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

Welcome to the Huberman Lab Podcast, where we discuss science and science-based tools for everyday life. I'm Andrew Huberman, and I'm a professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine. My guest today is Morgan Housel. Morgan Housel is a partner at the Collaborative Fund and an expert in private wealth generation and management. He is also the author of the spectacularly best-selling book, The Psychology of Money. And today, we talk about the psychology of money. We talk about how money can change your psychology. We talk about how most people tend to lie at the extremes of either saving too much money or spending too much money. And we talk about how most people get it completely wrong when it comes to framing in our minds what money is, what its real value is, and its ability to generate happiness within us. And no, I am not going to tell you and Morgan is not going to tell you that beyond a certain dollar amount, you don't increase your happiness, because as we all know, money cannot buy happiness, but it can buffer stress. We acknowledge that from the outset. And then Morgan goes on to explain that really what we're seeking when we talk about seeking wealth or money is freedom. Freedom is really about independence, and that if we are constantly in pursuit of wealth, well, then we are not truly free or independent. So today's discussion is as much about being happy, being free, feeling independent, feeling free of stress as it is about this thing that we call money. So in other words, Morgan explains not just how to generate and manage monetary wealth, he explains that, but he also explains how to organize your life in and around this thing that we call career, the pursuit of wealth, and happiness. And I can think of few topics as important as today's topic. I read Morgan's book, The Psychology of Money, and I loved it. I also love today's discussion because I'm certain that after it's done, you will realize that you've probably been thinking about wealth and money incorrectly in a number of ways, and you've probably been pursuing it incorrectly in a number of ways. But by asking yourself certain probe questions that Morgan raises today and answering those questions, you can arrive in a place where your relationship to money and your pursuit of it really clearly matches your particular goals. Before we begin, I'd like to emphasize that this podcast is separate from my teaching and research roles at Stanford. It is, however, part of my desire and effort to bring zero-cost-to-consumer information about science and science-related tools to the general public. In keeping with that theme, I'd like to thank the sponsors of today's podcast. Our first sponsor is Wealthfront. I've been using Wealthfront for nearly a decade as my high-yield cash account, and I absolutely love it. Personally, I'm sometimes hesitant to invest money given the risks involved, so I often prefer to keep it in my Wealthfront cash account, where I'm able to earn 4.25% annual percentage yield on my deposits, and you can as well. With Wealthfront, you can earn 4.25% APY on your cash through partner banks until you're ready to either spend that money or invest it. With Wealthfront, you also get free same-day withdrawals to eligible accounts every day, even on weekends and holidays. The 4.25% APY is not a promotional rate. There's no limit to what you can deposit and earn, and you can even get protection of up to $8 million through FDIC insurance provided through Wealthfront's partner banks. For same-day withdrawals, just start your withdrawal as late as 9:00 PM Eastern to one of over 550 eligible banks and credit unions to get it the same day. And it takes just a few minutes to transfer your cash from the cash account to any of Wealthfront's automated investing accounts when you're ready. There are already over a million people using Wealthfront to save more, earn more, and build long-term wealth. Earn 4.25% APY on your cash today. If you'd like to try Wealthfront, go to wealthfront.com/huberman to receive a free $50 bonus with a $500 deposit into your first cash account. That's wealthfront.com/huberman to get started now. This has been a paid testimonial of Wealthfront. Wealthfront Brokerage isn't a bank. The APY is subject to change. For more information, see the episode description. Today's episode is also brought to us by BetterHelp. BetterHelp offers professional therapy with a licensed therapist carried out entirely online. Now, I've been doing weekly therapy for well over 30 years. Initially, I didn't have a choice. It was a condition of being allowed to stay in school. But pretty soon I realized that therapy is an extremely important component to overall health. Now, there are essentially three things that great therapy provides. First of all, it provides good rapport with somebody that you can trust and talk to about any and all issues you want to. Second of all, it can provide support in the form of emotional support or directed guidance. And third, expert therapy can provide useful insights. With BetterHelp, they make it very easy for you to find an expert therapist who you resonate with and can provide you those benefits that come through expert therapy. Also, because BetterHelp allows for therapy to be done entirely online, it's very time efficient. It's very easy to fit into a busy schedule with no commuting to your therapist's office or sitting in a waiting room or looking for parking. None of that. It's all done online. If you'd like to try BetterHelp, go to betterhelp.com/huberman to get 10% off your first month. Again, that's betterhelp.com/huberman. And now for my discussion with Morgan Housel. Morgan Housel, welcome.