Suryc11 comments on Preparing for a Rational Financial Planning Sequence - Less Wrong

21 Post author: elharo 22 May 2013 11:48AM

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Comment author: Suryc11 23 May 2013 04:34:17PM *  0 points [-]

Exactly. I actually first thought Mr. Money Mustache was almost a crackpot, but I think he has a good point here. His advice on making frugality a habit and part of your identity, combined with the points from this paper on how to get the most happiness for the buck and our knowledge of the hedonic threadmill/adaptation, strikes me as very instrumentally rational, despite how unconventional it seems at first glance (very munchkin-esque actually).

At the same time, it seems so right that I'm a little suspicious, although maybe that's a result of a status quo bias or the incorrigible consumerist part of my mind finding it unbelievable that I wouldn't be happier with a few more gadgets and more money.