A brilliant thought can capture our minds, give clarity, and keep us motivated for decades.
I remember late nights in college reading personal finance books from thought leaders like Vicki Robin, Burton Malkiel, Ramit Sethi, and Dave Ramsey. To me, money and life suddenly felt actionable, feasible, and exciting in new ways.
Today, I’m excited to share a few of my favorites with you. Here are 29 money and requirement quotes to help keep you focused and inspired on your financial journey.
Building Wealth
1. “The intelligent investor is a realist who sells to optimists and buys from pessimists.”
2. “Finding the next Warren Buffett is like looking for a needle in a haystack. We recommend that you buy the haystack instead, in the form of a low-cost index fund.”
The Elements of Investing: Easy Lessons for Every Investor
3. “The question isn’t at what age I want to retire, it’s at what income.”
4. “Money is only a tool. It will take you wherever you wish, but it will not replace you as the driver.”
5. “The stock market is designed to transfer money from the Active to the Patient.”
6. “Investing is not nearly as difficult as it looks. Successful investing involves doing a few things right and avoiding serious mistakes.”
7. “Earn, Budget, Protect and Invest. Do those four things and your family’s financial future would be in a much better place.”
Cashflow Cop, Sitting Poolside interview
8. “Just as contagious euphoria leads investors to take greater and greater risks, the same self-destructive behavior leads many investors to throw in the towel and sell out near the market’s bottom when pessimism is rampant and seems most convincing. One of the most important lessons you can learn about investing is to avoid following the herd and getting caught up in market-based overconfidence or discouragement. Beware of ‘Mr. Market’.”
The Elements of Investing: Easy Lessons for Every Investor
9. “Getting started is more important than becoming an expert.”
Succeeding and Enjoying Life Along the Way
10. “If you live for having it all, what you have is never enough.”
11. “We buy things we don’t need with money we don’t have to impress people we don’t like.”
12. “Wealth is having the choice of how to spend your time.”
Myles Wakeham, Sitting Poolside interview
13. “If you don’t prioritize your life, someone else will.”
14. “There are some who start their retirement long before they stop working.”
15. “Working people have a lot of bad habits, but the worst of these is work.”
16. “Everyday is a bank account, and time is our currency. No one is rich, no one is poor, we’ve got 24 hours each.”
17. “What we really want to do is what we are really meant to do. When we do what we are meant to do, money comes to us, doors open for us, we feel useful, and the work we do feels like play to us.”
18. “Happiness is not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort.”
19. “Money is a terrible master but an excellent servant.”
20. “Money is just a score. It is how you play the game that matters.”
Myles Wakeham, Sitting Poolside interview
21. “But investing isn’t about beating others at their game. It’s about controlling yourself at your own game.”
The Intelligent Investor
Note from Mr. SR: the same is true for finding peace and enjoying life more generally. You won’t feel happy as long as you’re basing it on comparison to others. It’s about controlling yourself at your own game.
22. “Spend extravagantly on the things you love, and cut costs mercilessly on the things you don’t.”
I Will Teach You To Be Rich
Spending Time and Money During Retirement
23. “Retirement means doing whatever I want to do. It means choice.”
24. “Retirement is like a long vacation in Las Vegas. The goal is to enjoy it to the fullest, but not so fully that you run out of money.”
25. “Retire from your job but never from meaningful projects.”
26. “Don’t simply retire from something; have something to retire to.”
27. “There’s never enough time to do all the nothing you want.”
Bill Watterson, Calvin and Hobbes
28. “Retirement is a blank sheet of paper. It is a chance to redesign your life into something new and different.”
29. “Freedom isn’t just about having a big bank balance (although that helps a lot).”
Myles Wakeham, Sitting Poolside interview
