Millionaire Habits

Introduction xi 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