Investing, Saving, and Thrift

For some reason that I ve never understood, there s a lot of pressure to invest one s money in stocks, bonds, puts, calls, futures, bellies, straddles, or whatever the financial instrument du jour happens to be. Perhaps this pressure comes from a self-interested financial community, or perhaps it is natural in a capitalist economy—but, whatever the reason, the pressure is there. It is so ingrained that sometimes we are driven to the mistaken conclusion that investing is the primary way to wealth and that work is the way one sustains the habit of investment. 

For many it is a costly habit indeed. As we ve seen, wealth is often the result 

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