3721: I'm A Millionaire and My Sweater Has A Hole In It by A Purple Life on Money Mindset

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[00:00:54] This is Optimal Finance Daily. I'm a millionaire, and my sweater has a hole in it. By a Purple Life of ApurpleLife.com. And I'm Justin Malek. I read articles and give some commentary to go along with them for a little reminder about what's important every day of the year. So let's get right to today's post as we optimize your life.

[00:01:22] I'm a millionaire, and my sweater has a hole in it. By a Purple Life of ApurpleLife.com. You know I love a book if I bring it up multiple times on this blog. Well, here I am again reflecting on a topic that The Art of Spending by Morgan Housel made me think more deeply about. Let's get into it. It started from an offhanded comment from my mom. She said, You're a millionaire, and you're wearing a sweater with a hole in it? And I said,

[00:01:53] It's called stealth wealth, mother. But seriously, I just really like this sweater, and I can't find it anywhere else. That interaction made me think more about why I'm fine having more wealth than I ever imagined I would. And also, often lovingly, wearing a sweater that has a hole in it, in public. And I think Morgan Housel's book hit the nail on the head explaining why. In a chapter titled,

[00:02:18] The Most Valuable Financial Asset is Not Needing to Impress Anyone, Housel says, Quote, The ability to not need to prove yourself to strangers is priceless. Not needing to impress other people, especially strangers, is an asset on your personal balance sheet that can be more valuable than anything else. End quote. And I completely agree. I discovered in my 20s that seeking validation from strangers is a losing game.

[00:02:47] People make assumptions all the time, regardless of how you present yourself, what you say, or really anything you do. So there's no point in trying to impress them in those ways. And I know because I tried it. The first year of my career was marked by trying to impress the people around me in the ways that they valued. Clothes, shoes, weight loss, and expensive travel. I tried all of it, and in the end,

[00:03:16] didn't receive the promotion I was promised and deserved. I also realized that when I did earn a small amount of validation from my work colleagues, it felt hollow. I learned what actually makes me feel fulfilled, and as a result, I value what people I care about think about me, not work colleagues or random people I pass on the street. I learned not to care what someone might think if I'm wearing a comfy sweater with a hole in it. I dress appropriately for the setting,

[00:03:46] but after that, my goal is comfort and wearing things that make me smile, not something that might impress other people. And I love this holy sweater. It's the best one I've ever owned, and it's my favorite because of how it's incredibly soft and has the perfect proportions for my comfort. So when it started to get a hole in it from me wearing it almost everywhere for years, I just kept wearing it. And then my mom's reaction happened, which led me to reflect on why I'm happy with my choice.

[00:04:15] Housel writes, quote, quote, Warren Buffett once said, the big question about how people behave is whether they've got an inner scorecard or an outer scorecard. It helps if you can be satisfied with an inner scorecard. He used this example. Would you rather be known as the best investor in the world, but in reality be the worst, or be thought of as the world's worst investor when you were actually the best? End quote. Preach Warren.

[00:04:45] My comfort and happiness are more important to me than someone making assumptions about me or even my net worth because there's a hole in my sweater. I don't feel the need to project my wealth with material things, but instead with buying back my time and having the freedom to do whatever I want. Housel writes, quote, there are always two benchmarks to measure yourself against to determine how well you're doing in life, internal and external.

[00:05:16] The first is how happy you are with yourself. The other is what other people think of you. It's astounding to watch how agonizing it can be when someone focuses too much on the external benchmark. And it's so thrilling to witness someone whose only goal in life is to nail their internal benchmarks. End quote. I've said it before on this blog and I'll say it again. People will judge you regardless,

[00:05:43] so you might as well just do what makes you happy. And being comfortable for me always beats putting up a facade for other people to enjoy. I'm not here to somehow fit into a stereotype of what a millionaire looks like. I'm here because I decided to leave regular assumptions behind and be a bit weird. I retired at 30, I'm a black female millionaire, and I love my holy sweater.

[00:06:14] You just listened to the post titled, I'm a millionaire and my sweater has a hole in it. By a Purple Life of apurplelife.com. And I'll be right back with my commentary. I spend my day reading, recording, and keeping information organized. So the idea of having useful details right in my line of sight caught my attention. RayNeo iO smart glasses use the Firefly Nano optical engine with an ultra transparent display

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[00:07:41] Monarch makes that easier by putting my accounts, investments, spending, and savings goals in one place. I still care about every penny. I just don't want keeping track of them to become a second job. I like that it doesn't just show what I've spent, it helps me plan bigger purchases and see whether I'm on track while there's still time to adjust. And the AI weekly recap flags spending spikes and upcoming expenses. It's like having a financial advisor in my pocket,

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[00:08:40] and she isn't saying that buying a replacement would ruin her retirement. She just doesn't want a different sweater. And I think that's easy to overlook when someone's income or savings goes up. There's this idea that certain things should change along with it. A nicer car, a bigger home, or a different wardrobe. But if you were happy with something before, having more money doesn't automatically give you a reason to stop enjoying it.

[00:09:09] Of course, you might want to make some changes. Maybe you've been putting up with something uncomfortable because replacing it wasn't affordable. Being able to do that now could be a really good use of your money. I don't think the goal is to keep everything exactly the same forever. It's more that you get to decide what would actually be better for you. And in her case, she'd already found a sweater she loved. Replacing it just so it looked more appropriate for her net worth

[00:09:38] wouldn't make it softer or more comfortable. So thank you to A Purple Life for this one. But that'll do it for today. Have a great rest of your day. Thank you for being here. And I'll see you tomorrow as usual, where your optimal life awaits.