15 | Thanks, But No Thanks, Maslow!

This post is Part 2 of 3 of the “Clarifying Our 'Why' Instead of Searching for Tactics” series.

You might be tempted to say, "Those are the basic tactics, there have to be more sophisticated tactics that are the real secret."

Nope.

The next set of tactics is even more discouraging because there is plenty of writing about them not being quite as impactful as they seem on the surface.

Tax-loss harvesting. Useful in some specific cases, certainly not all cases. See here. Sorry, Wealthfront.

Asset location. Theoretically useful, but a bit clunky and overrated when it comes to optics and logistics. See here. Thank you, Betterment.

Roth dollars instead of taxable dollars. Phenomenal benefit that is worth pursuing, but not a unicorn. See here.

Unique investment options. This is probably my favorite, because a link isn't even necessary. The average 401(k) offers between 8 and 12 fund options. There are around 10,000 mutual funds or exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States. If the specific investment option was that important, don't you think we would have worked harder as a society to get the average person access to more than 0.001% of available funds for their largest bucket of traditional investments? The specific investment option certainly isn't the secret.

The endless search for tactics feels like it has to be a more productive use of time than trusting relatively simple rules of thumb and getting clearer on why we're building financial wealth in the first place.

I think the problem is that underneath the search for tactics is the underlying assumption that "more" is always better. "More" will fix everything, but "more" comes up empty when it is done without purpose.

Our typical use of next-level tactics is akin to leaping up Maslow's hierarchy of needs pyramid before we've addressed the basic physiological needs of food, shelter, and water.

In the case of personal finances, the base of the pyramid isn't sophisticated tactics, hacks, or tricks. I think the basic physiological needs equivalent is a clear "why".