Saving Isn’t Optional—it’s Life or Death

As I approach immortality at 80 years old, I’ve been reflecting on what truly matters in life. What’s a superpower an ordinary citizen can wield without relying on sheer luck?

A loving spouse is vital—but as I face the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune that are hurtling toward me now, I’m searching for something more fundamental.

With money, you gain a decent home, quality clothing, a better-than-average partner, and a stronger defense against the chaos of modern life. Money secures a halfway-decent doctor, earns respect from others, and brings peace to nights spent terrified in the dark.

I’ve witnessed this in friends’ lives. There were years when I earned a solid income and even windfalls from investments—times when relationships thrived. But then came periods where money vanished while bills persisted at good-year levels.

In Los Angeles, consistency is rare. After moving here from the East with Hollywood connections, I worked as a Wall Street Journal columnist, writing favorably about Joan Didion and John Gregory Dunne, her husband. Their support led me to literary agents Ev Ziegler and George Diskant, who connected me with studio executives.

Yet these agents weren’t immortal. I joined Michael Ovitz’s agency—a golden period that ended when they deemed me insignificant. From there began a downward spiral, echoing Gibbon’s description of later Roman emperors: each new ruler was worse than the last, making the previous one seem preferable.

I later secured a job at a top law firm—paid well and engaging—but its collapse due to internal legal issues left me again without steady income. The pattern repeated: money flowed, then stopped.

To survive, I saved wisely but also spent recklessly. My real estate investments and speaking engagements on financial topics helped stabilize my life. However, health declined so severely that travel became impossible—ending my speaking career. Yet by selling assets, I could still support my wife, a former Hollywood lawyer now unable to earn her income.

Saving isn’t just smart—it’s life or death. You’ll be happier with money, and saving is the path to securing it even into old age.