The Saturday Miscellany: How to get rich slow; Martin Baker's bookshelf; billion-dollar movies
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Your support makes all the difference.How to: Get rich slow
By Simon Read
The only sure way to get rich is to do it slowly. If anyone offers you a get-rich-quick scheme it will really be a rob-you-blind scheme. If you want to be wealthy, be patient and follow these steps...
1. "Be a smart spender. Buy the things you need, but nothing more. Frugality will lead to prosperity."
2. "Be a smart shopper. Find cheaper insurance, credit, phone, energy – cheaper everything. A couple of hours' research could save hundreds of pounds."
3. "Be a smart saver. Make every spare penny work for you buying shares, property, whatever will grow in value. A few hundred pounds will become thousands and, eventually, hundreds of thousands. Start at age 20 and you'll have a fortune at 60 (if it's not too late then)."
Simon Read is Personal Finance Editor of The Independent
Rotating column: Going big
By Larry Ryan
In the beginning there was Big Pharma. A simple catch-all term to connote the pharmaceutical giants putting profits above the needs of the patient (Small Patient, if you will). Put 'Big' beside a noun and you have a shady cabal calling the shots.
Next followed Bigs Tobacco, Oil and Agri. If a politician made a speech calling for drilling, he was in the pay of Big Oil. A journalist writes in favour of industrial agriculture, she's in hock to Big Agri. A celebrity smokes – that's Big Tobacco at work.
Right-wing US political website breitbart.com is a big fan of the term: alongside tabs for the hated Big Government, are Big Hollywood, Big Journalism and (a personal favourite) Big Peace.
Add it to anything and you've got yourself a minor conspiracy. Why are your easy-peel clementines so damned expensive? That's Big Fruit at play, mate.
Micro extract: ‘Q is for QWERTY’
"The QWERTY keyboard is an archetype that, for all the attempts to dethrone it, remains firmly in command of the format. Its longevity is not simply a result of the difficulty of retraining everybody who can touch-type."
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From 'B is for Bauhaus: An A-Z of the Modern World' by Deyan Sudjic (£18.99, Particular)
Instant Ethics
Dear Ellen
Q. I'm cat-sitting for a few weeks, but I already feel Mr Tiddles and I have developed a lasting bond. Can I keep him?
A. Cats might pretend to like you the best, but really they're anyone's for a can of Sheba. This cat-slag, Mr Tiddles, is no different from the rest of them. Enjoy the purrs while they last, then think about getting a dog.
@MsEllenEJones
Four play: Billion-dollar movies*
1. Toy story 3
2. Skyfall
3. The Avengers
4. Iron Man 3
*‘Titanic’ the first to gross £1bn, 1/3/19
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