Steven

Whereas when I was growing up, Like, ordinary people drove dirty pickup trucks, and rich people drove clean pickup trucks. That was the stratification of what I saw growing up. And I think because of social media and other things, kids have a very different view on what financial wealth actually is these days.

This is less advice going forward more than just like something to remember next time, which is that if you are worrying about, if you're worried about being laid off, if you're a small business owner worried about going under, the need for room for error and cushion and savings and backup plans were just as important a month ago as they are today.

This is less advice going forward more than just like something to remember next time, which is that if you are worrying about, if you're worried about being laid off, if you're a small business owner worried about going under, the need for room for error and cushion and savings and backup plans were just as important a month ago as they are today.

You're just learning how important they are today. And I challenge you to remember that in the future when this is all over, whenever it's all over, that when the economy is going well and you feel stable in your job, stable in your career, that is when you also you absolutely need backup plans and room for error and savings and eschewing debt and whatnot.

You're just learning how important they are today. And I challenge you to remember that in the future when this is all over, whenever it's all over, that when the economy is going well and you feel stable in your job, stable in your career, that is when you also you absolutely need backup plans and room for error and savings and eschewing debt and whatnot.

I have a very high level of cash as a percentage of my net worth. And a lot of financial advisors would look at that and say, like, what are you saving for? Like, what's going on here? And I'm like, I don't know. I'm saving for a world that I know is very fragile. And I have no idea what's going to happen to me personally or what's going to happen to the economy.

I have a very high level of cash as a percentage of my net worth. And a lot of financial advisors would look at that and say, like, what are you saving for? Like, what's going on here? And I'm like, I don't know. I'm saving for a world that I know is very fragile. And I have no idea what's going to happen to me personally or what's going to happen to the economy.

But if you're a lay student of history, you know that things break all the time. And so my advice to you, if you're realizing that for the first time, that how fragile the world can be and how the job security that you thought you had might not have been as strong, remember this next time, how important room for error and backup plans are.

But if you're a lay student of history, you know that things break all the time. And so my advice to you, if you're realizing that for the first time, that how fragile the world can be and how the job security that you thought you had might not have been as strong, remember this next time, how important room for error and backup plans are.

It's so hard for that because everyone's in a... I'm sure people watching this will be in a massive range of incomes. I would say this is a bad answer that no one's gonna like, but pretty much as much as you can. I mean, I'll give you one example of this. When COVID first hit in March of 2020, the average restaurant I heard had enough cash on hand to last them for 14 days.

It's so hard for that because everyone's in a... I'm sure people watching this will be in a massive range of incomes. I would say this is a bad answer that no one's gonna like, but pretty much as much as you can. I mean, I'll give you one example of this. When COVID first hit in March of 2020, the average restaurant I heard had enough cash on hand to last them for 14 days.

And then all of a sudden they were looking at a six month lockdown. And so I think one answer to that question is however much you think you'll need, it's probably more. The other more practical example of this is in 2008 during the financial crisis. A lot of people were losing their jobs not for two weeks or one month, but they were losing their jobs for 12 months.

And then all of a sudden they were looking at a six month lockdown. And so I think one answer to that question is however much you think you'll need, it's probably more. The other more practical example of this is in 2008 during the financial crisis. A lot of people were losing their jobs not for two weeks or one month, but they were losing their jobs for 12 months.

And they got unemployment benefits, but it wasn't enough. And so is it practical to say, like, you should have 12 months of savings? It's probably not practical for a lot of people. But the answer is as much as you can while realizing that the world is more fragile than you probably think it is.

And they got unemployment benefits, but it wasn't enough. And so is it practical to say, like, you should have 12 months of savings? It's probably not practical for a lot of people. But the answer is as much as you can while realizing that the world is more fragile than you probably think it is.

I'm not even remotely an expert in AI, but as someone who's looked at the history of technology, one thing that sticks out clear as day when you study technology, in hindsight, when you're looking at a new technology that you know went on to change the world, the computer, the car, the airplane, those things, when you know this was a turning point in civilization, if you go back and look at what the optimists were saying at the time, they massively underestimated it.

I'm not even remotely an expert in AI, but as someone who's looked at the history of technology, one thing that sticks out clear as day when you study technology, in hindsight, when you're looking at a new technology that you know went on to change the world, the computer, the car, the airplane, those things, when you know this was a turning point in civilization, if you go back and look at what the optimists were saying at the time, they massively underestimated it.

And that's what the optimists were saying. Forget the pessimists on it. So go back to the 1920s and see what were the optimists saying about the airplane? They were underestimating it by a hundredfold. What did the optimists say about the car? They underestimated it by a hundredfold. Computers, same. And the Wright brothers themselves came up with the first airplane in the United States.

And that's what the optimists were saying. Forget the pessimists on it. So go back to the 1920s and see what were the optimists saying about the airplane? They were underestimating it by a hundredfold. What did the optimists say about the car? They underestimated it by a hundredfold. Computers, same. And the Wright brothers themselves came up with the first airplane in the United States.

The Wright brothers themselves only marketed their plane, primarily marketed their plane to the U.S. Army. Because they did not really foresee much use for an airplane outside of the military. They knew you could strap a machine gun on it and the army might like that. But did the Wright brothers foresee Delta Airlines and Emirates and A380? Like not in a million years. And so...