What would Morgan Housel teach if he had an hour to teach a high school personal finance class? What advice would he give his younger self? Answers to these questions and more in this NGPF Podcast.

This is part 2 of a conversation with Morgan Housel about his book, Psychology of Money (link to part 1). In this episode, Morgan shares his thoughts on the FIRE movement, how to build in room for error in our budgets and how to think about stock market volatility. Enjoy! 

Details:

• 0:00~1:22 Introduction
• 1:22~3:04 Taking a unique approach to writing the book
• 3:04~9:22 The real-life examples of diversification
• 9:22~12:41 Strategies to save
• 12:41~14:56 Thoughts on the FIRE movement
• 14:56~19:04 Reasonable versus rational
• 19:04~22:06 Trading on margin
• 22:06~25:57 The influx of new investors
• 25:57~26:16 A word from NGPF 
• 26:16~29:24 Having room for error
• 29:24~33:46 The end of history illusion
• 33:46~36:47 How one's views change over time
• 36:47~38:41 Nothing is free 
• 38:41~42:54 What would you teach in a personal finance class?
• 42:54~45:26 What would you tell your younger self?
• 45:26~48:46 Telling stories about someone else
• 48:46~51:28 The personal nature of personal finance
• 51:28~53:30 Setting goals
• 53:30~54:52 Conclusion

Resources:

• The Psychology of Money: Timeless lessons on wealth, greed, and happiness 
• Morgan Housel Blog
• Listen to Part 1 of the Podcast
• Speaker Series Automated Transcription

Quotes:

• “A lot of things in finance… they make sense on the spreadsheet, but people do not make decisions on a spreadsheet. They make them at the dinner table, and they make them in a conference room with their coworkers.”

About the Authors

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.

Ren Makino

Ren started interning at NGPF in 2014, and worked part-time through high school and college. With his knowledge growing alongside NGPF, he joined the team to work full-time after graduating from college in 2020. He is also the producer of the NGPF podcast. During his free time, he likes to try out coffees from different roasters across the world.