The Simple Path to Wealth

Your Road Map to Financial Independence and a Rich, Free Life

By: JL Collins

Narrated by: JL Collins, Peter Adeney

Length: 6 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

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 Four Percent 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

Download the accompanying reference guide.

©2016 JL Collins (P)2017 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"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)

One of those special ones

I cannot say I have been able to implement strategies I have learned in all the personal growth books I’ve read. This is not the case. I had already started my path to financial independence a couple of months before reading this book, but it gave my strategy the fine tuning it required. Anybody can follow these guidelines and be time rich. Love the term FU MONEY - gives me purpose!

Probably the Best, Clearest and Most Concise Book on Wealth available.

Not much more to say other than: this book is terribly valuable at any age. Whether you sold a primary residence in California and are ready to retire or are still in your 20’s and 30’s and not sure how to plan. I beg you, read this book. JL Collins is a hero.

I like short reviews

This is the best financial book I've ever read. 1. It put all my thoughts in an orderly fashion so I can gift it to others. 2. It's simple... obviously

Learning FI

I am going to recommend this book to everyone I know. It provides information I’ve been looking for for over 10 years.

Many books tell you to invest but most do a poor job explaining how to invest—this book does both well.

Listened multiple times & then bought it in print

Just straight, solid, actionable advice that lays a foundation for people (who like me feel a bit in over their head on this topic) to start making good decisions for years to come.

First Audible Book

This was the first book I've listened to on Audible and I found myself sitting in the car for 5-10 minutes after I arrived just to listen more. If one knew nothing about using low cost investing and saving for retirement this could be your road map.

Cutting through the BS

This is a very succinct book that everyone should read at the start of their carrier. It goes through the essentials of investment and provides a simple, yet efficient way to invest your money through index funds and bonds. It discusses how and what you should prioritize at different stages of your carrier and why this approach works better than most "managed" funds out there.

Vanguard’s VTSAX

Priceless strategy on how and where to invest your money in the stock market at a very low expense ratio.

Repetitive, but taught me ( a newbie in the world of investment) a lot of Important concepts

This book is one of the most easy to understand books that I have read on financing. Yes, the author mentions Vanguard index funds and bonds every 30 seconds but he gives very compelling arguments for it with data and graphs etc !

The title says it all....

Very good, well explained book on building and handling wealth.

Everything is simply put and the author makes the topic interesting. I have read a lot of financial books but this one is probably my favourite because of the simple approach.