I can try. Firstly, worth mentioning the quote is a bit facetious, witty, jocose...Jolly old Warren Buffett can often be a bit playful and sort of sarcastic when talking about investing in public but it seems few people pick up on it.
Also maybe worth mentioning the quote is based on a well known "2 Rules" phrase format. For example:
“There are 2 rules of life. Rule number 1 is ‘Never quit.’ And rule number 2 is ‘Don’t forget rule number 1.’” - Duke Ellington
and
"There are 2 rules for success. Rule 1: Never tell everything you know. Rule 2:.. ;)"
OK with that said, I wouldn't overthink the quote. Obviously you can't really guarantee you will "never lose money" and so it's not really a rule and even Buffett loses money sometimes.
If I had to guess what he means: I would say use the quote as fun/serious reminder to think about risk ahead of reward and remember concepts like margin of safety that help protect you from loses even if a stock doesn't go up like you expect and hope.
Also maybe worth mentioning the quote is based on a well known "2 Rules" phrase format. For example:
“There are 2 rules of life. Rule number 1 is ‘Never quit.’ And rule number 2 is ‘Don’t forget rule number 1.’” - Duke Ellington
and
"There are 2 rules for success. Rule 1: Never tell everything you know. Rule 2:.. ;)"
OK with that said, I wouldn't overthink the quote. Obviously you can't really guarantee you will "never lose money" and so it's not really a rule and even Buffett loses money sometimes.
If I had to guess what he means: I would say use the quote as fun/serious reminder to think about risk ahead of reward and remember concepts like margin of safety that help protect you from loses even if a stock doesn't go up like you expect and hope.