Fri 25 Jan 2008
If there are things that money can’t buy, does having money make those things nonetheless easier to acquire? Just how cold a comfort is the idea of the nobility of poverty?
What are the upsides of living without means? What’re the advantages to being broke?
(Hat tip to Cat and Girl, via the inimitable Dorothy Gambrell.)
Posted by Josh Millard8 answers so far!
Okay, let's hear it.
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You get to be all self-righteous about those silly rich people?
TBH, money is only insubstantial to those who already have oodles of it. I like being able to afford groceries, TYVM.
There are a few ills that actually come with having money. Increased pain-in-the-ass when doing taxes. Writing a proper will. Probably one or two more. Probably all related to “filling out paperwork” of some kind or another.
The other ills don’t come from just having money, but either:
1) Letting other people know you have money
This results in con-men, armed robbers, golddiggers, relatives you barely know, etc.
2) And far more likely, how you use your money
This is what most people talk about when they talk about how much happier they were when poor. Retiring and growing bored. Cocaine addictions. Empty lifestyles. That kind of thing.
Most of the advantages of being broke could easily be advantages of having money as well, as long as you just didn’t spend that money.
What, nobody’s quoted Janis Joplin yet?
Well, don’t look at me.
Not for me. Scary not having money. Makes me think I’ll land in jail for something. Loquacious, dear???
TBH, money is only insubstantial to those who already have oodles of it.
I’m not original in arguing it is not a question of the amount you have, but the amount you have compared to the amount you need. I have a very modest income by western standards, but have the luxury of feeling like a rich man – I NEVER have to think about how much money I have, or if I have enough, because my needs / expenses / consumption are well below my income.
So I would argue against the thesis – the freedom isn’t from no money, it’s from too much.
Increased pain-in-the-ass when doing taxes. Writing a proper will. Probably one or two more. Probably all related to “filling out paperwork” of some kind or another.
Again, very happy that isn’t me. I don’t think that is part of being rich, more being a westerner (and especially an American) living and doing business in the “free world”. Taxes are for chumps!
Granted, Meatbomb, but I’m talking in terms of college student living paycheck to paycheck type of not-having-enough, not the “zomg must have home theatre system for $30K now” type.
I think not having money pushes you to be more creative and resourceful, actually.
Going to a party? Put together a smashing outfit on less than $20. I can do it.
Have to save money on groceries and eat veg? Learn a new cooking style and discover how to make curry.
I quit a high-powered corporate job because it wasn’t me. Theater major, wtf was I thinking? But then I went into making soap (way cool), wrote for a newspaper, did temp work here and there… got a royalty advance on an idea and went to UK… did more temp work and took another trip to UK only went to Scotland as well as England…went back again not too long ago. Now I’m visualizing a trip to France, and my neighbor all of a sudden is coming into some money and invited me on a trip to France. So there. Being poor is cool.
I once bought a bike in London with a Canadian guy I’d met the day before, and we agreed to ride to Wales together. I took every remaining penny out of my bank account (a little over a hundred quid or so) and put it in my bag, since I didn’t know if I’d find an ATM. The morning we were due to leave, my bag was stolen.
This meant that for a two week trip, I had about two or so pounds per day, since I had a little money in my wallet. Two pounds was far, FAR less than I’d spend per day. Still, I didn’t want to delay the trip just for this little obstacle.
I found that having no money did give me a kind of freedom, at least temporarily. I had freedom from choice, as paradoxical as that seems. I subsisted on cold cans of spaghetti and tomato sauce (9p!), a loaf of bread and a jar of rhubarb jam. I had a bike and a tent, so travel and accommodation were free. I actually went below my tiny budget most days, and could splurge on tinned pasta with meat and veggies sometimes.
It was free because many of my choices were already made for me. I didn’t need to spend the time thinking about where I’d stay, what I’d eat. I loved it. The trip was one of the most enjoyable of my life, far more so than a cruise with three course dinners or five star hotels.
The key thing here is that I knew it was temporary. I had a job set up for when I returned to London, and if things got really dire it would have been possible to call home and beg for some money to be transferred. I’m well aware that this means my experience was different to absolute poverty, but hey. It’s close enough for me.