REFRAME YOUR SPENDING: WHAT IS YOUR MONEY REALLY FOR?
- Derek Hagen
- 24 hours ago
- 3 min read
❝Money is a tool. It will take you wherever you wish, but it will not replace you as the driver.❞ -Naval Ravikant
Good spending isn't about buying less. It's about being clearer before the justification begins.
THE MISSING QUESTION BEHIND MOST SPENDING DECISIONS
A lot of conversations about money get framed as experiences versus stuff. Should you spend on memories instead of things? On travel instead of purchases?
That framing sounds helpful, but it often skips a more useful question:
What are you actually buying this for?
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Every purchase is, in effect, a hire. You’re bringing something into your life to do a job. Sometimes that job is obvious. Sometimes it’s emotional. Sometimes it’s symbolic. Sometimes it’s doing more than one thing at once.
When spending feels confusing or uncomfortable, it’s often not because you’re reckless. It’s because you’re unclear about the role you want your money to play.
EVERY PURCHASE IS HIRING FOR A JOB
Whether you think of it as buying something or hiring it, the underlying reality is the same: the thing you purchase is expected to perform a function.
Problems tend to show up when spending happens without clarity; when money is spent “just to spend it,” or when the story you tell yourself comes after the purchase instead of before.
The goal isn’t to eliminate spending. The goal is to understand the reason behind it.
Sometimes the function is practical.
Sometimes it’s emotional.
Sometimes it pulls double duty.
Intentional spending doesn’t mean rigid spending. It means conscious spending.
Being intentional doesn’t require having all the answers. It simply means pausing long enough to notice what you’re hoping a purchase will do for you... before you justify it.
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Money is the number one source of stress in people's lives, above work, health, and kids. People with money disorders typically have faulty beliefs about money and cannot change their behavior even though they know they should. |
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MATCHING THE JOB TO THE RIGHT HIRE
Because we’re all very good at justifying our choices, it’s rarely enough to say things like:
“I need security.”
“I need transportation.”
“I deserve this.”
A more useful question is: Is this an efficient hire for the job I need done?
In many categories, effectiveness increases quickly with cost, and then levels off. Paying more doesn’t always get you meaningfully better results.
Though keep in mind, this is less about optimization and more about awareness.
EFFICIENCY ISN'T THE SAME AS BEING CHEAP
One important point of clarification: efficiency isn’t the same thing as being cheap. Sometimes the lowest-cost option simply isn’t capable of doing the job well enough... or at all.
Quality matters. Durability matters. Cost-per-use matters. But a higher price should be intentional, not automatic.
The goal isn’t to always buy the cheapest option. And it’s not to always buy the best. The goal is to be clear about the level of quality required, and then get the best value at that level.
CLARITY BEATS RULES
Most spending questions miss the mark. It’s not just:
“Do I need this?”
“What am I getting for this?”
The more useful question is: Is this an efficient hire for the job I need done?
That shift moves the conversation:
away from guilt
away from impulse
and toward alignment
It respects both emotional needs and practical realities without moralizing either.
Rules about spending rarely hold up in real life. Clarity does.
When you’re clear about what you’re hiring your money to do and how well a purchase does that job, spending decisions become calmer, more grounded, and less reactive.
Money works best when it’s intentional, not just optimized.
And clarity, more than restraint, is what keeps you in the driver’s seat.
You get one life; live intentionally.
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REFERENCES AND INFLUENCES
Ariely, Dan & Jeff Kreisler: Dollars and Sense
Clements, Jonathan: How to Think About Money
Dunn, Elizabeth & Michael Norton: Happy Money
Hagen, Derek: Your Money, Your Values, and Your Life
Housel, Morgan: The Psychology of Money
