Morgan Housel is back on the show to talk about his newest book, The Art of Spending Money. You know him from The Psychology of Money and Same As Ever. This time, we dive into what happens after you’ve earned the money—how to actually use it well.
Morgan makes the case that money can buy comfort and independence, but not love, health, or meaning. Because it’s easy to measure, many of us fall into chasing money as a proxy for progress and end up stuck in comparison games. His antidote: spend for utility, not status. Think high-end Toyota over entry-level BMW—the value you feel, not the logo others see.
We also explore parenting and money. Kids pick up on our financial habits more than our lectures. Modeling empathy, consistency, and healthy values goes further than rules or restrictions. And we connect this back to The ONE Thing: clarity. When you’re clear on what really matters, you can spend money to buy back time, deepen relationships, and build freedom—like Morgan’s “reverse obituary” exercise that helps align spending with what you want your life to stand for.
Challenge of the Week:
Ask yourself (and your partner): What are we spending money on that doesn’t bring us joy—but we think we’re supposed to enjoy? Pick one and experiment with reducing or replacing it.
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To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit: the1thing.com/pods.
We talk about:
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How to swap status spending for utility spending
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Why kids learn money values from what we model, not what we say
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A simple “reverse obituary” exercise to align money with what matters
Links & Tools from This Episode:
Produced by NOVA
