Don't Fight Over Money

[Rebekah Martin]

The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel

This book clearly describes our drastic use of and thoughts on money.

Take this into consideration when you are investing, when you are looking to partner or when speaking to others in general about generally spending money. 

-Financial success is far more about how you behave than what you know.

-Luck and risk play a role in almost all outcomes. Individual effort can only get you so far.

-Be careful about looking at specific examples of outcomes, and look more for general patterns.

-The hardest financial skill is getting the goalpost to stop moving. And to do that, you have to stop comparing yourself to others, and start determining what is "enough" for yourself.

-One of the single most important things you can do as an investor is wait, or extend your time horizon.

-Staying wealthy requires some combination of paranoia and frugality.

-Always plan for something to go wrong, and for some large, unexpected expense.

-Controlling your time is the highest dividend money pays.

-No one is impressed by your possessions as much as you are.

-Building wealth has little to do with your income or investment returns, and lots to do with your savings rate.

-Past a certain level of income, what you need depends only on your ego.

-Aim to be reasonable with your finances, not completely rational. This will be more realistic long-term.

-We can't predict future outlier events. That's what makes them outliers. So factor it into your plan.

-You need to add room for error, and avoid financial ruin. Leverage—going into debt—pushes routine risk into potential for ruin.

-Assume your priorities will change in the future, and avoid the extremes of financial planning. Examples include assuming you'll be happy with very low income, or willing to work very long hours for higher income.

-Everything has a price. The price of immediate consumption is much more visible than the price of neglecting long-term investment.

-Know what game you are playing, and avoid taking financial cues from people playing a different game.

-Stories are the most powerful force in the economy. Beware the stories you tell yourself.

Short takes:

-Less ego, more wealth.

-Use money to gain control of your time.

-Be nicer and less flashy.

-Save.

-Worship room for error.

-Avoid extremes.