Low-cost index fund investing
A broad S&P 500 index fund bought on a schedule, through thick and thin, no stock picking
Put savings into a fund that simply holds every company in a broad index such as the S&P 500, buy on a fixed schedule, and leave it alone for decades. The case rests on cost. An index fund charges a fraction of a percent a year; actively managed funds and advisors charge more and, as a group, fail to beat the index after fees. It also removes the decisions that trip most people up, which stocks to buy and when to sell, and replaces them with one rule: keep buying. What you give up is any chance of beating the market, and you take every downturn in full.
People on record
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Does it: documented as part of their own routine. Recommends: explicitly advises other people to do it. Discusses: covered it substantively without clear personal adoption; this can include criticism or disagreement.
- Morgan HouselDoes it
Writer · The Psychology of Money
A house, cash, Vanguard index funds and stock in Markel, whose board he sits on. That is the entire list, he told Tim Ferriss listeners. Fewer decisions leave fewer chances to get one wrong, on his reasoning. What he expects to do the work is being an average investor for an above average number of years.
Source: The Tim Ferriss Show: How to Simplify Your Life in 2026 (#857)“My entire net worth is a house, cash, Vanguard index funds, and shares of Markel where I’m on the board of directors.”
The Tim Ferriss Show: How to Simplify Your Life in 2026 (#857) (opens in a new tab) · 11 Mar 2026 - Shane ParrishDoes it
Writer · Farnam Street and The Knowledge Project
Buys into an index fund alongside everything else he does, and describes it as a fail-safe kept separate from his private deals. He also says he hides money from himself so he never starts assuming he is smarter than he is.
Source: The Tim Ferriss Show #695 transcript - Warren BuffettRecommends
Investor · Berkshire Hathaway chairman
Consistently buy a low-cost S&P 500 index fund and keep buying through thick and thin, especially thin, was his retirement advice to CNBC. The trick is not picking the right company but owning all the big ones cheaply, he says, and he warns that fees are the advisor's income coming out of your pocket. Other index funds almost always carry bigger fees, he adds.
Source: CNBC: Warren Buffett says index funds make the best retirement sense practically all the time
Aimed at the same thing
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Deliberate cold exposure
Cold showers or ice baths used deliberately, usually a few minutes at a time
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Sauna
Regular heat exposure, often 4 sessions a week at 20 minutes
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Yoga
Regular yoga practice for flexibility, strength and a calmer nervous system
On record from 8 of 62 tracked people: 8 do it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
Breathwork
Structured breathing sessions to shift the nervous system up or down
On record from 7 of 62 tracked people: 4 do it, 2 recommend it, 1 has discussed it - Protocol$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Running
Regular running, from a short daily loop up to ultramarathon distance
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Swimming
Lap swimming as low-impact cardio and a reset for the head
On record from 6 of 62 tracked people: 6 do it
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