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

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)

Simplest and Best Book on Personal Finance

Any additional comments?

Personal Finance is often so over complicated. This is the first book I've encountered that simplifies the subject. It is easily digestible and makes a ton of sense. I wish I would have followed the principles in my twenties. Now in my early thirties, I am going to start implementing it. If you want to get out of debt and start living the life you've always wanted then pick up this book. This is the only book on personal finance I can recommend. Save 50% of your income, live below your means, invest in low cost index funds, and avoid debt. Sounds pretty easy right?

it can all be so simple

the path to wealth is so simple, and this book illustrates that. you won't find any fancy tricks here. most of this stuff you may already know. it comes down to execution and if you can't get it from this book, your cause is lost.

Practical details with no confusion

I liked the fact that he lays it all out with facts to back his insight. He also gives great steps to follow if you choose. Never thought of investing as simple until now. Thanks JL.

Overall content is good. minor bugs.

What made the experience of listening to The Simple Path to Wealth the most enjoyable?

Good book overall

What could JL Collins have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Good book overall

Which scene was your favorite?

Good book overall

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Good book overall

Any additional comments?

Only issue to this is that the chapters he reads and what shows on the app is way off. For example on the app, it shows chapter 8, however, the reader is saying its chapter 3. This here is my only concern over the book.

Solid Financial Advice

This is definitely one of a few personal financial books that I would recommend to young adults or anyone who desires financial freedom and wealth. The main reason that I purchased this book was because the author promotes the concept of F-You money. Until I saw this in Chapter 2, I thought F-You $ was my idea. I had no idea somebody else had F-You money as their financial goal.

Your future financial health is determined by everyday purchasing and savings decisions. If you understand what it is that you are trying to achieve, it is a lot easier to make the right decisions. Listening to this audio book, I have to admit, it sounds like a very long Vanguard-Bogle commercial that verges on nagging. J. L. Collins is definitely a Bogle groupie. Still, I have to agree with him, Vanguard’s VTSAX is a great fund, and we investors owe a lot to Mr. John C. Bogle.

Collins does appear to have a clear bias against investing in individual stocks. His position is so iron clad and non-negotiable that I need to say this: be more open minded. There’s room and a way to integrate quality stocks into a financial plan. I am personally glad that I purchased Microsoft, Amazon, and Apple stocks. Adding these stocks did not make my portfolio management that much more complicated, and they bolstered my rate of return. I am sorry that Collins sucks at his stock picks. Kudos to J.L. for advising investors to eschew stock options, keeping the path to wealth simple, and reminding us that anyone can be a scam victim.

Chapter 33. Mostly good advice. I am happy that your daughter had a job that earned enough money so that she could save 50% of her income and invest that towards her financial goals. But what I’ve seen is that most young adults starting out are not in the position of saving 50% of their income. When I heard that suggestion I almost stopped listening to you, because it sounded so unreasonable and perhaps unattainable. If I read this passage as a young adult with my first job, I would’ve been discouraged and closed the book. I would have thought that I’m never would be able to obtain financial independence. When I give your book as a gift I’m going to specifically address this chapter and your 50% saving rate. Saving and investing is critical, but 50% would be the ultimate goal. The goal is to get people to save and invest so the goal needs to be both challenging and attainable. Maybe add an investing/saving growth chart to this chapter? Visuals can motivate to save and eliminate frivolous expenditures. Perhaps a chart could help motivate us to be RELENTLESS savers. I easily gave up my $5- $6 coffee when I realized how much those recurring purchases were adversely impacting my financial future.

Book is solid. Acknowledgements was beautifully written and expressed.