★★★★☆
"Effectively all of our net worth is a house, a checking account, and some Vanguard index funds.”
Interesting book. The book emphasizes the importance of savings, patience, and the idea that there is little correlation between investment effort and investment results. Big focus on luck and right-tailed outcomes. Your philosophy may differ (I know mine does).
Housel preaches a message of moderation and wealth accumulation. But it seems to presuppose what it means to be happy and how to use money to achieve that end, or rather, not to use money at all. This can be problematic if one's utility function differs, for instance, if someone is genuinely happy while consuming.
The book promotes frugality as a pathway to happiness, but perhaps we should approach this idea consciously and skeptically. The perspective that "no one's crazy" (which Housel explains) is actually applicable itself here, and it should be remembered that Housel's thoughts are just one perspective among many. Still a very valuable one.
The strength of the book lies in its focus on the soft skill of understanding the psychology of money, which is more about behavior than theory. A memorable concept for me is the idea that “people often do what is reasonable as opposed to what is rational”.