I make it a point not to give smug internet entrepreneur Jakob Lodwick any press (even our local “youth is the future” advocate Will Pate distances himself from this prat), but he does make a good point in a recent blog entry of his:
What if money had instructions on the back? Basic economic facts, wise slogans, etc? I think it would be useful.
In case you’re a little shaky on the first principles of money, here they are:
- In the absence of other factors, more money is better than less money.
- Real money is better than fake money.
- Money now is worth more than the same amount of money later.
- If given a choice, it’s better to spend someone else’s money than your own (thanks to BNK for telling me about this rule).
One particular reason I dislike Lodwick: this video, in which he suggests that the way to keep a company vibrant is to harass the old people so that they leave. Perhaps if he listened to some of these old people, he might already know a little bit more about the instructions for money.
[Jakob Lodwick’s blog entry found via The War on Folly]
5 replies on “What if Money Came with an Instruction Manual?”
the ‘old people’ thing was tongue-in-cheek, but I doubt that’s actually one of the reasons you dislike me.
#4 is only true if they’re not charging you for the privilege. Otherwise, you’re stealing from your future to pay for your present, and that’s bad.
@jakob: Ah, but in the absence of other contextual information, you are what you write (or in this case, shoot on video).
Besides, I did give you props for a good idea…
@Mike: Generally true, unless the expected gain outweighs the charge, such as in the case of taking out a business loan or a mortgage under the right circumstances.
Identifying those right circumstances, however, has proven to be a tricky proposition for a lot of people, however…
It’s a bit like Orwell’s Rules for Writers: “Break any of these rules sooner than do anything outright barbarous.”
For somewhat advanced users, I might revise #4 to be “if the interest is lower than the expected return” with the addendum: “If you’re gambling, be honest with yourself about it, and do your best to know the odds.”