Five simple laws about money. You don't want to learn the hard way.

1. Spend less than what you earn

It is as simple as that. If you buy things you don't need, you will soon sell things you need.

Spend on experience and stuff you genuinely enjoy, never spend to signal to society.

2. Eliminate or at least minimize debt

“Only when the tide goes out do you discover who’s been swimming naked” – Warren Buffet.

Economic uncertainty and in particular Interest rate is the metaphorical tide.

Borrowing to buy an “Asset” in reality is a Liability masquerading as an Asset.

You are better off having a good night's sleep in a cottage than having sleepless nights in a bungalow worrying about the mortgage. Avoid being mortgage rich.

Never borrow money to buy stuff that depreciates over time, depreciation is a hidden interest rate.

3. Quick wealth is fragile wealth. The unadvertised aspect of get-rich-quick schemes is getting poor double-quick

Warren Buffett Accumulated 99% of his net worth after turning 50 and didn't become a billionaire until 56.

"The big Money is not In the buying and the selling But In the waiting" — Munger.

High returns don't require intelligence but just patience.

Let the compounding work its magic.

4. You may be very smart but you are human after all, emotions will play their part. You will make mistakes. Life will throw a few curve balls.

Sir Isaac Newton formulated laws of motion and gravitation in science and discovered calculus in Maths but he lost a fortune of about 40 million pounds in today's money investing in the South Sea company stock in the 1720’s.

Newton was a victim of Fear of Missing Out (FOMO), he lamented “I can calculate the motion of heavenly bodies but not the madness of people.”

Be humble, every generation has experienced madness. Sufficient cash on hand is essential to survive the madness.

5. Your time is more valuable than money, the value of your time increases exponentially as you age.

Focus on getting as much life experience as you can early in life, -good, bad, and ugly.

Say yes to everything before 40, take risks, accelerate life learning, and kick-start wisdom accumulation.

Say No to most things after 40, life expectancy is about 80. The marginal value of your time is high.

Avoid toxic people or situations both in business and life. You don’t want to sacrifice your valuable time to earn money that you will never live to spend.

Remember, you will never come across an epitaph in the cemetery that says
“Here lies the greatest CXO fondly remembered by employees, board members, and shareholders”.

Spend time with family and friends when you can.

But, no one is going to remember you in 100 years. So focus on what’s going to make you happy now.

Note: Views are personal and certainly not investment advice.

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