How I Invest My Money by Joshua Brown and Brian Portnoy

How I Invest My Money by Joshua Brown and Brian Portnoy gives readers a rare look at how financial experts manage their own money. Featuring 25 professionals, each chapter shares personal insights on saving, spending, and investing, highlighting diverse approaches and philosophies. The book emphasizes that while core principles exist, there’s no single “right” way to handle finances, making it both informative and approachable.

Morgan Housel 

• Once you earn enough, controlling lifestyle expectations helps you save
• Despite higher incomes, our lifestyle stayed the same since most things we enjoy – walks, reading, podcasts – are inexpensive
• If you can meet your goals without extra risk, why try to outperform?
• My strategy focuses on saving, patience, and trusting in long-term global economic growth, not on picking sectors or timing recessions

Christine Benz 

• Low-cost, simple portfolios let us focus on what matters: rewarding careers, passions, community involvement, and family
• Financial compatibility with your partner is key, but often overlooked
• Success in life is about balance, and my investments reflect that

Brian Portnoy

• True wealth is the ability to fund a life that’s meaningful to me
• We have been disciplined in spending, not because of a strict budget, but because we don’t covet big-ticket items like cars, jewelry, or art
• After two decades with top fund managers, my takeaway is: we should all own index funds, allocate reasonably, and get on with life

Joshua Brown 

• Almost everything I do has a long-term focus; I don’t day trade
• When people disagree about a stock bet, the simple resolution is time

Bob Seawright 

• Humans lack courage more than genius, and persistence most of all. Sticking to financial plans is often harder than creating them
• Our decision-making defaults to immediate, tangible rewards, making it easy to ignore long-term investments

Carolyn McClanahan

• Our spending reflects our values – experience, charity, convenience – with little spent on consumer goods
• The key isn’t how much you save, but how much you spend

Tyrone Ross 

• I grew up in a financially illiterate home, which led to hard lessons
• I emptied my 401k, wasting it on living expenses, buying jewelry, a nice car, destroying my credit, and spending everything I made
• When you gain financial knowledge, it’s crucial to pass it on

Dasarte Yarnway

• Our values can be seen through how we invest our money
• During the accumulation phase, time is my biggest asset
• The intersection of my time and values guides where I invest

Nina O’Neal

• I dollar-cost average monthly, primarily using mutual funds and ETFs
• My greatest return on investment is the freedom to love what I do without a corporate agenda
• We must prepare to live well both in the present and in the future

Debbie Freeman

• I invest every month, regardless of market conditions, with ETFs & mutual funds
• Life isn’t just about milestones; it’s enjoying the moments in between
• Be consistent and disciplined with your long-term goals

Shirl Penney

• We have 4 categories of capital: personal, family, philanthropic, fun
• We invest in a diversified portfolio, primarily consisting of index funds

Ted Seides

• My childhood was secure, stable, and worry-free
• Loss of that stability shook me; I was ill-prepared
• When my cash flow is positive and I maintain a buffer for lean years, I feel stable and can invest long-term

Ashby Daniels

• Excess often complicates life instead of making it more fulfilling
• Lifestyle choices will likely determine 80% of our financial future
• Chasing a few extra basis points of return is a waste of time
• Trying to beat the market introduces the risk of underperforming. If we don’t need to beat the market, why take that risk?
• Sticking to a diversified portfolio is the closest thing to an investing superpower
• Insurance protects us from what can go wrong, enabling us to invest in what can go right

Blair duQuesnay

• Early money memories form “money scripts.” Understanding these helps remove barriers to financial success
• Trying to beat the market is a losing game – avoiding bogeys matters more than making birdies
• Very few professionals beat the market consistently after costs
• The market return is solid, and low-cost index funds make it easy to capture if we accept it. I haven’t purchased an individual stock since

Leighann Miko

• We can’t take meaningful action until we discover what truly matters to us. It’s okay to make decisions that don’t make sense on paper
• Understanding what truly matters has given me more control over how I spend – or choose not to spend

Perth Tolle

• I view my personal investments as tools to serve my mission
• I focus on low-maintenance instruments like ETFs and index funds
• Investing can also be a form of expression

Joshua Rogers

• Over-obsession with personal investments may yield short-term gains, but long-term leads to emotional decisions and poor results
• Everyone should have a financial advisor as a sounding board to provide objective advice

Jenny Harrington

• I don’t own shares in my brother’s successful ice cream company to avoid risking our personal relationship over money
• I grew up in a financially volatile household and saw the downsides of living above our means, relying on potential big wins
• I invest heavily in myself and my business

Michael Underhill

• I learned early on the value of hard work, grit, and being self-sufficient
• Performance of individual securities is unpredictable, and so is the performance of portfolios in the short term

Dan Egan

• My biggest asset is myself – my time and effort – and I focus most of my attention here
• People can become owned by their money and possessions, spending their lives managing them instead of enjoying freedom
• Only value money for the joy it brings or the pain it removes

Howard Lindzon

• Charlie is my financial advisor when it comes to market asset allocation
• Charlie uses low-cost ETFs for building client portfolios

Ryan Krueger

• The greatest trick the devil played on investors is making them think investing matters most; the working part – deposits and discipline – moves the needle more
• The most important piece of my life was my wife agreeing to marry me

Lazetta Rainey Braxton 

• My career and my husband’s serve different purposes. He’s the bond investment, with steady income and low risk, while I’m the equity investment, taking on higher risk as an entrepreneur
• We’re grateful that our values align and that we laid the foundation for financial flexibility early on

Marguerita Cheng 

• The best advice was not to define myself by possessions, but by my accomplishments and education
• My money philosophy shapes my investments: I focus on flexibility and discipline
• I prefer simplicity, avoiding over-optimism or pessimism
• My approach is dollar-cost averaging, tax-free growth, and time value

Alex Chalekian

• Dollar-cost averaging may be boring, but it works
• Money is simply a means to an end
• Take the time to discover what wealth means to you. Once you understand this, build the foundation for a happier future