Money Rules

Barry Ritholtz asked people for their top 10 money rules last week.

Here are mine.

What money can and can’t do for you isn’t intuitive, so most people are surprised at how they feel when they suddenly have more or less than before.

Money makes it easy to mistake optimism (good) with gullibility (dangerous) and overconfidence (disastrous).

Getting rich and staying rich are different things that require different skills.

The formula for how to do well with money is simple. The behaviors you battle while implementing that formula are hard.

“Save more money and be more patient” is too simple for most people to take seriously, but it’s the best solution to most financial problems.

Expectations move slower than reality on the ground, so it’s easy to become frustrated when clinging to the economic trends of a previous era.

Everything is relative. John D. Rockefeller was asked how much money was enough and said, “Just a little bit more.” Everyone, at every income, tends to feel the same.

Spending money to show people how much money you have is the fastest way to have less money.

Debt removes options, savings add them.

No one is impressed with your possessions as much as you are.