$Aved : how I quit worrying about money and became the richest guy in the world

Machine generated contents note: ch. One In which it is revealed that our happiness or lack thereof is often nothing more than a manifestation of our expectations -- ch. Two In which I begin to consider my relationship to wealth and how monetary concerns have come to dominate 21st-century American life -- ch. Three In which I go mushroom hunting with Erik and Breakfast, thereby proving Benjamin Franklin wrong -- ch. Four In which I explain how I met Erik and became intrigued by his relationship to money and wealth -- ch. Five In which I reveal all -- ch. Six In which I consider matters of appropriate scale, industrialism, embedded energy, the creation of money, and the commodification of the natural world. Oh, and rocks. Those, too -- ch. Seven In which I go for the gold -- ch. Eight In which I grapple with the difference between "value" and "worth" and learn about the currency of trust -- ch. Nine In which I have doubts -- ch. Ten In which I choose freedom. When Ben Hewitt met Erik Gillard, he was amazed. Here was a real-life rebel living happily and comfortably in small-town Vermont on less than $10,000 per year. Gillard's no bum. He has a job, a girlfriend, good friends, and strong ties to the community. But how he lives his life—and why—launches Hewitt on a quest to understand the true role of money and mindless consumerism in our lives. By meeting and befriending people like Erik Gillard, Hewitt realized that their happiness was real. What was he—and the rest of a deeply unhappy population—missing? Saved is the humorous, surprising, and ultimately life-changing result of Hewitt's quest, a narrative that challenges everything we know about the meaning of money. Hewitt uses his sharp eye for story, exhaustive reporting, and his own experience living below his means to bring what he learned into an even larger context. How does money really work? How can a bankrupt society move forward? The answers are not what you think, and Hewitt has written an important book for our times. When Ben Hewitt met Erik Gillard, he was amazed. Gillard was living happily and comfortably in small-town Vermont on less than $10,000 per year. He has a job, a girlfriend, good friends, and strong ties to the community-- and launched Hewitt on a quest to understand the true role of money and mindless consumerism in our lives. Hewitt's quest becomes a narrative that challenges everything we know about the meaning of money.