People rarely buy a house without wanting to upgrade it. The author of "The Simple Path to Wealth: Your Road Map to Financial Independence and a Rich, Free Life", Mr. Collins offers easy-to-understand, effective guidance and resources to understand investing with confidence. A huge thanks for any feedback in advance. Again I think your argument is still valid, but this is a mitigating factor that should be addressed. . They are only making Collins index fund greater so that he will never have to work. Unfortunately thats not how it works. ). CONDENSE: Create a one page (maybe trifold) condensed version and give it away on Amazon or in paper version, for free. But it is only 6% of your portfolio, so no harm in holding it if you like. JL And, of course, I had no idea that he'd done that. On your Jan. 30, 2014 post, there is a place in Spain with bullfighting ring. My time horizon is about 8 10 years (Im 62). But here's the kicker. 1:11-4:20 Starting his blogging career in retirement. Firstly, I loveddd your book the simple path to wealth. Having just finished college it gave me great insight into how to handle money. Ernest Hemingway spent much time there will covering the Spanish Civil War. My income is $56k/year and that wont go up significantly unless I switch jobs. Id writing to ask if I can interview you. Ive also started my own side hustle thats a personal finance workshop. Scott. Hey Jim, as discussed on the Twitter universe, heres my email. Since you have written so much on helping people take control of their investments, I wanted to share with you a paper I have written on financial advisor disclosures. Who besides Jack Bogle? Back in the early 1990s my wife and I had both stepped away from our jobs. . JL tells the story in his new book, How I Lost Money in Real Estate Before It Was. #1 Simple Path to Wealth by JL Collins. I had a question, I am based out of Canada and planning to invest in the Canadian equivalent of VTSAX- VUN (Offered by Vanguard). Other than these 3, we have corporate bonds, whcih arent that realiable. Anyhow, I really want to go to school and the ROI for school is awesome (easily 120K+ yearly once out), but cannot afford tuition. That is 6.8 and 6.1 TWRR respectively. The rent vs buy should be looked as what minimizes a consumption expense. I will also read the topics you have mentioned. I think I mentioned a little bit earlier in our conversation that my dad had dabbled with stocks based on some tips and he got burned and that was the end of that. Then Your Money Or your Life. You talk about the different type of retirement accounts and I havent seen an article about the 457 plan. One type are regular funds and another type that track the S&P but also try to cancel the dollar to shekel rates effect (using forward contracts). Do you work with an agent or we could discuss our proposal directly with you? Thank you for considering. I think your mutual fund recommendations are great for people with limited math ability or no interest in investing, but what about you? And it's a book, by the way, that will sit on my desk going forward just as a reference, because there are a lot of things that people say, What's the Federal Reserve, JL? And I kind of blunder around trying to explain that, because I've never really thought about it. As the Indian market comes under closer scrutiny, assuming it does, I would expect indexing to begin to outperform. My Retirement plans include traveling with my Girlfriend, Fishing, Hunting and Volunteering. Dear Jim, Thanks for your efforts, really great content. But mine is an outlier position and most who recommend holding international stocks also call for holding international bonds. Thanks for the reply, I kind of guessed you would answer in this way. Thank you for stating this so simply. so i have finally decided on the two funds Mrs, Sarah Middleton; one sister, Changed my accounts to Van Guard and am ready to follow your plan, but have some questions. How I failed my daughter and a simple path to wealth, https://jlcollinsnh.com/2011/06/03/my-short-attention-span/, https://jlcollinsnh.com/2012/05/12/stocks-part-vi-portfolio-ideas-to-build-and-keep-your-wealth/, https://jlcollinsnh.com/2012/09/26/stocks-part-xi-international-funds-2/, https://jlcollinsnh.com/2012/10/01/stocks-part-xii-bonds-and-a-bit-on-reits/, http://www.caniretireyet.com/long-term-care-insurance-why-we-arent-buying-it/, https://jlcollinsnh.com/2015/06/02/stocks-part-viii-the-401k-403b-tsp-ira-roth-buckets/, https://jlcollinsnh.com/2011/06/06/why-you-need-f-you-money/, https://jlcollinsnh.com/2015/03/12/chautauqua-october-2015-times-two/, https://jlcollinsnh.com/ask-jlcollinsnh/#comment-4213814, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G._K._Chesterton, http://tenfactorialrocks.com/how-to-invest-efficiently/, https://jlcollinsnh.com/2016/08/16/what-the-naysayers-are-missing/#comment-4215699, https://jlcollinsnh.com/2016/08/16/what-the-naysayers-are-missing/, https://jlcollinsnh.com/2011/06/08/how-i-failed-my-daughter-and-a-simple-path-to-wealth/, https://www.newretirement.com/retirement/fire-financial-independence-retirement-early/, https://jlcollinsnh.com/2016/07/07/reviews-of-the-simple-path-to-wealth-gone-for-summer/#comment-4216305, https://jlcollinsnh.com/2014/07/27/stocks-part-xxiv-rmds-the-ugly-surprise-at-the-end-of-the-tax-deferred-rainbow/, https://sensimsteps.blogspot.se/2017/01/the-simple-path-to-wealth-boktips.html, http://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-way-fewer-actively-managed-funds-beat-the-sp-than-we-thought-2017-04-24, https://finance.yahoo.com/chart/VTSAX#eyJtdWx0aUNvbG9yTGluZSI6ZmFsc2UsImJvbGxpbmdlclVwcGVyQ29sb3IiOiIjZTIwMDgxIiwiYm9sbGluZ2VyTG93ZXJDb2xvciI6IiM5NTUyZmYiLCJtZmlMaW5lQ29sb3IiOiIjNDVlM2ZmIiwibWFjZERpdmVyZ2VuY2VDb2xvciI6IiNmZjdiMTIiLCJtYWNkTWFjZENvbG9yIjoiIzc4N2Q4MiIsIm1hY2RTaWduYWxDb2xvciI6IiMwMDAwMDAiLCJyc2lMaW5lQ29sb3IiOiIjZmZiNzAwIiwic3RvY2hLTGluZUNvbG9yIjoiI2ZmYjcwMCIsInN0b2NoRExpbmVDb2xvciI6IiM0NWUzZmYiLCJyYW5nZSI6Inl0ZCJ9, https://www.reddit.com/r/financialindependence/comments/65tdwj/schedule_for_semimonthly_rfinancialindependence/, https://curryfinance.com/2017/11/19/why-i-like-vanguard-balanced-fund-vwiax/, https://personal.vanguard.com/us/funds/snapshot?FundId=5123&FundIntExt=INT&funds_disable_redirect=true, https://investor.vanguard.com/mutual-funds/profile/VTSAX, https://jlcollinsnh.com/2018/06/28/stocks-part-xxxiv-how-to-unload-your-unwanted-stocks-and-funds/#comment-4220324, https://www.madfientist.com/sane-fientist-interview/, https://www.benzinga.com/investing/best-investing-books-for-beginners/, https://www.millennial-revolution.com/investworkshop/, https://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/the-hedge-fund-manager-from-the-big-short-who-predicted-mortgage-crisis-now-says-index-funds-are-next-market-bubble-it-will-be-ugly.html, https://physicianfinancebasics.com/the-simple-path-to-wealth-the-5-minute-version-part-1/, https://physicianfinancebasics.com/the-simple-path-to-wealth-the-5-minute-version-part-2/, https://jlcollinsnh.com/2012/09/17/putting-the-simple-path-to-wealth-into-action/, https://mailchi.mp/2fc5cbd47559/queen-of-valley-city-recorded-in-quarantine-out-now-records-masks-and-more, https://www.berkshirehathaway.com/2020ar/2020ar.pdf, https://www.de.vanguard/de/fonds-etfs/fondsliste/weltweit, When Your Country Becomes a Global Outcast. I am working on my emergency fund, I have about $10k in cash now in an HYSA. Thanks for your immediate reply. Happy New Year! Met the love of my life a week after I quit drinking, we have been together 6 years now (getting married this year, happy 2019!) I bought a house in Manhattan Beach, CA in 1979 for $97,000. Owned once- Its kinda like smoking- I started case eyeryone else was doing it and it looked cool- but later you cant QUIT and you know its killing you. How I learned to stop worrying about the Fiscal Cliff and you can too. I had about a years worth of wages saved up,and I figured that I could supplement that playing pool.Some nights I was winning $200.00-$300.00,tax free. And the right attitudes that you need to have to do that. My name is Pavlin Yakimov and I am the manager of AMG Publishing, Sofia, Bulgaria. Maybe you can address this feeling and how to deal with it in a blog post? I noticed you commented frequently over there and its one of my favorite blogs. I think it is great fund to choose considering the market is all time high. . I hope I can accomplish some of what you have. Actually, as we talked about earlier, Mr. Bogle brought out his first index fund the same year I started investing, but that didn't benefit me for the reasons we discussed soon enough. I routinely cruise a number of FI blogs, but havent seen anyone discussing the impacts of our current inflationary economic environment. Just in case, Ill pass your contact info on to her. I have since bought into index funds. Me and my Soldiers would really appreciate it. When did you first realize you were financially independent? I'm excited, thanks. Im not aware of any pornography stocks in VTSAX or any in general for that matter. But if it goes that far, that you cannot afford the goods which constitute a modest normal life, there might be a problem anyway. If the idea of moving to index investing makes sense to you and you are ready to make the change, that is what you should consider. He is right. Transparency is how we protect the integrity of our work and keep empowering investors to achieve their goals and dreams. $100,000 now is nowhere near $100,000 forty years ago. She was in college and interested in anything but investing. What are your thoughts on buying a fund that tracks the top 50 stocks in our little market? And any book that you would recommend as a follow up of yours? I am grateful for your teaching and writing. Its in Swedish, but Google Translate is our dear friend . . This is a great discipline, but investing needs to happen to secure your financial future. Best of luck as always, and hope you find your illusive inner-self. J L Collins The Simple Path to Wealth: Your road map to financial independence and a rich, free life Kindle Edition by JL Collins (Author), Mr. Money Mustache (Foreword) Format: Kindle Edition 8,954 ratings See all formats and editions Kindle Edition 449.00 Read with Our Free App Audiobook 0.00 Free with your Audible trial Great on Kindle Hi Jim, And, of course, I'm human. One way I personally handle this question of ethics is I invest in Vanguard Total Stock index and then I contribute to causes I think are worth and let them do the heavy lifting. However, it took years for the research to confirm this, and for it to be accepted and believed. Spend $40,000 a year x 25 = $1,000,000 to be FI/spend 4% of $1,000,000 = $40,000 to spend each year. I was wondering if you were aware that a YouTuber has posted the entire Simple Path To Wealth audio book on their page here: deleted. Amazon sets the prices and, as far as I know, there is no way to buy it in bulk at a discount. I love audio books, is your book available in audio or are there any plans for that? I hope they can learn just by reading. My (lazy but brilliant) 15 year old read it, enjoyed it, and did an English project around it. Consider it done. Society encourages it. Hi Jim, how are you? I run 27GoodThings.com, if youd ever like to be a guest sharing three good things to read, three to watch, and three to use please let me know. But not always. And dumbly, I sold it. Its not just your daughter who is benefitting from all this! I am thinking of investing the 100k in VTSMX and VGTSX at the 70% and 30% ratio. Both small cap and value stocks have periodic runs where they are in favor, but then so too do large cap and growth companies. Hi Jim, Collins: I write primarily for what's come to be known as the FIRE movement, an acronym that stands for financial independence, retire early. I don't really like the retire early part of that, because the people I know in this might quit their day job, but they go on to do other productive things. Glad you like the book and are passing it on to your kids. Would you recommend a portfolio allocation between stocks (VTSAX) and bonds (VBTLX) that considers past years performance as a variable or that would be considered as timing the market (e.g., increasing the overall percentage of bonds X/2 percentage points every year that the stock index grows X% and reset the allocation every time there is a negative annual change)? I feel like I dont have time to be conservative. Merry Christmas & Happy New Year. Now the question I have is we have around $100 k to invest in taxable account. My office is next to a big name financial advisor, and I get a little sense of pride every time I walk by and DONT go in. While I dont really follow his reasoning, and remain suspicious that like most hedge fund managers hes likely looking to flog his own financial product as a solution, I think hes worth considering given his track record. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-way-fewer-actively-managed-funds-beat-the-sp-than-we-thought-2017-04-24. Please let me know if this can be arranged. Homeownership is the American religion as James Altucher has said a number of years ago, and that's not an accident, that's by design. My father is still working and probably will not touch this until retirement, he is unsure when he will stop working. Are there any other Vanguard funds on the TSE that could suit my needs better? Were I going to hold international, Id likely hold both. They'll make a handful of people rich, and the rest suffer. Today in honor of love we opened a brokerage account at Vanguard. Adult life used to be so terrifying because I had just presumed that one had to work continuously until they were 70 in order to have a decent life. Thank you kindly for your guidance and your humor. So, as my daughter likes to tease me today, says, You know, Dad, if I'd listened to you, there'd be no blog, there'd be no blog.. Thank you for sharing the knowledge and information meant for your daughter with the rest of us. Benz: What was your career path prior to you becoming a financial blogger? If you find anything useful here, feel free to share it with your classes. I mean, its still part of India. If I were to add international, this would be the fund Id chose and with it you no longer need VTSAX/VTI. I am just getting ready to retire and roll my 401K which is already in Vanguard through my company and am considering leaving in with Vanguard and just moving everything to Vanguard Total Stock Index Fund. So now I live knowing theres a better way, and not able to pursue it. Back then, the FI lifestyle was called being a pollack. Invest in Index for accumulated growth Invest in bonds when older for less risk Haven't gotten into more trouble since either, other than just some more college DEBT. My familys escaped from Ukraine and ended up in the United States to give our family a better life. Anyone can pick up your book or John Bogles or Charley Ellis and invest their hard earned money themselves and outperform between 70-80% of the so-called professional investors. I have already maxed out my 2022 IRA contributions and have been investing my additional income with my brokerage account. I love saying that! I recently bought $30,000 worth of VTSAX using some funds I had in my savings account. We appreciate your book and thank you. VTSAX since 2000 seems to have averaged around 7.8% (maybe I got this wrong). And so, I don't think anybody would, and certainly nobody should, say I'm going to withdraw 4% or 3%, for that matter, and I'm going to just do that automatically and I'm never going to think about this again, because there is a risk inherent in it. Am I on the right path?? An entertaining investment book what a concept! It, in retrospect, was just much more effort, and it wasn't working as well as indexing would have worked for me. 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. I was hoping you could give me some guidance on how I should split the money between VTWSX, VTI, VXUS and VTETF; the funds that are available through ETRADE. Collins: For instance, probably the biggest one of those kinds of things are the target-date funds have international exposure. Thanks for passing my writings on to your sons. To my amazement, the book has sold better each year without much promotion. As with all negotiations you want to be friendly. Trying to decide if I should leave that alone or move it to VTSAX. PER YEAR $ 39,403.80 And, of course, that was salvation for my mother. Tony Vogel (https://calendly.com/na-tawakkol/15min) Please reach out to me by email if youre interested in discussing. I have a popular podcast network where we narrate the best blogs covering finance & personal development. A true Financi. In a simple, engaging way, Collins shares the basic wisdom you need to make your money work for you, not against you. Im interested to see what your thoughts on this are. There is still a $3000 initial investment, but a 0.04% expense ratio. Stocks -- Part VIII: The 401K, 403b, TSP, IRA & Roth Buckets. As someone who doesnt live in the USA, it has been sobering to watch the pandemic unfold there. I'm taking notes as you're talking and I'm happy to say that we have a couple of these folks already booked on the podcast for the coming months. "The Trinity Study and Portfolio Success Rates," by Wade Pfau, Forbes, Jan. 16, 2018. I was eight. Ptak: I wanted to shift and ask you about retirement income. No tax or penalty. Listening to your book on audio I dont know what the links are to some of the places where you reference long time data. I was 13. "StocksPart XXVII: Why I Don't Like Dollar Cost Averaging," by JL Collins, jlcollinsnh.com, Nov. 12, 2014. Author and financial blogger JL Collins brings his refreshingly unique and approachable take on investing to Google.The author of "The Simple Path to Wealth:. Jim: And I think I have a chapter in my book about them, too. That didnt help give me an edge over the Index fund over a 10 year period. in any case, im looking foward to saving my first 10,000 so i can invest it in VTSAX. I actually read the book, The Simple Path To Wealth, in April 2020. Is 90%/10% for my IRA too aggressive? Thank you. I dont want money ou attention, just spread the info in my country. Collins: Jeff, that is the post that has been the most popular in terms of views. Good morning JL, Maybe a quick autograph inside would be super cool as well, Thanks No time frame, some guests have a list created in a few days, others take a few weeks. Love the low fees and the simplicity. So we decided to find an investment advisor who could guide us against such reactionary behavior. . Theyve just guaranteed the loss. Should our investments be 50% total index equities and 50% index total bond market ? Are they better off dribbling it in over time to protect themselves against the risk of plowing a bunch of money to work into the market at precisely the wrong time? How I lost money in real estate before it was fashionable, Part IV: I become a Landlord. The comments section has become a bit of a forum for my international readers. But that was over in a month or six weeks or something. . I am diving deep and I am learning so much. Consignment Shops: Best business model ever? As I did at the end of every year, I totaled up our assets. I look forward to your announcement! Thanks for the kind words and for passing my book along. This is a tough one since you are gifting them my book. And, no, I dont believe were in a doomsday scenario. Is owning stocks (whatever they may be) of companies you dont support something you wrestle with? I have a pre-tax portfolio (1/3 wealth) and and after tax portfolio (2/3 of wealth). Can you please share details? And, if youll be a FinCon, please introduce yourself. Like we have at 43 only 2 years ago. What advice do you have for moving old employer 401ks into my IRA amid these coronavirus times? Thank you for your time and consideration. The first is: is buying stocks on sale nonsense? Im writing here not only to thank you, but to ask a question (and I couldnt find where else I could send this ) I write stories in my spare (and not so spare) time, and Ive created a character that is most definitely inspired by you and your blog. Ive subscribed. But there's some subject matter, topics that are just harder for some people to absorb than others. I put it all in VTSAX. Tara 4 Tara Newley, oldest daughter of Joan Collins Credit: Getty Born in 1963, Tara Newley is the eldest child of Joan and ex-Anthony Newley. It is in the Not Pure Enough part of this one: https://jlcollinsnh.com/2017/08/21/stocks-part-xxxi-too-hot-too-cold-not-pure-enough/. The condensed version would contain 80% of your insights, but the reader will not realize it. Ive the following question the Fed has now been increasing the interest rates (I think 9 times since 2015) and from what I understand, the goal is to slow down the economy (and hence the stock market). Is the primary negative on Berkshire Hathaway that it is a single company and therefore does not provide the diversification that an index does? And having a clear path has lifted this massive weight from my shoulders. And particularly seeing as we're probably most likely to build a house, and that's a 12-month process, so am I about to commit to a very expensive indulgence and not even have access to it for the next 12 months only to find when it's time to move in its value has been cut in half, like in '07, '08? James Madison High School Access Center. Ive been reading your site pretty intently but I have a few questions that do not seem to be addressed anywhere and I was hoping I can ask you by email. You state that the Roth is a great pool of money to give to your heirs. The blog is best known for the Stock Series. A Fortunate Son, to be sure, but hes not like most of us in America. Thanks for writing and for the article. Also I am planning to invest $30,000 every year in taxable account apart from 401k and roth (We are maximizing both of these from last year) till we achieve FI. Back in the midwest now. I am very impressed by your blog and especially your willingness to extend yourself to learners and correspondents via the comments section. Five percent, 6%, even 7% withdrawal rates were successful on many of those occasions. Thank you for sharing, teaching, and inspiring. ..glad you made your way here and very glad somebody is teaching HS kids personal finance! Hello Mr. Collins. Keep going , you will became the next Jack Bogle! 40 years old. Stocks -- Part X: What if Vanguard gets Nuked? I managed to choke out a wry laugh when he said Americans arent good at doing what theyre told. We used to get down to RI on a regular basis our daughter went to URI. I also just consolidated all my previous employer accounts into an IRA with Vanguard. As an aside, this is the first blog I came across when I started becoming financially conscious. Throwing a bunch of money into an index fund and ignoring it for years is a risky and emotionally challenging thing to try. SoThanks! I really enjoyed your book. It's not that reliable; but on average. I have two questions which I dont think you dont really address in blog posts, or only fleetingly. I hope this message finds you well. Current total break down: US equities: 90%, International 6%, Bonds: 4%. We have a high deductible health care plan where we pay $650 per month out of pocket for insurance. Luckily, I am mechanically inclined and like hobbies, so I have a ready-made excuse when I am experiencing any Spitfire downtime. Thanks so much for the information. Hello again Jim! I now, am no longer worrying about our retirement thank you sir, I bow to your wisdom. I think in the end it was a cheaper route to go but I definitely did not need to tack on the extra $10K in loans, I could've worked, I shoulda woulda coulda. Chautauqua 2014 preview, closing up for travel and other random cool things that caught my eye of late. And if you can't tolerate that, and if you're going to panic and sell, then you don't want to follow my advice because it will leave you bleeding by the side of the road. If it were me, Id simplify and put it in VTSAX. I had an old 401k through Fidelity. My eldest and I watch the F-you video clips weekly if not daily F-you money has TOTALLY changed my life! I thought Id check an old email address today. Time Machine and the future returns for stocks, Kibanda: Mr. Anti-house buys his dream house. At the very beginning of our conversation, I mentioned that I found my way wandering in the wilderness basically. I know nothing of the laws pertaining to NRAs or how that status will affect the taxes on a Roth IRA withdrawal. Ha, Ill figure it out. I have bought your book and have been investing in your style for a few years (via canIretireyet.com). Jim, Id like to invite you to a speaking engagement with a personal finance club in the greater DC area in early September. If you still decide to go the ethical investing route, you might ask for suggestions in the comments on this post: https://jlcollinsnh.com/2014/01/27/stocks-part-xxi-investing-with-vanguard-for-europeans/. Hi I am using portfolo visualizer to back test your portfolio. While Id be happy to consider a discount, unfortunately it is not my call. Is this Jim and Fritz, the comedy team I met in Taos, NM? Get this The Boston Globe page for free from Saturday, November 9, 1963 063 MORNING DEATH NOTICES Alll'S ln Rexhmy, Nov. Ti'het I . If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to let us know. Id like to take a further discussion with them. I cannot imagine doing the same to one of my patients. JL Collins on Financial Independence and The Simple Path to Wealth July 28, 2020 By writing a series of blog posts about personal finance and stock market investing intended for his daughter, JL Collins (somewhat by accident) reached an international audience of millions. You'll walk away with a practical toolkit to achieving financial freedom with minimal effort. The market did bounce back in stunningly a short period of time, which, of course, I had no idea that it was going to do and nobody else did, either. money is in an ETRADE account in the US, but being that we are in I've put it out there. Probably for the same reason I list Goa separately and Zanzibar separate from Tanzania. Joan had two children, Tara and Alexander, with her ex-husband, Alexander Newley, as well as a third child, Katyana, with her ex-husband, Ron Kass. It doesnt help that the few times my husband and I jumped into the market, we lost and lost big. It was so good I bought three paperback copies for my three daughters (24, 22, 19). I was using my student loans to essentially not work and realistically I bought more beer than I did course books and went out for fancy meals.