Greetings one and all.
Everybody loves money! Or at least, everyone needs money. Money is an essential reality in our life. Yet, the word ‘money’ can evoke strange reactions - and I want to explore this together.
Allow me to introduce this new series: The Story of Money.
What it is not
Let’s get this out of the way first. Most emphatically, this series is NOT:
* A get-rich-quick scheme
* How to crypto / bitcoin / dogecoin / whatevercoin
* 10 ChatGPT prompts that’ll make you a millionnaire!
Also, this series categorically provides no advice, financial, investment or any other.
What it is
When I say money, I mean it more broadly - any topic of interest that would fall under the banner of economics and/or finance (hence the series reference).
But this is not an economics text book serialization - this is about relatable topics relevant to us on a day-to-day basis. At least for those of us who need to use money on a day-to-day basis - if you are a Thai Buddhist monk, sorry, you might not find this interesting. (I once toyed with the idea of doing this 2-week-monk trial that’s available to Western tourists in Thailand. I was told you’ll have to put away all your money, but eeks, your phone and all Internet contact at bay as well. You know what my decision was!)
Topics could be ideas, concepts, tidbits, curious money-related anecdotes from the past (like the Romans are said to have been paid in salt, hence our word ‘salary’?), etc. Short, usually a single-topic piece, intended to be at least one a week.
I intend to make it informative, but also importantly lighthearted - you can expect my signature narrative style here just as in the TecC series.
Why me?
I worked for almost a decade in investment banking (JPMorgan - Front Office then Middle Office roles), and was in the eye of the storm of the 2008 crash! I’ve worked as an entrepreneur, including co-founding a US AI healthcare startup. I’ve filed limited company accounts/returns with the British tax office for several companies including my own - this last one is my favorite dinner party introduction line!
More importantly though, I’ve always had a deep interest in economics in the broader sense of how things, efficient resource use, optimal outcomes etc, and I want to share the lessons I’ve learned, using my first-principles systems-thinking approach, over the years having spent some effort in this area.
My Commitment
In line with my commitment as expressed in the introductory notes of my publication, I have been reflecting on how much value I’m providing to my subscribers, mainly with my current series TecC. Given that stream’s multidisciplinary nature, its 2000-word-length format, would you like something shorter to engage with my writing? Wait no more.
Why should you care?
In life, we can always do better with the money, the resources, we have; there are always better ways of understanding how the world works through this lens - so let’s be informed, or entertained, why not both eh?
Thank you for reading, I trust you’ll join me on this new journey. Please do comment on my pieces (both these and the existing series), share them on Substack, tell a friend. Thanks again.
Article written by Ash Stuart
Images, voice narration and some footnotes generated by AI
Further Reading & Reference
* None yet!
