Comments on: Musings on Money

By: Kathryn

Kathryn — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 01:16:35 +0000

Alexis,

I don’t think this attitude about money is confined to New York, nor is it confined to our time. After all, there’s a reason the Money chapter in the QOLTC book starts with Mr. Micawber talking about happiness and money (from Dickens’ David Copperfield.) Mr. Micawber was always on the verge of going to debtor’s prison, in spite of his clear statement about happiness being living within one’s means. That was about 150 years ago.

So why do people think it is important to have things (bigger apartments, meals out, stylish clothes …)? What makes it more important than planning for the future and saving? We used to have a joke that “He who dies with the most toys wins.” I think that there is an element of truth there — that is, many people experience a real drive towards improving their positions in the pecking order, and it’s easier to establish the position with things than anything else.

What if people felt they could brag about having saved up the money to pay for their children’s college educations? I think many people think only chumps do that.

There’s some anxiety in Money chapter and in our discussions about rising costs and whether people will be priced out of the basics. I guess it is worth remembering that the average house size is much larger than it was 50 years ago. Families have more cars. They eat out more often. And these aren’t seen as luxuries. So part of the problem is that we have ratcheted up our ideas of what is basic.

Kathryn

By: walterlawless

walterlawless — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 00:58:29 +0000

My favorite “tenet” about wealth goes like this:
Wealth is like health- having enough is good; a whole lot more does not make a big difference.

By: aremo

aremo — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 15:51:02 +0000

I wanted to add an additional musing, one that I am particularly exposed to on a daily basis in New York City. I find that typically, and maybe this is an overly simplified generalization, people are living just barely within their means, no matter how much or how little they make. Interestingly, my friends who make more money are not saving anymore, and still struggling to pay their bills. Living in luxury apartments they can barely afford and leading a lifestyle that leaves them little room for savings or money management, my friends who are in a higher tax bracket seem to still be struggling as much as they were when their salaries were less. They are just struggling in nicer apartments and with more expensive meals and clothing. It makes little sense to me.

It is an interesting cycle and I am curious if it exists everywhere in our society or something else that New Yorkers just get pulled into. It is almost as if people would rather have things to show than be happy and plan for their future. I think this is indicative of issues of money management that seem to span across all salary levels. Maybe it has to do more with my generation and the feeling that you have to prove you can make it, and make it big, in New York. Everyone seems to be trying to “make things happen” and make the big bucks, but no one seems to be any happier when it happens or any smarter with their money.