Few writers today can speak about money without patronizing the reader. The Art of Spending Money, the latest book from Morgan Housel, does just that—and more. While The Psychology of Money taught us about the way people interact when it comes to money, this book takes up an even more subtle and difficult issue: how to handle money without losing oneself in the process.

Housel starts with a deceptively simple insight: It is hard to make money. It is harder to spend it well. We are hardwired as humans towards status, towards comparison, towards the signifier of success which has an emotional half-life of about five minutes. As he so nicely phrases it: “The fancy car becomes just the thing that gets you to work; the dream kitchen becomes the place where you heat up leftovers.” I could fill this entire review with such quotes.

“Wealth and Affluence in an Age of Abundance” — perhaps no other theme in Housel’s book has resonance that rivals his message on the confusion between “wealth and fulfilment.” Housel’s central point here is that “money is both a cause and a symptom of deeper human needs” that ultimately cannot be “substituted” for completely. “Money can buy comfort, not connection; security, but lack of meaning.” Indeed.

What sets “The Art of Spending Money” apart from other personal finance books is that Housel never offers prescriptions. There are no strict budgets, no sets of “10 commandments,” no algorithms for optimization. Rather, Housel is adamant that making expenditures is a deeply subjective act. Making financial choices to maximize happiness, he asserts, is something that follows upon self-understanding. “No one can tell you what to do with your money because, after all, no one lives your values, fears, or hopes.”

The most vivid part of the book is the account of the ill-fated voyage of Sir Ernest Shackleton to Antarctica. After many months of hard deprivation, the first night of comfort and relief becomes the highlight of the year. Housel employs this anecdote to illustrate a significant truth in the psychology of happiness. “The happiness of the present is the outcome of the contrast between what is expected and what is attained. Happiness cannot be felt if it becomes habitual.” If there is no contrast in wealth or happiness, it neither adds nor detracts from our happiness.

This goes against the grain of modern society. We’re taught that more is better, that more convenience, more luxury, more upgrades mean advancement. Housel argues that treating luxuries as rights instead of rewards lessens the value. Living with less is not a deprivation; it is a preservation of wonder.

A further valuable takeaway is Housel’s passion for experimentation. His “wide funnel, tight filter” strategy for how to actually use money—testing as much as you can, quickly getting rid of what you don’t love, and holding on to what you deeply appreciate— hits upon what feels incredibly refreshing in an increasingly obsessive “frugal” world. “The goal isn’t to spend more—it’s to spend smarter, based on experience.”

The final chapter ends with a thought-provoking discussion on the importance of luck, humility, and kindness, which has been beautifully exemplified by the case of Dances with Wolves. Success, according to Housel, never happens by itself. “It’s often the result of the efforts of people we don’t even know,” he argues. Also recognizing the importance of luck changes the way we think about generosity. Instead of merely an ideal, generosity becomes a philosophy. “Kindness isn’t just the right thing to do,” says Housel. “It’s a smart play.”

Ultimately, The Art of Spending Money is a book that isn’t even, strictly speaking, about money. It is, instead, a book about identity, awareness, and the peace that can be found within awareness. The question that it asks is very simple: “Are your spending habits helping you to live the life you want, or the life you think you’re supposed to want?”  This book would be a soft, comforting guide to enough to anyone who has ever earned more money but not felt richer.

Dr. Prahlada N.B
MBBS (JJMMC), MS (PGIMER, Chandigarh). 
MBA in Healthcare & Hospital Management (BITS, Pilani), 
Postgraduate Certificate in Technology Leadership and Innovation (MIT, USA)
Executive Programme in Strategic Management (IIM, Lucknow)
Senior Management Programme in Healthcare Management (IIM, Kozhikode)
Advanced Certificate in AI for Digital Health and Imaging Program (IISc, Bengaluru). 

Senior Professor and former Head, 
Department of ENT-Head & Neck Surgery, Skull Base Surgery, Cochlear Implant Surgery. 
Basaveshwara Medical College & Hospital, Chitradurga, Karnataka, India. 

My Vision: I don’t want to be a genius.  I want to be a person with a bundle of experience. 

My Mission: Help others achieve their life’s objectives in my presence or absence!

My Values:  Creating value for others. 

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