poops_all_berries

As I understand it: Value only exists when there is someone willing to buy.

When the stock market dips, fewer buyers are unwilling or unable to buy a certain stock. Therefore the price goes down because there is less demand. While the asset is unchanged - for example, a share of Google - the value people have placed on it is lower.

In the above example, the house was worth $350k if you had sold it at that time. Now, however, no one is willing to buy it for that price.

No money is ever actually created or destroyed. Value is lost. Fewer buyers (in combination with 1,000 other factors) create less value.

What are the best habits a 20-year-old can learn to benefit their financial future?

I'm learning that responsible adults save a lot; around 15-25% of their income. Turns out creating wealth is a much slower process than I anticipated.

I used to think rich people made $100k a year and had awesome investment accounts. Now, I think they just make above-average amounts for a long time.