5 Rules to Understand in The Game of Money
Investment InsightsI was on a plane flying to a conference and I was listening to a podcast about money. I know shocker! 😊 The episode was discussing money and how it is a game.
It really hit home and I began to jot down what I thought are the 5 most important rule to understanding in the game of money.
Here are 5 of those rules I find to be the most important.
“Compound interest doesn’t work if you are trying to use a cheat code.”
Morgan Housel
Isn’t this quote from Morgan Housel the truth? It’s so difficult to be patient when it comes to accumulating wealth. This is why so many attempt to use a “cheat code” to game the system.
The sad truth is, this is where most financial mistakes come from when you try to force things to happen faster than it should.
Investing in the stock market can be a good thing. Demanding your money double in a month is not. Investing is for the long term.
Embrace your flaws rather than trying to overcome them.
Everyone has flaws when it comes to money. Some people can’t save, some struggle with thinking bigger picture, and others struggle with priorities.
Too often I see people trying to overcome these flaws or possibly not even know that these flaws exist.
If you can embrace your flaws and accept them. Then you can build a financial plan around them. This keeps everything in place and keeps your plan in tact.
There are no universally right answers
How much money should be in your emergency fund?
Should you overpay on your debt? If so, how much?
How much should I put into a roth vs a traditional retirement account.
There are a lot of talking heads that are directing to you what to do with your money and they don’t know the details of your situation. For instance:
“You should have 3 months of expenses in an emergency fund”
If you are in sales and your income is variable? Does that advice make sense for you? Maybe you want more because there are some months that you don’t have much income come in the door?
You should use any rules of thumb as possibly a starting point, but rarely are any of those rules universally true. Be aware of this.
Be average when everyone else is crazy
Many people think that you have to be brilliant to be wealthy. This is not the case. More times than not, it is the person who is consistent in their good habits that causes wealth to occur.
More specifically, when everyone else is freaking out, the person that can be average or keep their cool, inevitably wins.
Keep the FOMO in check.
Spend for yourself, not others.
The quickest way to not have money is to buy stuff for yourself to impress other people. This is difficult. I struggle with this one still. The other day, I saw a very nice luxury car and decided to take it for a test drive.
I almost bought it! Luckily, my wife and I have a plan. Any time we are going to spend over $10k, we have to check with each other. She asked me why I want a new car when I don’t care for cars.
The answer? Because I wanted to look good! (I didn’t buy the car)
How many things have you purchased, and it really wasn’t for you. It was the thought that other people would think you are “wealthy or cool?”
Hint: No one really thinks about you as much as you think. Even if they see something you are wearing, they are only envisioning they themselves wearing it. They don’t remember you at all!
There are many other “rules of the money game” but I’ll save those for a later post.
Hope this helps you think a little differently about your money and what’s important to you.
Cheers 🍻
Ryan
