The Simple Path to Wealth

Being independently wealthy is every bit as much about limiting needs as it is about how much money you have. It has less to do with how much you earn—high-income earners often go broke while low-income earners get there—than what you value. Money can buy many things, none of which is more important than your financial independence.

Here’s a fun fact: An income of $35,000 puts you in the top .81% of world incomes. Congratulations 1%’er! Want to know where your income puts you? Check it out here: www.globalrichlist.com

Here’s what, in order, you have to ask yourself: When do I need the money? If you genuinely need the money right now, nothing else matters. But each month you delay, your monthly check gets bigger. Do you think Social Security will collapse and stop paying?

“You know, if you could learn to cater to the king, you wouldn’t have to live on rice and beans.” To which the monk replies: “If you could learn to live on rice and beans, you wouldn’t have to cater to the king.”

Life choices are not always about the money, but you should always be clear about the financial impact of the choices you make.

This means you must recognize the counterproductive psychology that causes bad investment decisions—such as panic selling—and correct it in yourself. In doing so, your investments will be far simpler and your results far stronger. To start you need to understand a few things about the stock market: 1. Market crashes are to be expected.

Spend less than you earn—invest the surplus—avoid debt

Spend less than you earn—invest the surplus—avoid debt.

In the Berkshire Hathaway 2013 annual shareholder letter Buffett writes: “My advice … could not be more simple: Put 10% of the cash in short-term government bonds and 90% in a very low-cost S&P 500 index fund. (I suggest Vanguard’s.) I believe the trust’s long-term results from this policy will be superior to those attained

Go here: http://ssa.gov/myaccount/. This is the Social Security website and, once you create an account for yourself, you’ll be able to track where you stand. You’ll also be able to check and make sure that the record of your earnings is accurate. This is very important as the size of your checks will be in part determined by how much you earned ov