--- title: Save like a pessimist, invest like an optimist - The Hustle description: Morgan Housel’s simple philosophy on how to save and invest. image: https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/901692399-HS-News-Brief_2022-04-08T030204.603Z.webp --- # Save like a pessimist, invest like an optimist ![Morgan Housel](https://53.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/53/assets/hubspot.com/web-team/WBZ/HubSpot%20Media/Blog%202021/Images/Nav/Optimized/TheHustle_Icon_Dark.svg) [Morgan Housel](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/author/morgan-housel) [Morgan Housel Twitter profile ](https://twitter.com/MorganHousel) Published: April 08, 2022 Updated: October 11, 2023 Investing can be complicated, so let me share a simple philosophy: Save your money like a pessimist and invest your money like an optimist. ![Save like a pessimist, invest like an optimist](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hs-fs/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/901692399-HS-News-Brief_2022-04-08T030204.603Z.webp?width=595&height=400&name=901692399-HS-News-Brief_2022-04-08T030204.603Z.webp) #### **What does that mean?** Save with the idea that the world breaks every few years — a recession, a pandemic, a terrorist attack. These events rock the economy and crush the stock market. It’s been like that forever and it’ll be like that forever. The only way to endure that world is to save like a pessimist: keep a big emergency fund, avoid too much debt, and always have a backup plan. Assume that something terrible is around the corner because, let me tell you, that’s often the case. #### **But at the same time…** … invest your money like an optimist. Invest knowing that if you can endure the short-term chain of financial disappointments and setbacks, things usually get better. People are good at solving problems and becoming more productive. We rebuild. We’re amazing at innovating. Saving like a pessimist is what lets you stick around long enough for your long-term investments to actually grow, compound, and benefit from society’s progress. #### **Are you an optimist or a pessimist?** I always think the best answer is a little of both: pessimistic in the short run, but optimistic in the long run. Topics: [Finance](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/tag/finance) ## Follow us on social media prev next - ![Millions of Americans retired early. Now they want to work again](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1583684738-News-Brief_2022-03-31T233737.536Z.webp) ### Millions of Americans retired early. Now they want to work again - ![Junk fees, explained](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/57411737-HS-News-Brief_2023-02-10T040007.804Z.webp) ### Junk fees, explained - ![People are opening up about their finances… on the street](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/111898487-HS-News-Brief_2022-09-27T222214.217Z.webp) ### People are opening up about their finances… on the street - ![Interchange fees, explained](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1865641996-HS-News-Brief_2022-09-21T215007.562Z.webp) ### Interchange fees, explained - ![The four principles that govern finance](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1518284076-HS-News-Brief_2022-07-27T223409.398Z.webp) ### The four principles that govern finance - ![Three big things pessimists tend to ignore](https://media.hubspot.com/hubfs/Imported%20images/TheHustle+HubSpot_Lockup.svg) ### Three big things pessimists tend to ignore - ![Independence is the highest form of wealth](https://media.hubspot.com/hubfs/Imported%20images/TheHustle+HubSpot_Lockup.svg) ### Independence is the highest form of wealth - ![Why investors need to understand the market’s cycles](https://media.hubspot.com/hubfs/Imported%20images/TheHustle+HubSpot_Lockup.svg) ### Why investors need to understand the market’s cycles - ![Nonprofit VC funds, explained](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1495422506-HS-News-Brief_2022-04-12T002125.585Z.webp) ### Nonprofit VC funds, explained - ![Why you don’t need a reason to save](https://media.hubspot.com/hubfs/Imported%20images/TheHustle+HubSpot_Lockup.svg) ### Why you don’t need a reason to save Pop up for Subscribe to The Hustle Daily Newsletter Subscribe to The Hustle Daily Newsletter Get the 5-minute news brief keeping 2.5M+ innovators in the loop. Always free. 100% fresh. No bullsh*t. JOIN FREE ### 100% Free CRM Nurture and grow your business with customer relationship management software. Signup for a free account Close modal ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Morgan Housel", "url" : "https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/author/morgan-housel" }, "datePublished" : "2022-04-08T10:05:16.000Z", "headline" : "Save like a pessimist, invest like an optimist", "image" : [ "https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/901692399-HS-News-Brief_2022-04-08T030204.603Z.webp" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/04082022-morgans-musings", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject" } } } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@id" : "#article", "@type" : "NewsArticle", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Morgan Housel", "url" : "https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/author/morgan-housel" }, "dateModified" : "2023-10-11T20:09:43+0000", "datePublished" : "2022-04-08T10:05:16+0000", "headline" : "Save like a pessimist, invest like an optimist", "image" : [ "https://7355427.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/7355427/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/901692399-HS-News-Brief_2022-04-08T030204.603Z.webp" ], "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "height" : 112, "url" : "https://fs.hubspotusercontent00.net/hubfs/53/assets/hubspot.com/web-team/WBZ/Blog%202021/Images/Logos/HubSpot%20Logo%20112X112.svg", "width" : 112 }, "name" : "HubSpot", "sameAs" : [ "https://www.facebook.com/hubspot", "https://twitter.com/hubspot" ], "url" : "https://www.hubspot.com" }, "speakable" : { "@type" : "SpeakableSpecification", "xPath" : [ "//title", "/html/head/meta[@name='description']/@content" ] } } ```