What financial 'truths' or 'rules' have you found to be false in your journey?

[Helvegen]

Buying a home makes absolutely zero financial sense in my case. What I pay for rent for a SFH, would not even cover the mortgage on a similar apples to apples property. I made the comment the other day that why we are able to grow our net worth so aggressively is partially due to the fact that we don't own.

I guess the other myth is that renting always has to be more expensive than buying, otherwise how does the landlord make money?

Personally speaking, I have rented three SFH - all from retirees, all less than what the PITI would have been to buy the thing. Two paid off the homes years ago and were rich and didn't care as long as they had good, stable renters. The third house was an expensive retirement house in a very rural area with no rental market to speak of during the tail end of of the turn down.

[Kitsunegari]

Have fun while you're in you 20s.

Only good advice if you can keep your eye on a career and keep some dollars in your pocket while you have fun. Certainly not fun to hit 30 with no prospects for a real job, from what I have seen.

Yes - there is this weird idea floating around that 30 is the new 20, and that you don't have to start real "adulting" or trying until 30.
https://www.ted.com/talks/meg_jay_why_30_is_not_the_new_20

This TEDtalk... wow. I wish I could earmark it for my infant daughter and show it to her in 19 years.

[arebelspy]

I also think the "pay yourself first" sacred cow of personal finance is bullshit. I think it encourages overspending with the remaining funds. People should be think about all their purchases pretty hard, not just call it a day after setting aside some arbitrary amount.

Yup.  This is what I thought of immediately when I read the thread title.

Most people are bad with money, so it's fine for them.  But it's not a financial truth, or rule, and if you can be good with money, pay yourself LAST (with everything left over from only spending on what is truly worth it).  This is what we did to end up with a 70%+ savings rate.

An emergency fund is another one.  * emergency funds.

:)

Most "rules" apply to the general population, not Mustachians.

They are good in some cases, and give warm fuzzies sometimes, but there are many times that, if you're doing things right, they're the exact opposite of what you should be doing.  Literally the opposite.  :)