This book is great. It’s straight to the point and gives you the financial advice you need to be set for life without a bunch of extra fluff. Highly recommend. The only reason I didn’t give 5 stars is because it’s very Vanguard-centric. I’m not against Vanguard, but my job set up my 401k with Fidelity so I’ve been using them. But I might start using Vanguard too. Very useful book with simplified and fool-proof advice.
I loved the simple yet informative way he lays out information. Great for anyone wanting to get started investing but feeling overwhelmed.
This is an easy reading, great book. Ideal for new investors mostly or so I thought. It's also a great perspective for seasoned investors who have complicated their lives with researching stocks, trading options, etc. I'm looking to simplify my investing and this book showed me the way. It's a great and simple and effective perspective on saving & investing.
One of the best, most clear explanation of investing. i
Just starting to implement! Excited to see what happens! Highly recommend everyone to read this book, especially if you are just starting your investing journey!
The path is simple but not easy. Best buy I have made in years. Our financial situation is much improved. Thank you, JL
I got the Kindle version, started reading, stayed up most of the night; but not before logging back in and ordering three hardback editions for my adult children. Today I initiated a transfer of all my stock account to Vanguard with the idea of investing it almost entirely in the total stock market fund. There’s some hesitation at doing it totally and immediately. I’m heavily, percentage wise, invested in technology and though NVDA and others are included in the total fund I’m (greedily) considering continuing to carry them as individual stocks for a while in addition to Total Stock Market Fund. Double Dipping?
J.L. Collins provides clear, practical guidance on how to build wealth over time. The focus on low-cost index funds and long-term thinking is refreshing and easy to grasp, even if you’re new to investing, as I am. It’s straightforward and useful, and it's funny at times, which keeps you moving right along. It doesn't feel as if you're reading something that's good for you - but it's definitely going to help you stay the course and grow your wealth.
My husband is almost done and he’s really enjoying the book, it’s not my jam, but if you’re into this stuff, you’ll probably like it lol
I am in my mid 40s, and I am shocked by how uneducated I have been regarding finances despite working hard and saving well.The real reason I never wanted to handle this, was the amount of information I had to learn felt overwhelming. I ended up just having my husband handle all of our finances. But its not an effective way to support your spouse if you leave everything to them. He has been pushing for me to become more familiar with how finances and investments work.This book was a stunningly easy read with enough depth to help me understand the major concepts. It was very helpful to understand why Vanguard has been a path breaker. Agree.....the founder is indeed a hero.I recommend this book to all beginners....if you are 18 -- this book is for you, if you are 21 -- please get this book, and even if you are older, and you want to get started -- get this book. It is simplicity itself and i now am kicking myself for not discovering the first edition that came out 10 years ago.What has changed for me? I will be looking into index funds, expense rations and moving my money to Vanguard when applicable, and also looking into HSAs which I never understood properly until now.This is a great book to plan for retirement no matter how old you are...if you even have 5 years or 10 years left to leverage before retirement -- get this book and get going!!!
This is a great read! Everyone wants to overcomplicate wealth and claims to have a super secret system. The truth about building wealth is in this book. It really is pretty simple.
I appreciate Collins' no-nonsense writing style. This book, unlike some other, drier financial books, is a pretty easy read. Great advice, and it's prompting me to take another look at my savings rate and how I've allocated my longterm investments. If you, like me, enjoy "I Will Teach You To Be Rich" by Ramit Sethi, then I think you'll really enjoy "The Simple Path to Wealth."
There are two books that I recommend to all my friends who want to have enough money so they don't have to worry about it. First, it is a book written by a 10-year-old kid from my city: "How to turn 5 dollars weekly money into million wealth" – if you are very young, it will clearly set you up to be a millionaire. But if you are not so young and you need to change your life right now, "The Simple Path to Wealth" is like a Financial Independence Bible. First time I read it 6 years ago, and it literally changed the life of my family to an extent I cannot imagine. This new edition I bought for my daughter as a reminder of what life can be as beautiful as we are willing to.
Nothing I can say about this book that hasn't been said already. I have owned the last edition for years and I just bought 5 copies of this edition to give away. It is great for friends and family that "don't have any idea about the stock market" or "I just need someone to tell me what to do". It approaches complex topics in a way that's not intimidating...if the readers wants to get more into the weeds after reading they can but it really is all you need to know for most investors. I would say that some people may be thinking they are past this material or are "sophisticated" investors and for those people I would still encourage a read. This book has helped me explain concepts to questions or think about things from a beginner mindset even I am further down my path than a lot of my peers. It's helped me to go back to that mindset 20 plus years ago and remember how confusing or out of my hands investing seemed to be. Definitely read, gift, and explore this book with anyone you know that can benefit from it.
Let me start by saying I am not the avid reader. I wish I am, and am working towards it, but I am not there yet. However, this was one of the best books I've read in a while. He explains everything so simply, and gives real world examples and stories, which really makes it much more of an interesting read. It also gives many good points and explains why, rather than just "don't do this. It's bad." Collins instead will say "it's bad because..." I haven't read a book like this in a while. Great read.
An excellent, easy to read, well laid out “Simple Plan to Wealth.” I’ve recommended it already to a number of younger friends I care about and mentor. I wish I would have had this wisdom and plan of action 30-40 years ago. I didn’t but I can share it with those who want to live wisely with their money.
This book arrived in great condition. Definitely a great read. You will learn so much. I will be purchasing more of these to give to my younger relatives to help them on the path to financial knowledge. Very happy with this boom I normally borrow books from library but this one is worth owning so you can go back to it multiple times.
This is actually an excellent book, and it supports my own views on investment (I’ve had some good successes over the years). If you have a son or daughter who needs some help understanding how to invest money in stocks, this book is the ticket. The audio version is read by the author, and he has a wonderful voice and charismatic style. The content is serious and thoughtful, and a refreshing change from the self-congratulatory works by the professional Wall Street traders.
Been following JL Collins since inception, 2016!The # 1 Book/Blog/Podcast/Video - all things 'J.L.' to thrive, prosper, sensibly, intelligently, with wisdom, maturity, self-discipline. Financial Independence is possible for EVERYONE! His Teachings have changed lives, recreated them in countless fashions! Follow him for financial, spiritual maturity! Absorb all he shares; you'll be changed forever! His books have sold millions. Humble, humorous, chock-full of goodness. His followers offer much goodness as well! Thank you, J.L.! Happy Anniversary, New Edition! Anticipating receipt of the paperback edition on Memorial Day, Monday, May 26, 2025. 🇺🇸🪖🎖️ Purchased the original 2016 hardcover edition, which I cherish. Blessings, J.L., Family, Followers! Please share with everyone you know!
I liked the author’s podcast interview by the respected, data-driven and the whimsical Mad Fientist. I bought this book for two important reasons: it was self-published and the author’s persistent reference to Jack Bogle’s genius. I support self-published financial authors because the traditional publishers deploy editors to tweak the author’s voice, and original story, to make the final “processed” book more sellable. Instead, self-published authors do not have to satisfy shareholders or generate sales, so the author’s message about Bogle’s investment philosophy and the company he founded, Vanguard, remains organic for the readers’ best interest.This book is perfect for beginners, and some seasoned investors who are sick and tired of searching for that short-term investment miracle. Collins stuck with Bogle’s purest message from the beginning to the last word. As a Bogle devotee myself, I appreciate his courage to stand up, write a terrific book and argue effectively for the powerful and low-cost indexing strategy and against the delusional appeal of day-traders, hedge fund managers, active management strategies, timers, or individuals who claim they can successfully speculate and win big. Far too many normal investors get caught up in those phony, but exciting fantasies and lose. The new guy or gal investor gets the skills to construct a simple portfolio you understand, and then have the courage and the confidence to permanently ignore the media’s seductive financial noise machine.The Simple Path to Wealth's basic message to beginners is well-known in the Do It Yourself (DIY) and ESPECIALLY for the Youthful Financial Independence (aka FI and FIRE Financial Independence Retire Early) community.• think long-term• live below your means• plan ahead with a fully diversified portfolio (except international stocks, more on this below)• invest in Vanguards low-cost index fundsSooooo, what is not to like? I’ll admit it’s a boring plan, and not all DIYers embrace it. But I love my boring plan and it’s exactly where the power of what we can do lies—after setting up our plan, we must be patient.Collins writes much about psychology, for good reason. The power lies with us. It's not us versus the big intimidating stock market. With time and experience, we learn to be psychologically tough for long periods of time. In the movie Wizard of OZ, Glenda told Dorothy that she “always had the power to go home again?” It's the same for us investors. All of the features of constructing a balanced plan remains under our control. It fairly easy to learn. But the hard part is the unfair and counterintuitive psychology. Thinking long-term is the best antidote. Over time the growth will pay enough of a return to meet or beat the inflation rate. Meeting or beating inflation is a simple, realistic goal, and psychologically attractive. This book shows you how to like saving with minimal time and effort to discover the investing process.Patience, psychology, and philosophy are a difficult sell. Many investing aficionados are more interested in the adrenaline rush and chasing the opposite sex than building wealth over time. The market is not something to conquer or control. It is simply made up of wonderful organizations of hardworking people, called publicly traded corporations. The author explains how to harness all of that positive corporate energy, and just flow with it, whether it goes up or down, and over time it goes up. The author addressed the tough sell challenge with elegance and subtle toughness.The author discusses investment costs, taxes, tax-deferred retirement plans offered by employers, the retirement years and strategies to keep from running out of money. My favorite chapters are “Why I don’t like Investment Advisers” and “Some final thoughts about risk.” Financial advisers are an easy target with hundreds of reasons not to like. Most of us DIYers will never need a financial adviser, for two good reasons: Collins writes “Nobody cares about your money more than you do,” and “you can learn to manage your money yourself with far less cost and better results.” From my personal experience, knowing how to save investment costs alone was enough to pay cash for the Tesla Model S.On the subject of risk, my favorite part, and I quote as the author was speaking to the zombie apocalyptics among us especially the financial media: “Major Armageddon extinction events, like the asteroid that took out the dinosaurs some 65 million years ago, have happened about five times. So that’s about one every 10 million years or so. Are we really arrogant enough to think it’s going to happen in the geological eye-blink we’ll be around? That we’ll be the ones to witness it? Not likely.” Economic Armageddon ain’t going to happen either.There are a few minor omissions. The author is not well known, so he needs to talk more about himself about what he did. I felt like he had more to say as examples of his fears of risk and the mistakes he made. All ...
