The Art and Science of Spending Money

In 1875 an op-ed said socialites “devote themselves to pleasure regardless of expense.” A Vanderbilt heir responded that actually they “devote themselves to expense regardless of pleasure.” (View Highlight)

There’s a saying that the best meal you’ll ever taste is a glass of water when you’re thirsty. All forms of spending have that equivalent (View Highlight)

Let me end with a wise quote from, of all people, Richard Nixon: > The unhappiest people of the world are those in the international watering places like the South Coast of France, and Newport, and Palm Springs, and Palm Beach. going to parties every night. Playing golf every afternoon. drinking too much. Talking too much. Thinking too little. Retired. No purpose. (> View Highlight> )

Economist Joseph Stiglitz once wrote: “Trickle-down economics may be a chimera but trickle-down behaviorism is very real.” (View Highlight)

It’s just a recognition that no one is as impressed with your stuff as much as you are. Or even that no one is thinking about you as much as you are. They’re busy thinking about themselves! (View Highlight)

There is no guide on what will make you happy – you have to try a million different things and figure out what fits your personality. (View Highlight)

Note: totally it was helpful for me to do a bunch of angel investing, and get into hobbies, like dropping $20k on a racing simulator to realize that it doesn't make me happy i like reading and building and learnign and cooking and spending time with family and i don't like angel investing other than for fun reletated stuff was worth low six figures to really learn this lesson Am I rich enough?

It’s not always a bad thing. If you’ve merely thought about what clothes you’ll look best in before you leave in the morning, you’ve engaged in signaling. And it’s not always about looking the best: intentionally dressing casually to a formal meeting sends a powerful message about who holds the power (View Highlight)

It’s a dangerous trap if you don’t recognize the game and how it’s played. Montesquieu wrote 275 years ago, “If you only wished to be happy, this could be easily accomplished; but we wish to be happier than other people, and this is always difficult, for we believe others to be happier than they are.” (View Highlight)