{"product":{"product_id":"B01H97OQY2","title":"The Simple Path to Wealth: Your road map to financial independence and a rich, free life","price":"8.99","image_url":"https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41JlBCaZ6fL._SL500_.jpg","url":"https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01H97OQY2"},"comments":[{"body":"With the assumption that you don't have significant investing experience or interest in spending a lot of time on investing, I strongly suggest you read this book:  The Simple Path to Wealth: Your road map to financial independence and a rich, by JL Collins.  Link below.\r\n\r\n[Simple Path to Wealth](https://www.amazon.com/Simple-Path-Wealth-financial-independence-ebook/dp/B01H97OQY2/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1K9Q40WUGCPPT\u0026amp;keywords=simple+path+to+wealth+jl+collins\u0026amp;qid=1669743106\u0026amp;sprefix=simple+pat%2Caps%2C87\u0026amp;sr=8-1)\r\n\r\nSimply invest in an index fund and a bond fund, rebalance yearly and you are on auto pilot for life.  I've done Monte Carlo analysis on this strategy with a 4% annual rate and the outcome is a 99.5% success probability over a 60 year span.\r\n\r\nIf your interests or skill set changes over time, you can always change how you invest money.  \r\n\r\nPassive investing coupled with your very successful small business is a great strategy ... you get to focus on the thing you are best at.\r\n\r\nCongrats on your great financial success!","subreddit_name":"fatFIRE","author":"Bob_Atlanta"},{"body":"JL Collins in [The Simple Path to Wealth](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01H97OQY2) would say the addition of international exposure isn't worth the risk. I disagree with him as I feel he has an extreme home country bias philosophy. But he's also a few decades older than I am and probably wouldn't benefit from changing his plan.\r\n\r\n*I believe* investing in US only equities places me in greater risk if the US were to experience a unique regional catastrophe. I gladly accept that I'm taking on more risk investing in EX-US and willing to take lower returns for the piece of mind it gives me.\r\n\r\nFor me this is where Personal Finance is personal.","subreddit_name":"Bogleheads","author":"joe4ska"},{"body":"I was where you're at to years ago, at the age of 42! You're ahead of most. The knowledge will come. I suggest giving [The Simple Path to Wealth](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01H97OQY2) a read or listen. It will cover most of the basics. *Just keep an open mind on international index funds.*","subreddit_name":"Bogleheads","author":"joe4ska"},{"body":"I would recommend [A simple path to wealth](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01H97OQY2/) as initial reading. Also remember that at your age you need to be investing in yourself as much as in the market. Reading, education, experience and most importantly enjoy life.","subreddit_name":"stocks","author":"FahdiBo"},{"body":"Buffet started investing when he was 10 years old and he is now 90. It’s the 80 years of steady compounding growth that has made him wealthy. Since you and I are not among the world’s best stock pickers, the prudent thing to do is let the market do the pricing and invest in a total market fund like VTI (see: *[The Simple Path to Wealth](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01H97OQY2/)*).\r\n\r\nDo you know what $25,000 per year invested in the US total market at 11% average annual growth for 80 years comes to? $1.1 billion. Focus on earning and saving, use total market funds instead of stock picking, and you’ll do fine.","subreddit_name":"portfolios","author":"Kashmir79"},{"body":"In retirement some people stop investing. Some continue and want their money to grow.\r\n\r\nQuick story: my parents live in an upscale neighborhood; most houses $1M plus. Many retirees and working professionals (doctors, etc.). They had two friends in the neighborhood get into day trading. They would hear great stories about how they made $25K or $100K in a day. Wow! Then the market turned and didn't head straight up. Those friends lost so much money they had to sell and move out of the neighborhood.\r\n\r\nDay trading is gambling. I've never known anyone to make long-term wealth through day trading. I've known many people that invest for the long term in low cost index funds and get wealthier over the years.\r\n\r\nThis may be a good reason to work with a fee only advisor that is a fiduciary. Don't get into anything insurance related, stay away from annuities. You want to be in low expense ratio index funds or ETF's like VTI, VOO, etc.\r\n\r\nI'm sure your SO is touchy. They made great money doing this thing and then they didn't. They probably want to get better at it so they can make more money and help take care of the family. But day trading is not a good long-term plan. The only people that make money long-term are the people selling classes and the brokerages. It's probably exciting at times and it can also ruin families.\r\n\r\nIf you can both read this book and do what it says, your life will be much better later in life.\r\n\r\n[The Simple Path to Wealth](https://www.amazon.com/Simple-Path-Wealth-financial-independence-ebook/dp/B01H97OQY2) by JL Collins.","subreddit_name":"stocks","author":"SeanVo"},{"body":"Read this book: [The Simple Path to Wealth](https://www.amazon.com/Simple-Path-Wealth-financial-independence-ebook/dp/B01H97OQY2) and do what it says. Invest 15 to 50 percent of what you make into a low cost market index. VTI is a favorite of many (which is the Total Stock Market Index).\r\n\r\nDo this every month. Don't panic sell when the market drops. The market will drop, sometimes a lot, a few times during your investing lifetime. Those are great opportunities to buy more when stocks are on sale.\r\n\r\nSome people start with a few ETFs and keep adding more and more and eventually have 10, 20, or more ETFs. That's probably not optimal and will usually underperform owning one or two of the best long-term ETFs. Simplicity is often the best path to long term growth.\r\n\r\nYou're starting early. If you get on the right path, you will likely have a great retirement if you're diligent about it every month.","subreddit_name":"ETFs","author":"SeanVo"},{"body":"Lina\r\n\r\nIf you don't have a Roth IRA, open a Roth brokerage account one immediately with Vanguard or Fidelity. Invest $6K a year into the Roth. If you have access to a 401K or similar at work, invest as much as you can and then convert it to a backdoor Roth each year to build up that Roth as quickly as possible.\r\n\r\nHave any significant debt, credit card debt, that is above 6%? If so, pay it all off and stay away from debt.\r\n\r\nSet aside 6 months of living expenses in a money market or local bank. Invest the rest into the market. Suggest you use the ETF \"VTI,\" the Vanguard Total stock market index. You can keep it growing and growing. Avoid the temptation to sell when the market drops. That's when you want to buy more. If you would have strong feeling of regret if you invested right now and the market dropped 30%+ within months, you could spread out your investing over the next 6 months. If the market drops significantly during that time, put the remainder in.\r\n\r\nCan you use some of the money to go back to school and improve your skillset to earn more money through life?\r\n\r\nTake a year before you buy yourself anything because of your changing circumstances. It's easy to go out and buy a new car, a larger house, etc. because you have $400K or $600K sitting around. Bigger houses and nice new cars will step up your living expenses, requiring more money to keep it going. There's a reason so many sports athletes or music stars are broke later in life.\r\n\r\nRead this book; it's excellent advice: https://www.amazon.com/Simple-Path-Wealth-financial-independence-ebook/dp/B01H97OQY2/\r\n\r\nGive a portion of it away to a charity or charities you like each year. It helps separate you from the growing pull of greed and hoarding.\r\n\r\nThank God for your blessing and seek wisdom to know how to best prepare for the future.","subreddit_name":"Bogleheads","author":"SeanVo"},{"body":"I recently read and really enjoyed/agreed with [The Simple Path to Wealth](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01H97OQY2/ref=oh_aui_d_detailpage_o04_?ie=UTF8\u0026amp;psc=1)\r\n\r\nI like this one because it's entirely geared towards the long term.  No quick/easy answers or 'get rich quick!', just solid advice for investors at all ages.  And it's not selling anything - the author does (in his own admission) recommend Vanguard index funds often, but he does also tell you exactly why he likes them, that he's not getting paid for that, and what to look for in similar funds offered by other companies.","subreddit_name":"personalfinance","author":"GameHat"},{"body":"I'm presuming you're asking 'should you invest in stocks' rather than another asset class.\r\n\r\nGenerally, if you don't have time or expertise, the index fund is definitely the clear choice. \r\n\r\nhttps://www.amazon.com/Simple-Path-Wealth-financial-independence-ebook/dp/B01H97OQY2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8\u0026amp;qid=1515733476\u0026amp;sr=8-1\u0026amp;keywords=the+simple+path+to+wealth\r\n\r\nThis is a easy to read book that argues that this should by and large be your stock investing strategy for the common joe. I think his argument why is convincing too. When you buy the index fund of say US stocks, you are really investing in America's march of innovation and enterprise. Because what goes into the index and out is self-cleaning, i.e. creative destruction in a sense. So long you believe the US continues to innovate and grow then it makes absolute sense to buy the index fund without actually knowing what that value driver is, or will be 10-20 years into the future. \r\n\r\nThe S\u0026amp;P 500 grew on average 11.9%p.a. from 1975 to 2015, which counts a handful of big bad crashes. 11.9% is huge. If you are stock picking yourself I think this should be your ball-park performance index you have to beat. \r\n\r\nIn terms of experts advocating passive index investing, John Bogle and Warren Buffet are the foremost faces I can think of who advocate this, in contrast to putting your money in a professionally managed fund.\r\n\r\nIn terms of stock picking for yourself I think you should give it a good try, you sound like you already have some established skills/experience doing this but aren't sure if you want to commit fully to it. ","subreddit_name":"Trading","author":"Tofuboy123"},{"body":"https://paulmerriman.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Were-Talking-Millions.pdf is a good read. Merriman advocates DIY investing but has no problem recommending using an advisor. He emphasizes using broad market index stock funds. \r\n\r\nAs to your 6-year emergency fund  I would recommend something like the Vanguard Short-Term Investment Grade Fund Admiral Shares (VFSUX) bond fund, https://investor.vanguard.com/mutual-funds/profile/VFSUX. Six years worth is a rather large emergency fund, IMO most of that cash should be in an index fund like a total market or 500 fund.\r\n\r\nWith a little research and reading you can probably easily create a simple DIY portfolio and do great. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01H97OQY2/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8\u0026amp;btkr=1 is a great book if you really want to keep it simple.","subreddit_name":"personalfinance","author":"oledawgnew"},{"body":"[Best $10 audiobook](https://www.amazon.com/Simple-Path-Wealth-financial-independence-ebook/dp/B01H97OQY2/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8\u0026amp;qid=\u0026amp;sr=) out there.\r\n\r\nThis is the [author.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eikbQPldhPY)\r\n\r\nIt is what you need to prepare for when you finally get to your number.","subreddit_name":"teslainvestorsclub","author":"thebiglebowskiisfine"},{"body":"[The Simple Path to Wealth by JL Collins](https://smile.amazon.com/Simple-Path-Wealth-financial-independence-ebook/dp/B01H97OQY2/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8\u0026amp;qid=\u0026amp;sr=)","subreddit_name":"Adulting","author":"fdbryant3"},{"body":"Read this book https://www.amazon.com/Simple-Path-Wealth-financial-independence-ebook/dp/B01H97OQY2","subreddit_name":"financialindependence","author":"adenhaan"},{"body":"This\\^\r\n\r\n [Simple Path To Wealth](https://www.amazon.com/Simple-Path-Wealth-financial-independence-ebook/dp/B01H97OQY2/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8\u0026amp;qid=\u0026amp;sr=) by JL Collins","subreddit_name":"ThriftSavingsPlan","author":"___Ben_"}]}