A billionaire space entrepreneur has sparked fresh debate around money habits and class mobility, arguing that a simple childhood psychology experiment may explain why many people remain stuck in the middle class.
In an interview with Fortune, Dylan Taylor, founder of Voyager Technologies said that the famous “marshmallow test” remains one of the clearest indicators of future financial success, particularly a person's ability to delay gratification.
Taylor, who made his first million before turning 30, linked the decades-old behavioural experiment to modern spending patterns and wealth creation strategies.
The ‘Marshmallow Test' And Money Habits
The marshmallow test, first developed in the 1970s, presented children with a simple choice: eat one marshmallow immediately or wait and receive two later.
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According to Taylor, the same principle applies to adult financial behaviour.
“It's this deferred gratification,” Taylor told Fortune. “It's like, do you have the mental discipline to defer your gratification?”
He argued that many day-to-day money decisions mirror the same impulse-driven behaviour seen in the experiment.
‘Adult Version Of Eating The Marshmallow'
Taylor pointed to habits such as taking on car loans, financing purchases through credit cards despite not being able to afford them outright, and upgrading lifestyles too early.
“These are the adult version of eating the marshmallow,” he suggested, warning that such patterns often trap people in debt cycles and slow long-term wealth accumulation.
While Taylor acknowledged that some forms of borrowing, such as mortgages on primary homes, can help build assets over time, he criticised debt-funded spending on depreciating items.
Items like luxury cars, boats and recurring lifestyle expenses, he argued, often weaken wealth creation when pursued prematurely.
“I see a lot of those things, cars and planes and boats and all that stuff…. I support all that stuff when you can afford it, but most people lean into it before they can afford it,” Taylor said.
For Taylor, the distinction comes down to patience and financial discipline, what he describes as the adult equivalent of resisting the marshmallow until the reward becomes bigger.
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