r/valueinvesting
Spent my first year actually reading Buffett and Munger — and the stuff that stuck had nothing to do with stocks
Author reflects on Buffett/Munger's life lessons like the '20 punch card' rule and trust-building, rather than specific stock picks.
I came in expecting to learn about investing and mostly walked away with life advice. A bit embarrassing for this sub, I know.
The one I keep thinking about is Buffett's punch card — the idea that you get maybe 20 investments in a whole lifetime, so you'd think hard about each one. Read it as life advice instead and it kind of stings: 20 real bets total, like who you partner with, what you work on, where you live. I stop and think a lot more now before I call something a "bet."
The other thing that surprised me is how slow they were about the partnership. Warren and Charlie ran separate things on opposite coasts for years, just calling each other all the time, before any of it was official. Trust first, paperwork way later. Feels like the opposite of how people network now.
And the line I can't shake, which is really an investing idea dressed up as a life one: "the safest way to get what you want is to try to deserve what you want."
I wrote the whole thing up here if anyone's interested: https://domelian.substack.com/p/what-i-learned-from-warren-buffett
Good insights. In my experience in life 20 is probably on the generous side. What you study, who you marry and what city/country you choose to live have an outsized impact on your life and that impact is compounded on top of where you were born.
On the flip side you can always choose to live in the present and be grateful for what you do have. You don't have to regret any decision and what could've been, especially, with the lens of hindsight.
Charlie Munger's Psychology of Human Misjudgment is a masterpiece of logic
If you didn’t advertise so hard people would be more open to your stuff
The punch card idea is the one that stayed with me too. Lynch had a similar version where he said most people would be better investors if they were only allowed 5 trades in a lifetime. The forced scarcity makes you think completely differently about what actually deserves your conviction. The Munger quote you mentioned is probably the most underrated thing either of them ever said because it applies everywhere. In investing it basically means stop trying to find clever angles and just become the kind of person who buys genuinely good businesses. The trust before paperwork point about their partnership is fascinating because it’s completely backwards from how business relationships work now but it’s probably why it worked.
Random but I shared a plane with Lynch not even two weeks ago. He was flying first class
They are truly revolutionary given the combination of raw skills, honest and integrity. I love listening to Mohnish Pabrai talk about his meetings with Charlie regarding all the deals that Warren and Charlie did.
that's great! started to read about Mohnish Pabrai recently too!
Cool. I recommend subscribing to his YouTuber channel and reading the Dhando Investor. Lots of great insights.
Another line from Buffett I think about a lot: When you do get money, buy experiences, not things.
I gotta through one more in there and it’s the lesson of gratitude they both give off.. I ran out of gas on the way to an interview I landed after tech school. I borrowed the car because I didn’t have one. The interview was in another state. When I make a blunder like selling at 10x vs holding on for what would’ve been 100x or more it hurts but I’m always reminded of where I came from. That in turn reminds me of all the times buffet and munger would speak to just how wealthy even the bottom 10% in America are today compared to wealthiest of people back in the day where with our present day medicines/ electricity etc. I do feel dumb selling off some bitcoin when I finally made up my mind to get out of it because of mungers views on it. However, the lesson is still there Bitcoin like / tulip mania return seeking might be a general idea he was preaching against. Them two are some fine dudes imho
I read half of Poor Charlie's Almanac (it felt repetitive after few talks) and what really stayed with me about Munger is how much set he was on self improvement. Simple rule of getting to bed in the evening learning something new that day.
Something maybe less obvious, especially in today's world, is how is he agains ideology. Don't remember exact quotes but he said that people with strong ideological convictions misses out on the world and good investment opportunities.
Great post, thanks for sharing.
What i love about their investing is that it's so simple but most people fail at it because sooner or later you get fomo or follow the noise into the next hype😁
Had a hard time myself staying with my investments watching the top stocks of the day making 15% 😁 but it's worth it and even if you try, you don't hit 15% every day by day or swingtrading
If you truly understand just one industry—and specifically one of its leading companies—you can secure your financial future. Some stocks endure for decades, growing 1,000-fold or more. You don't need a massive portfolio of opportunities; you just need one that is truly exceptional. Developing this level of conviction requires going far beyond skimming financial reports. You have to dig deep into the dynamics of the industry, understanding its impact on daily life and its role in the future economy.
Take Google in the 2000s: if you understood the trajectory of the internet and Google’s business model, that was the only stock you needed. Similarly, if you recognized the potential of deep learning and AI in 2012, Nvidia was—and likely still is—the only company you needed to know.
I think most of their life lessons give rise to an investing ideology. Where if you learn just the investing approach it doesn’t necessarily flow through to non-financial life stuff.