What Fables and Proverbs Can Teach Us About Life

Long before social media and podcasts, humans had fables and proverbs. Aesop’s Fables were a childhood read. But they began as spoken stories in ancient Greece and remain instructive centuries after appearing in print.

These short sayings were a way to compress human experience into something memorable enough to pass from one generation to the next. They warned us not to count chickens before they hatch and cautioned us not to cry wolf. The fox and wolf make frequent appearances.

Some survived for centuries because they contain a stubborn little piece of truth. But others are more interesting because we remember only half of them.

“Curiosity killed the cat” sounds like excellent advice for anyone considering an unfamiliar life decision. Leave well enough alone; don’t poke around or ask too many questions.

Except the familiar expanded version continues: “but satisfaction brought it back.”

Suddenly curiosity doesn't look so reckless. It’s useful advice about money.

Take Roth IRA conversions. “You should convert to a Roth” has become almost a proverb of its own. Sometimes that may be excellent advice. But curiosity should send us looking for the rest of the story. Beware of the Roth conversion sales ecosystem in financial services.

Consider this old favorite: “Don't put all your eggs in one basket.” Sound advice—until we mistake the number of baskets for diversification. Someone can own ten ETF or mutual funds containing many of the same companies. Another investor can own CDs at five different banks while remaining heavily exposed to inflation, tax, and reinvestment risk.

Counting baskets is easier than examining what's inside them.

And then there is: “Better the devil you know than the devil you don't.”

Financial markets make some risks very visible, like a falling stock price. Other risks are subtle and polite. Inflation quietly reduces purchasing power. Taxes accumulate inside retirement accounts. Longevity risk waits patiently. Phantom income tax is the missing line on our investment statement.

Perhaps the financial version should be: Before choosing the devil you know, spend a little time looking for the one you don't.

Proverbs don't usually give us an answer. They give us a way to think about the question.

So, here's a different exercise for your money life.

Before making the next change to your portfolio, retirement plan, insurance, or taxes, don't begin by asking what you should buy, sell, convert, or adjust.

Read a few proverbs (the wisdom) and fables (the lived story), then pick one that’s relevant to the decision you’re considering now.

A 500-year-old proverb may occasionally produce a better conversation than this morning's financial news.