I actually stumbled upon "Paleo" by some round about way that dealt with finances. I had been starting to pay attention to the economy and what was wrong with it a couple years back. I can't remember the exact sequence, but I found Marks Daily Apple (about a year ago) through a link on a link and the rest is history.

I have found that the Paleo lifestyle very directly ties with my views on society, finance, health and wellness etc..

I no longer feel the drive to have extra things, to qualify for marathons, to buy the latest fitness gear. Now I just want to eat great food, look amazing doing it, play outdoors, and sleep a lot.... It's actually quite liberating.

I need money for necessities. Shelter, Clothing and far most importantly Healthy Food.

Other than that it's about minor equipment for entertainment. Kayak, Frisbee, Volleyball etc.

I don't really watch tv anymore. I'm not concerning with impressing people with my social status(health status is another story)

I'd love to live in a society without the need for grubbing greed. Fair exchange of materials but not handouts, where people care about their community as much as themselves...

Money is a big factor in limiting our family's ability to do full-on paleo / primal - still trying to find/source affordable grass-fed beef, pork, poultry, etc., pastured eggs, pastured raw dairy. The only thing I can think of to take the edge off for next year is to start my own garden.

Let's just say that for two adults and two young children I'm still strugging to stay under $700-800/mo. on groceries! Even grass fed ground beef (the only grass fed beef I've bought so far) in my area runs $6/lb. - not cheap.

I'd rather spend money on quality food than almost anything else.

At my age (60) and as a CPA, I have decided that nothing is more important to me than NOT having to eat cat food in my dotage (and that my "dotage" be short and happy). Hence a major emphasis toward saving everything I can get my hands on. I also do not want to be a burden on my children, who, while I love them dearly, live a lifestyle that is 100% incompatible with my choices.

Secondary goal (but not far behind) is to get out of the rat race (e.g. retire) so I can spend more time doing what I want to do instead of what other people want me to do. Life is short and (in my way of thinking) final.

As a CPA, my experience with clients tells me that money is only important if you don't have enough, but "enough" is defined differently by different people (particularly at different age levels, and now I would add, at different choices of diet).

I have found a reasonably affordable source of grass-fed beef and pastured eggs, so I'm set. I look for the best chicken and pork I can find, but I'm mainly a beef-eater, so that's where I spend my resources.

You can never have enough money.Why? You need money not only for big cars and expensive clothes, furniture or PCs which I don't need but for "non-profit issues" as well: good food, improving health, good trainers and doctors, seminars and books and tutorial DVDs for becoming a better professional and a smarter person, support non- profit organizations and grassroot movements, living a social life and for your social security in general.

If you don't need money to impress people or to prove that you are a "winner"- good for you. But you need money for everything that is worth doing, even if it's not business but only non-profit projects or supporting other people.

I do wish I had enough money to go pure grass-fed/pastured.

I also wish I had the money to buy some new clothes now that I dropped 60lbs. I look like a clown in XXL.

Accumulation of resources is a natural paleo desire. More resources means more security. Unfortunately, taken out of the natural context of the wilds and the tribe, sometimes this drive becomes unbalanced. Perhaps the paleo eater's concern of natural balance and keeping things in context helps ameliorate this danger to some extent.

I agree. Generally, the paleo community seems pretty easy going. I'll be honest, though, I'm totally interested in money. Maybe not to such an extent that I'm greedy, but I do want to provide well for my family.

I spend extra money on groceries to improve my health and longevity, and money makes it all the more fun! I mean, lets face it, there's a lot of fun stuff to do when you have some extra cash.

With that said, I don't think the monetization of information regarding a diet or lifestyle that can greatly benefit our culture, and even cure disease is super kosher (with the exception of informative reading, i.e. Dr. Cordain's works, Robb Wolf's book, etc.).

I also think that our financial system has evolved to fit the need of the growing population. I could see communal living and bartering being somewhat difficult in today's vastly overpopulated world.

Or necessary equipment! After a life of consumer electronics and mp3 buying, you come to realize you don't have a lot of useful things. Buying a hunting bow and all the trappings seems to cost a lot of money, thus, I value money. I guess I need to start writing my E-book!

I don't think paleo people think of money any differently than the average person. We all want to accumulate wealth for some reason or another, be it health or greed...or both.

I value time more then money. But I have to say that I make a normal living. We earn enough to pay the necessities (food, house, clothes, ...). We even have a little surplus, which we use for savings and to by time. Time to do what makes us happy.

Its better to spend the money on good food than medicines! What say you?

Money is neither good nor bad-- it's just a very powerful tool to get things done. I'd love to have lots of money if I could use it for the greater good (for that matter I'd like anybody to have money if they were good people).

The problem stems from when people believe that money is itself good, or that having more of it makes you a better person. And if you have bad people with money, then you have a big problem.

Crossfit gyms, grass-fed and pastured meats and some of the hardware (Vibrams) can be expensive. The ideal, optimized diet may be at a cost that is greater by a factor of 2 for the average American's food expenditure. I feel like this puts the Paleo diet out of the price point of those less affluent Americans who suffer from diseases related to Industrial Foods (diabetes, obesity, etc.) and would therefore benefit most from the primal diet/lifestyle.

Snickers and a 80oz of Coca-Cola can be had at any gas station for .99 cents - Grass Fed Ribeye is 29.00 a pound at Whole Foods.

Money (financial security) allows us to focus on the higher order needs on that Maslov hierarchy of needs framework, well-being.

PS: Love the question. Economic sociology is my thing.