“Working to help parents raise money-smart kids.”
Hello, and welcome to 3 Ideas to Share and Save.
My wife and I are dropping off our older daughter at college this week, so my thoughts have turned to time.
Every day, as the hours creep by like a watched pot, I’m reminded of the saying, “The days are long and the years are short.” The University of Washington, where my daughter’s headed, is on the quarter system. Almost all her friends have already left and have begun their semesters, so I keep telling myself to be mindful of that.
— 1 —
See The Forest: This summer and my daughter’s countdown to launch inspired my newest short essay. I’m trying to come to grips with a cauldron of emotions — excitement for her, relief for us (Let’s just say it’s time for her to embark on the next stage of her journey.), and worry.
My wife and I worry that there’s something we’ve missed, all the while knowing that, of course, we haven’t covered everything. In fact, we haven’t even come close. Caught in a similar bind, an old friend of mine created “Sammy-versity” for his daughter, Sam, as he panicked just before she headed to college. I wrote about his experience in this essay.
I hope my perspective above the trees helps inform your outlook if you’re nearing the same time with your child.
Speaking of time, let’s continue.
— 2 —
Time Is On My Side: Mick Jagger was right: “Time is on my side, yes it is.”
Okay … I’m officially obsessed with Morgan Housel’s Psychology of Money. There’s so much packed into its 160 pages (Thank you, Morgan, for your brevity.) that I’m coming back to it again this week.
Housel comes back to time repeatedly, making the key point that it is your biggest ally when growing your money. Here are a few useful time quotes I had to share:
Not “growth” or “brains” or “insight.” The ability to stick around for a long time, without wiping out or being forced to give up, is what makes the biggest difference. This should be the cornerstone of your strategy, whether it’s in investing or your career or a business you own.
Money’s greatest intrinsic value—and this can’t be overstated—is its ability to give you control over your time.
If you want to do better as an investor, the single most powerful thing you can do is increase your time horizon.
I don’t underestimate the difficulty in getting this message across to kids. Morgan himself attempts to do it here, though it doesn’t pack the same punch as his prose.
In a world of social media influencers paid big money to convince our children that happiness can be eaten, sprayed on or pulled down over our heads, pontificating about the power of compounding probably sounds like the stories our parents told us about going to school in the snow, uphill, both ways.
Perhaps a change of perspective can help.
— 3 —
Find Excitement Elsewhere: I’ll leave you with a short clip from my recent podcast with Chris Browning of Popcorn Finance fame. (I shamelessly linked to my episode.) Ironically, the guy who dispenses wisdom in the time it takes to make a bag of popcorn is a proponent of the long game.
He provides advice that kids might find relevant.
Did you hear that? That’s right, our investing lives don’t have to be exciting. Our children can seek their thrills in other areas — theme parks, e-sports, outdoor activities — and benefit from boring investing.
“Set it and forget it,” and get on with the areas of your life that are your passions. Your strengths.
And if your kids’ passion is finance, then they can set aside some risk money and have at it — by investing in crypto, GameStop, whatever floats their boat. Of course, you’d be wise to read the disclaimer I include with every email before embarking on this particular journey. ????????
And with that, our time is up. Thank you for reading. And, as always, remember to enjoy the journey.
John, Chief Mammal
P.S. Please consult with a financial or investment professional before engaging in any decisions that might affect your own financial well-being.
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