Morgan Housel

And it's not savings.

It's independence that it's giving you.

So the idea that independence is on a spectrum.

It is not, you either don't have to work or you have to work.

It's not that stark, but most people think of it in those terms.

Why would I try to become independent if I have no chance of not working?

And the simple way to view it is every dollar that you save is a piece of your future that you own, that you control, that is yours.

The flip side of that is like every dollar of debt that you have is a piece of your future that somebody else controls.

It's a moment in time in the future that is not yours.

It belongs to somebody else.

And so I've always viewed it on a spectrum.

When I was younger and much poorer, I was a big saver, even though like, was I independent?

Like, no, of course I had to work.

I had to work to pay my rent and pay my groceries, of course.

But I viewed it as like every $20 that I saved, every $50 that I saved put me in a better position than I was before.

And looking back on it, I don't think I could have articulated that 20 years ago, but it's what I felt.

A lot of that for me back then was coming from a place of fear.

I didn't have a lot of self-confidence in myself and my career.

So I was like, I need to save to prepare for when this all comes crashing down.

And even though it didn't come crashing down, I'm so glad that I did it.