Steven

They had the newer skis and newer boots and cooler gear and whatnot. And I always, I hated it. It made me so insecure. I hated it. And one of the things that I did was when my son started skiing a couple of years ago, I was like, I'm going to buy you the best stuff. Because I was insecure and I'm going to make up for that little chip on my shoulder. I'm going to buy you the best gear.

They had the newer skis and newer boots and cooler gear and whatnot. And I always, I hated it. It made me so insecure. I hated it. And one of the things that I did was when my son started skiing a couple of years ago, I was like, I'm going to buy you the best stuff. Because I was insecure and I'm going to make up for that little chip on my shoulder. I'm going to buy you the best gear.

And here's the thing. He couldn't care less about it. He could not care less about the fancy stuff that he has. Couldn't care less about it. So everyone's different in that. And it also gets back to like a lot of spending is based off of a story or a scar that you had from earlier in your childhood.

And here's the thing. He couldn't care less about it. He could not care less about the fancy stuff that he has. Couldn't care less about it. So everyone's different in that. And it also gets back to like a lot of spending is based off of a story or a scar that you had from earlier in your childhood.

You said roughly what percentage of your net worth? 20%, 25% maybe. We own a house outright and then the rest in stocks. It's very simple. Our entire net worth is a house, cash, Vanguard index funds, and shares of Markel where I'm on the board of directors. That's it. That's my entire net worth. It's as simple and boring and bland as you could possibly get.

You said roughly what percentage of your net worth? 20%, 25% maybe. We own a house outright and then the rest in stocks. It's very simple. Our entire net worth is a house, cash, Vanguard index funds, and shares of Markel where I'm on the board of directors. That's it. That's my entire net worth. It's as simple and boring and bland as you could possibly get.

And what I want to do with that, the reason I keep it so boring is the variable that I want to maximize for is endurance, as we spoke about earlier. So if my finances are so simple, then I can spend all of my mental energy, all of the strategy is how can I make sure that I can just keep this going for as long as I possibly can.

And what I want to do with that, the reason I keep it so boring is the variable that I want to maximize for is endurance, as we spoke about earlier. So if my finances are so simple, then I can spend all of my mental energy, all of the strategy is how can I make sure that I can just keep this going for as long as I possibly can.

So an index fund is a collection of hundreds, if not thousands, of businesses. So when you buy an index fund, you're owning a little bit of Apple, Amazon, Google, Facebook, all of them. Every public company that's available, you're owning a tiny slice of them. One way to think about it is when you buy an index fund, you're owning a little slice of American capitalism.

So an index fund is a collection of hundreds, if not thousands, of businesses. So when you buy an index fund, you're owning a little bit of Apple, Amazon, Google, Facebook, all of them. Every public company that's available, you're owning a tiny slice of them. One way to think about it is when you buy an index fund, you're owning a little slice of American capitalism.

There's lots of them. I mean, there's tons of them that are equally good. So this is not to say that one is necessarily better than the other.

There's lots of them. I mean, there's tons of them that are equally good. So this is not to say that one is necessarily better than the other.

Most of what I buy is called the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index. The ticker is VTI. Not a recommendation for others, but it's the broadest index. It basically owns every stock that's available to buy in the world. And it does it at a very, very low fee. And so I'm not making any bet on AI. I'm not making any bet on this industry or that company.

Most of what I buy is called the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index. The ticker is VTI. Not a recommendation for others, but it's the broadest index. It basically owns every stock that's available to buy in the world. And it does it at a very, very low fee. And so I'm not making any bet on AI. I'm not making any bet on this industry or that company.

You're owning a little bit of slice of American business.

You're owning a little bit of slice of American business.

If you look at a good historical comparison to what it would be, which is like the S&P 500, if you go back, you can go back 100 years. There's a guy from Yale University named Robert Schiller who has data going back to the 1880s on US stocks. And basically what it shows is over time, on average, which that phrase is doing some heavy lifting here, but on average... eight to 10% per year.

If you look at a good historical comparison to what it would be, which is like the S&P 500, if you go back, you can go back 100 years. There's a guy from Yale University named Robert Schiller who has data going back to the 1880s on US stocks. And basically what it shows is over time, on average, which that phrase is doing some heavy lifting here, but on average... eight to 10% per year.

And why that is like, there's a big asterisk there is you almost never earn eight or 10% in any given year. You're much more likely to be up 30% or down 15%. And it averages out to eight or 10% per year, but it's always chaos in any individual year.

And why that is like, there's a big asterisk there is you almost never earn eight or 10% in any given year. You're much more likely to be up 30% or down 15%. And it averages out to eight or 10% per year, but it's always chaos in any individual year.