Set for Life: An All-Out Approach to Early Financial Freedom

Middle-class America has built most of its wealth in retirement accounts and home equity simply because the decision to contribute is automatic and long term. Every paycheck, millions of Americans contribute a small amount to a 401(k) or retirement account. Every month, millions of Americans pay a small amount toward a large mortgage. This happens

Having too much cash is a drag on returns. In the long run, the cash will lose its purchasing power to inflation. Having too little can result in missed career, investing, or lifestyle opportunities. It’s a balance.

Financial freedom is achieved when cash flow that requires no work (or minimal active work) safely and consistently surpasses total lifestyle expenses.

Most folks with significant home equity built that equity by living in their home for a long time and paying down their mortgage. Likely, they plan to continue living in their home for a long time to come. Few pursue early financial freedom with a plan to buy a big, fancy home in a nice area, pay down the mortgage every month, pray the home increas

Many smart people believe that telling the world what you’re doing, spilling your secrets, sharing numbers, and telling others about your best practices is a bad plan. They believe this because they think it encourages competition and allows others to copy, mimic, and take away their patented systems. Sure, it’s possible some of the folks Jason tal

Do not save money for the sake of saving money. Save money to invest it, and generate cash flow and appreciation.

Ellie had never considered this a problem because she saves well over 50 percent of her income and accumulated a yearlong stockpile prior to taking part in the program. But Ellie’s worldview—with her low spending and sizable financial runway—is one of opportunities. The worldview of her colleagues—who live paycheck to paycheck, have less than one m

The reason these people work so hard is because they no longer need to work for money. They work to solve a problem they are passionate about, master a hobby they enjoy, or build a business empire that will last for multiple generations. Because they have total control over how they spend their time, they only participate in projects that are truly

small differences in ability can result in massive income differences.