Ralph Waldo Emerson: Spend Skills

Ralph Waldo Emerson Money Quote saying money is worthless, until it is spent and how that spending happens matters. Ralph Waldo Emerson said:
  

 

“Money is of no value; it cannot spend itself. All depends on the skill of the spender” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

In this quote, Ralph Waldo Emerson seems to be making two key points about money:

1. That money itself has no inherent worth and is useless if not put to practical use, as it cannot “spend itself” without human action and decision-making.
2. That how well money is utilized depends entirely on the abilities and judgment of the person choosing to spend it. Emerson refers to this as the “skill of the spender.”

Overall, Emerson appears to be arguing that financial resources only gain value and purpose when deployed effectively by knowledgeable and prudent spenders. The quote conveys Emerson’s view that money’s utility relies entirely on the spending skills, wisdom and resourcefulness of the individuals allocating and applying funds, not on the money itself. It emphasizes the active, thoughtful role of spenders in determining money’s real impact and value.

Birthday: May 25, 1803 – Death: April 27, 1882

Jackson Browne: For Legal Tender

Jackson Browne Money Quote saying to be a naive and ignorant worker struggling for cash while advertising manipulates buyers. Jackson Browne said:
 

 

“I’m going to be a happy idiot And struggle for the legal tender Where the ads take aim and lay their claim To the heart and the soul of the spender” — Jackson Browne

This Jackson Browne lyrics quote is referring critically to consumerism and how advertising aims to manipulate people’s desires and spending habits.

The “happy idiot” likely refers to someone who is ignorant of how their identity and choices are being influenced by commercial interests. They “struggle for the legal tender” or money needed to purchase things that ads promote as essential to happiness and fulfillment.

Thelyrics suggests that ads “take aim” very deliberately to convince people that their self-worth and sense of meaning is tied to being a “spender” who buys into marketed lifestyles and images. So Browne sees consumers as having their “heart and soul” targeted and influenced by advertising’s messages to consume.

Overall, it portrays people as unwittingly having their identities shaped by commercial forces that aim to maximize spending, rather than making choices from a place of full awareness and self-definition.

Robert Frost: Accounting for Every Cent

Robert Frost Money Quotation saying receipts for bean counting are not required of everyone – only those who must keep an account Robert Frost said:
 

 

“Never ask of money spent
Where the spender thinks it went.
Nobody was ever meant
To remember or invent
What he did with every cent”
— Robert Frost

In this quote, Robert Frost is commenting on how people generally do not like to carefully account for or recall exactly how they spent every small amount of money. The best interpretation is that Frost recognizes most people do not meticulously track or document every single penny they spend.

He suggests it is normal and natural for people not to perfectly remember or invent detailed explanations for where every single cent of money went. The implication seems to be that within reason, not worrying too much about small monetary details is an understandable and expected part of human nature.

Birthday: March 26, 1874 – Death: January 29, 1963