In 2018, JL was invited to bring his no-nonsense financial independence wisdom to Google for their series titled “Talks at Google.” This talk has been viewed more 1.5 million times and is Google’s #1 financial-related talk. Watch it today!
Financial Independence Case Study: How to Reach FI in Your 30s
Writer. Creator. Mentor. Speaker. Intro by JL’s Team: Think you need a 6-figure income and 20 years to reach Financial Independence? As the market goes up and down (like it always does), you may be wondering how you’ll ever achieve FI with all this volatility. The answer? Your mindset, your habits, and your determination. This… [Continue Reading]
Truly Passive Real Estate Investing
The house pictured above is in Montgomery, Alabama. I have never seen this house in real life. I have never been to Montgomery, although I am sure it is lovely. The odds are good that you, too, have never been to Montgomery and have also never seen this house. Even if you have been to… [Continue Reading]
Sell! Sell!! Sell!!! Sell?
Intro by JL’s Team Is the bear market over, is it “on pause,” or is it just taking a nap before roaring back to life? Truth is, it doesn’t matter. In this post from 2017, JL addresses when is the right time to buy—and when is the right time to sell… Based on some of… [Continue Reading]
Buy Your Freedom; Rent the Rest
Both with housing and cars. Renting lets you get ahead, because you don’t need to take the financial risk to maintain a physical asset. You are also less stressed and you have more flexibility because your costs are always predictable. Stress free and predictable. That’s the key to freedom.
Case Study #14: One Woman’s Journey to Financial Independence
Cinque Terre “Impossible!” That’s one of the less ugly responses you can expect from the typical American if you are bold enough to suggest that financial independence (FI) and early retirement is a realistic goal. Push a little further and you might get a grudging: “Well maybe. If you lead a perfectly smooth life and… [Continue Reading]
Case Study #12: How to Escape a Soul-Crushing Job Before You’re 70
When Tom’s comment/question showed up February 5, 2015 in Ask jlcollinsnh it immediately captured my imagination as a potential Case Study, mostly because it offered something different. He has arrived at a crossroad. On the surface it was just a couple of simple questions. What retirement accounts to use? Can they be accessed before age 59.5?… [Continue Reading]
Financial Independence Case Study #4: Using the 4% Rule and Asset Allocations
Today’s Case Study gives us a chance to explore how to determine net worth and how to apply the 4% withdrawal rate against it. It also takes us into the arena of applied asset allocations. Since this correspondence and its questions come from somebody with a high net worth, it also gives me a chance… [Continue Reading]
Financial Independence Checklist for College Graduates (My path for my kid — the first 10 years)
Intro by JL’s Team As college seniors across the country receive their diplomas this week, we thought it would be the perfect time to resurface one of JL’s most popular posts. In this post, JL offers advice for his daughter a year before her college graduation. If you’re a graduating senior who wants the avoid… [Continue Reading]
Roots v. Wings: Considering Home Ownership
“Sold” now hangs below the real estate sign in front of our house. All the contingencies have been cleared and it should be smooth sailing until the closing date about a month from now. In the next few weeks we’ll be going thru the myriad of chores involved: Packing, finding a mover, switching services, dropping… [Continue Reading]
Social Security: How Secure and When to Take It
Cat food. It’s what’s for dinner. Back in the early 1980s I remember railing against Social Security to my mother who was on it. She’d grown up with the specter of little old ladies living on cat food. That was a real possibility when she was a girl and the elderly were the poorest group… [Continue Reading]
The Smoother Path to Wealth
Update by JL: It’s fun for me, and I hope for you too, to read these posts from a decade ago. Mostly it shows how well the principles in them stand the test of time. But some minor things change or make me reconsider. There are two in this one. First, the money market… [Continue Reading]
Case Study #I: Putting the Simple Path to Wealth into Action
Update by JL’s Team This year is the 12th anniversary of the blog, and to celebrate we’re highlighting some of the most loved posts of all time. If you’re just beginning your journey to financial independence, or if you’re 20 years in, this one is a must read. In it JL lays out the fundamentals… [Continue Reading]
Is College Worth the Cost?
my alma mater Back in the day, I put myself through the University of Illinois taking down diseased Elm Trees. I was paid $20 a day, @6 days $120 per week. I saved $100 and kept $20 for pocket money. I sponged off my parents for the summer’s room and board. Over the 12 weeks… [Continue Reading]
Rent vs Owning Your Home: Opportunity Cost and Running Some Numbers
Intro by JL’s Team If you’re wondering if renting vs owning your house is a better choice for financial independence, you’re not alone. A lot of people struggle with this choice. With current interest rates on a 30-year fixed mortgage hovering between 6–7%, it’s more critical than ever to do the math. In this post,… [Continue Reading]
How to Give Like a Billionaire: Vanguard, Tax Deductions, & Nuns
I know what you’re thinking. For sometime now you’ve been wondering what exactly Mr. and Mrs. jlcollinsnh have in common with Bill and Melinda Gates. Here it is: We both have Charitable Foundations Now you’re thinking, “I knew it! jlcollinsnh is a billionaire!” In this you’d be, sadly I must say, mistaken. More monk than… [Continue Reading]
Index Investing, A Brief History of Vanguard, and the Case for Average Returns
Over on the post Magic Beans reader Mark had this to say in the comments: “Being a Boglehead myself, I read the ERE article to see what he had to say. I had to sigh when I got to this: “Index investing is basically equivalent to a buy and hold strategy with very low turnover of a… [Continue Reading]
Dividend Growth Investing
Update by JL’s Team Fact check time: If you’re considering single stock dividend investing (against JL’s advice, of course) versus index investing, in 10 years which will provide a better return? JL first published this post in December of 2011, and we wanted to see if his advice passed the test of time. JL references… [Continue Reading]
How I Failed My Daughter and a Simple Path to Wealth
Literally since the day she was born people have been complimenting my daughter. Her looks, her brains, her charm (she takes after her mother) and her behavior. For that last one I sometimes get credit. Not that I deserve it. Mostly I’ve stood by and simply watched in awe and tried not to get in… [Continue Reading]
Why I Can’t Pick Winning Stocks, and You Can’t Either
Don’t feel bad. Most pros can’t either. Indexing vs. active management is always a fascinating debate, at least for us stock geeks with nothing better to do. Over the decades I’ve been on both sides of it at various times. For a very long time I laughed—ha, ha, ha, ha—at the indexers. I made all… [Continue Reading]
Why your house is a terrible investment
Intro by JL’s Team “Is now the time to buy a house?” As national mortgage interest rates hit +7% and housing prices fall across the country, many people are asking themselves this very question. But like the stock market, “investing” in a home isn’t a question of timing. In this post, JL highlights why… [Continue Reading]
Things important, and unimportant
Photo by Megan Ruth on Unsplash Important: Investing for the long-term. Think decades. My holding period for VTSAX is forever, other than maybe selling a few shares while living on my portfolio. I am investing for generations. Unimportant: Market Crashes. These are an expected part of the process, like blizzards in New England and hurricanes… [Continue Reading]
Develop Your Skills and Talents
By Shawn Jenkins and Jonathan Mendonsa Shawn Have you ever considered your career to be like a brokerage account for financial freedom? You want to make the most of what’s in your account—or career—but you also want to do things to grow the account. In terms of a career, that translates to increasing your income…. [Continue Reading]
When Your Country Becomes a Global Outcast
Last time I shared with you a story from my new book Pathfinders from a reader in Ukraine, Roman Koshovskyi, titled Staying the Course in War-Time. Today we hear from Artem Voronov, a reader in central Russia, on what staying the course looks like when your country has become a global outcast . Last May,… [Continue Reading]
Staying the Course in War-Time
Last May, when I announced I had inked a deal with Harriman House to publish my new book, Pathfinders, I invited those of you who had embraced The Simple Path to Wealth to share your stories. The response was amazing and, unfortunately, there were simply to many to include them all. Those that we have… [Continue Reading]
Pathfinders update from Hh
Greetings! As the holidays end and the New Year begins, we wanted to update you on everything PATHFINDERS-related. First of all, a huge THANK YOU to everyone who submitted their story last year! We were overwhelmed by the number, quality and range of entries. Which was an excellent problem to have! The next few months were spent reading… [Continue Reading]
A New Chapter for Chautauqua
Happy New Year! Chautauqua is one of my favorite things to look forward to each year. It is a life changing event for those who attend, and a constant source of new friendships and continuing time with old friends. Since the first one in Ecuador in 2013 they have brought joy to my heart. After… [Continue Reading]
Season’s Greetings!!
Before the week slips away I just wanted to take a moment to wish you and yours…. A very Merry Christmas and a Wonderful Holiday Season Here’s to a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year!
Fun with numbers: Historic Stock Market Returns
I’ve just finished writing the foreword for Akaisha & Billy Kaderli’s new upcoming book The Adventurer’s Guide to Early Retirement, A New Perspective. To help, they sent me a draft copy for review. It is a great read full of humor, wisdom and practical advice. In it they share this cool calculator… Historic Stock Market Returns …and, figuring… [Continue Reading]
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