Team Sport

Delayed Gratification is a powerful investment tool. Warren Buffett talks of multiplying the price of anything by ten to see if it is still worth buying. This is because spending money is functionally equivalent to firing it. if you think of money as Capital you are a custodian of, rather than your spending budget. Spending money means it can’t grow. Buffett backs himself, given enough time, to turn a dollar into ten. There is some pleasure in this kind of discipline. Seeing the number grow. You don’t “get” anything, but the “score” gets bigger. It is obviously much much easier to be harsh on yourself in this kind of way than on others. This is why building and investing is a team sport. It is easier to spend less if your friends and family are spending roughly the same. Otherwise the self-discipline required multiplies because the choices take on emotional content. Conspicuous Consumption is a particularly dangerous virus to spread. Conspicuous Consumption is a stupidity tax. That’s fine if you have cash to burn, but not if you are just starting on the path of wealth creation.