His That Enjoys It

“Wealth is not his that has it, but his that enjoys it.”

Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard’s Almanack (1736)

Franklin tucked this line into the 1736 edition of his almanac, between a joke about cider and a note that it’s easy to see but hard to foresee. It’s easy to read past. It shouldn’t be.

Most money advice is about having: earning more, saving more, owning more. Franklin moves the line somewhere else. Owning a thing doesn’t make you rich. Using it, liking it, and getting real life out of it does. By that measure, a lot of us are holding wealth we never collect.

Look around and you’ll probably find it. The good coffee beans saved for guests who haven’t come. The bike with soft tires. The nice notebook too nice to write in. The streaming service you pay for and never watch. The book you bought because you meant to read it. All of it cost money, and all of it is sitting there waiting to be worth something.

This is also the frugal case for enjoyment. If you actually use what you have, you need less new stuff to feel good. The urge to buy often fades once the last thing you bought finally gets its turn.

How to live it this week

Find three things you paid for but aren’t enjoying. Walk through the house with fresh eyes. Check the back of the pantry, the closet, the garage, and your list of subscriptions. Pick three.

Put each one to use before Sunday. Brew the good coffee on a Tuesday. Pump up the tires and ride to the store. Write a grocery list in the nice notebook. Watch one thing on the service, or cancel it.

Hold off on new purchases until all three get a turn. Groceries and real needs don’t count. Everything else waits a week. You may find the wait is the easy part.

Ask one question at the end. Did you enjoy it? If yes, keep it where you’ll see it so it doesn’t drift back into the corner. If no, let it go. Sell it, give it to someone who will use it, or cancel it. Either way, it stops costing you attention.

You don’t need more to feel richer this week. You need to show up for what’s already yours.

Want more lines like this? Read Franklin on why a small leak will sink a great ship, Epictetus on how wealth consists in having few wants, or browse the full list of simple living quotes.