From Fallen London Wiki

@anon: it's a point about opportunity cost. You lose EPA by pressing anything but your most profitable option since you could be doing something more profitable instead. for long term money grinding it's worth thinking about (is it worth spending actions for rubbery favors if you have no use for the thorned ribcages in jericho?) but i agree the game is much more than just an epa optimization puzzle.

Basically for some people money grinding is the fun they have, for myself (and it sounds like you too) money grinding is the thing i do in between more interesting content being released.