Good morning, reader!
Welcome to the sixth and final installment of my recent fortune cookie review. I hope that you leave this series with a better appreciation of the fortune cookie industry’s subtle lies and bring a more discerning eye to the next pointless message that impresses your fellow dining companions.
Please enjoy today’s final post.
Pennies from heaven find their way to your doorstep this year!
Do you see, reader, what we are dealing with? Pennies from heaven? Pennies are useless. Message to heaven – stop littering. If I had a million pennies, I’d probably end up on that hoarding show. If heaven is full of pennies, I’m not going.
True, False, or Racist?
This fortune broke the TFR algorithm. The lesson – pennies are useless.
Keep it or chuck it?
What, the pennies? How many do I have?
Do not spend the money you don’t have.
Uhhh... can I have those pennies, actually?
Anyway, is there a better time to read this fortune than after finishing a meal out? Here comes the check, but remember, don’t spend the money you don't have… thanks.
I realized that my habit of saving fortunes and, to a lesser extent, the existence of this very project goes back to this one message. I don’t remember the exact moment I got this fortune – my guess is it came after a series of meals at Sato II, a little restaurant near my first job where I would regularly meet a friend for lunch. I’ve kept the fortune in a somewhat prominent place in my wallet ever since (though I don’t look at it more than once a month).
True, False, or Racist?
False, though only from a technical perspective. The obvious counter here is borrowing and I agree that such a literal interpretation of the fortune pushes the thought into the false category – when we borrow, we spend the money that we don’t have.
Keep it or chuck it?
Keep it.
Although I acknowledge the fortune is technically inaccurate, I like how it provides a good rule of thumb for thinking about personal finance over a lifetime as opposed to over a wallet. Just as a careful borrower considers future earnings when taking on a loan obligation, a careful spender considers future purchases when weighing a decision in the present. If I’m due to spend money tomorrow, then in a way I know I don’t have that money to spend today.
