Maria Branyas died on August 19, 2024. She was 117 and the oldest person in the world.

She was once asked the secret to her longevity. The answer wasn’t about eating plenty of yogurt, getting enough sleep, or building wealth.

She said, “Never, ever, become a bitter person no matter what.”

It’s sage advice, but not always easy to follow.

Maria had plenty of reasons to be bitter. When she was 8 years old, her father went bankrupt and died a short while later. Then, an unfortunate accident caused her to lose hearing in one of her ears.

Despite such hardships, Maria remained an optimist throughout her epic long life.

One reason people become bitter is because of lies they tell themselves about money. Here are three to avoid at all costs.

I’ll wait to be happy until after I retire. You should never wait to be happy—especially until retirement. That’s a fake story because no one knows how long their time horizon is.

Per Gallup, approximately 60% of people are emotionally detached at work and 19% are miserable. If you hate your job but feel stuck in it, it’s easy to assume you can just bide your time for a little while longer.

For example, one of my clients works with a 60-year old executive at a Fortune 100 company. This man is counting down the days until he retires in two years. He’s miserable and bitter about his relationship with several important co-workers, but doesn’t feel like starting over somewhere else at this stage of his career.

What if his retirement is shorter than he thinks it will be?

In my book, The Four Minute Retirement Plan, I tell a story about a man who retired at age 64, and literally died at his retirement party.

One of the toughest things about financial planning is no one knows how long their time horizon will be. So, if you’re feeling bitter about your job, better find a new one.

The stock market is dangerous. That’s a fake story, because stocks are the best performing major asset class long-term.

If you’ve ever been burned badly in the stock market, it can leave emotional scars which make you bitter.

For example, many Millennial and Gen Z investors are skeptical about stocks. A Bank of America study found 75% of Americans between the age of 21 and 42 don’t think it’s possible to achieve strong returns by investing in traditional stocks and bonds. Many young investors favor more exotic investments, such as private equity, commodities, and other tangible assets.

It’s not surprising that many young investors have a dour outlook for traditional investments. Many came of age as investors in a volatile world that included the Covid-related market downturn in 2020, which was followed by an even more tumultuous year in 2022 after inflation surged.

Stocks can be volatile at times, but it’s a mistake to let the last few years cloud your longer-term outlook.

Since 1960, the S&P 500 has delivered an annualized return of 10.4%. That blows away the average return of cash, bonds, and commodities.

And the longer the time frame, the greater the chances of a positive outcome. Over the past century, 94% of 10-year periods have been positive ones.

I can’t save any money. That’s a fake story, because if you have an income and you apply the 50/30/20 budgeting formula—you can certainly save money.

Many people are bitter about surging inflation. That makes sense based on the data. Since February 2020, prices in the US have increased by 21%. Not everyone’s income has gone up enough to offset this, which crimps budgets.

This partly explains why the level of credit card debt is breaking records.

If you’re feeling pressured by inflation, the answer isn’t to bury your head in the sand and pile on credit card debt. That’s a surefire way to make things worse.

A better solution is to revise your budget. I recommend following a 50/30/20 approach that allocates approximately 50% of your income to needs (essentials like housing and food), 30% to discretionary purchases (things like travel and clothes), and 20% to long-term savings for goals like retirement.

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In today’s volatile economy, it’s common for people to become disillusioned and bitter about their financial affairs. However, financial stress left unchecked can shorten and ruin your life. Don’t let short-term challenges weigh too much on your long-term wellbeing.

Take it from a woman who lived a really long, mostly happy life. Instead of becoming bitter, always strive to do better.

* Originally published by Forbes. Reprinted with permission. 

Disclosure: This material is not intended to be relied upon as a forecast, research or investment advice. The opinions expressed are as of the date indicated and may change as subsequent conditions vary. The information and opinions contained in this post are derived from proprietary and non-proprietary sources deemed by Silverlight Asset Management LLC to be reliable, are not necessarily all-inclusive and are not guaranteed as to accuracy. As such, no warranty of accuracy or reliability is given and no responsibility arising in any other way for errors and omissions (including responsibility to any person by reason of negligence) is accepted by Silverlight Asset Management LLC, its officers, employees or agents. This post may contain “forward-looking” information that is not purely historical in nature. Such information may include, among other things, projections and forecasts. There is no guarantee that any of these views will come to pass. Reliance upon information in this post is at the sole discretion of the reader.​​