Money: Save or Invest?

When you want to invest your money, financial advisor will ask you about your goals and risk tolerance. The following analysis shows how to answer these questions based on a deeper understanding of your inner preferences, and how they may affect your overall situation. It aims to solve a simple question of whether to save money or invest, but you can apply the same principles to more specific questions.

Pros and Cons. The chart on the left summarizes general Pros and Cons of saving vs. investing (from Google and ChatGPT). Dashed lines indicate opposing relationships, each side of which must carry approximately equal weight. Moreover, every pair of (S+)-(I-) must find a “reversed” complementarity (S-)-(I+), so that (S+) and (I+) represent “balanced” forms of (S-) and (I-) (see Moral Wisdom from Dialectic). To meet these requirements, a given chart must be supplemented with additional information, as shown in the Dialectical Table on the right. Statements that do not find their oppositions, or do not form a complete column, must be omitted.

Control Statements. The aim is to get the “control statements” which are in the 5th and 6th lines with a blue background. If these statements sound good and helpful, then the whole column is also good and helpful. If not, then some important words are missing or need to be rephrased.

Thus, statements 5(A) and 6(A) stress the mutual importance of Simplicity (1A) and Compounding for Building Wealth (3A). Statements 5(B) and 6(B) do the same for Safety (1B) and Returns (3B). The last pair 5(D) and 6(D) deals with human qualities that enables all other (financial) parameters to work. It only lists one pair – Discipline (1D) and “Smartness” – ability to make correct decisions and stick to them (3D). But it could be further broken into many qualities that form similar “diads” and “tetrads” (see the Atlas of Characters). So each personality type could have his own “decision-making table”.

Hybrid Statements help finding “hidden” relations between the pros and cons from the 1st Table. The pink cells show statements that connect money with personal qualities. For example, if someone is disciplined with their money (1D) but their financial plan is complicated (1A), they might end up paying more than they should (4A). This is because complicated systems are made to trick people like them. Another example is if someone is smart with their money (4C) but they don’t have reliable information (3C), they might end up loosing money (2C). This is because smart people may overthink or complicate things.

Synthesis Matrix. The next step is to estimate probabilities that all pairs of positive statements will yield a “brighter future” (from 0 to 1). Higher probabilities (green cells) indicate strengths, lower probabilities (yellow and pink cells) – weaknesses.

This matrix is not symmetric, as it reflects two different views (separated by diagonal line). The lower part was estimated by ChatGPT, the upper – by human expert. Ideally every person should fill out both parts by himself, one from pessimistic point of view, another from optimistic.

GPT is less optimistic than the expert, as its part shows slightly less green color. The yellow line for High Returns (3rd from bottom) suggests that they are nearly independent of Discipline and Building Wealth! The human expert assigned higher probabilities for these combinations, but lower for others.

Forecasts. The table on the right explains what each quadrant of the “synthesis matrix” means. The 1st quadrant is about combining saving and investing into one “lifestyle,” and both GPT and Expert agree that it’s possible. The 2nd quadrant is about getting the most out of your savings to achieve short-term goals. GPT advises investing, which doesn’t make much sense because it reduces savings. Expert suggests saving, which is logical. The 3rd quadrant is about maximizing the benefits of your investments for long-term goals. Both GPT and Expert suggest investing, but Expert recommends it more strongly.

The last three quadrants show how different benefits can complement each other. Expert is more optimistic about the benefits of investing and combining saving and investing, but this could be risky if he overestimates his abilities. So, a second (more cautious) opinion is always useful.


Shaping the Future. Regardless of what decision will be made (save or invest), we can suggest some general steps that can unite positive sides of both alternatives. Table on the right shows that all pairs of (S+) and (I+)  yield two or more new  pairs  of “actions and reciprocations” (7th and 9th lines). They clearly state that financial planning is only a small part of success. A much bigger task is to plan your personal growth, including inner Strength and Breath, Order and Philosophy.

New “control statements” (11(X) and 12(X)) warn us of possible dangers more directly than old statements (5(X) and 6(X)). All of them can be further analyzed in terms of new “hybrid” and “synthesis” matrices, to predict more accurately the future

“The best knowledge is knowing yourself and your inner being.” ― Debasish Mridha

“Change. Unlearning yourself is more important than knowing yourself.” ― Brenda Lozano, Loop


Decisions and Inspirations. The safest decisions are those based on green cells that coincide in both pessimistic and optimistic estimations. In the above example this corresponds to all cells of Smartness (3D), as well as combinations of Wealth (3A) with Discipline (1D) and Reliability (3A). On the right is image generated by Hotpot using these four keywords. Here is what ChatGPT suggested:

Mantra: “Discipline and reliability lead to smartness and wealth.”

Video clip: “The Power of Discipline” by Robin Sharma (many alternative videos with such name on youtube)

Movie:The Pursuit of Happyness” starring Will Smith. The movie is based on the true story of Chris Gardner, a struggling salesman who becomes homeless with his young son. Despite the challenges, he remains disciplined and reliable in his pursuit of a better life, which eventually leads to wealth and success.

Book:Atomic Habits” by James Clear. The book provides a step-by-step guide for building good habits and breaking bad ones, emphasizing the importance of discipline and reliability in achieving personal and professional goals. It provides practical advice on how to make small changes to your daily routine that can lead to significant improvements in your life.

Story: James was a hardworking and disciplined employee who always met his deadlines. His boss noticed his reliability and promoted him to a higher position with a better salary. With his newfound wealth, James invested smartly and grew his fortune, all thanks to his discipline and reliability.

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