The Personal Finance Sin Charlie Munger Advised Against

The late Charlie Munger once made this observation:

“The idea of caring that someone is making money faster [than you] is one of the deadly sins. Envy is a really stupid sin because it’s the only one you could never possibly have any fun at. There’s a lot of pain and no fun. Why would you want to get on that trolley?”

Munger’s goal here isn’t to be preachy. Instead, he is offering practical investment advice. His message: It’s pointless to envy someone else’s financial situation. That’s because there will always be someone who is more successful, or more lucky, with their investments. And there will always be people who appear to be more successful.

A better approach: Make a plan, then tune out the noise. Never mind what your neighbor—or your brother-in-law—is doing.