To my mind, some ways of spending money are highly virtuous and others are dreadfully appalling. Of course, deciding how to spend money is one of our great freedoms, and my intention in writing about my own biases is not intended to criticize yours.

In my book, the following purchases are good: vegetables, an old house that needs some work, a hand thrown clay bowl of high quality (or unusual found metal sculpture), a notebook computer, yogurt, any power tool, a great book that will be read and reread, outdoor plants or seeds, a lightweight bicycle, a ticket to a soccer game or to a museum, a trip anywhere that has ancient ruins, the basic Legos building blocks, generic ibuprofen, or a rose.

But the following are all bad (even though I may have a few in my possession): soda, a TV (or at least not a second TV), a fancy car, a bar tab, potato chips, a crappy book, a plastic toy, a gun, indoor plants, another shirt or pair of shoes, wreathes, hairspray, any Legos pieces beyond the basic building blocks, or ornamental cabbages.

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