Your road map to financial independence and a rich, free life
Ratings35
Average rating4.6
“In the dark, bewildering, trap-infested jungle of misinformation and opaque riddles that is the world of investment, JL Collins is the fatherly wizard on the side of the path, offering a simple map, warm words of encouragement and the tools to forge your way through with confidence. You'll never find a wiser advisor with a bigger heart.” -- Malachi Rempen: Filmmaker, cartoonist, author and self-described ruffian
This book grew out of a series of letters to my daughter concerning various things—mostly about money and investing—she was not yet quite ready to hear.
Since money is the single most powerful tool we have for navigating this complex world we’ve created, understanding it is critical.
“But Dad,” she once said, “I know money is important. I just don’t want to spend my life thinking about it.” This was eye-opening. I love this stuff. But most people have better things to do with their precious time. Bridges to build, diseases to cure, treaties to negotiate, mountains to climb, technologies to create, children to teach, businesses to run.
Unfortunately, benign neglect of things financial leaves you open to the charlatans of the financial world. The people who make investing endlessly complex, because if it can be made complex it becomes more profitable for them, more expensive for us, and we are forced into their waiting arms.
Here’s an important truth: Complex investments exist only to profit those who create and sell them. Not only are they more costly to the investor, they are less effective.
The simple approach I created for her and present now to you, is not only easy to understand and implement, it is more powerful than any other.
Together we’ll explore:
Debt: Why you must avoid it and what to do if you have it.
The importance of having F-you Money.
How to think about money, and the unique way understanding this is key to building your wealth.
Where traditional investing advice goes wrong and what actually works.
What the stock market really is and how it really works.
Why the stock market always goes up and why most people still lose money investing in it.
How to invest in a raging bull, or bear, market.
Specific investments to implement these strategies.
The Wealth Building and Wealth Preservation phases of your investing life and why they are not always tied to your age.
How your asset allocation is tied to those phases and how to choose it.
How to simplify the sometimes confusing world of 401(k), 403(b), TSP, IRA and Roth accounts.
TRFs (Target Retirement Funds), HSAs (Health Savings Accounts) and RMDs (Required Minimum Distributions).
What investment firm to use and why the one I recommend is so far superior to the competition.
Why you should be very cautious when engaging an investment advisor and whether you need to at all.
Why and how you can be conned, and how to avoid becoming prey.
Why I don’t recommend dollar cost averaging.
What financial independence looks like and how to have your money support you.
What the 4% rule is and how to use it to safely spend your wealth.
The truth behind Social Security.
Reviews with the most likes.
Good book. Covers a lot of solid advice and information. Very focused on Vanguard.
Very US-centric (no surprise as the author is from the USA) but still has solid base knowledge for everyone no matter where they live. Just skim/skip the parts that are country-specific and you'll have things to contemplate to how to make your financial life better.
It's rare for me to read a financial book and nod in agreement so much. Even still J.L. Collins presented a few ideas that challenged my own view on investing - which was happily unexpected. In addition to index fund investing and taking advantage of tax-free growth, two areas he mentioned stood out as things I've advised that he recommends against: dollar cost averaging and international funds. If the market grows more often than not over time, then why DCA? If international markets overwhelmingly track the US market, why invest in intl? Both good questions that i don't have great answers to. Either way, they got me thinking.
When people ask me for one book that will help them understand investing I always recommend this one. It's entertaining, written in common language and does make investing seem quite simple.