Page 198 - Morgan Housel - The Psychology of Money_ Timeless Lessons on Wealth, Greed, and Happiness-Harriman House Limited (2020)

Use money to gain control over your time, because not having control
of your time is such a powerful and universal drag on happiness. The
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ability to do what you want, when you want, with who you want, for as

long as you want to, pays the highest dividend that exists in finance.

Be nicer and less flashy. No one is impressed with your possessions as
much as you are. You might think you want a fancy car or a nice watch.
But what you probably want is respect and admiration. And you’re
more likely to gain those things through kindness and humility than
horsepower and chrome.

Save. Just save. You don’t need a specific reason to save. It’s great to
save for a car, or a downpayment, or a medical emergency. But saving
for things that are impossible to predict or define is one of the best

reasons to save. Everyone’s life is a continuous chain of surprises.
Savings that aren’t earmarked for anything in particular is a hedge
against life’s inevitable ability to surprise the hell out of you at the
worst possible moment.

Define the cost of success and be ready to pay it. Because nothing
worthwhile is free. And remember that most financial costs don’t have

visible price tags. Uncertainty, doubt, and regret are common costs in
the finance world. They’re often worth paying. But you have to view
them as fees (a price worth paying to get something nice in exchange)
rather than fines (a penalty you should avoid).

Worship room for error. A gap between what could happen in the
future and what you need to happen in the future in order to do well is
what gives you endurance, and endurance is what makes compounding
magic over time. Room for error often looks like a conservative hedge,

but if it keeps you in the game it can pay for itself many times over.

Avoid the extreme ends of financial decisions. Everyone’s goals and
desires will change over time, and the more extreme your past decisions
were the more you may regret them as you evolve.

You should like risk because it pays off over time. But you should be
paranoid of ruinous risk because it prevents you from taking future