Money doesn't buy happiness

But it does more than buy things

To Homer, money equals doughnuts and beer.

Earnie Shavers was a boxer from my hometown, and he was really good: he almost beat Muhammed Ali in 1977. In his heyday, he made a lot of money, and he spent it all and then some. He was working in a car wash for a while, and an interviewer found him and was working on the usual, sad “athlete made a lot of money and then lost it all” story. Except that Shavers said he had no regrets because he had so much fun spending money when he had it. When he had money, Shavers was known for handing out $100 bills for tips everywhere he went (even in Europe), picking up the check for everyone at a restaurant, and wearing Ken-worthy fur coats. He was a very large man who lived very large for a few years. Shavers told the interviewer that knew how to work hard, so he wasn’t at all unhappy about things played out.

(And I wish so much that I could find that interview. I remember it, but I can’t find it in Google or on Ebsco, and I don’t have a Lexis/Nexis subscription. If you can find it, please let me know. I like to cite better sources than my own memory.)

On one level, money is nothing more than a tool. On another, it is love, status, power, shame, security, good, bad, or whatever emotion you assign to it. And I would bet very good money that you have assigned an emotion to your money.

For Earnie Shavers, money represented fun. For me, it represents freedom. If I have enough money, I can do what I want and not put up with annoying clients or arrogant bosses. I don’t have to check in, check out, or pre-schedule my time off. It’s nice. One reason I got here was luck; another was that I knew what my priorities were. Because I studied economics and finance, I was more than comfortable with treating money as something neutral.

Of course, I sometimes play a little game with myself: I ask how my day would have been different if I had all the money ever wanted. Most days, it wouldn’t be much different. Maybe I would turn down assignments or spend more time reading, but I probably wouldn’t do much differently. I fully understand that this is a luxury, by the way. Some people will answer “buy groceries.”

What is money for you? Take some time to figure it out, and you’ll have an easier time making work and finance decisions.

Things to Do

• Get Emergency Specs: 👓This weekend, I was sailing in Michigan, and I got hit in the face with a boom, a common sailing accident. Fortunately, my fancy glasses took almost all the impact, so I have only a slight bruise. Unfortunately, my fancy glasses broke, flew off, and are now on their way to join their friends in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Good thing I had an emergency pair in the glove compartment! If you need glasses to drive, get a pair for the car. You can get them cheap on Zenni, and you won’t need a current prescription (but you will need a prescription.)

• Fake Clean: It’s been a busy summer, and our house is a mess. Yours might be, too. You can still have people over! The Washington Post has ideas for how to fake clean.

• Meet Money Nerds: I’m going to be speaking about Gen X and money at FinCon, a conference for people who create content about money to be held in New Orleans October 18-21. If this is you, you can get a $10 discount on registration with promocode WHATEVERYEARS.

  What should I talk about at FinCon?

Things to Read

• No Happy Returns: The New Yorker has a great article about what happens when online shoppers return things. It’s fascinating.

• Make Better Financial Decisions: Chicago Booth Review has a great article about the importance of considering your current financial situation before making decisions involving money.