--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Some people might say, 'Can we afford…" description: "\"Some people might say, 'Can we afford it?' I think that's asking the wrong question... We should instead be asking, 'Can we really afford not to try?'\"..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f71/andrew-lo-24910_afford_some-people-might-say-can-we-afford-it-i_3157232.png" --- # Some people might say, 'Can we afford it?' I think that's… ![“Some people might say, 'Can we afford it?' I think that's asking the wrong question... We should instead be asking, 'Can we really afford not to try?'” quote by Andrew Lo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f71/andrew-lo-24910_afford_some-people-might-say-can-we-afford-it-i_3157232.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f71/andrew-lo-24910_afford_some-people-might-say-can-we-afford-it-i_3157232.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f71/andrew-lo-24910_afford_some-people-might-say-can-we-afford-it-i_3157232.png) > “Some people might say, 'Can we afford it?' I think that's asking the wrong question... We should instead be asking, 'Can we really afford not to try?'” [Andrew Lo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lo/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Instead of focusing on cost, consider the loss of not trying; risk‑taking is essential for progress. **In simple terms:** Ask what you lose by not trying. Key Takeaway Weigh opportunity cost of inaction. Themes risk opportunity innovation Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical strategic When to use this quote - investment decisions - career moves - product development - social change Key Concepts decision theory behavioral economics Questions to Reflect On - What opportunities are you avoiding? - How do you evaluate potential loss of inaction? A Different Perspective Uncertainty may make attempts costly; not all risks pay off. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Afford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afford/) [Afford Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afford-think-1469835/) [Afford Try](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afford-try-2690816/) [Asking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asking/) [Asking Wrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asking-wrong-765149/) [I think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-think/) [Instead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instead/) [Might](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/might/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Question](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/question/) [Really](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/really/) [Say](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/say/) [Say Afford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/say-afford-243797/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Some](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/some/) [Some people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/some-people/) [Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think/) [Think Asking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-asking-930155/) [Try](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/try/) [Wrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrong/) ## Related quotes > [Pride is what you can afford or think you can afford.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fay-weldon/pride-is-what-you-can-afford-or-think-you-can-afford/) [Fay Weldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fay-weldon/) > [If you're going out for a meal with friends, and they say they can't afford to go to such and such a place, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-logan/if-you-re-going-out-for-a-meal-with-friends-and-they-say-they-can-t/) [Phyllis Logan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-logan/) > [The worst thing people ever say is that 'I can't afford to have kids!' It's selfish, and what infuriates me is when people say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamer-hassan/the-worst-thing-people-ever-say-is-that-i-can-t-afford-to-have-kids/) [Tamer Hassan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamer-hassan/) > [Never say you cannot afford something. That is a poor man's attitude. Ask HOW to afford it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/never-say-you-cannot-afford-something-that-is-a-poor-man-s-attitude/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [My accountant regularly asks to take me to lunch. I always say I can't afford it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-robinson/my-accountant-regularly-asks-to-take-me-to-lunch-i-always-say-i-can-t/) [Anne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-robinson/) > [Most filmmakers can't afford to try something out that doesn't work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-ford-coppola/most-filmmakers-can-t-afford-to-try-something-out-that-doesn-t-work/) [Francis Ford Coppola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-ford-coppola/) > [“But I can’t afford not to try. I can’t be ranked last.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/but-i-can-t-afford-not-to-try-i-can-t-be-ranked-last/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [You can't afford to think about what might have been. You just be aware of what is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noel-gallagher/you-can-t-afford-to-think-about-what-might-have-been-you-just-be/) [Noel Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noel-gallagher/) > [“I just keep wishing, I could think of a way, to show to them that they don't own me. That if I'm gonna die,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/i-just-keep-wishing-i-could-think-of-a-way-to-show-to-them-that-they/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [If you want something you can't afford, think what else that money could buy: a week's groceries, a month's rent, or a weekend away.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-kinsella/if-you-want-something-you-can-t-afford-think-what-else-that-money/) [Sophie Kinsella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-kinsella/) > [“With any new business deal, don’t think about how much you can afford to get—think about how much you can afford to give. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/with-any-new-business-deal-don-t-think-about-how-much-you-can-afford/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [Your subconscious mind does not argue with you. It accepts what your conscious mind decrees. If you say, "I can't afford it," your subconscious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-murphy/your-subconscious-mind-does-not-argue-with-you-it-accepts-what-your/) [Joseph Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-murphy/) > [The last thing we want is for radio to say that they can't afford to play our artists and turn off the pipe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-borchetta/the-last-thing-we-want-is-for-radio-to-say-that-they-can-t-afford-to/) [Scott Borchetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-borchetta/) > [There are two things losers say: 'I can't do it' and 'I can't afford it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/there-are-two-things-losers-say-i-can-t-do-it-and-i-can-t-afford-it/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [“they can’t afford it, they don’t want to say they can’t afford it—they’re too embarrassed—so they make up other excuses to cover the financial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abby-lee-miller/they-can-t-afford-it-they-don-t-want-to-say-they-can-t-afford-it-they/) [Abby Lee Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abby-lee-miller/) ## More by Andrew Lo > [Economists suffer from a deep psychological disorder that I call 'physics envy'. We wish that 99 percent of economic behavior could be captured by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lo/economists-suffer-from-a-deep-psychological-disorder-that-i-call/) [Andrew Lo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lo/) > [My mother died of lung cancer last year. I felt helpless. As an economist, I thought, 'What can I do?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lo/my-mother-died-of-lung-cancer-last-year-i-felt-helpless-as-an/) [Andrew Lo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lo/) > [Most people are overconfident about their own abilities. That is probably a good thing. But we would be horrified if a physician's aide engaged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lo/most-people-are-overconfident-about-their-own-abilities-that-is/) [Andrew Lo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lo/) > [Cancer is the great equalizer. Everyone is affected by it either themselves or through loved ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lo/cancer-is-the-great-equalizer-everyone-is-affected-by-it-either/) [Andrew Lo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lo/) > [While neurological studies have tried to identify components responsible for fear and greed, the impact on finance is less clear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lo/while-neurological-studies-have-tried-to-identify-components/) [Andrew Lo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lo/) > [Many of us like to think of financial economics as a science, but complex events like the financial crisis suggest that this conceit may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lo/many-of-us-like-to-think-of-financial-economics-as-a-science-but/) [Andrew Lo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lo/) > [Great investors need to have the right combination of intuition, business sense and investment talent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lo/great-investors-need-to-have-the-right-combination-of-intuition/) [Andrew Lo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lo/) > [During periods of extreme fear or greed, you don't have the proper balance between those two to generate market efficiency and you get extremes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lo/during-periods-of-extreme-fear-or-greed-you-don-t-have-the-proper/) [Andrew Lo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lo/) > [If you rank the top 50 one-day moves in the S&P 500, a fair number of those happened within the last five or 10…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lo/if-you-rank-the-top-50-one-day-moves-in-the-s-p-500-a-fair-number-of/) [Andrew Lo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lo/) > [Labor is getting more expensive and technology is getting cheaper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lo/labor-is-getting-more-expensive-and-technology-is-getting-cheaper/) [Andrew Lo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lo/) > [More and more investors may be coming into markets everywhere but that doesn't mean that the markets are really getting more and more efficient,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lo/more-and-more-investors-may-be-coming-into-markets-everywhere-but/) [Andrew Lo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lo/) > [Ideas percolate. Through natural selection, the best ones survive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lo/ideas-percolate-through-natural-selection-the-best-ones-survive/) [Andrew Lo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lo/) > [Financial crises are an unfortunate but necessary consequence of modern capitalism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lo/financial-crises-are-an-unfortunate-but-necessary-consequence-of/) [Andrew Lo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lo/) > [If troubled companies want to explain away 2008 as a 'black swan,' then someone should take responsibility for creating the oil slick that seems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lo/if-troubled-companies-want-to-explain-away-2008-as-a-black-swan-then/) [Andrew Lo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lo/) > [The adaptive markets hypothesis says that all economic institutions, like our own species, develop and change over time, depending on the population of investors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lo/the-adaptive-markets-hypothesis-says-that-all-economic-institutions/) [Andrew Lo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lo/) [Explore all 23 Andrew Lo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lo/) ## More Afford quotes > [We can't afford any president to fail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-beck/we-can-t-afford-any-president-to-fail/) [Glenn Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-beck/) > [Just because you can afford it doesn't mean you should buy it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suze-orman/just-because-you-can-afford-it-doesn-t-mean-you-should-buy-it/) [Suze Orman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suze-orman/) > [I am not a Ph.D. in economics or a doctorate in literature that I can afford to take my singing lightly. Even if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kailash-kher/i-am-not-a-ph-d-in-economics-or-a-doctorate-in-literature-that-i-can/) [Kailash Kher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kailash-kher/) > [Now I'm having to live with sales of around 50,000 per album - but I'm pretty content with my place in the general scheme…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-knopfler/now-i-m-having-to-live-with-sales-of-around-50-000-per-album-but-i-m/) [David Knopfler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-knopfler/) > [I was lucky because I got so successful so early, and when you get successful early, then you can afford to be a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-von-furstenberg/i-was-lucky-because-i-got-so-successful-so-early-and-when-you-get/) [Diane von Furstenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-von-furstenberg/) > [I have crooked toes from wearing boots that didn't fit me because that's all I could afford as a kid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-lomu/i-have-crooked-toes-from-wearing-boots-that-didn-t-fit-me-because/) [Jonah Lomu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-lomu/) > [The most common reason new mothers return to work sooner than they'd like to is because they can't afford to go without their salaries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexa-von-tobel/the-most-common-reason-new-mothers-return-to-work-sooner-than-they-d/) [Alexa Von Tobel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexa-von-tobel/) > [This fatigue can not afford to do](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israa-ali/this-fatigue-can-not-afford-to-do/) [ISRAA ALI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israa-ali/) > [A good player is a good player, it's just that we cannot afford signings that do not work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-dyche/a-good-player-is-a-good-player-it-s-just-that-we-cannot-afford/) [Sean Dyche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-dyche/) > [I'm not the most talented writer in the world. I know that. But I also know that I'm disciplined, that I work my butt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-b-coe/i-m-not-the-most-talented-writer-in-the-world-i-know-that-but-i-also/) [David B. Coe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-b-coe/) > [Unfortunately, some people go to a restaurant, and they aren't really there to enjoy themselves. They're there because they think they deserve to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-dinicol/unfortunately-some-people-go-to-a-restaurant-and-they-aren-t-really/) [Joe Dinicol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-dinicol/) > [Nobody has so many friends that he can afford to lose one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/nobody-has-so-many-friends-that-he-can-afford-to-lose-one/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [My earliest memories were when my mom would put me in the plays that she was in because she couldn't afford a babysitter... she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-applegate/my-earliest-memories-were-when-my-mom-would-put-me-in-the-plays-that/) [Christina Applegate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-applegate/) > [In Washington journalists can afford to live almost as well as people who work for a living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/in-washington-journalists-can-afford-to-live-almost-as-well-as-people/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [I'm a little bit tough because I can't afford to get my heart broken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandi-glanville/i-m-a-little-bit-tough-because-i-can-t-afford-to-get-my-heart-broken/) [Brandi Glanville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandi-glanville/) [Browse all 784 Afford quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afford/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Some people might say, 'Can we afford it?' I think that's asking the wrong question... We should instead be asking, 'Can we really afford not to try?'", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Andrew Lo" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lo/some-people-might-say-can-we-afford-it-i-think-that-s-asking-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Afford" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lo/some-people-might-say-can-we-afford-it-i-think-that-s-asking-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f71/andrew-lo-24910_afford_some-people-might-say-can-we-afford-it-i_3157232.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f71/andrew-lo-24910_afford_some-people-might-say-can-we-afford-it-i_3157232.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f71/andrew-lo-24910_afford_some-people-might-say-can-we-afford-it-i_3157232.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Some people might say, 'Can we afford it?' I think that's asking the wrong question... We should instead be…” — Andrew Lo", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Andrew Lo", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lo/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Some people might say, 'Can we...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lo/some-people-might-say-can-we-afford-it-i-think-that-s-asking-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lo/some-people-might-say-can-we-afford-it-i-think-that-s-asking-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```