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Journalist Rick Morton knows all about the power of money to shape your world.
Growing up in rural Queensland, he has known poverty from the inside. He has seen the bone-weary effort his single mum mustered to raise three kids and pay the bills. A poor boy who grew into a middle class man, his spending habits and attitude to money are still informed by growing up without it.
Money is one of the most fraught subjects; it raises powerful emotions in all of us. Too much money often corrupts people - too little can make people feel desperate.
In On Money, Morton examines the meaning of money and exposes the lie behind the government's mantra: have a go, get a go.
Growing up in rural Queensland, he has known poverty from the inside. He has seen the bone-weary effort his single mum mustered to raise three kids and pay the bills. A poor boy who grew into a middle class man, his spending habits and attitude to money are still informed by growing up without it.
Money is one of the most fraught subjects; it raises powerful emotions in all of us. Too much money often corrupts people - too little can make people feel desperate.
In On Money, Morton examines the meaning of money and exposes the lie behind the government's mantra: have a go, get a go.
96 pages, Paperback
First published October 27, 2020
17 people are currently reading
408 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
February 18, 2021
I’ll read anything Rick Morton writes at this point. History of cabbage? Sign me up. He so completely captures something about growing up below the middle class in Australia that at times it feels uncanny—how do you know, were you there too? His description of making money and spending it was an absolute gut punch, and the image of my bank balance flying up and down in fortnightly cycles is one that I hope stays with me.
November 11, 2020
This is a little book that touches on a lot of ideas. Money, class, privilege and the state of Australia are all covered in this wee book. But do not be deceived - it will make you enraged, sad, or occasionally a little ashamed as you potentially recognise your own spending habits.
Morton makes reminds you of your own empathy. The fear of budgeting and money can be overwhelming for some, but he uses personal anecdotes to provide warmth and understanding for the reader. His Mum also sounds like my Mum and that immediately endeared me to her and their relationship.
Really great book to read in an afternoon, but there’s a lot of reread value. If you pick it up and grab it, I recommend Affluenza by Clive Hamilton and Richard Denniss as a post palate cleanser. About a decade old now I think, but I see Morton’s book as a wonderful companion piece to the conversations discussed there and still deeply relevant.
Morton makes reminds you of your own empathy. The fear of budgeting and money can be overwhelming for some, but he uses personal anecdotes to provide warmth and understanding for the reader. His Mum also sounds like my Mum and that immediately endeared me to her and their relationship.
Really great book to read in an afternoon, but there’s a lot of reread value. If you pick it up and grab it, I recommend Affluenza by Clive Hamilton and Richard Denniss as a post palate cleanser. About a decade old now I think, but I see Morton’s book as a wonderful companion piece to the conversations discussed there and still deeply relevant.
November 5, 2020
Rick Morton's book On Money may be small in nature but it is large in content, philosophy and beliefs. Rick uses his life example to explain 'money' and how he relates to it and manages it ..or does not. Readers truly need this but first, I would suggest his book One Hundred Years of Dirt to understand much of where Rick's views began and how he has seen money rip apart families and turn others into the drudge of 'day by day' existence. If only more people who can make decisions about how to help the socially disadvantaged could actually understand this is what it can be like they might make changes for the good.
December 31, 2022
So incredibly insightful. As someone who has come from immense privilege, this truly opened my eyes to many experiences of poverty and inequality that I was simply not aware of. Rick Morton is articulate, brutally honest and so bloody hilarious. This has genuinely changed the way I view and talk about money. Highly, highly recommend.
"Because we attach worth to income or wealth, people who are not raised with the insulation of money can come to see their own ideas as being without value."
"I turned thirty-three recently, an auspicious occasion because it made me the same age as Jesus of Nazareth when he was crucified and, similarly, neither of us were home owners."
"Because we attach worth to income or wealth, people who are not raised with the insulation of money can come to see their own ideas as being without value."
"I turned thirty-three recently, an auspicious occasion because it made me the same age as Jesus of Nazareth when he was crucified and, similarly, neither of us were home owners."
November 13, 2020
I bought this little gem after seeing Rick talk on The Drum. I didn’t grow up dirt poor but as a new migrant to Australia I was very lucky to get a free education and somehow developed an acute sense of money allowing freedom. My own parents worked to squirrel money away. Saving was a badge of honour. I guess the issue was knowing how to enjoy the money. You can sit on a pile of cash and not know how to improve your life or the lives of others. Charity started and stayed at home.
Ricks focus is more about poverty and the impact of an extreme lack of money but there is similarity for me in the dysfunctional attitudes.
What also resonated was the analogy of money with time and space such as - “wealth creates a moral slipstream in which the man or woman in possession of great wealth can travel”. So true. We need to be reminded with wealth comes responsibility.
There is so much in this small book especially about class relationship to money. At the end of the day there is a lot of luck involved with which womb you drop out of determining your future. It would be a great equaliser if we all had the same opportunity to have a good education and part of that was basic money management skills. It doesn’t fix the inequality but could help some families manage better.
Ricks focus is more about poverty and the impact of an extreme lack of money but there is similarity for me in the dysfunctional attitudes.
What also resonated was the analogy of money with time and space such as - “wealth creates a moral slipstream in which the man or woman in possession of great wealth can travel”. So true. We need to be reminded with wealth comes responsibility.
There is so much in this small book especially about class relationship to money. At the end of the day there is a lot of luck involved with which womb you drop out of determining your future. It would be a great equaliser if we all had the same opportunity to have a good education and part of that was basic money management skills. It doesn’t fix the inequality but could help some families manage better.
December 31, 2020
Having read Morton’s excellent memoir, One Hundred Years of Dirt (2018), I was interested in his insight on this particular topic. This essay looks at the way money changes lives in the sense that having it doesn’t guarantee happiness, but offers choices, relieves stress and shapes our psychology. Morton discusses his own experiences growing up watching his hard-working, poverty stricken, single mother struggle to pay bills and support her three children. He reflects on the impact this has had on him as he has become a successful writer and journalist, shifting comfortably from poverty into middle class, and the uneasy and difficult relationship he now has with his wealth. He examines the structural factors that make the movement out of poverty so hard for so many people, all while helpful politicians like PM Scott Morrison make meaningless statements about how you need to “have a go to get a go”. As Morton states, “Choices. It’s a strange slur from those above, isn’t it? It’s like yelling at a woman in the jaws of a lion that she should have gone to night classes. Or watching a man drown and saying, ‘Well, I’m not going to rescue you, you should teach yourself to swim.’ That drowning man? Imagine telling him that he should just kick his feet. After all, that’s what you did. Only, the man has concrete boots on and you had flippers. Or, if you were really privileged, a trained dolphin and an EPIRB beacon.” (p.93) It’s a really engrossing reflection that offers a lesson in empathy and understanding.
January 8, 2022
This was the first thing I've read by Rick Morton and what a delight!
This is a short essay 'on money': specifically on how growing up having money means a completely different approach to life. I particularly liked how Morton talks about the inverse, the long-term effects of growing up without money, and how this still affects him, even as someone who now has much more money available. It is both philosophical and political, also looking at the way we blame poor people and how that's totally bullshit.
It's really well written, very engaging, non-pretentious, still with lots of interesting things to say.
This is a short essay 'on money': specifically on how growing up having money means a completely different approach to life. I particularly liked how Morton talks about the inverse, the long-term effects of growing up without money, and how this still affects him, even as someone who now has much more money available. It is both philosophical and political, also looking at the way we blame poor people and how that's totally bullshit.
It's really well written, very engaging, non-pretentious, still with lots of interesting things to say.
March 21, 2021
Rick Morton is a journalist who researches, thinks, writes and speaks on what might be called social issues, informed by personal experience, as in this essay about money, where he describes his own experience with holding on to money, a topic also of a Kip Hanrahan song from 4 decades ago, All Us Working Class Boys (for Jack Bruce).
This is a topic I can personally relate to, even though my working-class background was much more stable than Morton's own life growing up in rural Queensland, which he refers to as context here.
This theme provides a framework for some trenchant social critique about presumptions made (often by those in positions of power) regarding those who are poor and what they do with money.
I enjoyed reading this slim book. It's well-written, informed and articulate in his particular style, and it's an hour or so of your time.
You can read him in The Saturday Paper, or in The Guardian, if you want to get an idea of his work, or look for him to appear on The Drum, and see and listen to what he has to say. These can be accessed online. There are other ways, and other books, too.
This is a topic I can personally relate to, even though my working-class background was much more stable than Morton's own life growing up in rural Queensland, which he refers to as context here.
This theme provides a framework for some trenchant social critique about presumptions made (often by those in positions of power) regarding those who are poor and what they do with money.
I enjoyed reading this slim book. It's well-written, informed and articulate in his particular style, and it's an hour or so of your time.
You can read him in The Saturday Paper, or in The Guardian, if you want to get an idea of his work, or look for him to appear on The Drum, and see and listen to what he has to say. These can be accessed online. There are other ways, and other books, too.
April 11, 2021
Classic Rick
If you have not yet read Rick Morton’s book, 100 years of Dirt, do so immediately. Here is a bloke who does not hold back, and why should he. Life is very difficult for many many people, Rick lived poverty among other horrors of childhood, but he came through, because he is brilliant, hard working, and lucky! He has huge uncommon but essential empathy for people who are suffering. I love his work.
If you have not yet read Rick Morton’s book, 100 years of Dirt, do so immediately. Here is a bloke who does not hold back, and why should he. Life is very difficult for many many people, Rick lived poverty among other horrors of childhood, but he came through, because he is brilliant, hard working, and lucky! He has huge uncommon but essential empathy for people who are suffering. I love his work.
January 27, 2022
This book is outstanding. Rick clearly identifies and articulates the structural context of poverty in Australia. His analysis of these structural issues is illustrated through sharing deeply personal stories of growing up poor and the subsequent impact on his relationship with money.
I frequently use the content of this book in my professional role with social work students most of whom, like me, come from middle class backgrounds and can tend to oversimplify what is a very complex social problem.
On Money is poignant without being self-indulgent. It gives the reader an understanding of poverty in a way that is more accessible than any academic text on this topic. Congratulations Rick.
I frequently use the content of this book in my professional role with social work students most of whom, like me, come from middle class backgrounds and can tend to oversimplify what is a very complex social problem.
On Money is poignant without being self-indulgent. It gives the reader an understanding of poverty in a way that is more accessible than any academic text on this topic. Congratulations Rick.
November 13, 2020
Essay about how not having money impacts you throughout your life. People born into money don’t understand this perspective. Money gives many confidence that they don’t have to ask the question, “How much is it?” Before considering a purchase. Worth the read.
December 26, 2020
A convoluted expression over 90 pages that teaches you nothing and inspires not a thing of yourself.
Lots of big bold words sprinkled amongst a litany of schools of thought. This is nothing more than an intellectuals diary.
Sorry Rick.
Lots of big bold words sprinkled amongst a litany of schools of thought. This is nothing more than an intellectuals diary.
Sorry Rick.
April 4, 2021
As someone who would fit the "entitled" category, I thought this little book was eye opening. It made me really think about my attitude to people with a lot less, and why I am sometimes irked with them for not showing more gratitude to handouts and help.
January 2, 2022
This is such an important essay about the lies we tell ourselves and are told about money and moral worth. Written with the force of facts about wealth inequalities and the lived experience of poverty, Morton invites us to truly confront the impact of vast and growing wealth disparities.
November 29, 2020
I love the "on" series. This one is about money, written by Rick who has struggled with money for most of his life. Some interesting observations, worth a read
December 20, 2020
A few too many space/physics metaphors for my liking, but a good short read on how wealth functions in the lives of people.
December 21, 2020
Really good. Looking forward to 100 Years of Dirt.
Read
January 30, 2021an essay really, but v. good
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 9, 2021
So good, I bought another copy as a gift.
October 22, 2021
Spot on.
March 11, 2023
Very timely read. Morton is a very good writer who gets you under the skin of the topic
November 16, 2024
Also fantastic, I’d read this man’s shopping list
December 10, 2024
Rick Morton is amazing. He really understands Australian people in a way that very few other journalists, commentators do.
May 15, 2021
Did not finish reading
May 7, 2021
“So it is true, then, to say that money can’t buy us happiness. But is can and does eliminate the stresses of our own existence”.
On Money by @squigglyrick is a small book with a powerful message. It is a witty, insightful unpacking of the meaning of money and it's effect on our lives. In particular the effect on those that live in poverty.
Rick Morton uses his experiences growing up poor and his eventual move into “comfortable living” to illustrate some very interesting points about how money makes the world go round. It is very contemporary and provides astute comments on the current Morrison Government and Australia in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
He argues that the current government has a mantra of “if you have a go, you’ll get a go” but counters with what a false concept this really is. The underlying message to those on the poverty line seems to be “just don’t be poor”. But when you can’t afford to buy food or household items in bulk, you pay more per item. When you can’t afford to make your home more energy efficient, you pay more in energy costs. This vicious cycle of the costs of living is one I feel so fortunate to not know firsthand. Which is why essays like this are important.
I read this little book in one sitting and it flows nicely from Morton’s first book One Hundred Years of Dirt which I read in January. I am very much looking forward to reading Rick Morton’s next book “My Year of Living Vulnerably” which is out mid-March.
Rick Morton is a really important voice in Australian non-fiction writing and I'd recommend seeking out his work.
On Money by @squigglyrick is a small book with a powerful message. It is a witty, insightful unpacking of the meaning of money and it's effect on our lives. In particular the effect on those that live in poverty.
Rick Morton uses his experiences growing up poor and his eventual move into “comfortable living” to illustrate some very interesting points about how money makes the world go round. It is very contemporary and provides astute comments on the current Morrison Government and Australia in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
He argues that the current government has a mantra of “if you have a go, you’ll get a go” but counters with what a false concept this really is. The underlying message to those on the poverty line seems to be “just don’t be poor”. But when you can’t afford to buy food or household items in bulk, you pay more per item. When you can’t afford to make your home more energy efficient, you pay more in energy costs. This vicious cycle of the costs of living is one I feel so fortunate to not know firsthand. Which is why essays like this are important.
I read this little book in one sitting and it flows nicely from Morton’s first book One Hundred Years of Dirt which I read in January. I am very much looking forward to reading Rick Morton’s next book “My Year of Living Vulnerably” which is out mid-March.
Rick Morton is a really important voice in Australian non-fiction writing and I'd recommend seeking out his work.
August 29, 2023
it is a thought-provoking exploration of a topic that resonates deeply with many: the complex dynamics of wealth and its impact on individuals and society. Drawing from personal experiences and rigorous research, Morton delves into the intricate relationship between money, privilege, and opportunity.
In an era of growing economic disparity, "The Money" serves as a timely and impactful contribution to the ongoing dialogue about wealth and its implications. Rick Morton's candid approach and deep insights make this book an essential read for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the role money plays in shaping our lives and society at large.
In an era of growing economic disparity, "The Money" serves as a timely and impactful contribution to the ongoing dialogue about wealth and its implications. Rick Morton's candid approach and deep insights make this book an essential read for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the role money plays in shaping our lives and society at large.
November 30, 2022
Rick Morton is an interesting writer. Enjoyed this book very much.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews