Warren Buffett made his first million by 32. At 56 he started making real money, becoming a billionaire. Today, at 93, his fortune is $139 billion, making him one of the world’s top 1o richest individuals. It’s fair to say he knows a thing or two about money. But you don’t live on this planet that long without learning valuable lessons that apply to all areas of life. And if you’re in your 40s, there’s a real possibility that most of your life is still ahead of you.
We’ve selected Buffett’s best quotes for your stage of life, along with some thoughts on how they apply to investing, relationships, and other priorities. And hey, if you’re 49, get a head start on your next decade by checking out 9 Warren Buffett Quotes Every 50-Year-Old Needs to Hear.
The Good Life In Your 40s
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Back in medieval times, living into your 40s was a rare feat and one that made you quite elderly. In our youth-oriented society, some people today still somehow feel like their best years are behind them when they hit this age. Sure, most of us are not skateboarding at this stage of life and are starting to feel some aches and pains, but people who take good care of themselves can more than hold their own in athletics and the demands of their jobs and families. Often, by this point in life, we’ve finished our formal education and may have established ourselves in a career. Our children are older and more self-sufficient, and we can start investing more time in ourselves.
Challenges of the 40s
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The 40s can be a time to assess how far we’ve come toward our goals and whether we want to invest more of our lives into those goals. A so-called “midlife crisis” can lead us to make major course corrections: career changes, divorce and remarriage, and spending more on long-coveted luxuries might be part of this season of life. We might also have new challenges with parenting teenagers and young adults, especially if we have a blended family now. Financially, we may feel anxious about saving for the kids’ college tuition and our retirement while still being able to enjoy life and not constantly work. No matter how your 40s are going so far, hopefully, some of Mr. Buffett’s wisdom will help move you in the direction you want.
1. “Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.”
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Why is this relevant?
- In our 40s, we may start to think more about the legacy we are leaving behind.
- We need to feel like our work is meaningful, not mindless.
- We love our children and hope we can make life better for them than we had it.
What Trees Are You Planting?
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Trees are life-giving. They provide shade, shelter, food, building materials, and firewood. Well-tended, they keep on giving, generation after generation. Some investments are like that. A well-conceived business could go on for a hundred years or more. But there are other “trees” that will yield non-material benefits that may be even more beneficial to your descendants: a work ethic, integrity, respect, or altruism. And if those qualities are not part of your family tree, then showering your descendants with money may be one of the least helpful things you could do.
2. “I don’t look to jump over 7-foot bars; I look around for 1-foot bars that I can step over.”
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Why is this relevant?
- With more people depending on us, this may be a time for investments that will yield reliable returns.
- We’re often more confident at this age. We don’t feel as much need to impress others with spectacular achievements.
- Having a strong sense of priorities, we will want to conserve our energy for what is most important to us.
Set the Bar Lower
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In our competitive culture, we’re keen to show others that we’re still young, we can take bold risks, and we leap ahead while others plod along. For everyone who is successful at this strategy, though, there are ten more who lose big and don’t always bounce back from the loss. If you have people depending on you and long-range shared plans to accomplish, it’s more responsible to look for easy wins. Learn where to find those, and you’ll be well on your way to your goals.
3. “Predicting rain doesn’t count. Building arks does.”
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Why is this relevant?
- Being inundated with negative news can get us in the habit of pointing out problems more than solutions.
- This attitude can be discouraging to us and those around us.
- We can conserve time, resources, and energy by focusing on solvable problems.
What Are You Going to Do About It?
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When we’re overwhelmed with problems, one of the most helpful things we can do is distinguish between things that are not under our control and things that are. We can’t control the weather, news events, the economy, or what other people do, say, or think. We can control who or what we spend time, money, and energy on, and what we do, say, or think. No matter what the situation is, we can work through a strategy for investments and relationships that move us step-by-step toward a solution.
4. “There seems to be some perverse human characteristic that likes to make easy things difficult.”
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Why is this relevant?
- In a complex world, easy things can seem “too good to be true.”
- People with education may shun “common sense” strategies in investing and other areas of life.
- A simple approach can be easier to maintain consistently over a long period of time.
Take It Easy
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An easy approach to investing might concentrate on stocks in companies others might consider unimpressive, but that yield steady returns. Another approach might be to continue pumping money into a reputable mutual fund over many years, trusting the market to even out its ups and downs over the long term. In relationships, saying “I’m sorry,” being proactively kind and thoughtful, and focusing on what we are giving emotionally rather than what we are getting can vastly improve our relationships.
5. “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.”
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Why is this relevant?
- “Keeping up with the Joneses” can exhaust us trying to meet goals that don’t align with our own priorities.
- By midlife, we can start feeling inauthentic if we have not pursued personally meaningful things.
- Social media might have us comparing others’ best to our worst.
Who’s Keeping Score?
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We live in a system built on competition. Sports, politics, economics, and personal relationships are all infused with this value. While this helps us strive to better ourselves, it is also a recipe for continual dissatisfaction. There will always be someone doing better than we are. But if we continually compete with our own past selves, we can find a more positive source of motivation—one that we are always exceeding.
6. “You only have to do a very few things right in your life so long as you don’t do too many things wrong.”
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Why is this relevant?
- Perfectionism can cause us to over-focus on our mistakes instead of celebrating our successes.
- Identifying our priorities can show us where to place our efforts in doing a few things right.
- Remaining steady in those few high-priority areas can give us satisfaction when lesser priorities are not going well.
What Have You Done Right?
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It’s not hard to find people to tell you what you’ve done wrong. Your boss, parents, friends, spouse, and most certainly your teenage children are glad to let you know exactly where you’ve fallen short. If you want a friend who doesn’t do that, well, maybe adopt a dog. But it’s not necessary to wallow in shame for the fact that you are human. And even those really spectacular mistakes you made that hurt you and others can become part of your own heroic story of overcoming obstacles to become the worthy person you are today. So, instead, try thinking about what you’ve done right and the good results you can already see coming from those decisions. And then consider what are the most strategic “right things” you can do today.
7. “The most important thing to do if you find yourself in a hole is to stop digging.”
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Why is this relevant?
- Debt can mount rapidly as we struggle to maintain our homes and pay the mounting expenses of raising children.
- We might be tempted by easy credit offers as a shortcut that only worsens things in the long run.
- A debt-free strategy might include working more or working smarter.
The Definition of Insanity
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You’ve no doubt heard the saying that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing but expecting different results. That’s what it’s like when we continue borrowing money to help us get out of money problems. It will just make things far worse in the long run. So what can we do? The bottom line is we need to spend less than we bring in. We can do that by finding ways to cut expenses and increase revenue. Seeing a financial planner is money well spent to help you set up a budget you can live with that will start filling in the hole rather than digging it deeper.
8.“It’s nice to have a lot of money, but you know, you don’t want to keep it around forever. I prefer buying things. Otherwise, it’s a little like saving sex for your old age.”
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Why is this relevant?
- Since we are in our prime in our 40s, we can fall into a routine of overwork.
- We might feel like time is getting away from us so we become panicked about reaching our career and financial goals.
- Saying we are working for others may be a cover-up for shame, avoidance, or anxiety.
A Means to an End
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Real life is not a game of Monopoly, but a lot of people live as if it is. We pursue an education to get a good job, get a good job to make money, make money to save for retirement, and in retirement . . . have no idea how to relax and have fun. Accumulating wealth is not an end in itself, it is a means to an end. So the question is, what end are you pursuing with your wealth, and is that worth devoting your life to? Maybe the end you’re pursuing is self-satisfaction, praise and admiration from others, living comfortably in the future, or leaving behind a financial legacy to benefit others. Regardless of your destination, how can you enjoy the journey getting there? Taking time to rest and reflect along the way might help you find that its time to choose a different destination.
9.“If you don’t find a way to make money while you sleep, you will work until you die.”
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Why is this relevant?
- In today’s economy, having more than one income stream is both prudent and essential.
- By their 40s, some people have neared the top of their career advancement potential and will need to look elsewhere for income.
- Maintaining a desired standard of living after retirement requires more resources than most people are able to accumulate without some kind of passive income source.
Actively Seeking Passive Income
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Someone once said if you don’t have a job, your job is looking for a job. The same goes for passive income streams. Sure, we would all love for someone just to plop effortless income into our laps, but in reality, it takes some hard work up front to set up investments, part-time gigs, or other passive income sources that will work for us 24/7. The results will be worth it, though, as we are able to achieve dreams and spend our time in ways that would have been impossible through a 9-5 job alone.
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