I just finished this book by Morgan Housel and can’t recommend it highly enough. There are so many (so many) nuggets of wisdom that resonate deeply. This book is definitely getting added to my happier life book list. Here are my notes (mostly direct quotations):
- Money is less about numbers and more about stories we tell ourselves about what matters, what makes us happy, and how we measure success.
- Enduring happiness is found in contentment, so those happiest with money tend to be those who have found a way to stop thinking about it.
- A lot of spending is gasping (when you feel like you deserve to spend because of how unhappy your job makes you).
- Relatedly, those most capable of delayed gratification are often those who enjoy their work.
- Observe what actually makes you happy and maximize that. The things that make you happy with a higher income may be the same things that make you happy with a lower income.
- Show off the inside of your house, not the outside. Let your friends and family enjoy your nice things.
- True happiness is when you stop asking what else you need to be happy.
- The people who can say, “I’m satisfied with what I have and who I am” take the happiness crown.
- Happiness is contentment. Contentment is what you have relative to what you want.
- Desiring less can have the same impact on your wellbeing as gaining more money.
- If you’re an unhappy person, it’s unlikely that more money will ever fix your problems. And having more money makes happy people happier.
- The most valuable financial asset is not needing to impress anyone.
- Are you going to live by an Inner Scorecard or an Outer Scorecard?
- A good life is everything you need and some of what you want. If you have everything you want, you appreciate none of what you have.
- So much of being happy with your money is battling the hedonic treadmill. Occasional treats can generate more joy than perpetual luxury. A simple life is often the most potent way to enjoy a luxury item.
- Chuck Feeney, who cofounded Duty Free stores, gave away 99.99 percent of his fortune before he died. He tried the high life and found he preferred to live an ordinary life. Giving away money is what made him happy. Your money serves you or you will serve it (e.g. Vanderbilt family).
- Just like you can’t be happy with a partner if you can’t be happy without one, you can’t be happy with money to spend (beyond basic necessities) if you can’t be happy without it.
- Ask: If my family and I were stranded on an island with no one else around to notice us, and we could have any material goods we desired, what would we own?
- Spending for utility (to you) over status often gives a more durable pleasure.
- Good memories are the closest thing to living for today while compounding for tomorrow.
- It’s impossible to win the status game. There will always be something else. The only way to win is to stop playing.
- Be careful who you socialize with.
- Financial independence exists on a spectrum. It’s not black and white and it can be worthwhile to move up the spectrum even if total independence seems out of reach.
- Inflating your lifestyle creates higher expectations of you = social debt. It’s expensive to be rich. Live quietly and donate anonymously.
- Mental liquidity is the ability to quickly abandon previous beliefs and strategies when the world changes, you change, or when you come across new information.
- The goal is to be able to live the life you want to live and have money serve you. Money should be a tool to leverage who you are, not a goal in itself.
- The people I know who’ve used money best have inconsistent spending habits. They spend a lot of money on this, and very little on that.
- Knowing when to quickly reject the kind of spending that doesn’t fit your personality is one of the most overlooked skills in money.
(Photo credit: Wendy Wei/Pexels)
