I was struggling to come up with something new to write about when JL Collins emailed me and was like, “I have a new book out!” and I was all like, “Let me read it!” So he sent it to me and I read it and I’m here to tell you about it.
Pathfinders: Extraordinary Stories of People Like You on the Quest for Financial Independence—and How to Join Them is a chicken soup for the soul type of book of people’s stories from all over the world on how they’re doing on the path to financial independence after reading JL Collins first book, The Simple Path to Wealth.
If you’re still on your journey to retirement land and want some company, it’s a good, encouraging book to read. The contributors give examples of things you can do to save and invest, f-you money, FI money. The perspectives come from people in different countries and different ages with different incomes. Something for everyone!
The foreword is by Hassan Minhaj. Impressive. I’ve heard of him.
“Money doesn’t solve all your problems, but it sure as hell solves your money problems.”
What if you have so much money that people start asking you for some? That’s a new money problem that money can’t solve. Kind of kidding.
As a reminder, JL Collins’ Simple Path to Wealth is:
- Spend less than you earn
- Avoid debt
- Invest the difference
Easy peasy. Use VTSAX if you’re in the United States and stop thinking about it.
I’ve always thought that the hardest thing about retirement is figuring out what you want to do with your days when you don’t have to work, your big why, so it’s interesting to see what other people are doing and also the different obstacles they faced. Here are some quotes that resonated.
“Now that I’m retired, I’m blessed with the superpower of time.”
Time is the one thing you can’t make more of, so that’s a pretty gnarly superpower. I also feel like I’m blessed with the superpower of time and it’s honestly better than you think and I bet you think it’s pretty great.
“…lifestyle inflation is relatively easy to avoid if you are aware of (and control) it from the start. But for those who come to The Simple Path later in life this can be the single biggest challenge.”
Frugality is in my bones, so I never know what to tell people who sport golden handcuffs. Much like if you come to vegetarianism later in life, I salute people who came to FI late in life. It requires insisting on a different path. The book has some pretty inspiring stories. I don’t know how you do FI if you haven’t done it from the start, but it makes me happy that people do!
He goes into detail about his thoughts on housing debt, which I appreciate. I’ve never bought real estate, so I like the reminder that it’s not a terrible idea to not own your home.
“any extra spending on frivolous things was never going to move that happiness needle. Better to spend on the things that matter—time with family, freedom, and mental health.”
I too suffer from the “what if I had worked one more year” train of thought from time to time. But why? I have everything I want. Time with family. Freedom. Mental health.
Different contributors talk about different versions of FI like slow FI and coast FI. You don’t have to go all out.
“Don’t look for the needle in the haystack, just buy the haystack.”
-Jack Bogle
I found myself nodding a lot. I don’t want to pick stocks. Just let me bet on everything. I like index fund investing because it’s the only truly passive way to make money in my opinion. All the side hustles are, ya know, work.
“If you can’t beat fear, just do it scared.”
I needed to hear this because I’m taking scuba diving lessons soon and I’m scared.
When I had my first $100,000 saved I knew I’d be fine no matter what.
This hit me particularly hard. I too remember hitting $100,000 dollars for my net worth and having a mindset change. I could get fired when they realized I had no idea what I was doing and I’d probably be okay! $100,000 seemed like such an enormous amount of money, a cushion I could fall onto and not break any bones.
I loved JL Collins’ story about his first date with his wife. He told her she should be saving fifty percent of her salary and it turns out, she already was! What a cute story. How rare!
“You will have the time and money to find out what is important for you and makes you happy, and then the time and money to acquire it.”
I’m going through all my bucket list items now and doing things (like scuba) that are expensive. I have the time to do it now.
Pathfinders is an easy read. I read it in about two days, stopping occasionally to make a dress and try a sensory deprivation chamber for the first time. I wouldn’t recommend. The sensory deprivation chamber, I mean. I would recommend the book.
Big giant man hugs,
Anita
Charles Munger, Warren Buffett’s business partner, said:
“It’s a b—-, but you gotta do it,” Munger said. “I don’t care what you have to do — if it means walking everywhere and not eating anything that wasn’t purchased with a coupon, find a way to get your hands on $100,000. After that, you can ease off the gas a little bit.”
(https://moneywise.com/investing/investing-basics/charlie-munger-says-your-first-100k-is-the-most-important)
Regarding SCUBA lessons, I too was extremely nervous before taking them. Well, not nervous but rather terrified. The quote in your column “If you can’t beat fear just do it scared” was basically what I did. And what happened was exactly what Ralph Waldo Emerson suggested: “Do the thing you fear and the death of fear is certain.” I ended up loving it.
You’ll be fine, just breath…..slowly.
-Bob
Thank you for commenting! I’m taking scuba lessons in an hour or so and I’m so anxious! So terrified! I appreciate the words of encouargement.
What? Your didn’t like the sensory deprivation chamber? It had been on my list for a long time so I tried one of those Japanese style pod tanks and really liked it – later I tried one that was more of a small room and didn’t love it. I felt like the temp wasn’t as consistent in the bigger space.
I think I need a luck in the butt from JL Collins occasionally. I’m glad he is still writing and that you reviewed his book!
The one I tried was a small room. It was ninety minutes in a saline solution and you’re right, the temperature was not perfect. I didn’t like getting salt everywhere. I may have to try the Japanese style pod tanks though.
Weird! This is the place I tried, maybe next time you are traveling. It was a saline tank, but no issues of getting salt everywhere! https://www.floatseattle.com/
ThriftyAnitaGal, Might be a ‘new’ stretch for you…..
You’ve traveled; travel to some odd/cool places and report back.
Or, dig into some people who ripped us off, and so a sort of Wall Street Journal type report/story.
Personally, and maybe it’s my age, I’m worn out by self-help, get rich, work out more, have great sex books.
Thanks for the recommendation! I hear you can go to Saudi Arabia these days. That’d be different.
Great stuff, although these days I find myself more drawn to ‘post economic’ material, or reading more about meaning, work, or how to live like you are retired before you actually reach your financial number
Noted!
Hey there, this doesn’t have much to do with this post, but I wanted to let you know what I am a longtime reader of your blog (going back circa 2013! Time flies!). I started reading when I was just beginning my own FI journey out of school, and now I’ve saved and actually hit my target. I always liked your blog because we have similar demographics and experiences (I am 33 now as I just hit my number, live in Denver, also struggle with depression and making friends at this age). So it’s been nice to read your blog and see that your story is a positive one. It helps me stay hopeful when I have doubt that the FI path is possible and that I can change my life for the better.
I have one-more-year syndrome and will probably work a bit more to afford a nicer place now that Denver costs more than it used to, but I feel like I’m in a good place with my career so I view this as a positive decision. I’m trying to get on top of the depression and social isolated lingering still from the COVID-area, so I have really appreciated your blog posts on those topics. Thanks for writing all these years!
This post makes my day! I’m grinning like an idiot over here. 🙂 Thanks for sharing. And let me know if you’d like to hang out! I’m in Denver, too!
Sure, I’d love to hang out some time! I love Denver because it’s such a great place for meeting FI-oriented folks. What’s the best way for me to give you my contact information? Should I email Thepowerofthrift@gmail.com or can you see my email address from this comment?
I sent you an email! Sorry the late reply. I was in Guadeloupe on vacation. 🙂