Timeline for Why did the Weasleys spend most of the money won in the lottery for a trip to Egypt?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
22 events
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| Jun 16, 2020 at 9:31 | history | edited | CommunityBot |
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| Oct 14, 2015 at 1:53 | comment | added | Eric Towers | @DCK: Your theory is sound. However, overwhelming empirical evidence shows that that the theory is about as accurate as assuming rational economic actors in real economics. I suppose it's fortunate we're talking about a fantasy world, where fantasy theories might actually work. | |
| Oct 13, 2015 at 21:18 | comment | added | Konrad Rudolph | @Jason Rich people doing that don't mind it though. The author makes it abundantly clear that Ron is suffering from it — not excessively, but tangibly. (Perceived) peer pressure is a powerful psychological agent for adolescents. | |
| Oct 13, 2015 at 19:05 | comment | added | gatherer818 | Many of the people arguing against this answer also seem to assume that investing (or at least collecting interest on a savings account) is a given; are we certain these things exist in the Wizarding economy? Given Mr. Weasley's trouble with Muggle money, we certainly can't assume he could use Muggle means... | |
| Oct 13, 2015 at 18:08 | comment | added | Jason | @KonradRudolph there are plenty of well off people who buy used cars and shop at thrift stores. Some people become rich living that way. The Weasley's situation is about to change, anyway - at the time of the trip, they've only got 3 more years supporting Fred & George, 5 more for Ron and 6 more for Ginny. I'd say, in light of that, a family trip may well be the wisest use of that money. Assuming they have no debt, the money that it takes to send a family on a trip won't make a realistic dent in their financial prospects. | |
| Oct 13, 2015 at 14:01 | comment | added | DVK-on-Ahch-To | @EricTowers - sorry, BS. Anyone can manage fake money on a piece of paper and pencil. Total cost <$1. It's all about the will and work ethic and using one's brains. And managing normal money {{normal meaning simple money situation most poor people are in}} is a skill that involves about 1 hour of learning (1-sided ledger/checkbook). | |
| Oct 13, 2015 at 11:23 | comment | added | Rand al'Thor♦ | @DVK Skeptics.SE ... are you top user there as well yet? ;-) | |
| Oct 13, 2015 at 9:01 | comment | added | Konrad Rudolph | @EricTowers Sure. I’m just saying that we shouldn’t argue that spending the money instead of investing (even such a little) was the wisest course of action, because it’s patently not. It’s a realistic course of action, and it’s not actually a bad course of action. But making the very strong claim that it’s the wisest course of action is bold. | |
| Oct 13, 2015 at 6:37 | comment | added | Eric Towers | @KonradRudolph : Managing money, like anything else, takes practice, and the poor never get the chance. For more on this, see cracked.com/blog/… and cracked.com/blog/… . Yes, they're all stupid and, no, no poor person ever gets enough practice not being poor to stop doing them. | |
| Oct 13, 2015 at 4:53 | comment | added | Sumyrda - remember Monica | @KonradRudolph But if you define financially stable as not using hand downs, then 700 Gallons won't give a very long period of stability, not with 5 kids needing new clothes all the time or even ball gowns. Who knows, maybe the Weasleys even have a sizable emergency fund and are just wise enough to not consider wanting new clothes an emergency. In that case, spending the money on the trip seems the best thing to do. | |
| Oct 12, 2015 at 21:58 | comment | added | Konrad Rudolph | @DVK Stability is of course relative. The old trope that “money doesn’t buy happiness” isn’t even true for the middle class (to which the Weasleys definitely don’t belong), it only applies to the already rich. The exact boundary is subject to discussion but unless you earn more than an amount X per year (where X is more than most people make), more income directly affects well-being. And the Weasleys are absolutely not financially stable, as diverse hand-downs attest. | |
| Oct 12, 2015 at 21:54 | comment | added | DVK-on-Ahch-To | @KonradRudolph - they seem to be financially stable. Not rich, or even overly "dentist class" comfortable, but stable. They eat VERY well, they have a stable housing situation, they managed to pay to put 7 kids through school. They don't have money for luxuries, but that isn't a sign of lack of stability. | |
| Oct 12, 2015 at 21:53 | comment | added | Konrad Rudolph | I’m convinced that you’re misapplying the research here. Financial stability is even more important than buying unique experience. The money (ideally) wouldn’t have gone towards trinkets but towards alleviating financial instability. There’s solid research that this yields vastly improved quality of life. | |
| Oct 12, 2015 at 20:58 | comment | added | stannius | Thus showing their children that a one-time experience is more important than financial stability, and so the cycle perpetuates. | |
| Oct 12, 2015 at 20:34 | comment | added | user31178 | This is my first thought as well, but I think it'd be fair to also include something about the Weasley's lifestyle: They make do! They may all get hand-me-downs, but overall they seem to be happy with their means (despite Ron's occasional grumps). To them, money isn't everything. | |
| Oct 12, 2015 at 18:16 | comment | added | PLL | @DavidGrinberg: it’s a normal enough thing that it doesn’t need a reason. The research is a modern justification, but “memorable experiences can be worth some cost ” has been thought and practiced since the dawn of humanity. It’s just something some people do (at the same time as other people would choose to do other things with the money). | |
| Oct 12, 2015 at 18:09 | comment | added | DVK-on-Ahch-To | @DavidGrinberg - actually, the fact that only Voldemort and Snape can fly (or that you need brooms to fly) is a major plot point. What with that silly Quidditch game | |
| Oct 12, 2015 at 18:06 | comment | added | David says Reinstate Monica | But Ron randomly flying up is not a plot point in the story. Plot points (should) have a reason, and spending your lottery winnings on a trip is definitely a plot point | |
| Oct 12, 2015 at 18:03 | comment | added | DVK-on-Ahch-To | @DavidGrinberg - Fair point. However, not everything has (or sometimes needs) in-universe explanation. Why doesn't Ron fly up randomly? Because Gravity. | |
| Oct 12, 2015 at 18:01 | comment | added | David says Reinstate Monica | Can you really call that the "in universe" explanation though? I don't think there are any references to that idea. | |
| Oct 12, 2015 at 17:12 | comment | added | DVK-on-Ahch-To | There's plenty more references where this came from, but this is SFF, not Skeptics.SE | |
| Oct 12, 2015 at 17:11 | history | answered | DVK-on-Ahch-To | CC BY-SA 3.0 |