The Big Sip
The take: Stop “saving.” Automate investing or you’ll tip wealth to inflation.
What happened: In a Diary of a CEO roundtable, Raoul Pal, Jaspreet Singh, and Humphrey Yang slammed the saver mindset and pushed set-and-forget investing.
Why it matters: Average savings yields sit near zero while prices rise, so cash erodes as passive exposure compounds and automation fixes the real problem: you not starting.
What to watch: The Fed’s 17 Sep 2025 decision and the 15 Oct CPI print will reset savings yields and risk appetite.
Receipts
• Average US savings rate ≈ 0.4% as of Sep 2025. That’s a guaranteed real loss against current inflation. [Report] Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Auto-enrolment massively raises participation in retirement plans, turning intention into action. [Report] NBER+1
Automate your buys so future-you never meets Spreadsheet-You again.
Here’s The Brew
We’re done pretending “saving” is a plan.
Adults set auto-buys into broad markets and get on with earning more.
Renting isn’t failure, but failing to invest is. Cash is a buffer, not a belief system.
Kill fees, kill fiddling, and make your contribution rate the only flex.
The market does not care about your feelings.
Set the transfer, mute the app, and walk toward financial freedom.
Two Sides, One Mug
Pro: Automation plus low-cost index funds harvest market returns while cutting behavioural errors and fees.
Con: Cash cushions stop you from selling in panics and cover real-world shocks. Build reserves first.
Our read: Hold a rainy-day fund, then automate into broad, low-fee indexes. Discipline beats vibes.
Receipt of the Day
FRED “National Savings Rate” (SNDR) series. It shows average savings yields near 0.4% in Sep 2025, which explains why “saving” alone quietly makes you poorer. [Report]
Spit Take
91% of U.S. large-cap funds trailed the S&P 500. — S&P SPIVA, to 30 Jun 2025. [Report]
Coffee Break Links ×3
SPIVA U.S. Scorecard wrap. The long arc of underperformance, in one chart-fest. [Report] — spglobal.com/spdji/en/research-insights/spiva/us-scorecard-mid-year-2025.pdf
Vanguard on DCA vs lump-sum. Lump-sum often wins on maths, DCA wins on nerves; automation keeps you in the game. (2012 study) [Analysis] — aetc.link/file/Vanguard_DCA_2012.pdf
(Newer take if you want it: Vanguard 2023 update PDF.)Millionaires are renting. Flexibility plus liquidity… if you invest the difference. [Analysis] — rentcafe.com/blog/rental-market/market-snapshots/millionaire-renters-on-the-rise/hair.
Join your team of caffeinated skeptics.
One take, one counter, one receipt.
Six minutes.
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