from the 1748 almanac, set beneath our antique clock. A smart gift for a boss, a new graduate or anyone who runs their week from a home office.
See the printed poster on Etsy · or get the instant download
Money Represents Value, but Time Is Value Itself – Time’s Richest Harvest
Our own answer to “time is money”: money can be earned back, time cannot. It suits an accountant, an entrepreneur or the friend who is forever saying yes to overtime.
See the printed poster on Etsy · or get the instant download
Don’t Put Off Till Tomorrow – James A. Michener
Michener’s playful twist on the old “do it today” proverb: do the good things now, so you can do them again. A cheerful counterweight to Franklin’s sterner lines.
See the printed poster on Etsy · or get the instant download
The Famous People Collection – Eight Prints, Including Franklin
If you like Franklin in good company, this digital bundle puts him alongside Einstein, Churchill, Dolly Parton and four more, ready to print as a gallery wall.
See the whole set of famous quotes about time
Spend it on purpose
Franklin’s sayings have lasted nearly three centuries because they are short enough to remember and true enough to sting. Put one where you will see it at the start of the working day and it does its job quietly, every morning. That idea, a wall that reminds rather than merely decorates, runs right through Time’s Richest Harvest, the book behind these posters.
[…] eyebrow: he was the man who wrote that lost time is never found again (we looked at his sayings in Benjamin Franklin quotes about time and money). Yet even Franklin built evenings of music and conversation into his daily […]