The only time to buy these is on a day with no 'y' in it.

Hear the sharp and witty words of Warren Buffett: “The only time to buy these is on a day with no ‘y’ in it.” At first, the saying rings like a riddle, playful and absurd, for every day of the week carries the letter “y.” Yet in this jest lies deep wisdom: Buffett, master of patience and prudence, uses humor to warn against reckless purchases. His meaning is clear—there is never a right time to buy certain things, for their worth is illusion, and their promise is a trap.

The ancients, too, spoke often in riddles to cloak wisdom in laughter. The Oracle of Delphi, when pressed with questions of destiny, often answered in paradoxes that puzzled kings and generals until truth revealed itself in time. So it is with Buffett’s saying. Behind the jest lies a warning: beware of investments and desires that glitter with false promise. If the only safe time to buy them is on a day that does not exist, then the wise should never touch them at all. Humor here is the veil through which truth is delivered.

Consider the tale of the Tulip Mania in seventeenth-century Holland, when bulbs of a simple flower rose to absurd prices. Men bought and sold them feverishly, convinced riches would multiply without end. But the beauty was fleeting, the value illusionary. The crash that followed ruined families and shattered fortunes. If Buffett had spoken then, his counsel would have been the same: “The only time to buy these is on a day with no ‘y’ in it.” In other words—never. His jest shields a timeless warning against greed.

But Buffett’s words are not only about tulips or speculative folly; they speak to all human impulses of waste. How often do men and women buy what they do not need, chasing satisfaction that vanishes as quickly as it arrives? The saying may apply to foolish stocks, overpriced luxuries, or the temptations of vice. In every age, there are things which promise delight but deliver regret. The sage’s answer is the same—do not buy them, not today, not ever. The day without a “y” is the day when folly is wisdom, and that day shall never dawn.

There is also humility in Buffett’s jest. He does not thunder from a pulpit or scold with solemnity. Instead, he teaches as the ancients often did—with irony and laughter. The crowd laughs at the impossibility of a day without “y,” and in their laughter they remember. For wisdom that enters with a smile often lodges deeper in the heart than rebuke shouted in anger. Buffett, like a philosopher of old, knows that a jest may carry more power than a lecture.

The lesson for us is clear: examine what you pursue, what you spend upon, what you desire. Ask yourself—does this hold true worth, or is it a passing shadow? If the answer is shadow, then heed Buffett’s counsel and refuse it. Let your wealth, whether of coin or of time, be invested in what endures: knowledge, relationships, virtue, and the labors that bring true return. The path of wisdom is not in multiplying possessions, but in mastering desire.

So let Buffett’s words be carved into memory: “The only time to buy these is on a day with no ‘y’ in it.” Carry them as a shield against folly, against greed, against the whispers of false wealth. Laugh at the jest, but heed its truth. For in every age, men stumble chasing shadows, and in every age, the wise remember that some things are never worth the price. Choose instead the treasures that time cannot erode, and your wealth—whether great or small—will never be wasted.