Hasan Minhaj spoke about keeping his savings in shoeboxes, why using money wisely is so hard, and Warren Buffett’s cash hoard on a recent episode of his podcast.
The comedian, best known for his Netflix stand-up specials, laid bare his personal-finance anxieties and doubts about investing advice in a conversation with JL Collins, the author of “The Simple Path to Wealth,” on “Hasan Minhaj Doesn’t Know.”
“Money and finances have been something that were oftentimes fear-inducing and very painful for me growing up,” he said.
Minhaj, who rose to fame as a correspondent on “The Daily Show,” recalled doing open-mic nights in Los Angeles as a young comic and being paid in cash or checks that he’d cash immediately.
He kept the money in his room and wound up having $3,200 stashed in Nike shoeboxes. One day, he said his roommate walked in and asked, “Are you selling drugs?”
Minhaj quickly dispelled him of that notion, but the friend then quizzed him on whether he had a checking account (he did, but only kept a small sum in there) or a 401(k) or Roth IRA to save for retirement (he didn’t).
That was a wake-up call for Minhaj, who realized he lacked a solid grounding in personal finance. The awakening led him to read Collins’ book, and the author’s three rules for money resonated with him: Spend less than you earn; invest your savings in an index fund; and avoid debt.
Money problems
On the podcast, Minhaj underscored to Collins how much temptation there is to “get rich quick” and squander cash.
“My feed is a constant stream of financial grifters,” he said. “I’m talking crypto bros, NFT scammers, affiliate link farmers, and pump-and-dump incels.”
Minhaj described the urge to spend money on nice things like iced coffees and vacations, and the YOLO mindset that the stock market could crash tomorrow and pinching pennies was pointless.
He also lamented how his bitcoin buddies taunt him for missing out on the crypto boom, and how eking out a modest return from an index fund doesn’t seem attractive when others have seen their wealth explode by owning tech stocks like Tesla or Nvidia.
Collins responded that it’s OK to splurge but be selective, and there have been many crises in past decades yet stocks have always recovered and reached new highs. He added that nobody has a “crystal ball” to see which bets will pay off and which will go to zero ahead of time.
Minhaj also asked about Buffett choosing to hold more than $300 billion of cash in Berkshire Hathaway’s coffers.
Be more Buffett?
“If Warren Buffett is sitting on cash and not VTSAX and holding, why are we?” he asked, referring to Collins’ favorite holding, the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund.
“Why can’t we be more like Buffett and just know that something bad is about to happen and maybe hold on to that bread?” Minhaj added.
Collins responded by noting the legendary bargain hunter had been stockpiling cash not because he’s predicting doomsday, but because he can’t find enough compelling purchases to make.
Minhaj added that as he approaches 40, he feels the competing forces of the “greed to make more money” and the “fear, holy shit, I could lose a lot of money,” and asked how to reconcile them.
Collins answered that staying the course and owning an index fund for the long term is the most surefire way to get rich and to avoid losing money.
In short, he made it clear to Minhaj that the smart money isn’t in crypto or shoeboxes, but in low-fee, long-term index funds that are the safest route to lasting wealth.
