Skip to content
quotesby

About this quote

What does it mean?
A stark opening stating a small amount of money is available right before Christmas.
In plain terms
There is only one dollar and eighty-seven cents saved for Christmas.
What can you take from it?
Small savings matter when facing big events.

Where it applies

  • financial struggle
  • holiday planning
  • storytelling

Putting it to work

  • plan for scarcity
  • value small amounts

Questions to consider

  • How much do you save?
  • What would you buy?

Another view

It relies on the reader knowing the story context.

More from O. Henry

  1. Not very long ago some one invented the assertion that there were only 'Four Hundred' people in New York City who were really worth noticing. But a wiser man h…

    Permalink to quote #7
  2. There was clearly nothing to do but flop down on the shabby little couch and howl. So Della did it. Which instigates the moral reflection that life is made up …

    Permalink to quote #9
  3. Take it from me - he's got the goods.

    Permalink to quote #6

Related quotes

  1. Salary is no object: I want only enough to keep body and soul apart.

    Dorothy ParkerDorothy Parker quote #3
  2. I get guilty when I spend money on silly things like clothes and stuff... Having experienced a completely different extreme of wealth, and I don't mean me bein…

    Katie MeluaKatie Melua quote #5
  3. 'Real poverty is less a state of income than a state of mind.'

    George GilderGeorge Gilder quote #6