The Wallet Shoppe
Looking for wallet quotes? Heard some before and found yourself wondering, “what was that quote about a man’s wallet?”
We’ve got you covered!
We went on a journey into the wonderful world of wallet wisdom and dug up quotes that will make you laugh, make you think, and perhaps change the way you think about money.
The Best Wallet Quotes (Real and Less-so)
Some are personal favorites of mine, and some more sound great but, sadly, are just too good to be true.
The Best Wallet Quote (According To Me, Anyway)
“Either the key to a man’s wallet is in his heart, or the key to a man’s heart is in his wallet.”
Attributed to Noah benShea, Jacob the Baker: Gentle Wisdom for a Complicated World. The Goodreads quote entry records this wording and book attribution.
That’s a pretty thought-provoking one, and it’s my favorite wallet quote.
The rest of the quote goes, “So, unless you express your charity, you are locked inside your greed.”
My (perhaps simplistic) interpretation of this is that we should direct our spending of time and money on the people and causes that we love the most, instead of only loving money for its own sake.
The Skeptic’s Quote
“Whenever you hear the consensus of scientists agrees on something or other, reach for your wallet, because you’re being had.”
Michael Crichton, Aliens Cause Global Warming
OK, to be fair, this is just one example of a common phrase, “check your wallet”. People often say this as part of a warning that someone is trying to con you.
This specific example from Crichton’s 2003 speech is about scientific consensus, but the idea applies more widely. Anytime someone says “everyone agrees” or “we all know that…”, it can be an attempt to stop the discussion, so ask what the evidence actually is. As Crichton puts it later in the same speech: “The greatest scientists in history are great precisely because they broke with the consensus.”
The Philosopher’s Quote
“Our culture has filled our heads but emptied our hearts, stuffed our wallets but starved our wonder”
Attributed to Peter Kreeft; the quote entry associates it with Jesus-Shock.
This quote criticizes the tendency to prioritize material wealth and factual knowledge over emotional depth and a sense of wonder.
The Classical Quote
“Time hath, my lord, a wallet at his back, Wherein he puts alms for oblivion”
You probably didn’t expect me to be quoting Shakespeare here, did you?
In this passage from Shakespeare’s Troilus and Cressida, Act 3, scene 3, Ulysses speaks to Achilles about the fleeting nature of fame and the human tendency to forget past deeds.
It’s a real quote, but a “wallet” in Shakespeare’s time would have referred to a bag or knapsack, probably more like a backpack today than a wallet. But still - how could I not include a quote from the Bard in this list?
Some Near Misses
OK, here are a few more great-sounding wallet quotes, that may not be what they seem.
The Inspirational Quote
“Generosity is a function of the heart, not the wallet”
Attributed to Wayne W. Dyer, this is a great quote that speaks to generosity not being about having a lot of money or material wealth to give away. Instead, it’s about having a kind and giving heart, and a willingness to share what you do have—whether that’s time, effort, or resources—with others.
While this quote fits well with Dyer’s philosophy and writings, we can’t find an exact source for this quote.
Verdict: Great sentiment, but unconfirmed source.
The Obligatory Ben Franklin Quote
“Take the money in your wallet and invest it in your mind. And in return, your mind will fill up your wallet”
Benjamin Franklin by Joseph-Siffred Duplessis, c. 1785 (public domain, via Wikimedia Commons).
This is often attributed to Ben Franklin, and it comes up often in internet searches (sometimes with “coins” and “purse” instead of “wallet” and “money” which makes it sound even more real).
I mean, what didn’t he write about?
Sadly, this doesn’t seem to appear in any of his well-known writings or correspondence.
Now, it’s true Franklin was known for his wisdom about money. In Poor Richard’s Almanack he wrote plenty of money sayings, including “A penny saved is two pence clear” (which, fittingly for this section, most of us misquote as “a penny saved is a penny earned”).
It’s not uncommon for quotes to be misattributed, especially in the meme-land of the internet. The sentiment of the quote seems to fit well with Franklin’s philosophy, which could explain why it’s often credited to him.
Without any direct sourcing though, we can’t attribute it to him.
Verdict: Great sentiment, not a real Franklin quote.
The Financially-Sound Quote
“A batch of credit cards fattens a wallet before it thins it”
Another quote that comes up a lot, attributed to humorist Evan Esar. We certainly get the logic here - easy credit can lead to overspending - and it seems quite reasonable that Esar might have said this.
But…(you guessed it).
It shows up in collections of Esar quotations, but we can’t find an original book or page to confirm it. Shame, as we could have worked in a link to slimming your wallet here. (Oh, look.)
Verdict: Plausible attribution, but unconfirmed.
The Jokers
OK, there are lots of quotes from comedians that reference wallets, mostly without any direct source to confirm they really did come from the comedian quoted. I’ll give you a classic to close out this list:
The Comedian’s Quote
“My father carries around the picture of the kid who came with his wallet”
Attributed to Rodney Dangerfield (and like most comedian quotes, we couldn’t pin down where he said it).
Ah, the late, great Rodney Dangerfield! Even with minimalist wallets, people still like to carry pictures of their loved ones - except if you’re the “everyman” who didn’t “get no respect” of course.
Wrapping Up
OK, that’s all for now! Hope you enjoyed this little romp through wallet-quote-land. If you did, be sure to check out our next article, with a rather familiar title …
