We Retired in Our 30s in an Airstream RV xiv

How To Use This Book xv

Part 1: The 10 Habits of Millionaires—the Wealth-Building Time Line 1

Habit # 1 Millionaires Say Yes 7

Am I Suggesting That You Say Yes to Every Opportunity You Get? 13

Habit # 2 Millionaires Are Selfish 15

Finances 17

The Five Pillars of Financial Selfishness 17

Health 19

Physical Health 20

Mental Health 22

Work 23

Compensation 24

Work-Life Balance 25

Recognition 27

Habit # 3 Millionaires Maximize Income 33

Switch Companies 35

Start a Side Hustle 36

Ask for a Raise 42

What about Investing? 46

Habit # 4 Millionaires Pay Themselves First 49

How Does Pay Yourself First Work? 51

When Is Pay Yourself First Not a Good Idea? 55

Habit # 5 Millionaires Automate Everything 59

What Should You Automate? 61

When Should Each Automation Happen? 62

How to Set Up Financial Automation 63

Habit # 6 Millionaires Invest (A Lot) 67

Stocks 69

Bonds 70

Index Funds 71

Targeted Retirement Funds 73

Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) 74

Mutual Funds 75

Real Estate 75

Traditional 401(k) 78

Roth IRA 80

Health Savings Accounts 80

Cryptocurrencies 81

Active vs. Passive Investing 82

The “Passive-first” Investment Strategy 83

Long-term Investing Makes Millionaires 85

Why Dollar-cost Averaging Works 86

Are Stocks Down? Don’t Panic! 87

Habit # 7 Millionaires Save for Emergencies 91

How Much Should You Save? 93

How to Set Up Your First Emergency Fund 93

Step 1: Separate It 94

Step 2: Make It a Priority 95

Step 3: Use Automation to Make It Easy 95

Where Should You Keep Your Emergency Savings 96

What Is An Emergency? 97

Habit # 8 Millionaires Create Their Own Luck 101

Our Choices Compound 103

How to Create Your Own Luck 105

Adopt a Positive Mindset 106

Take Calculated Risks 107

Be Proactive 109

Be Open-minded 110

Visualize Your Success 111

Work Hard 113

Build a high-quality Network 114

Ditch Your Comfort Zone 115

Volunteer 117

Habit # 9 Millionaires Control Their Spending 119

Your Income Doesn’t Equal Your Wealth 120

The Five-step Framework to Control Your Spending 121

Step 1: Identify All Your Expenses 121

Step 2: Decide on Expenses to Cut or Reduce 123

Step 3: Create a Spending Plan 125

Step 4: Track Your Expenses 126

Step 5: Set Financial Goals 127

The Difference between Cheap and Frugal 128

The 72-hour Rule 130

Habit # 10 Millionaires Stay Out of [Bad] Debt 133

The Two Types of Debt 134

How to Get Out of Debt 139

The Debt Avalanche Method 140

The Debt Snowball Method 142

How to Stay Out of Debt 144

Part 2: How to Fire—what Is Financial Independence Retire Early? 147

The Simple Math Behind FIRE 153

When Have You Achieved FIRE? 154

You Can Fall Out of Financial Independence 158

Health Care in Retirement 161

Healthshares 162

Traditional Health Care 164

Cobra 165

Medicaid 166

No Health Insurance 166

The Different Flavors of FIRE 169

TraditionalFIRE 169

LeanFIRE 170

FatFIRE 171

CoastFIRE 171

BaristaFIRE 172

HybridFIRE 173

Debunking the Criticisms of FIRE 175

Why You Should Never Retire Early 181

What Are You Retiring To? 183

What’s Next? 185

Bonus Chapter: Why Credit Cards Are a Gold Mine 187

Benefits of Using Credit Cards 188

How Credit Cards Get Hacked 189

How to Use Credit Cards Wisely 190

1. Use Credit Cards Only as a Convenience 190

2. Choose Credit Cards with the Best Perks 191

3. Pay Off the Card Every Month 192

Bonus Chapter: Why “Follow Your Passion” Is Bad Advice 193

Problem: It Assumes That Our Passions Never Change 194

Problem: It Makes It Seem as If Jobs Should Be Fun 194

Problem: Full-time Jobs Destroy Passions 195

Problem: Your Passions Are Not Always Your Strengths 195

Problem: You Might Not Know Your Passion 196

Bonus Chapter: How to Talk to Your Spouse about Money 199

Conclusion 203

Acknowledgments 205

About the Author 207

Index 209