Snippets about: Money
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Money Equals Something We Trade Life Energy For
The authors present a new definition of money to transform our relationship with it: Money is something we choose to trade our life energy for. Our life energy is all the hours of precious, limited time we have on Earth. So whenever we work for money, we are trading hours of our life.
This definition puts the focus on what money really costs us - our very life force. It prompts the question: Is this expense worth the hours of my finite life required to pay for it? With this awareness, we can start making more conscious choices aligned with our true values.
Section: 1, Chapter: 2
Book: Your Money or Your Life
Author: Joe Dominguez, Vicki Robin
The "Event-Driven" Investing Approach
Cornwall Capital's strategy for finding mispricings:
- Look for potential catalysts that could move a security's price
- Determine if the market is mispricing the probability/impact
- Structure a trade with asymmetric risk/reward if catalyst occurs
- Aim for "small loss if wrong, huge gain if right" payoff
- Avoid overpaying for the "option" on the event occurring
This approach led them to buy cheap credit default swaps on subprime mortgage bonds, which paid off big when defaults spiked.
Section: 1, Chapter: 3
Book: The Big Short
Author: Michael Lewis
Never Having Enough
“If you live for having it all, what you have is never enough.”
Section: 1, Chapter: 1
Book: Your Money or Your Life
Author: Joe Dominguez, Vicki Robin
The Reducers, Reusers and Recyclers of Maine
Dolly and Frank devised a creative housing scheme that let them own their home free and clear in less than five years. They bought a big, old farmhouse in Maine and rented out rooms to a rotating cast of housemates. The rental income covered their mortgage and utilities.
Meanwhile, Frank worked his way through every room, renovating with recycled materials. In a few short years, they had a unique, artsy home with no debt - and a community of friends gained by sharing space. Dolly and Frank's frugal ingenuity let them raise her themselves rather than work for wages. Their life was rich in what mattered to them, if not in cash.
Section: 1, Chapter: 6
Book: Your Money or Your Life
Author: Joe Dominguez, Vicki Robin
Creating Categories Reveals Your Spending Alignment With Values
Rosemary created her own unique spending categories and subcategories to reflect her lifestyle and values:
- She had two beauty-related categories, showing this was a high priority for her
- "Wellness" categories like Health Products revealed her proactive approach to well-being
- "Donations" showed giving was important enough to track separately
- A "Personal Growth" category reflected her commitment to development
For Rosemary, the very process of defining these categories heightened her awareness of what she valued most.
Section: 1, Chapter: 3
Book: Your Money or Your Life
Author: Joe Dominguez, Vicki Robin
How to Do a Monthly Tabulation and Convert Dollars to Life Energy
At the end of each month, follow these steps to heighten awareness of how your earning and spending align with your life:
- Create categories for all expenses, being as specific as needed to spot patterns. Include subcategories as useful (e.g. under Clothing: Work Clothes, Leisure, Gazingus Pins).
- Enter all income and expenses in appropriate categories.
- Total each category.
- For each total, divide by your real hourly wage to get hours of life energy spent.
- Notice which categories are worth the life energy and which aren't.
Translate dollars into life energy repeatedly to make that your new metric for financial choices. Let the awareness itself change you over time.
Section: 1, Chapter: 3
Book: Your Money or Your Life
Author: Joe Dominguez, Vicki Robin
Getting Wealthy vs. Staying Wealthy
Many people are good at getting wealthy but terrible at staying wealthy. That's because staying wealthy requires a different approach:
Getting wealthy:
- Takes risks, often big ones
- Is driven by optimism and a focus on potential gains
- Requires a willingness to take chances and put yourself out there
Staying wealthy:
- Relies on humility, frugality, and paranoia about potential losses
- Requires conservative decision-making that prioritizes avoiding catastrophic losses
- Means accepting that a portion of what you've made is attributable to luck
The skills that got you rich - risk-taking, optimism, salesmanship - can actually work against you when trying to maintain wealth. The ability to adjust from "growth mode" to "stability mode" is rare but essential.
Section: 1, Chapter: 5
Book: The Psychology of Money
Author: Morgan Housel
What People Really Want
"You might think you want an expensive car, a fancy watch, and a huge house. But I'm telling you, you don't. What you want is respect and admiration from other people, and you think having expensive stuff will bring it. It almost never does."
Section: 1, Chapter: 8
Book: The Psychology of Money
Author: Morgan Housel
Giving Random Amounts At Random Times To Random People
Many parents delay gratification, living frugally and working long hours to amass wealth for their children. But often this leads to suboptimal outcomes Perkins calls "the three Rs":
- Random amounts (inheritance size depends on parent's random time of death)
- Random timing (inheritance timing depends on parent's random time of death)
- Random recipients (who will actually be alive and in need when parents die?)
Instead of saving indefinitely and hoping it all works out, Perkins argues parents should give intentionally - determining in advance how much to give each child and transferring it at the optimal time in their lives. This ensures money has maximum impact.
Section: 1, Chapter: 5
Book: Die With Zero
Author: Bill Perkins
Sunk Costs
"Sunk Costs - Anchoring Decisions To Past Efforts That Can't Be Refunded - Are A Devil In A World Where People Change Over Time"
The sunk cost fallacy is powerful. We tend to stick with jobs, investments, and relationships because of how much we've already put into them. We're anchored to past commitments.
But when the world changes, you have to be willing to change too. Economies evolve, values shift, and people grow in unforeseen ways. Embracing the idea that sunk costs should often be abandoned and that you'll change in unforeseeable ways is an important part of navigating life.
Section: 1, Chapter: 14
Book: The Psychology of Money
Author: Morgan Housel
The Gazillionaire With No Ability To Enjoy
"Let's say you're on your deathbed and you're a gazillionaire. You have all the money in the world but you have no ability to enjoy that money. You are no longer a gazillionaire; you are merely a person who is about to die. All that money is now meaningless to you. It has no value because you have no ability to exchange it for positive life experiences. If you find yourself in this position, you have made a huge mistake."
Section: 1, Chapter: 3
Book: Die With Zero
Author: Bill Perkins
The Graduation Inheritance
Based on research and experience, Perkins believes the optimal age to receive an inheritance is 26-35. This timing provides:
- Maturity and financial wisdom (lacking in 18-25 year olds)
- Ample runway to benefit from compounding returns
- Ability to make pivotal investments (education, home, business)
- Freedom to pursue riskier, high-upside paths
- Active lifestyle to enjoy memorable experiences
So if you want to maximize the positive impact of your giving, consider timing it to your children's graduating years - mid 20s to mid 30s. This will likely require decumulating earlier than traditional retirement age.
Section: 1, Chapter: 5
Book: Die With Zero
Author: Bill Perkins
Making a Dying Versus Making a Living
For many people, work has become "making a dying" rather than "making a living." Signs you might be making a dying:
- Spending most waking hours at a job that drains your energy
- Trying to relieve job stress in unhealthy ways during off-hours
- Caught in a "work-spend" cycle to maintain a lifestyle you think your job/status requires
- Defining yourself by your job title and salary rather than who you are
When work consumes so much of your precious life energy but provides little joy or meaning in return, that's making a dying, not a living.
Section: 1, Chapter: 1
Book: Your Money or Your Life
Author: Joe Dominguez, Vicki Robin
How to Create a Wall Chart to Track Financial Progress
Making your progress visible on a prominent Wall Chart increases motivation and accountability for your Financial Independence goals. Here's how:
- Get a large piece of graph paper. Time is the horizontal axis, dollars the vertical.
- Each month, plot your total income as one line and total expenses as another. Use different colors for each.
- Connect each new month's point to the previous one to show trend lines over time.
- Post your Wall Chart where you'll see it multiple times a day.
Just the process of updating it monthly keeps your commitment alive.
Section: 1, Chapter: 5
Book: Your Money or Your Life
Author: Joe Dominguez, Vicki Robin
Your Personal Experiences With Money Shape Your Beliefs
Everyone has different experiences with money based on their upbringing, circumstances, and place in history. This leads to very different beliefs and behaviors around money, even if on the surface they seem illogical or "crazy" to others. Two people can look at the same facts or event but interpret them very differently based on their own unique lens. Rather than judging, the key is to recognize that everyone's views make sense to them based on their personal experiences. What seems crazy to you might make perfect sense to me.
Section: 1, Chapter: 1
Book: The Psychology of Money
Author: Morgan Housel
Fulfillment Curve Shows Optimal Amount of Stuff for Happiness
The Fulfillment Curve is a graph showing the relationship between the experience of fulfillment and the amount of money spent. It reveals there is an optimal amount of stuff - "enough" - that maximizes fulfillment. Less than enough feels like deprivation. But more than enough leads to clutter and a drop in fulfillment.
The peak of the curve, where fulfillment is highest, is the sweet spot of "enough." Knowing what "enough" is for you frees you from excess and burden. But consumer culture pushes "more is better," so we often miss the "enough" point, going straight from "not enough" to "too much."
Section: 1, Chapter: 1
Book: Your Money or Your Life
Author: Joe Dominguez, Vicki Robin
The Three Pillars of Post-FI Financial Security
There are three key elements to ensuring an ongoing income after the Crossover Point:
- Capital: Your investment total, yielding monthly income to cover all expenses.
- Cushion: A cash safety net covering six months' expenses. Helps you ride out emergencies and income dips without touching capital.
- Cache: Extra savings to handle bigger one-time expenses, splurges or gifts of money to others. Replenishes over time.
Together, this "enough and then some" formula helps you relax into FI. You can trust the numbers, knowing you've built in back-up for the what-ifs. Returns can be variable but your peace of mind is constant.
Section: 1, Chapter: 8
Book: Your Money or Your Life
Author: Joe Dominguez, Vicki Robin
Treasury Bonds Provide Ultimate in FI Security
Treasury bonds are the safest investment for your FI capital, offering:
- Guaranteed return of principal and interest by U.S. government
- Stable, predictable income you can calculate in advance
- Highest level of liquidity - easy to cash in if needed
- No commissions or fees if bought directly from Treasury
- Wide range of maturity dates to create an income "ladder"
The authors advise putting your core FI money in Treasuries before any other investment. You can count on them to deliver a steady income with no surprises.
Section: 1, Chapter: 9
Book: Your Money or Your Life
Author: Joe Dominguez, Vicki Robin
The Survival Threshold
Before you can comfortably start decumulating, you need to know you have enough to support yourself for life. Perkins calls this the "survival threshold." To calculate yours:
- Estimate your annual cost of living in retirement (be conservative)
- Multiply this amount by the number of retirement years you're planning for
- Multiply the result by 70% (to account for conservative investment returns)
The final number is your survival threshold - the minimum nest egg you need to confidently decumulate without fearing oldage poverty. Once you cross this threshold, your focus can shift from accumulating a bigger net worth to maximizing your net fulfillment.
Section: 1, Chapter: 8
Book: Die With Zero
Author: Bill Perkins
Longevity Risk - The Reason We Oversave
One of the biggest barriers to spending more aggressively is what Perkins calls "longevity risk" - the possibility that you live much longer than expected. Most people oversave because they overestimate this risk. They imagine worst-case scenarios where they live to 110 and need 40+ years of savings. In reality:
- Less than 0.02% of people live to 100
- A 65-year-old man has a 3% chance of living to 95
- A 65-year-old woman has a 5.9% chance of living to 95
While some buffer is prudent, massively overestimating your lifespan (and undersaving for experiences) due to longevity risk is a costly error.
Section: 1, Chapter: 4
Book: Die With Zero
Author: Bill Perkins
Use Money To Gain Control Over Your Time
More than fancy cars or mansions, the ability to do what you want with your time is the ultimate form of wealth. This means:
- Being able to wake up and follow your interests without anyone telling you otherwise
- Having f-you money - the ability to not worry about the financial impact of losing a job/client
- Controlling your schedule, rather than having it dictated to you by a boss
The author argues that using money to gain control over your time provides a better return on investment for your happiness and satisfaction than nearly anything else money can buy.
Section: 1, Chapter: 19
Book: The Psychology of Money
Author: Morgan Housel
The Flip Side of "More Is Better" is "Enough Is Plenty"
The Wall Chart reveals the results of your mental shift from "more is better" to "enough is plenty." As you internalize the lessons of the steps through repeated practice, your expenses naturally stabilize at a level that reflects your true fulfillment, not endless desires.
You find yourself passing up a "great deal" on something you don't truly need because you realize your happiness doesn't depend on having more. A business suit on sale is just a chunk of your limited life energy. What seemed like a gain is now clearly a loss. The awareness itself, not forced frugality, realigns your spending with what matters most.
Section: 1, Chapter: 5
Book: Your Money or Your Life
Author: Joe Dominguez, Vicki Robin
Tightwad Gazette's Tips on Kids' Birthday Celebrations
Amy Dacyczyn shared in her Tightwad Gazette newsletter how she kept her six kids' birthday parties fun, festive and frugal:
- Forget catered food and disposable decor. Make simple homemade cake and decorations instead.
- Skip the plastic goody bags. Do crafts or play games kids can take home as mementos.
- Focus on timeless free fun. Think scavenger hunts, cake walks, dropping clothes pins in a jar.
Kids remember the love and togetherness, not the money spent. Frugal celebrations take the stress off parents, too. Everyone wins when you spend less and enjoy more.
Section: 1, Chapter: 6
Book: Your Money or Your Life
Author: Joe Dominguez, Vicki Robin
Aim To Be Reasonable, Not Rational
We're taught that the best way to make financial decisions is to be rational - to coldly calculate the odds and probabilities. But that's not how real people make decisions. Being reasonable is more practical:
- Reasonable is aiming for pretty good outcomes that you can live with, not mathematically perfect ones
- Rational investors make decisions based on numeric precision. Reasonable investors also consider factors like sleeping well at night and not having regrets.
- Being rational can actually lead to worse outcomes if it causes you to make decisions you abandon at the worst times. A reasonable plan you can stick with is better than a rational one you'll abandon.
The reasonable investors who love their "good enough" investments have an edge, because they're more likely to stick with them.
Section: 1, Chapter: 11
Book: The Psychology of Money
Author: Morgan Housel
Financial Transformation Requires Integrating All Aspects of Life
The purpose of this book is to transform your relationship with money by integrating your spending and saving with your values and purpose in life. It provides a 9-step program to help you shift from being a slave to money to being the master of it, able to think for yourself and achieve financial independence in a meaningful way. The program is about healing the split between your money and your life, so that life becomes one integrated whole.
Section: 1, Chapter: 1
Book: Your Money or Your Life
Author: Joe Dominguez, Vicki Robin
The Risk-Reward Sweet Spot
Take your biggest risks when you have little to lose. This is often when you're young, single, healthy and flexible. You can afford to go out on a limb, knowing you have plenty of time to recover if things go south. As you age, your ability to bounce back shrinks. You have more responsibilities, more to lose. You can't afford to start over from scratch.
This is why Perkins urges frontloading your biggest risks. When you're low on resources but high on potential, make your boldest bets. As your wealth and commitments grow, shift to more conservative value protection. The goal is to always occupy the risk-reward sweet spot - enough upside to justify the gamble, but not so much downside that failure would be catastrophic.
Section: 1, Chapter: 9
Book: Die With Zero
Author: Bill Perkins
Degrees of Gratitude
“Once we’re above the survival level, the difference between prosperity and poverty lies simply in our degree of gratitude.”
Section: 1, Chapter: 7
Book: Your Money or Your Life
Author: Joe Dominguez, Vicki Robin
Sailing Off The Edge vs. Dying With Too Much
Perkins acknowledges that actually dying with exactly zero dollars is impossible, since you can't predict your exact date of death. The key is to get close to zero, leaving just enough buffer to ensure you don't run out before you die. This takes careful planning. If you're too conservative and save too much, you'll sacrifice experiences and die with wealth unspent. But if you're too aggressive and spend too fast, you risk running out of money prematurely. The goal is to walk the fine line between these extremes - to spend as much as possible on experiences while still safeguarding your minimum needs.
Section: 1, Chapter: 4
Book: Die With Zero
Author: Bill Perkins
Mental Accounting
People often use mental budgets or "buckets" to constrain their spending - e.g., $200/month on dining out. But this heuristic can lead to irrational behavior.
In one study, subjects were told they were going to a play. Half were told they had recently spent $50 going to a basketball game (same bucket), while half were told they got a $50 parking ticket (different bucket). Subjects were then asked if they would still buy a ticket to the play.
Those who had gone to the game were less likely to buy play tickets, presumably because they felt they had already spent their entertainment budget for the month. But this makes no sense - the historical spending is a sunk cost and should be irrelevant to the play decision. Yet because it was categorized in the same mental bucket, it still affected their choice.
Section: 2, Chapter: 9
Book: Misbehaving
Author: Richard Thaler
Room for Error
A good financial plan doesn't just hope for the best; it plans for the worst. Aiming for a 12% annual investment return or making a levered bet on a specific sector leaves no room for error. Some ways to maintain a margin of safety:
- Diversify your investments so no single failure can sink you
- Keep some cash/liquidity to avoid being a forced seller at the worst times
- Anticipate factors like job loss, bear markets, health issues - plan for them before they happen
- Aim for good enough returns that you'll be okay if you miss rather than shooting for the moon
Section: 1, Chapter: 13
Book: The Psychology of Money
Author: Morgan Housel
Six Steps to Turn Desire into Riches
Hill outlines a specific process to transform desires into tangible wealth:
- Fix in your mind the exact amount of money you desire.
- Determine precisely what you intend to give in return for the money.
- Establish a definite date by which you intend to acquire the money.
- Create a definite plan to carry out your desire, and begin at once.
- Write out a clear, concise statement of the amount of money you intend to acquire, the time limit, what you plan to give in return, and your plan to acquire it.
- Read your written statement aloud twice daily - once before sleeping and once after waking.
Hill emphasizes that this process requires more than just wishing; it demands a burning obsession coupled with unwavering faith and persistent action.
Section: 1, Chapter: 2
Book: Think and Grow Rich
Author: Napoleon Hill
Projecting the Crossover Point Inspires a Final Sprint
The Crossover Point on your Wall Chart is that magic moment when your monthly investment income exceeds your expenses. Your "get" finally surpasses your "spend."
To calculate it, convert your investment total to monthly income using a conservative interest rate. For example, $10,000 invested at 5% yields $500 a year or $42 a month. Plot that monthly income alongside your expenses.
At first the investment income looks puny. But each month, your growing capital adds to it. If you mentally project this income line into the future, you'll see it eventually crosses above your expense line. There's your Crossover Point! Suddenly total financial freedom feels achievable - a tremendous motivator for that final savings sprint.
Section: 1, Chapter: 8
Book: Your Money or Your Life
Author: Joe Dominguez, Vicki Robin
Wall Chart Reveals Real Behaviors, Not Budget Fantasies
Diane started her Wall Chart full of hope that tracking alone would tame her "unconscious spending." Her first month's expenses, though, were $4,770 while her income was only $4,400. She was shocked to see in black and white that she actually spent more than she made.
Her first impulse was to drastically cut expenses the next month - the classic "budget" mentality of short-term deprivation. It worked briefly, but soon her expenses rebounded as she felt restricted. She realized her Wall Chart was revealing her real behavior, not budget fantasies.
Section: 1, Chapter: 5
Book: Your Money or Your Life
Author: Joe Dominguez, Vicki Robin
Putting Your Values Where Your Treasure Is with Ethical Investing
Many FIers want their money to do no harm and maybe even do some good. Socially responsible investing (SRI) lets you put your capital in companies screened for ethical practices such as:
- Environmental sustainability
- Fair treatment of workers
- Avoidance of "sin" products like tobacco, weapons or gambling
- Diversity in hiring and leadership
- Transparent, honest business practices
SRI mutual funds abound with various mixes of screens. Look for low fees, strong returns and standards that match your values. Many aim to balance making a difference with making a profit.
Section: 1, Chapter: 9
Book: Your Money or Your Life
Author: Joe Dominguez, Vicki Robin
Thoughts Are Things: The Power of Desire
Napoleon Hill introduces the fundamental idea that thoughts can be transformed into material riches. He illustrates this concept through the story of Edwin C. Barnes, who arrived penniless in Thomas Edison's laboratory but had an unwavering desire to become Edison's business partner.
Despite having no resources or connections, Barnes' burning desire and persistence eventually led him to achieve his goal. Hill argues that when one's dominating thoughts and desires are combined with faith and a definite plan, they can be transmuted into their physical equivalent. This principle forms the foundation of the book's philosophy on achieving success and wealth.
Section: 1, Chapter: 1
Book: Think and Grow Rich
Author: Napoleon Hill
Warren Buffet and The Power of Compounding
Warren Buffett is the most famous example of the power of compounding. What's lesser known is just how much of his fortune was accumulated late in life:
- Buffett started investing at age 10 in the 1930s
- By age 30, he had a net worth of $1 million (in today's dollars)
- By age 65, he was worth $6 billion - an impressive sum
- But over the next 23 years, his wealth grew to over $84 billion
- $81.5 billion, or 97% of his net worth, came after his 65th birthday
This illustrates the nature of compounding - the gains are relatively small early on, but grow exponentially larger over longer periods of time. Even for the world's most successful investor, the vast majority of wealth came very late in life.
Section: 1, Chapter: 4
Book: The Psychology of Money
Author: Morgan Housel
Survival Mentality Leads To Long-Term Success
To give yourself the best chance of success in the long run:
- Aim to not be a forced seller during downturns. Have enough liquidity to survive declines without locking in losses.
- Plan for things to take longer to play out than you expect. Don't rely on investment plans working on a specific short timeline.
- Diversify your investments to limit exposure to any one risk. Don't risk catastrophic losses.
- Focus on survival and avoiding ruin. You only need to get rich once; you have to stay rich forever.
The most important part of every plan is planning on your plan not going according to plan. Optimism and pessimism can coexist - expect the best but prepare for the worst.
Section: 1, Chapter: 5
Book: The Psychology of Money
Author: Morgan Housel
Spend Below Your Ego
"Past A Certain Level Of Income, What You Need Is Just What Sits Below Your Ego."
We all have basic material needs. But beyond a certain income level, additional spending is more about ego than necessity. It's not about meeting your needs; it's about showing others how much you have. The key to building wealth is recognizing where that line is and being willing to suppress your ego.
The author uses the story of a janitor secretly amassing an $8 million portfolio to illustrate this point. Despite a modest income, the janitor became wealthy by living frugally and consistently investing his surplus. He suppressed ego and lived below his means.
Section: 1, Chapter: 10
Book: The Psychology of Money
Author: Morgan Housel
Every Dollar Unspent Is A Memory Unmade
To avoid deathbed regrets and unfulfilled potential, Perkins offers these suggestions:
- Calculate how much life energy (working hours) each dollar represents for you
- For each big financial decision, quantify the hours of life energy at stake
- Weigh those hours against the life experiences/memories that money could create
- Lean towards spending now vs. saving excessively for an uncertain future
- Give yourself permission to enjoy your money guilt-free
- Aim to die with zero dollars and zero dreams left on the table
Remember, the goal isn't to maximize net worth, it's to maximize net fulfillment - and that means aggressively investing your life energy in experiences while you still can.
Section: 1, Chapter: 3
Book: Die With Zero
Author: Bill Perkins
Spend More, Earn Less
Once you've hit your net worth peak, your earning and spending patterns should change dramatically. Instead of maximizing your income, your goal becomes maximizing your life enjoyment. This means:
- Reducing your working hours (even if it means making less money)
- Taking more vacations and sabbaticals
- Spending more on experiences, hobbies and relationships
- Giving more to family and charity In essence, you're reallocating your life energy from earning to enjoying.
You're transforming net worth into net fulfillment. You're accepting a lower income in exchange for a higher quality of life.
Section: 1, Chapter: 8
Book: Die With Zero
Author: Bill Perkins
Annuities - Longevity Insurance For Experience Maximizers
One powerful tool for mitigating longevity risk and enabling more aggressive experience-seeking is annuities. Here's how they work:
- You give an insurer a lump sum
- They agree to pay you a fixed monthly amount for life, no matter how long you live
- If you die prematurely, the insurer keeps the remaining money
- If you outlive your life expectancy, the insurer takes the hit Annuities provide guaranteed lifetime income, like a pension.
They eliminate the risk of running out of money. By offloading longevity risk to the insurer, you can more confidently spend your non-annuity assets on experiences today!
Section: 1, Chapter: 4
Book: Die With Zero
Author: Bill Perkins
The Counterintuitive Nature of Compounding
We underestimate compounding because it seems slow and boring at first. This leads to poor financial decisions:
- We underestimate the potential of saving/investing small sums early on, so we don't bother
- We attempt to earn the highest investment returns, even if it means taking irrational risks, because 8% doesn't feel like enough
- We underappreciate the value of simplicity, because a simple strategy earning "only" 8% seems inferior to complex ones that attempt to earn more
The rational strategy is to harness compounding through consistent saving and investment in simple, diversified portfolios. But our bias for quick results blinds us to the power of compounding small sums over long periods.
Section: 1, Chapter: 4
Book: The Psychology of Money
Author: Morgan Housel
Save. Just Save.
Save. Just Save. You Don't Need A Specific Reason To Save.
We often think about saving in terms of specific goals - a new house, a car, a wedding, retirement. But the author argues that saving without a specific reason is valuable too:
- It gives you flexibility and options in a world that's constantly changing
- It acts as a buffer against unexpected emergencies or opportunities
- It prevents you from being beholden to a job or lifestyle you don't enjoy
Savings without a specific goal gives you freedom and breathing room. It means your life choices aren't forced upon you by financial necessity. It's an investment in your future self and the opportunities you can't yet foresee.
Section: 1, Chapter: 19
Book: The Psychology of Money
Author: Morgan Housel
Budgets Don't Work, Tracking Does
Budgets, like diets, tend to fail because they try to force your behavior into preset categories based on how things "should" be. They focus on external rules rather than helping you change your internal relationship with money.
What does work is awareness gained through tracking - writing down every cent that comes into or goes out of your life. This is not deprivation but conscious spending. You get an accurate picture of your habits and can spot patterns to change - not overnight, but gradually and permanently as awareness grows. You put quality of life ahead of quantity of dollars.
Section: 1, Chapter: 3
Book: Your Money or Your Life
Author: Joe Dominguez, Vicki Robin
Your Money Or Your Life Energy?
Early in his career, Perkins read the book "Your Money or Your Life" by Vicki Robins and Joe Dominguez. It completely transformed his relationship with money and work. The key ideas:
- Every dollar you earn represents life energy spent to get that dollar
- So spending money is actually spending precious hours of your one life
- The goal is to maximize fulfillment from those hours, not to maximize dollars
This means not wasting life energy on meaningless purchases, but also not hoarding life energy (money) so long that you never get to enjoy the fruits of your labor. Perkins started calculating the true hours of life energy each purchase cost and whether it was worth it. This allowed him to better optimize his life energy, not just his money.
Section: 1, Chapter: 1
Book: Die With Zero
Author: Bill Perkins
Market Returns Require Market Risks
It's easy to envy the returns of great investors. But most people overlook the hardships they endured. For example:
- Warren Buffett has seen his company stock decline 50%+ three times in his career
- Charlie Munger got divorced in the 1950s and calls that decade his "worst decade"
- Many fund managers have lost most of their assets after several bad years
Earning great returns seems exciting and glamorous. But in reality, it comes with immense volatility, drawdowns, and personal hardships. Appreciating the real cost of returns and treating that cost as a fee rather than a fine is crucial.
Section: 1, Chapter: 15
Book: The Psychology of Money
Author: Morgan Housel
Wealth is What You Don't See
Wealth is hidden, not flaunted. It's the investments, cash, and assets you choose not to spend. Consider:
- A car or jewelry quickly converts wealth into something else. You had cash but now have a deprecating asset.
- Many rich people are living on the edge, spending most of what they earn. Their visible riches don't equal wealth.
- Wealth is financial assets that haven't yet been converted into the stuff you see.
- The only way to be wealthy is to not spend the money that you do have. It's not just the only way to accumulate wealth; it's the very definition of wealth.
True wealth is not about what you spend but what you don't spend. It's all the money you haven't converted into a depreciating asset.
Section: 1, Chapter: 9
Book: The Psychology of Money
Author: Morgan Housel
How Much is Enough? The Nature of Fulfillment
For each of your monthly spending categories, ask yourself monthly:
- Did I receive fulfillment, satisfaction and value in proportion to life energy spent?
- Is this expenditure of life energy in alignment with my values and life purpose?
- How might this expenditure change if I didn't have to work for a living?
Mark each category with a plus, minus or zero to indicate whether you're fulfilled, aligned and aware of your post-job needs. Over time, this regular reflection will naturally shift your relationship with money as your internal guidance takes precedence over external pressures to spend.
Section: 1, Chapter: 4
Book: Your Money or Your Life
Author: Joe Dominguez, Vicki Robin
Calculating Your Real Hourly Wage Reveals Job's True Costs
To determine what you're really trading your life energy for, calculate your real hourly wage:
- Add up all job-related expenses like commuting, work clothing, decompression activities, etc.
- Add these costs to your official work hours to get your real work hours.
- Subtract taxes and job costs from your salary to get your real earnings.
- Divide real earnings by real hours to get your real hourly wage.
The result is often shockingly lower than your official salary. Knowing this allows you to see clearly whether a job is worth it or if it's time for a change.
Section: 1, Chapter: 2
Book: Your Money or Your Life
Author: Joe Dominguez, Vicki Robin
Money is Something You Trade Your Life Energy For
“Money is something you trade your life energy for. You sell your time for money. It doesn’t matter that Ned over there sells his time for a hundred dollars and you sell yours for twenty dollars an hour. Ned’s money is irrelevant to you. The only real asset you have is your time. The hours of your life.”
Section: 1, Chapter: 1
Book: Your Money or Your Life
Author: Joe Dominguez, Vicki Robin
Spending Boldly, Spending Wisely
For older adults, being bold is less about taking big external risks and more about taking big internal ones. It's about overriding the impulse to save every last cent. This is hard for lifelong savers. But it's essential for "dying with zero." To make the mental shift, Perkins recommends:
- Separating survival and discretionary funds. Automate your living expenses so you know they're covered. Then spend your discretionary fund with abandon.
- Paying for time. Get comfortable outsourcing chores so you can pursue memorable experiences. Remember, at this stage, time is your scarcest resource.
- Frontloading giving. Don't let your wealth sit idle. Give to family and charity now, when your money, time and advice can have maximum impact.
- Pursuing long-deferred dreams. If you've always wanted to write a novel, start a non-profit or go back to school, do it now. Let your "second act" be your most fulfilling.
By replacing fear with intentionality, you can decumulate joyfully and purposefully. You can make your final chapters your best chapters.
Section: 1, Chapter: 9
Book: Die With Zero
Author: Bill Perkins
Controlling Your Time Is The Highest Dividend
True wealth is having control over your time. It provides:
- Freedom to do what you want, when you want, with who you want, for as long as you want
- The ability to say no to things you don't want to do
- Flexibility in the face of an uncertain and always-changing world
- The opportunity to wait for opportunities to come to you, rather than chasing every option
Money's greatest intrinsic value - and this is something that can't be overstated - is its ability to give you control over your time.
Section: 1, Chapter: 7
Book: The Psychology of Money
Author: Morgan Housel
Meaning of Frugality
“Frugality is enjoying the virtue of getting good value for every minute of your life energy and from everything you have the use of.”
Section: 1, Chapter: 7
Book: Your Money or Your Life
Author: Joe Dominguez, Vicki Robin
Knowing When You Have "Enough"
There's a point where having more money has no impact on your wellbeing. Beyond a certain level, additional wealth and income becomes a game of ego and comparison. To avoid this trap:
- Focus on attaining a level of wealth that allows you freedom and comfort
- Avoid being sucked into the never-ending race to have more than your peers
- Don't risk what you have and need for what you don't have and don't need
Having "enough" looks different for everyone. But not endlessly chasing more is key to satisfaction.
Section: 1, Chapter: 3
Book: The Psychology of Money
Author: Morgan Housel
The Hidden Virtue of Frugality
Frugality has gotten a bad rap in modern America, seen as joyless penny-pinching. But the original definition is "enjoying the virtue of getting good value for every minute of your life energy and from everything you have the use of." Frugality doesn't mean deprivation but:
- Appreciating and fully using what you have, whether a little or a lot
- Engaging all your senses, mind and creativity to extract maximum enjoyment from minimum stuff
- Sharing resources as a way to bond with community rather than competing for status
True frugality means you're too busy enjoying life to bother with materialism.
Section: 1, Chapter: 6
Book: Your Money or Your Life
Author: Joe Dominguez, Vicki Robin
How Financial Independence Frees You to Live Your Purpose
Marcia had always wanted to contribute to the world, but her jobs never quite lined up with that aspiration. The FI program gave her a step-by-step roadmap to finally integrate money and meaning.
First she applied FI principles at low-wage jobs, banking every raise and tax refund. Her Wall Chart inspired her to keep reaching for better-paid work that also aided a worthwhile cause. Her expenses stayed flat so she hit her Crossover fast.
FI gave Marcia space to heal old family wounds with her full presence. She had time and attention for activism and volunteering. Making a difference became her north star, not chasing a paycheck. Her new life was richer in every way that mattered to her.
Section: 1, Chapter: 8
Book: Your Money or Your Life
Author: Joe Dominguez, Vicki Robin
Building Wealth Through Savings Rate
Investment returns are important. But your savings rate - how much of your income you keep and invest - is far more important. Consider that:
- There's an upper limit to how much your investments can realistically return. Most people can't sustainably earn more than 8-12% per year.
- But there's no limit to how much you can save. If you save 50%+ of your income, you can become wealthy on even modest investment returns.
- You have far more control over your savings rate than your investment returns.
Yes, great investment returns are wonderful. But a high savings rate is in your control and has a huge impact on building wealth.
Section: 1, Chapter: 10
Book: The Psychology of Money
Author: Morgan Housel
An Internal Yardstick for Fulfillment Guides Spending
You develop an internal yardstick for fulfillment by repeatedly asking if your spending was "worth it" in terms of life energy. Some keys to recognize:
- Fulfillment comes from having "enough" - the point where all desires are satisfied without excess
- Hedonism or excess purchases provide short-term pleasure but not deep fulfillment
- Relationships, creative expression and service are more likely to hit the "enough" point
- Consumer culture tries to keep moving the goal posts so you never feel you have enough
Section: 1, Chapter: 4
Book: Your Money or Your Life
Author: Joe Dominguez, Vicki Robin
To Preserve Wealth, Be Wary Of Unsustainable Debt And Financial Repression
History shows that when government debts get too high, they are rarely paid back in real terms. Instead, governments use "financial repression" - capping interest rates below inflation and economic growth rates - to effectively default on debts.
This preserves the nominal value of debts while wiping out their real value, at the expense of savers and bondholders. Other stealthy forms of debt default include capital controls, wealth taxes, and outright asset confiscation. Successful long-term investors must be alert to whether a country's debts are sustainable and whether its government is likely to resort to financial repression. Holding productive assets and diversifying globally are key defenses.
Section: 1, Chapter: 7
Book: Principles For Dealing With the Changing World Order
Author: Ray Dalio
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The Psychology of Money is a fascinating look at the strange ways people think about money and teaches you how to make better sense of one of life's most important topics. Doing well with money isn't necessarily about what you know; it's about how you behave, and behavior is hard to teach, even to really smart people.
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Your Money or Your Life Book Summary
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Your Money or Your Life is a transformative guide that empowers readers to redefine their relationship with money, align their spending with their values, and achieve financial independence through a nine-step program that focuses on conscious living and fulfillment rather than endless consumption.
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