The Brutal Formula of Wealth: Why Is Your 'Self-Esteem' Destroying Your Investment Portfolio?

We often work 80 hours a week, just to increase the return on investment by 0.1%, yet turn a blind eye to the easily optimizable lifestyle inflation in our finances.

In Chapter 10 of "The Psychology of Money," the author presents an extremely simple yet frequently overlooked point: Do you need to be "persuaded" to save money? It turns out, many high-income earners really do. I feel low-income earners actually need it too, most people do, especially in modern times!

In this chapter, the author discusses three disruptive insights about "saving money":

1. The Lesson from the Energy Crisis: Efficiency Always Trumps Returns

Building wealth has little to do with your income or investment returns, but is closely related to your savings rate. During the 1970s oil crisis, the biggest reason humanity got through it wasn't finding more oil, but building more fuel-efficient cars and factories.

Similarly, investment returns are always full of uncertainty, but personal frugality and the efficiency of fund usage are completely in your hands and 100% effective.

2. The Underlying Logic of Wealth: Income Minus Ego

When income exceeds a certain level, consumption beyond basic needs mainly reflects ego at play. It's just a way of showing others you have money by spending it. Therefore, one of the most effective ways to increase savings is not to raise your income, but to boost your humility. Those who achieve lasting financial success often have a tendency: they simply don't care what others think of them.

3. The Ultimate Moat: Flexibility Beats High IQ

You don't need to save money for specific goals like buying a car or a house.

In an unpredictable world, saving without a specific purpose is to guard against life hitting you with an unexpected blow at the worst possible moment. In a highly interconnected globalized world, IQ is no longer a reliable advantage because countless smart people around the world are competing with you. But flexibility is a reliable advantage. Savings give you flexibility, allowing you to calmly wait for good opportunities to arise in your career and investments.

My favorite quotes:

"Wealth is just the leftover portion of your income after you spend it."

"When you define savings as the gap between ego and income, you understand why many people with considerable incomes can't save money."

"In our highly interconnected world, IQ is no longer a reliable advantage. But flexibility is."

On the battlefield of investing, don't expend all your energy on unpredictable market returns anymore. Save money for the sake of saving money. While everyone is desperately maxing out their credit cards to pretend to be "successful," reducing material desires and restraining your ego buys you the ultimate privilege of being able to change the course of your life at will in the future. In this era of smart people competing fiercely, whoever has financial flexibility can outlast their opponents.

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$Unity Software(U.US) 

$Rocket Lab(RKLB.US)