BECOME SPENDTHRIFT

Maybe in order to innovate more, we should become more spendthrift

The word spendthrift is the opposite of being thrifty. To be spendthrift means to be extravagant, wasteful.

But this is a random thought, why is it that we Americans are actually too conservative with our money? I think it is because good old Benjamin Franklin told us that using our money, which wasn’t in the service of accumulating our capital, was a sin, a sin against God and country.

Funny enough, if you look at mainland Chinese people, they have zero qualms about spending their money, in which we Americans consider wasteful. Yet we envy them.

Innovation is wasteful

If you think about it, consider how wasteful and inefficient innovation is. Yet we need it. For example, James Dyson prototyped at least 5000 vacuums, before he got the right one. That’s almost like him creating 1 to 2 new prototypes a day for 12 years.

What is the point of money and resources anyway?

A simple thought is this, if spending $20, or buying that piece of book or software, or film or media might contribute to at least one interesting thought or creative idea, it is 1000 times worth it. For example, we seem so reticent to spending money on films yet consider how making one film takes tens of millions of dollars. To even buy a film for $20, considering the insane cost I went into it, is actually a huge benefit, a great bang for the buck.

Best to take lots of small financial risks, rather than making one or two really big and bad ones.

For example, avoid making really expensive and costly mistakes, which are big, like buying a car or buying a house. I think these are very bad uses of money. Rather, spend a lot of money on education, experiences, tools and equipment, certain types of clothing, and any speculative ideas you may have. Speculate in yourself. That is the best use of money.