Morgan Housel

Have been there.

Don't want to go back.

Understand and empathize with the idea that you feel like everyone else is doing better than you and you're not, and that maybe you're not living the life that you once foresaw for yourself.

So the first comment I have is empathy for what they're going through.

And the second is,

I have, I always say two things.

One is that all wealth is what you have minus what you want.

And it is so profoundly common and easy to ignore the second part of that equation.

That you have to minus what you want and you are more in control of that by and large than what you have.

It's possible but not easy to double your income.

Possible but not easy.

It is well within your control, even if it's not easy, it's more within your control to try to be more content with what you have and try to lower your expectations, even if you're still an ambitious person and do that.

easier said than done, but I think that it's always going to play a role.

The second is understanding that independence exists on a spectrum.

And if you can save $1, if you can save $10, if you can save $100, you're in a better position than you were before.

And a lot of people in this position will be like, well, I can't save $5,000 a month, so why save anything?

That kind of mentality.

And I think it's every dollar makes a difference, particularly once or twice a decade when

you lose your job or whatever it might be, you're going to be like, I am so grateful.

That is that $5 you save, that $10 you save is the oxygen of your life.