Understand & Apply the Psychology of Money to Gain Greater Happiness | Morgan Housel

Andrew Huberman

Dec 2, 2024

Episode description

In this episode, my guest is Morgan Housel, an expert in private wealth generation and management and author of the bestselling book The Psychology of Money. We discuss how desiring, pursuing, saving, and spending money impact our psychology and perception of wealth. We explore why people tend to either overspend or oversave and examine the most common mistakes made in the pursuit of financial freedom. Additionally, we discuss how to best use money — and one’s relationship with it — as a tool to create psychological security, freedom, and a deeper sense of life purpose.

We also delve into the impact of purchases, social media, and wealth signaling on our internal reward circuits, the dangers of using money as a gauge of career progress or self-worth, and the healthiest psychological stances to adopt while building wealth at any level. By the end of the episode, listeners will have gained numerous practical tools for making smarter financial decisions and should have a clearer understanding of the role money plays in their psychology, happiness, and life.

Read the full show notes for this episode: https://go.hubermanlab.com/xNY9PwA

Use Ask Huberman Lab, our chat-based tool, for summaries, clips, and insights from this episode: https://go.hubermanlab.com/yny2Ghe

Pre-order Andrew's new book, Protocols: https://protocolsbook.com

*Thank you to our sponsors*
AG1: https://drinkag1.com/huberman
Wealthfront**: https://wealthfront.com/huberman
BetterHelp: https://betterhelp.com/huberman
ROKA: https://roka.com/huberman
Function: https://functionhealth.com/huberman

**This experience may not be representative of the experience of other clients of Wealthfront, and there is no guarantee that all clients will have similar experiences. Cash Account is offered by Wealthfront Brokerage LLC, Member Finra/SIPC. Promo terms and FDIC coverage conditions apply. Same-day withdrawal or instant payment transfers may be limited by destination institutions, daily transaction caps, and by participating entities such as Wells Fargo, the RTP® Network, and FedNow® Service. New Cash Account deposits are subject to a 2-4 day holding period before becoming available for transfer.

*Morgan Housel*
Website: https://www.morganhousel.com
The Psychology of Money (book): https://amzlink.to/az0UUEDppwnJS
Same as Ever (book): https://amzlink.to/az0eNCRcQhC6t
The Morgan Housel Podcast: https://pod.link/1675310669
Blog: https://collabfund.com/blog/authors/morgan
Collaborative Fund: https://collabfund.com
X: https://x.com/morganhousel
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/morganhousel
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@morganhousel
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/morgan-housel-5b473821

*Timestamps*
00:00:00 Morgan Housel
00:02:13 Sponsors: Wealthfront & BetterHelp
00:05:11 Spending Habits & Cynicism
00:08:44 Tool: Money & Future Regrets
00:16:07 Money Management Extremes; Credit & Hope
00:23:17 Money as a Tool, Happiness, Independence & Purpose
00:27:30 Sponsors: AG1 & ROKA
00:30:11 Unstructured Time; Independence, Identify & Money; Addiction
00:39:04 Longevity, Health & Money
00:47:42 Ambition, Social Media, Fame & Social Debt
00:53:37 Sponsor: Function
00:55:24 Resume Virtues vs. Eulogy Virtues
00:57:52 Compound Interest, Math vs. Behavior
01:01:42 Dopamine & Time, Marshmallow Test & Distraction
01:09:58 Motivation, Pleasure; Relationships
01:14:38 Freedom, Tool: Savings & Independence
01:19:06 Peak-End Rule, Autonomy & Independence; Elder vs. Elderly
01:24:07 Familial Wealth & Identity; Entrepreneurs
01:31:53 Life Purpose; Dogs; Social & Historical Comparison
01:39:58 Social Comparison & Geography, Angst
01:46:07 Carrot vs. Stick, Identity, Tool: Verb States & Energy
01:56:43 Envy & Spending Money; Wealth & Birth Rates
02:01:27 Tools: Parent Modeling; Resentment, Individual Goals
02:07:15 Purpose, Happiness & Money
02:13:05 Zero-Cost Support, YouTube, Spotify & Apple Follow & Reviews, Sponsors, YouTube Feedback, Protocols Book, Social Media, Neural Network Newsletter

#HubermanLab #MorganHousel #Psychology #Money #Happiness

Disclaimer: https://www.hubermanlab.com/disclaimer

Episode description

In this episode, my guest is Morgan Housel, an expert in private wealth generation and management and author of the bestselling book The Psychology of Money. We discuss how desiring, pursuing, saving, and spending money impact our psychology and perception of wealth. We explore why people tend to either overspend or oversave and examine the most common mistakes made in the pursuit of financial freedom. Additionally, we discuss how to best use money — and one’s relationship with it — as a tool to create psychological security, freedom, and a deeper sense of life purpose.

We also delve into the impact of purchases, social media, and wealth signaling on our internal reward circuits, the dangers of using money as a gauge of career progress or self-worth, and the healthiest psychological stances to adopt while building wealth at any level. By the end of the episode, listeners will have gained numerous practical tools for making smarter financial decisions and should have a clearer understanding of the role money plays in their psychology, happiness, and life.

Read the full show notes for this episode: https://go.hubermanlab.com/xNY9PwA

Use Ask Huberman Lab, our chat-based tool, for summaries, clips, and insights from this episode: https://go.hubermanlab.com/yny2Ghe

Pre-order Andrew's new book, Protocols: https://protocolsbook.com

*Thank you to our sponsors*
AG1: https://drinkag1.com/huberman
Wealthfront**: https://wealthfront.com/huberman
BetterHelp: https://betterhelp.com/huberman
ROKA: https://roka.com/huberman
Function: https://functionhealth.com/huberman

**This experience may not be representative of the experience of other clients of Wealthfront, and there is no guarantee that all clients will have similar experiences. Cash Account is offered by Wealthfront Brokerage LLC, Member Finra/SIPC. Promo terms and FDIC coverage conditions apply. Same-day withdrawal or instant payment transfers may be limited by destination institutions, daily transaction caps, and by participating entities such as Wells Fargo, the RTP® Network, and FedNow® Service. New Cash Account deposits are subject to a 2-4 day holding period before becoming available for transfer.

*Morgan Housel*
Website: https://www.morganhousel.com
The Psychology of Money (book): https://amzlink.to/az0UUEDppwnJS
Same as Ever (book): https://amzlink.to/az0eNCRcQhC6t
The Morgan Housel Podcast: https://pod.link/1675310669
Blog: https://collabfund.com/blog/authors/morgan
Collaborative Fund: https://collabfund.com
X: https://x.com/morganhousel
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/morganhousel
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@morganhousel
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/morgan-housel-5b473821

*Timestamps*
00:00:00 Morgan Housel
00:02:13 Sponsors: Wealthfront & BetterHelp
00:05:11 Spending Habits & Cynicism
00:08:44 Tool: Money & Future Regrets
00:16:07 Money Management Extremes; Credit & Hope
00:23:17 Money as a Tool, Happiness, Independence & Purpose
00:27:30 Sponsors: AG1 & ROKA
00:30:11 Unstructured Time; Independence, Identify & Money; Addiction
00:39:04 Longevity, Health & Money
00:47:42 Ambition, Social Media, Fame & Social Debt
00:53:37 Sponsor: Function
00:55:24 Resume Virtues vs. Eulogy Virtues
00:57:52 Compound Interest, Math vs. Behavior
01:01:42 Dopamine & Time, Marshmallow Test & Distraction
01:09:58 Motivation, Pleasure; Relationships
01:14:38 Freedom, Tool: Savings & Independence
01:19:06 Peak-End Rule, Autonomy & Independence; Elder vs. Elderly
01:24:07 Familial Wealth & Identity; Entrepreneurs
01:31:53 Life Purpose; Dogs; Social & Historical Comparison
01:39:58 Social Comparison & Geography, Angst
01:46:07 Carrot vs. Stick, Identity, Tool: Verb States & Energy
01:56:43 Envy & Spending Money; Wealth & Birth Rates
02:01:27 Tools: Parent Modeling; Resentment, Individual Goals
02:07:15 Purpose, Happiness & Money
02:13:05 Zero-Cost Support, YouTube, Spotify & Apple Follow & Reviews, Sponsors, YouTube Feedback, Protocols Book, Social Media, Neural Network Newsletter

#HubermanLab #MorganHousel #Psychology #Money #Happiness

Disclaimer: https://www.hubermanlab.com/disclaimer

Mindsip insights from this episode:

Foster grit without teaching resentment in children

Withholding resources from your children to teach them grit, like making them hike up a ski hill for a lift ticket, often teaches them to resent you instead.

Challenge the end of history illusion for effective long-term planning

We are very aware of how much we've changed in the past, but we incorrectly believe we will be roughly the same person in the future, which makes long-term planning difficult.

Achieve independence and purpose for a fulfilling life

A simple formula for a good life is having independence plus a purpose that is bigger than yourself, and money is a tool that can help you achieve both.

Reclaim control over money to enhance life quality

Money can become a psychological liability when it becomes part of your identity, controlling you rather than you using it as a tool to live a better life.

Recognize dangers of treatments accessible only to the wealthy

Historically, the wealthiest people often had shorter lives because they were the only ones who could afford the quack medicines and sham doctors of their time.

Transform torture into solutions for entrepreneurial success

The mindset of many highly successful entrepreneurs is not that they are driven or motivated, but that they are tortured by problems they have not yet fixed.

Invest in savings to gain independence and autonomy

Every dollar you don't spend is not idle; you are actively spending it on gaining more independence and autonomy in your life.

Cultivate a well-calibrated sense of future regret for better financial management

The most important trait for managing money is having a well-calibrated sense of your future regret, which is what you will look back on and wish you had or had not done.

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