Money WondersPlay

Work & the Rat RacePurpose

The Fisherman and the Banker

Retold after Heinrich Böll's 1963 tale: a banker urges a fisherman to build a fleet so that one day he can retire and... fish all afternoon

A banker offers a fisherman a twenty-year plan to get rich. The fisherman's question at the end changes everything.

You'll find out

  • What the banker's plan promised
  • The question that ends the story
  • What the story asks of you

Why it matters

Twenty years is a lot of life to spend on a plan without knowing what it's for.

About 4 min7 interactive slides · 5 questionsLesson 16 · Zone 2

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More in this zone

  1. 10PaychecksWhere Your Paycheck GoesGross pay is the number you're offered; net pay is what lands
  2. 11TaxesThe Raise That Costs You MoneyA higher tax bracket only taxes the dollars above the line
  3. 12The Rat RaceTrading Time for MoneyA paycheck stops the day you stop
  4. 13History of WorkThe 40-Hour Week Was a FightWeekends weren't a gift; they were won
  5. 14IncomeActive and Passive IncomeMoney you work for and money that works for you
  6. 15HappinessThe Hedonic TreadmillEvery upgrade quickly feels normal
  7. 17Financial IndependenceYour Freedom NumberHow much it takes so that work becomes optional
  8. 18Financial IndependenceThe Savings Rate ShortcutHow much you keep matters more than how much you make