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JL Collins •
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Is The Simple Path to Wealth outdated??!!
Salamat An original painting by Alex Ferrar On display at Sobremesa, Antigua, Guatemala Sometimes it feels like I’m blowing flower petals into the wind. Recently my pal Mindy Jensen of Bigger Pockets sent me this question that had come up in her Woman’s Finance group: I recently read the book The Simple Path to Wealth… [Continue Reading]
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Is The Simple Path to Wealth outdated??!!
Salamat An original painting by Alex Ferrar On display at Sobremesa, Antigua, Guatemala Sometimes it feels like I’m blowing flower petals into the wind. Recently my pal Mindy Jensen of Bigger Pockets sent me this question that had come up in her Woman’s Finance group: I recently read the book The Simple Path to Wealth… [Continue Reading]
Money
Inside Pathfinders’ Letter to Contributors
It is always fun to peek behind the curtain, to have backstage passes if you will, to some cool process or event. Hasan Minhaj, who wrote the foreword for Pathfinders, just arranged such passes for us at his show Off With His Head. Excited to see the show, but maybe even more excited to get… [Continue Reading]
The Book: Pathfinders
10 Reasons People Invest in Hedge Funds
For a long time now I have been skeptical of hedge funds. When the research clearly shows active managers fail to out perform broad-based index funds like VTSAX over time, how could hedge funds? Especially considering active stock funds charge expense ratios (ERs) ranging from ~.5 to 2% while hedge funds take 2%, plus 20%… [Continue Reading]
Education Guest Posts MoneyFeatured Articles
Part XXXVI: Estate Planning 101 — The Simple Path to an Estate Plan
Pull Your Head Out of the Sand By Vicki Cook and Amy Blacklock Before I sat down to write this post, I re-read The Simple Path to Wealth. This quote from JL… “As individuals we only have one obligation to society: To make sure we, and our children, are not a burden to others.” …is… [Continue Reading]
Guest Posts Stock Investing Series
Investing with Vanguard for Europeans: 2020 update
Please Note: If you are outside Europe and the US, please be sure to read thru the comments on the original of this post. They have become a valuable forum for investors from all over the world. Who knew? Certainly not I. This all started when I wrote a series of letters to my daughter… [Continue Reading]
Stock Investing Series
Part XVII-B: ETF vs. Mutual Fund — What’s the difference?
While I touched on it in Part XVII, the differences between ETFs and Mutual Funds is a recurring question here. Perhaps I should have covered it better. Let’s do that now. We’ll use VBTLX and its ETF version, BND, as examples since those were my choices in my most recent move. ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds) were… [Continue Reading]
Stock Investing Series
Stocks — Part XXXV: Investing for Seven Generations
As I have mentioned many times, we don’t discuss secret stuff at Chautauqua. There is no “special sauce” revealed for investing or life not available here on the blog or in my book. But we do kick around ideas and I sometimes explore concepts rattling around in my brain with the exceptional attendees Chautauqua always… [Continue Reading]
Stock Investing Series
Stocks–Part XXXIV: How to unload your unwanted stocks and funds
If you have come here, read thru the Stock Series and decided the simple low-cost approach described makes sense, you are now faced with the problem of how do you get from where you are to where you want to be. That is, what do you do with all the investments you already have? How, exactly, do… [Continue Reading]
Stock Investing Series
Stocks — Part XXXIII: Optimism
Ya gotta be optimistic if yer gonna be an English Major Several years ago, as an English Major myself and because I can’t draw, I put a description of the cartoon above in my “About” page and in a post or two I can’t remember just now. In it I invited “one of my talented readers”… [Continue Reading]
Stock Investing Series
Stocks — Part XXXII: Why you should not be in the stock market
A couple of weeks back my pal and fellow Chautauqua speaker Firecracker and I were talking. At one point I was sharing with her an insight I had begun to develop about myself. Namely that I simply must be fundamentally wired differently than most folks. One of the key human characteristics that research has nailed down… [Continue Reading]
Stock Investing Series
Stocks — Part XXXI: Too hot. Too cold. Not pure enough.
I write this blog for my daughter and, by extension, people like her. People who know getting investing right can make a huge, positive difference in their lives but who don’t want to obsess over it. For them I created the Stock Series and the book, The Simple Path to Wealth. But, since this is… [Continue Reading]
Stock Investing Series
Stocks — Part XXX: jlcollinsnh vs. Vanguard
It’s not often I get to be the little guy… You don’t have to read very far around here before realizing I am a huge proponent of investing with Vanguard. They are the only investment firm I recommend and, other than our bank account for paying routine bills, all of our investments are with them…. [Continue Reading]
Money Stock Investing Series
Stocks — Part XXIX: How to save money for college. Or not.
Ever since I published this post — Why I don’t like Investment Advisors — people have somehow gotten it into their heads that I don’t like investment advisors. Go figure. And ever since he first interviewed me on his podcast, Radical Personal Finance, my financial planner pal Joshua takes me to task for this. He assures me, with great… [Continue Reading]
Education Stock Investing Series
Stocks — Part VIII: The 401(k), 403(b), TSP, IRA & Roth Buckets
So far in the stock series we’ve examined the market and looked at some sample portfolios built from our two key index funds and cash. Those funds are what we call investments. But in our complex world we must next consider where to hold these investments. That is, in which bucket should which investment go?… [Continue Reading]
Stock Investing Series
Stocks — Part XXVIII: Debt – The Unacceptable Burden
A couple of years after I was out of college, I got my first credit card. They were tougher to come by in those days. Not like now when my unemployed pet poodle has his own line of credit. The first month I racked up about $300 or so. When the bill came, there was… [Continue Reading]
Education Stock Investing SeriesRecommended Resources
Chase Sapphire Preferred Review: The Best Card for Travel Rewards
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card has always been a favorite among travelers, and now it offers even more reasons to love it. The big sign-on bonus and recently introduced additional perks have elevated this card’s appeal, making it a must-have for those seeking flexible and valuable travel rewards. With the introduction of Chase Ultimate Rewards®… [Continue Reading]
Stuff I recommend
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]
Education Guest Posts Stuff I recommend
Chainsaws and Credit Cards
Post Highlights: Credit cards are powerful, dangerous tools. If you fail to understand them and use them poorly, they can become an endless source of misery and debt. Credit card variable interest rate increases are tied to the prime rate, so as the Fed raises the interest rate, the interest rate on your credit card… [Continue Reading]
business Money Stuff I recommend
The Simple Path to a Lucrative Career
It is always wise to be careful in choosing with whom you associate and do business. The older I get the more this has proven true. I’ve known Jonathan and Brad, the founders of ChooseFI, for a long time. I was one of their first podcast guests and have been honored to be invited back… [Continue Reading]
Guest Posts Stuff I recommend
Review: Empower Retirement Planner
Empower If you have come here, read through the Stock Series and decided the simple low-cost approach described makes sense, you are now faced with the problem of how do you get from where you are to where you want to be. That is, what do you do with all the investments you already have?… [Continue Reading]
Money Stuff I recommend
Tuft & Needle: A better path to sleep
About a decade ago and roughly a mile from where I lived at the time there was a mansion on a hill. As I don’t much care about mansions I don’t recall many of the details. I do remember a huge pool in the center of the house with columns running along the sides and… [Continue Reading]
Stuff I recommend
Betterment: The Alternative to DIY Investing
One of the things I’ve learned in the years I have been writing this blog is just how many people there are whose eyes begin to glaze over at the mere mention of investing. They know it is important but their mind just shuts down when the topic comes up. They have better things to… [Continue Reading]
Money Stuff I recommendPopular Articles
Stocks — Part XVII: What if you can’t buy VTSAX? Or even Vanguard?
Today we’ll explore some alternatives In Part VI of this Stock Series, and in other posts on the blog, I recommend two specific mutual funds: VTSAX (Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund) VBTLX (Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund) These are the funds I own myself. In each case they are the “Admiral Shares” version. As such… [Continue Reading]
Stock Investing Series
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]
Homeownership
Stocks — Part VI: Portfolio Ideas to Build and Keep Your Wealth
Today we’re gonna look at the fun stuff. What, exactly, can we use to build and keep our wealth. I’m going to give you three portfolios each using the tools (funds) we discussed last time. First will be exactly what I tell my 20-year-old to do. She couldn’t care less about investing. With this simple… [Continue Reading]
Stock Investing Series