Quit Like a Millionaire: No Gimmicks, Luck, or Trust Fund Required

When I read the review about how they are a double income no kids giving lectures about how to save money and travel the world I was convinced of not buying the book. Luckily, I was bored one day and said to myself I’ll buy the kindle version, it’s cheaper and if I don’t like it no big deal. Boy was I pleasantly surprised. First, this thing is well written and well edited unlike many of the self- published financial advice books and there are lots of these! I could spot one typographical error only and that’s it. You will find more errors in my brief review here for sure lol. Second, even if you cannot duplicate everything exactly, there are plenty of gems and plenty of interesting perspectives even on things I already knew. You can tell the authors are/were engineers because of how they analyzed things so methodically. Whereas Rich dad Poor dad would tell you buying a house is not very smart, this book explains WHY. Whereas other books talk about concepts, this one delves into details and numbers, lots of them. Heck it explains why and how all the books on getting rich are different and makes tables to further clarify it! It’s practical yet speaks of bold and intelligent concepts. How to protect yourself from the sequence of return drama, I have not read such a comprehensive plan elsewhere! They did go overboard with the chapter on raising kids but I think they somehow got mislead by their friends who contributed to those sections. They were trying to cater to audience with kids but I can see how this can/will backfire. Also, health insurance in the US was oversimplified but that’s the only way to speak about this topic as it is a monster to cover in details. Nevertheless, and despite of the exaggerations on how cheap it is to raise kids, how wonderful it is to home school them (ask parents now during COVID about what they think of home schooling!), and how you can pack up and change your location to find cheaper insurance, it is hard not learn something/a lot here. Their saving rate alone is astounding and speaks to their strength of character and humility (rare traits those days). This saving rate is perhaps the hardest thing to replicate for many people including myself and what really puts most of us to shame and triggers the harsh criticism from some. I learned a ton from this book, and on top of it I liked their sense of humor and their insight into their limits and weaknesses. I will definitely re-visit several sections overtime and I am thankful to them for sharing all of this information. A DINK or not, if you can’t see the huge value of this book, then even becoming a DINK yourself won’t help.

This, along with JL Collins’ Simple Path to Wealth, was one of the best personal finance books I’ve read to date. It is full of actionable advice to implement on your path to FI, and Kristy provides her own financial data and examples from her own FIRE trajectory for support. In those examples, she explains the math behind them in detail. The wheels in my head were turning the whole time I was reading this book, and I made sure to re-read some passages a few times to make sure the information was really processed and sinking in. I found it highly valuable. Also, what makes this a great read – all the advice and the author’s trajectory is embedded in her personal life narrative. The human element is strong in this book, but so is the math! In an ocean of overtly dry financial literature, this was such a stimulating, pleasant, inspiring and profoundly helpful read. It’s also so snarky at times, I love it (it’s so skillfully done, the author’s personality really shines through). It takes an honorary spot on my bookshelf and I’m sure I’ll return to it again on my own journey to FI.

If there is only one book you ever read on Personal Finance / Financial Independence, make it this one (especially if you're under 30). I've read dozens and this is the only one I've given my wife & two teenagers and recommend to many others. Here's why: 1) It simplifies financial planning and investing to a few key concepts (for example, "focus on financial independence rather than retirement", "your savings rate is everything", "never buy anything except index funds", "use the tax code in specific ways to keep and access more of your money sooner", "buy as little as you absolutely need early in your working life", "spend your college money and time on an education that will pay out") 2) The advice is practical and actionable - this book is an "action plan" with just enough background info to help you understand why she suggests specific actions while thankfully not dragging you through investing concept details you don't need to get a PhD in 3) It does not apologize for going against the grain and leaving out stuff that just doesn't matter (including formerly useful but now useless advice from your family and friends like "buying a house is always a good investment") 4) It deals head on with the mindset changes that have to happen to successfully move from poverty (no money) to middle class (some money, with lots of debt) to wealthy (financial independence) 5) It's a good "rags to riches" story Of course, like many things in life, it would have been great to know all this great information before I had a kids, credit card debt, and a mortgage :) However, even if that's where you find yourself, this book can still provide practical advice and hope for getting to a better place financially. Also, you don't have to do what the author does with her financial independence (travel the world, contribute time to charities, write books). Even with just a little more financial flexibility, you can spend more time with your spouse and kids, volunteer in your community, or just swing in the hammock. Whatever you do, you will likely end up being less stressed about money and, for me, that's the entire point :)

I enjoyed reading this book, although some of the information in the middle about world schoolers was unexpected. I do think this book brought up a lot of good points that I was not expecting, but will read some of the information again when I get closer to FIRE!

Plein de livres de finances personnelles nous conseillent de démarrer un business. C'est facile à dire mais pas du tout facile à mettre en oeuvre par ceux et celles qui n'ont pas la "fibre entrepreneuriale". Dans ce livre, Kristy Shen présente sa propre stratégie qui lui a permis de prendre sa retraite anticipée à 31 ans tout en voyageant autour du monde alors que son portfolio d'investissement n'a fait qu'augmenter depuis. Cette stratégie est celle de l'optimiseur, celui qui n'a pas un super revenu ni des super investissements à la Warren Buffet, mais qui a une super capacité d'épargne. Le but c'est le FIRE (Financial Independence / Retire Early ou Indépendance financière / Retraite anticipée), avec des pointeurs pour les personnes qui pour diverses raisons ne peuvent pas atteindre un FIRE complet. Cela fait un petit moment que je lis des livres portant sur les finances personnelles et l'investissement mais celui-là est le premier que je lis sur le FIRE. Ceci étant dit, je l'ai trouvé très intéressant et utile pour plusieurs raisons : * l'auteure (enfin, le couple) n'était pas une privilégiée, ayant démarré la vie dans un état de pauvreté abjecte ; elle a réussi à attendre ses objectifs financiers en prenant des décisions rationnelles et en travaillant dur ; * le livre présente des stratégies reproductibles pour sécuriser son portfolio ; si vous avez entendu parler de la règle des 4% mais que vous vous demandez comment ça marche si on veut compter sur plus de 30 années post-retraite, ou comment faire au cas où on prend sa retraite anticipée et qu'un long bear market se déclenche pile poil après, cet ouvrage propose des solutions solides ; * il y a plein de détails d'optimisation fiscale qui peuvent vous donner des idées ; certes, le livre est écrit pour un public américain ou canadien, donc les 401(k) ou les IRA ne sont pas applicables chez nous en France, mais ça vaut la peine de regarder dans ce sens là le PER français post-2019 ; l'abattement pour les dividendes et les plus values qui existe aux US n'existe pas en France, par contre il y a un abattement de 40% sur les dividendes sous certaines conditions ; à creuser ! * le FIRE a deux composants, le FI et le RE ; du coup il y a plein de moyens hybrides évoqués dans ce livre pour atteindre l'un de ces deux objectifs-là ou pour gagner plus de temps ; parce que, comme dit l'auteure, ce livre n'est pas forcément un livre portant sur l'argent, mais sur le temps (money = time, le revers de time = money). Bref, j'ai appris plein de choses et ça ma donné plein d'idées !

El libro me ha encantado, y es muy útil te da mucha información para alcanzar la independència financiera. Aunque vivo en España he empezado a ahorrar y ha invertir en fondos indexados. Se leer en inglés por que yo también fui inmigrante durante unos años.

Where to start...?! Well I am 51 and on the FI path so you may think that the messages in this book would be lost on me, after all Kirsty and Bryce retired 20 years younger than I am now. But really the messages in this book work for people at any age that are looking to obtain financial independence. Like Kirsty and Bryce, my path has been littered with challenges along the way, so its a really good read to see other people struggle and not follow the path most travelled. I first stumbled on their story when they were interviewed on the ChooseFI podcast and for me they were THE inspiration to knuckle down and get out of the rat race. What I particularly like about them is that they are open minded, that the world is their stage and they are citizens of that world far before they are citizens of Canada or Kirsty's country of birth, China. This book is packed full of practical tips and of moments of deep reflection for me. i.e. "How much money is enough to retire?" well now I really know by employing some of their tools such as the Yield Shield. I finished the book this weekend and pulled out a couple of chapters to show my wife that were areas that she was more concerned about regarding FI and it was a real 'a-ha!' moment for her also. Our discussion last night was that we will give it two more years before we FIRE and at that time we will pack everything into a couple of backpacks and follow the path laid by Kirsty and Bryce, turn our back on limited thinking and embrace all that the world has to offer. We wouldn't be doing this so soon without reading this book. Simple as that. Couple of points; - Kirsty and Bryce talk predominantly about FIRE in Canada and the US. I am in the UK so those parts didn't hold too much interest for me, but even reading about the US healthcare situation was useful as it helped us work out how we will deal with that when travelling. - Kirsty and Bryce do not have kids - so they got a couple of guest writers to fill that gap for them in how to FIRE with kids - They broke down how you could FIRE at a whole range of income streams, so if you have a passion to FIRE but not a high income level, do not despair... just read this book. Finally, I love the style of writing, far from stuffy finance and a good number of laugh out loud moments. Thanks Kirsty and Bryce, hope to bump into you somewhere round the world at some point where we can share you by the hand and thank you for helping to give us our freedom.

One of the most realistic books around F.I.R.E. out there. No gimmicks, no bs, and the storyline is very credibile. Numbers do add up. I recommend the boom.

Interessante. Uma leitura particular pois cada um irá tirar algo importante dele. Gostei.