The Seven Myths About Money
An airport read that probably could have been a blog post (well I was flying)
A few points:
Saving is overrated due to the increasing inflation rate (which is unlikely to slow down in the future)
FIRE is overrated. Work gives you a structure to your day, a sense of purpose and a community of people. Life is also not guaranteed and you may become ill or die before you can ‘retire’ early.
Increase in cognitive decline after ’traditional retirement’. Work gives you intellectual stimulation - use it or lose it.
Similar to ‘Die with Zero by Bill Perkins’ - we need less money than we think in retirement.
Focusing on earning more money, rather than saving or investing
Break the link between time spent working and money i.e. start a business - meaning provide value at scale. Society will then reward you by paying you.
Think of having your money in three different buckets
- Protect : home, cash/emergency
- Maintain : index funds / gold/ other investments
- Improve : high risk high leverage investments, start a business
The balance into each of these is individual and depends on the person. A young person with a high risk tolerance may put more of her/his money into the improve category.
You aren’t going to get rich through investments - they are simply making sure inflation doesn’t eat through your wealth.
Maintain bucket should take minimal mental effort - automate.
Homeowneship is overrated.