"Housel is known for his bestseller The Psychology of Money, which dissects how people's previous beliefs, behaviors, and emotions impact finances. Now, he's unveiling the psychology behind spending. Housel emphasizes that spending is not about getting things down to a science, it's an art that shouldn't have a "one size fits all" approach. How you're spending it also makes all the difference: Housel says if a majority of your expenditures are material items, you haven't yet learned the most important life lessons."
""It's a little bit morbid, but it's to write what you want your obituary to say, and then try to live your life up to that," Housel tells Fortune in discussing his latest book "The Art of Spending Money.""
"'Early on, write your desired obituary, and then behave accordingly,' Buffett wrote in a previous shareholder letter in 2022. Now it's one of Housel's ways to measure legacy too: if it's not important enough to take to the grave, it doesn't matter at all."
A reverse-obituary exercise asks individuals to write the obituary they want and then live to match that legacy. Writing a desired obituary clarifies priorities and exposes what truly matters at life's end. Legacy becomes a test for daily choices: if something is not important enough to take to the grave, it should not dictate behavior. Spending functions as an art rather than a universal science, with no one-size-fits-all rule. Prioritizing family, community, and meaningful experiences often outweighs spending on material items, whose appeal commonly peaks in youth and fades with shifting values.
Read at Fortune
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