We’ve been told to spend less. Cut back. Control ourselves.

But what if we practiced spending better instead?

This is my behind-the-scenes thinking that shaped essay #30 in the new book coming out in October 2025. The essay is called “The Spending Practice."

This essay talks about guilt, values, and why learning to spend with intention might just be the most radical financial move you can make.

🎁 Want a preview of the book?
Email [email protected] with the subject line "Friend of Carl" and we’ll send you seven of my favorite sketches and essays in the book.

📚 Pre-order now:
My recommendation? One copy from Amazon and one from your favorite local bookstore!
• Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Your-Money-Reimagining-Wealth-Sketches/dp/1804091715
• Local bookstores: https://bookshop.org/p/books/your-money-reimagining-wealth-in-97-simple-sketches-carl-richards/22111257?ean=9781804091715
• Bulk orders (25+ copies) — Use code YourMoney5 at checkout for an additional 5% off the already discounted bulk order pricing: https://bulkbooks.com/products/your-money-reimagining-wealth-in-simple-sketches

This essay is from my new book, "Your Money: Reimagining Wealth in Simple Sketches."

It’s called “Enough Is Enough,” and in this episode, I unpack how we confuse more with better—and what it really means to have enough.

It’s a story about investing, dessert, and clarity.

Because enough can't be a number. If enough is a number, you'll never have enough. Enough is actually a state of being that we have to practice.

This is my behind-the-scenes thinking that shaped essay #20 in the new book coming out in October 2025.

This is the essay:

We don’t know when to stop.

I include myself in that.

Sometimes, I stop by the grocery store, buy a pint of ice cream, and eat it.

That’s right. The whole thing.

I’ve noticed a predictable pattern when I do this:

Bite 1: Best thing ever.
Bites 2–10: Really good.
Bites 11–15: Good.
Bites 16–20: Meh.
Bites 21+: I’m sick.

I keep repeating this experiment, hoping for a different result.

This behavior is called diminishing marginal utility. It’s not just about ice cream, but getting more of anything.

Beyond a certain point, more stops making you feel better. If you keep going, more makes you sick.

More becomes “too much.”

The secret isn’t getting more.

It’s knowing when to stop.

🎁 Want a preview of the book?
Email [email protected] with the subject line "Friend of Carl" and we’ll send you seven of my favorite sketches and essays in the book.

📚 Pre-order now:
My recommendation? One copy from Amazon and one from your favorite local bookstore!
• Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Your-Money-Reimagining-Wealth-Sketches/dp/1804091715
• Local bookstores: https://bookshop.org/p/books/your-money-reimagining-wealth-in-97-simple-sketches-carl-richards/22111257?ean=9781804091715
• Bulk orders (25+ copies) — Use code YourMoney5 at checkout for an additional 5% off the already discounted bulk order pricing: https://bulkbooks.com/products/your-money-reimagining-wealth-in-simple-sketches

This essay might be one of the most important from my new book, "Your Money: Reimagining Wealth in Simple Sketches."

It’s called "Life Meets Money" and it’s about what really drives good financial decisions. Not markets. Not headlines. But the messy, human stuff underneath: goals, timing, fear, meaning.

This is my behind-the-scenes thinking that shaped essay #10 in the new book coming out in October 2025.

This is the essay:

Good financial decisions happen at the intersection of what’s going on in your life and what’s going on in the markets and the economy.

We start with a simple question. Then we get into the details, the nuances, the exceptions and trade-offs. Suddenly, things get very complicated.

It’s complicated because two complex forces collide: your life and the markets. That intersection is where every good financial decision is made.

🎁 Want a preview of the book?
Email [email protected] with the subject line "Friend of Carl" and we’ll send you 7 of my favorite sketches and essays in the book.

📚 Pre-order now:
My recommendation? One copy from Amazon, one from your favorite local bookstore!
• Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Your-Money-Reimagining-Wealth-Sketches/dp/1804091715
• Bulk orders (25+ copies) — Use code YourMoney5 at checkout for an additional 5% off the already discounted bulk order pricing: https://bulkbooks.com/products/your-money-reimagining-wealth-in-simple-sketches

In this episode, Carl asks a provocative question: What’s the minimum effective dose of money? Just like medicine or exercise, more isn’t always better, and sometimes it’s harmful. Instead of chasing endless income, Carl invites us to define the results we actually want—freedom, security, joy—and then ask: What’s the least amount of money needed to get there? Because maybe the most radical act in a world obsessed with more is to say, “That’s enough”… and mean it.

Want more from Carl? Get the shortest, most impactful weekly email on the web! Sign up for the Weekly Letter from Certified Financial Planner™ and New York Times columnist Carl Richards here: https://behaviorgap.com/ 

In this episode, Carl shares three quick stories—a successful entrepreneur feeling like a failure, a heartfelt compliment from his daughter, and a wildly accomplished friend still stuck in comparison. The punchline? Comparison is the thief of joy. But unlike most thieves, this one can be stopped. Carl invites you to join him in a “comparison audit” by asking: Who are you letting on your mental scoreboard—and why?

Want more from Carl? Get the shortest, most impactful weekly email on the web! Sign up for the Weekly Letter from Certified Financial Planner™ and New York Times columnist Carl Richards here: https://behaviorgap.com/ 

In this episode, Carl explores the quiet panic so many of us are feeling about the future, especially young adults and the parents who love them. From canceled programs to crumbling plans, what do you do when the ground keeps shifting? Carl makes the case for a new kind of planning, one rooted not in certainty but in resilience. Not prepping for one disaster but building a foundation that helps you ride whatever wave comes next.

Want more from Carl? Get the shortest, most impactful weekly email on the web! Sign up for the Weekly Letter from Certified Financial Planner™ and New York Times columnist Carl Richards here: https://behaviorgap.com/ 

In a world of AI-generated books, endless content, and virtual everything… maybe the rarest thing isn’t more information—it’s real human connection. In this episode, Carl asks a provocative question: What if the answer isn’t to become more like a machine, but more like a human?

Because connection—the kind that happens face-to-face, heart-to-heart—is becoming increasingly rare… and increasingly valuable.

Connection is the new luxury.

What does independence really mean? In this special Independence Day episode of Behavior Gap Radio, Carl unpacks the myth of the self-made person and explores the deeper truth: Real freedom isn’t about doing it all alone. It’s about knowing when to stand on your own—and when to lean on others.

Want more from Carl? Get the shortest, most impactful weekly email on the web! Sign up for the Weekly Letter from Certified Financial Planner™ and New York Times columnist Carl Richards here: https://behaviorgap.com/ 

What if money is just a cheap shortcut? In this episode of Behavior Gap Radio, Carl shares a story about grandma’s dinner and explores the deeper forms of value we often overlook—like friendship, generosity, and shared purpose. Sometimes writing a check is the easy way out. But what if there’s something more valuable than money?

Want more from Carl? Get the shortest, most impactful weekly email on the web! Sign up for the Weekly Letter from Certified Financial Planner™ and New York Times columnist Carl Richards here: https://behaviorgap.com/ 

What’s at the center of your life? In this episode of Behavior Gap Radio, Carl explores the idea that, for many of us, money has quietly become the organizing principle around which everything else revolves. But what if we chose something else? Family? Time? Meaning? It's worth asking.

Want more from Carl? Get the shortest, most impactful weekly email on the web! Sign up for the Weekly Letter from Certified Financial Planner™ and New York Times columnist Carl Richards here: https://behaviorgap.com/