My Favorite Investing Quotes – Inspired by the Rational Reminder

I was recently catching up on some Rational Reminder and Episode 369 really stuck with me. Ben and Dan shared some of the most important investing quotes of all time, and it inspired me to put together my own list of sayings—the ones I regularly use when chatting with friends or colleagues about money, investing, and financial independence.

I’ll continue adding to this list over time, but here’s where it starts.

My Favourite Sayings & Quotes About Money and Investing

“Wealth is what you accumulate, not what you spend.”
— The Millionaire Next Door

Just start.
You don’t need the perfect plan to begin investing. Avoid analysis paralysis—buy something simple like an all-in-one ETF (VGRO, XGRO, etc.). You can always adjust your strategy as you learn more.

Pay yourself first.
Even $50 per paycheque is a start. Your future self will thank you.

Eat. Sleep. Buy index funds.
I want a t-shirt that says this.

It’s not about timing the market, but about time in the market.
Trying to guess the perfect moment to buy or sell is a losing game. Staying invested and letting compounding do its job wins every time.

“You can afford anything, but you can’t afford everything.”
— Paula Pant

Your money are like little soldiers.
Send them out to work for you so they can bring back reinforcements.

“Spend extravagantly on the things you love, and cut costs mercilessly on the things you don’t.”
— Ramit Sethi

Rational Reminder E369: The Most Important Quotes in Investing

Timeless investing quotes from the Rational Reminder community. You can check out the episode here.

1. “Pay yourself first.” – Richest Man in Babylon / Dave Chilton
2. “Save 10% of your income.” – Dave Chilton
3. “The investor’s worst enemy is himself.” – Ben Graham
4. “This time is different.” – Sir John Templeton
5. “Far more money has been lost by investors preparing for a correction.” – Peter Lynch
6. “Have a philosophy you can stick with.” – David Booth
7. “Risk is not having the money when you need it.” – Charles Ellis
8. “Volatility is the price of admission.” – Morgan Housel
9. “Normal returns are extreme.” – Ken Fisher
10. “Risk is what’s left when you think you’ve thought of everything.” – William Bernstein
11. “Life always has a flat tail” – Eugene Fama
12. “We get precisely what we don’t pay for.” John Bogle
13. “Diversification is the only free lunch.” – Harry Markowitz
14. “Don’t look for the needle. Just buy the haystack.” – John Bogle