Introduction: The Quest of the Simple Life
All Behavior Makes Sense with Enough Information
Most debates about what’s worth spending money on are actually just people with different life experiences talking over each other.
May I Have Your Attention Please
You think you want nice stuff, but what you really want is respect, admiration, and attention.
The Happiest People I Know
If your expectations grow faster than your income, you will never be happy with your money.
Everything You Don't See
Happiness depends on so much more than income. There are thirteen divorces among the ten richest men in the world.
The Most Valuable Financial Asset Is Not Needing to Impress Anyone
The ability to not need to prove yourself to strangers is priceless.
What Makes You Happy
A good life is everything you need and some of what you want. If you have everything you want, you appreciate none of what you have.
The Rich and the Wealthy
Being controlled by money is a hidden form of debt. And like all debt, it will eventually be repaid plus interest.
Utility vs. Status
The value of anything is its ability to help you live the life you want. Nothing more.
Risk and Regret
Good advice is never as simple as saying “Live for today” or “Save for the future.” The only good advice is “Minimize future regret.”
Look at Them
Jealousy, envy, and the priceless art of not caring what others think.
Wealth Without Independence Is a Unique Form of Poverty
Money you haven’t spent buys something intangible but valuable: freedom, independence, and being able to spend time in your own way.
Social Debt
When how you spend your money influences what people think of you in unwanted ways.
Quiet Compounding
The fastest way to get rich is to go slow.
Identity
When money controls who you are.
Try Something New
I can’t recommend this enough: Within the confines of your budget, experiment with as many types of spending as you can, cutting quickly and without mercy the things that aren’t working for you.
Your Money and Your Kids
Values, hard work, support, and the opposite of spoiled.
Spreadsheets Don't Care About Your Feelings
When emotions are more insightful than numbers.
The Finer Things
The wisdom, and futility, of obsessing over small purchases.
The Life Cycle of Greed and Fear
It begins innocent, turns crazy, and ends up right where you began.
How to Be Miserable Spending Your Money
A brief guide to bad decisions.
The Luckier You Are, the Nicer You Should Be
My simple path to a good financial life.