The Simple Path to Wealth

The Simple Path to Wealth(welTH)

By JL Collins

Chapter I

Introduction

This book grew out of my blog, www.jlcollinsnh.com. The blog, in turn, grew out of a series of letters I had begun to write to my then teenage daughter. These letters concerned various things—mostly about moneyy and investing—she was not yet quite ready to hear.

Since money is the single most powerful tool we have for navigating this complex world we’ve created, understanding it is critical(ˈkridək(ə)l). If you choose to master it, money becomes a wonderful servant(ˈsərvənt). If you don’t, it will surely master you.

“But Dad,” my little girl once said to me, “I know money is important. I just don’t want to spend my life thinking about it.”

For me this was eye-opening. I love this stuff. But most people have better things to do with their precious(ˈpreSHəs) time than think about money. They have bridges to build, diseases to cure(kyo͝or), treaties(ˈtrēdē) to negotiate(nəˈɡōSHēˌāt), mountains to climb(klīm), technologies to create, children to teach, businesses to open and build.

Unfortunately this benign(bəˈnīn) neglect(nəˈɡlekt) of things financial leaves you open to the charlatans(ˈSHärlədən) of the financial world. The people who make investing endlessly complex, because if it can be made complex it becomes more profitable(ˈpräfədəb(ə)l) for them, more expensive for us, and we are forced into their waiting arms.

Here’s an important truth: Complex(ˌkämˈpleks) investments exist only to profit those who create and sell them. Further(ˈfərT͟Hər), not only are they more costly to the investor, they are less effective.

…
http://jlcollinsnh.com