What Are You Going To Do With All Those Beads?

  All these Delicas and bugles?

 All these hanks of beads?

 And these 20 tubes of 11/0s, 10/0s, 9/0s, and cubes that were at first too shy to allow their photo to be on this blog?

That's what she asked me.  I didn't ask her, but I did wonder what she was going to do with those two sets of 1950s salt and pepper shakers.

What we're both doing is increasing our net worth.

This is the way I figure it:  Say, for example, that the beads were priced at $100.  But at the 70% off sale, I only paid $30.  I've increased my net worth by $70.

Early this morning I had a one hundred dollar bill.  Now I have $100 worth of beads and a fifty dollar bill and a twenty dollar bill.

Early this morning I had $100.  Now I have $170 worth of extremely valuable stuff (money and beads).  I've increased my net worth by $70.

Had I been thinking more clearly, I might have relieved Dr. Mathematics of all his cash before he had a chance to peek into the going-out-of-business bead store.  One quick look, and he decamped to the public library across the street.  With more cash, I might have increased my net worth even more.

If the phone is busy when you call, don't worry.  I'll be talking to NPR about economic theory.