--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The least outlay is not always the…" description: "\"The least outlay is not always the greatest gain.\" — Aesop" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76e/aesop-1073_gains_the-least-outlay-is-not-always-the-great_1264227.jpg" --- # The least outlay is not always the greatest gain. ![“The least outlay is not always the greatest gain.” quote by Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76e/aesop-1073_gains_the-least-outlay-is-not-always-the-great_1264227.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76e/aesop-1073_gains_the-least-outlay-is-not-always-the-great_1264227.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76e/aesop-1073_gains_the-least-outlay-is-not-always-the-great_1264227.jpg) > “The least outlay is not always the greatest gain.” [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Small, modest investments often yield larger returns than big, risky ones. **In simple terms:** Small investments can give big returns. Key Takeaway Invest wisely, think long term. Themes economics investment risk patience Mood pragmatic reflective Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - personal finance - business strategy - retirement planning Key Concepts cost‑benefit analysis compound interest Questions to Reflect On - What small investment could you make today? - How do you assess risk versus reward? A Different Perspective Large investments can fail without careful planning. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Gain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gain/) [Gains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gains/) [Greatest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatest/) [Greatest Gain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatest-gain-799422/) [Outlay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/outlay-4030207/) [Outlay Greatest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/outlay-greatest-4030208/) ## Related quotes > [Sometimes out of your biggest misery, comes your greatest gain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-harvey/sometimes-out-of-your-biggest-misery-comes-your-greatest-gain/) [Steve Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-harvey/) > [The greatest gain from space travel consists in the extension of our knowledge. In a hundred years this newly won knowledge will pay huge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wernher-von-braun/the-greatest-gain-from-space-travel-consists-in-the-extension-of-our/) [Wernher von Braun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wernher-von-braun/) > [One hell of an outlay for a very small return, with most of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenda-jackson/one-hell-of-an-outlay-for-a-very-small-return-with-most-of-them/) [Glenda Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenda-jackson/) > [To make any gain some outlay is necessary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/to-make-any-gain-some-outlay-is-necessary/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [ There can be no profit, if the outlay exceeds it. \[Non enim potest quaestus consistere, si eum sumptus superat.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/there-can-be-no-profit-if-the-outlay-exceeds-it-non-enim-potest/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [As women in industrial societies join the paid workforce, they gain the economic means to depart unhappy marriages more easily.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-fisher/as-women-in-industrial-societies-join-the-paid-workforce-they-gain/) [Helen Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-fisher/) > [No lasting gain has ever come from compulsion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-gompers/no-lasting-gain-has-ever-come-from-compulsion/) [Samuel Gompers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-gompers/) > [What you'll gain is the macro story. You'll get a good command of that. And what you might lose is some of the fun…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitchell-hurwitz/what-you-ll-gain-is-the-macro-story-you-ll-get-a-good-command-of-that/) [Mitchell Hurwitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitchell-hurwitz/) > [We only gain collectively by acting now. We gain by one day not having to pay a thing for fuel. We gain by having…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-ruffalo/we-only-gain-collectively-by-acting-now-we-gain-by-one-day-not-having/) [Mark Ruffalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-ruffalo/) > [For me, when I do a show is to make sure that I gain some new people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torae/for-me-when-i-do-a-show-is-to-make-sure-that-i-gain-some-new-people/) [Torae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torae/) > [Lost in much of the national debate about immigration reform is how Democrats ultimately stand to gain electorally with any legislation or executive action…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-klein/lost-in-much-of-the-national-debate-about-immigration-reform-is-how/) [Aaron Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-klein/) > [Give him threepence, since he must make a gain out of what he learns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euclid/give-him-threepence-since-he-must-make-a-gain-out-of-what-he-learns/) [Euclid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euclid/) > [Only a cheap politician, greedy for political gain, would try to single out one individual for blame. The fault lies not with the individual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-paulsen/only-a-cheap-politician-greedy-for-political-gain-would-try-to-single/) [Pat Paulsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-paulsen/) > [There is no gain without struggle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/there-is-no-gain-without-struggle/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Some lose yet gain, others gain and yet lose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/some-lose-yet-gain-others-gain-and-yet-lose/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Aesop > [“Lay not the blame on me, O sailor, but on the winds. By nature I am as calm and safe as the land itself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/lay-not-the-blame-on-me-o-sailor-but-on-the-winds-by-nature-i-am-as/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [It is in vain to expect our prayers to be heard, if we do not strive as well as pray.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/it-is-in-vain-to-expect-our-prayers-to-be-heard-if-we-do-not-strive/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [Beware of a wolf in sheep's clothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/beware-of-a-wolf-in-sheep-s-clothing/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [Better a long life of toil than a short one of ease.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/better-a-long-life-of-toil-than-a-short-one-of-ease/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [Don't let your special character and values, the secret that you know and no one else does, the truth - don't let that get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/don-t-let-your-special-character-and-values-the-secret-that-you-know/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [Every man carries two bags about him, one in front and one behind, and both are full of faults. The bag in front contains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/every-man-carries-two-bags-about-him-one-in-front-and-one-behind-and/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [It pays to be content with your lot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/it-pays-to-be-content-with-your-lot/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [Be content with your lot; one cannot be first in everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/be-content-with-your-lot-one-cannot-be-first-in-everything/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [Equals make the best friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/equals-make-the-best-friends/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [once upon a time all the rivers combined to protest against the action of the sea in making their waters salt. "When we come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/once-upon-a-time-all-the-rivers-combined-to-protest-against-the/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [In union there is strength.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/in-union-there-is-strength/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [“Be content with your lot; once cannot be first in everything.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/be-content-with-your-lot-once-cannot-be-first-in-everything/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [False friends leave you in times of trouble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/false-friends-leave-you-in-times-of-trouble/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [Better beans and bacon in peace than cakes and ale in fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/better-beans-and-bacon-in-peace-than-cakes-and-ale-in-fear/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [“The Sun is bad enough even while he is single, drying up our marshes with his heat as he does. But what will become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/the-sun-is-bad-enough-even-while-he-is-single-drying-up-our-marshes/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) [Explore all 297 Aesop quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) ## More Gain quotes > [I believe confusion is good. Worldwide market leaders gain when there is confusion in the market.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subhash-chandra/i-believe-confusion-is-good-worldwide-market-leaders-gain-when-there/) [Subhash Chandra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subhash-chandra/) > [Some lose yet gain, others gain and yet lose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/some-lose-yet-gain-others-gain-and-yet-lose/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I believe that our world was created with a sense of order. For every loss, there's a gain. Sometimes we're so blinded by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debbie-macomber/i-believe-that-our-world-was-created-with-a-sense-of-order-for-every/) [Debbie Macomber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debbie-macomber/) > [God always has a way of making you give up something so that you may gain something better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-cassie-govender/god-always-has-a-way-of-making-you-give-up-something-so-that-you-may/) [Camille Cassie Govender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-cassie-govender/) > [Maybe bring in sponge balls to learn the technique and gain that experience of actually challenging for a header.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-mason/maybe-bring-in-sponge-balls-to-learn-the-technique-and-gain-that/) [Ryan Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-mason/) > [The world's industry must gain incentives to stop polluting and to invest in clean technologies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tulsi-tanti/the-world-s-industry-must-gain-incentives-to-stop-polluting-and-to/) [Tulsi Tanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tulsi-tanti/) > [“Quitters don’t gain what they have started working on; waiters don’t start what they could have gained. What is common there is failure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/quitters-don-t-gain-what-they-have-started-working-on-waiters-don-t/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [The harder I train every day on the track and in the gym, the more trust I gain in myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-cotto/the-harder-i-train-every-day-on-the-track-and-in-the-gym-the-more/) [Miguel Cotto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-cotto/) > [My intent was to gain experience for fiction I eventually hoped to write. But there's no question I was drawn in by the hope…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-rachman/my-intent-was-to-gain-experience-for-fiction-i-eventually-hoped-to/) [Tom Rachman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-rachman/) > [“It is hard for people to understand helping someone if you having nothing to gain.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-holman/it-is-hard-for-people-to-understand-helping-someone-if-you-having/) [Sarah Holman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-holman/) > [ “To live is Christ, and to die is gain.”\[213\]” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-driscoll/to-live-is-christ-and-to-die-is-gain-213/) [Mark Driscoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-driscoll/) > [I had nothig to lose ,but something to gain :)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eminem/i-had-nothig-to-lose-but-something-to-gain/) [Eminem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eminem/) > [Keep in touch with the people who have something to gain rather than those who have nothing to lose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/keep-in-touch-with-the-people-who-have-something-to-gain-rather-than/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [I wanted to put a human face on anxiety disorders. I thought people who suffer from anxiety might recognize themselves and gain some comfort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-stossel/i-wanted-to-put-a-human-face-on-anxiety-disorders-i-thought-people/) [Scott Stossel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-stossel/) > [The supply chain industry in our Commonwealth continues to gain momentum, in large part due to The Port of Virginia's unparalleled infrastructure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-northam/the-supply-chain-industry-in-our-commonwealth-continues-to-gain/) [Ralph Northam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-northam/) [Browse all 706 Gain quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gain/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The least outlay is not always the greatest gain.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Aesop" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/the-least-outlay-is-not-always-the-greatest-gain/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Gain" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/the-least-outlay-is-not-always-the-greatest-gain/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76e/aesop-1073_gains_the-least-outlay-is-not-always-the-great_1264227.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76e/aesop-1073_gains_the-least-outlay-is-not-always-the-great_1264227.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76e/aesop-1073_gains_the-least-outlay-is-not-always-the-great_1264227.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The least outlay is not always the greatest gain.” — Aesop", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Aesop", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The least outlay is not always...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/the-least-outlay-is-not-always-the-greatest-gain/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/the-least-outlay-is-not-always-the-greatest-gain/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```