• 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
  • Length: 6 hrs and 38 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (9,174 ratings)

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The Simple Path to Wealth  By  cover art

The Simple Path to Wealth

By: JL Collins
Narrated by: JL Collins, Peter Adeney
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Publisher's summary

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
©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)

Featured Article: The 20 Best Finance Audiobooks for Amateurs and Masters Alike


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What listeners say about The Simple Path to Wealth

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Invest in Vanguard Total Stock Market Fund & HOLD!

Very down the earth and simple to follow advice for financial freedom, though I came across the same advice 20 years ago in Investing for Dummies and The Motley Fool investment guide. Buy index funds routinely, hold on to them for decades, set it and forget it, and one day you will retire rich.

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I dont leave reviews.

This book and the information in it is so powerful, I was compelled to do this. Thank you JL Collins!

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good

over all was good read. good info taught. however alot of random details thrown in for no reason. also narrator voice was fairly dull was hard to stay awake. but still would recommend

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Fantastic in every way

I have no financial background at all, but this was easy to read, entertaining, to the point, stated his assumptions, and he backed himself up by citing facts, stressed when his recommendations ran counter to the norm and explained why—-
Everything about this book makes sense, is well planned, and is really motivating. He makes his wealth program simple, straightforward, and easy to adopt- I’ve taken 2 hours in the past week and have already done about half of what I need to to get myself aligned to his recommendations.

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Straightforward and easy to understand

The author does a great job of laying out how investing and budgeting works over time. He compares different scenarios, timeframes and investment contributions to show how the same quantity of money can be invested into “different buckets” to maximize gain. Easy listen, nothing confusing.

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Financial advice could be interesting?! who knew

Loved it, will probably have to listen again!! there's so much advice and so many different ideas that I might have to take notes :)

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Simplicity at its finest

Great book and, simple to understand. I enjoyed the context and the humor was original.

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Great Book

Great book on simplifying investing in the stock market. Detailed instructions on how to invest.

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NECESSARY READING FOR HUMAN BEINGS

I’m sure I’m not the only reader who thought, “I wish I read this xx years ago!” But I now know the teacher appears when the student is ready, and I’ve proven to be a late bloomer! (I’d probably have been dangerous accumulating wealth before mature enough to handle it!)

This book is a pleasure to listen to because it makes complex subject matter easy to digest and the author has a self deprecating wit that made me feel at ease. There are no lectures to endure. Simple ideas backed up with science, personal experience, and research. We can all achieve some level of financial freedom following these teachings.

Sincere thanks for the simple guide and sharing your findings!

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Holds your interest throughout!

JL Collins lays out something I was intimidated about in a simple and easily understood, interesting manner.

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