The Simple Path to Wealth by JL Collins
“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 JL Collins’s daughter concerning various things—mostly about money and investing—she was not yet quite ready to hear.
The simple approach he created for her and now for you is not only easy to understand and implement but also more powerful than any other.
It took very complex topics and really put them into simple terms that anyone can understand and use immediately.
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 of 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.
A Case Study on how this all can be implemented in real life.
“JL Collins has the gift of making boring financial concepts funny and interesting.”
“Instead of esoteric equations about measuring a stock's alpha and comparing it to its beta, he lights up the campfire and starts telling stories.”
I loved this book and have benefited from it for many years now. Enjoy the read and the journey!
