Page 107 - Morgan Housel - The Psychology of Money_ Timeless Lessons on Wealth, Greed, and Happiness-Harriman House Limited (2020)

As I argue often in this book, money relies more on psychology than
finance.
COBACOBA

And you don’t need a specific reason to save.

Some people save money for a downpayment on a house, or a new car, or
for retirement.

That’s great, of course.

But saving does not require a goal of purchasing something specific.

You can save just for saving’s sake. And indeed you should. Everyone
should.

Only saving for a specific goal makes sense in a predictable world. But ours
isn’t. Saving is a hedge against life’s inevitable ability to surprise the hell

out of you at the worst possible moment.

Another benefit of savings that isn’t attached to a spending goal is what we
discussed in chapter 7: gaining control over your time.

Everyone knows the tangible stuff money buys. The intangible stuff is
harder to wrap your head around, so it tends to go unnoticed. But the
intangible benefits of money can be far more valuable and capable of
increasing your happiness than the tangible things that are obvious targets
of our savings.

Savings without a spending goal gives you options and flexibility, the
ability to wait and the opportunity to pounce. It gives you time to think. It

lets you change course on your own terms.

Every bit of savings is like taking a point in the future that would have been
owned by someone else and giving it back to yourself.