Your Money Guide on the Side

Ep 20 - JL Collins - The Simple Path to F-You Money (And Why You Need to Ask Your Boss for a Paid Leave Today)


Listen Later

Today’s guest is someone whose work has quietly and profoundly shaped how a generation thinks about money. JL Collins is the author of The Simple Path to Wealth, a personal finance classic that has empowered hundreds of thousands to think differently about investing, independence, and freedom.

In this conversation, JL and I explore the real meaning behind financial independence — not retiring early, but reclaiming your ability to say no. We go back to the moments that shaped his life philosophy: the bold four-month leave he took just two years into his first job, the decision to convince his wife to leave her job while he wasn’t earning a paycheck, and the early desire to build what he calls FU money — not to quit work, but to buy back control.

We revisit Black Monday in 1987 and how that shaped JL’s views on market volatility, risk, and emotional discipline. He shares how a humbling mistake helped hardwire the importance of staying the course, and how index investing eventually became the core of his life’s message: simplify.

We also talk about the new edition of The Simple Path to Wealth, what’s changed, what hasn’t, and how his daughter went from being the reluctant listener to co-pilot on the updated edition.

This is a conversation about money, yes — but more than that, it’s about living deliberately. JL reminds us that wealth isn’t about what we can afford — it’s about what we no longer have to worry about.

You’ll hear about:

  • How JL built his investing philosophy through trial and error
  • Why VTSAX and chill remains his core guidance
  • What it means to live in a world where, eventually, everything is "free"
  • Why simplicity is a radical act in a noisy, complex world

And why, if you get the money stuff right early, you can spend the rest of your life not thinking about it at all.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Your Money Guide on the SideBy Tyler Gardner

  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9

4.9

581 ratings


More shows like Your Money Guide on the Side

View all
Money Guy Show by Brian Preston and Bo Hanson

Money Guy Show

3,170 Listeners

Sound Retirement Radio by Jason Parker

Sound Retirement Radio

436 Listeners

Your Money, Your Wealth by Joe Anderson, CFP® & Alan Clopine, CPA of Pure Financial Advisors

Your Money, Your Wealth

778 Listeners

The Stacking Benjamins Show by StackingBenjamins.com | Cumulus Podcast Network

The Stacking Benjamins Show

1,981 Listeners

Retirement Answer Man by Roger Whitney, CFP®, CIMA®, RMA, CPWA®

Retirement Answer Man

1,290 Listeners

Retirement Starts Today by Benjamin Brandt CFP®, RICP®

Retirement Starts Today

510 Listeners

ChooseFI by ChooseFI

ChooseFI

5,088 Listeners

Stay Wealthy Retirement Podcast by Taylor Schulte, CFP®

Stay Wealthy Retirement Podcast

600 Listeners

BiggerPockets Money Podcast by BiggerPockets

BiggerPockets Money Podcast

3,054 Listeners

Retire With Purpose - The Retirement Podcast by Casey Weade

Retire With Purpose - The Retirement Podcast

560 Listeners

Ready For Retirement by James Conole, CFP®

Ready For Retirement

792 Listeners

Early Retirement - Financial Freedom (Investing, Tax Planning, Retirement Strategy, Personal Finance) by Ari Taublieb, CFP®, MBA

Early Retirement - Financial Freedom (Investing, Tax Planning, Retirement Strategy, Personal Finance)

36 Listeners

Personal Finance for Long-Term Investors - The Best Interest by Jesse Cramer

Personal Finance for Long-Term Investors - The Best Interest

113 Listeners

Retirement Planning Education, with Andy Panko by Andy Panko

Retirement Planning Education, with Andy Panko

735 Listeners

Market MakeHer Podcast by Jessica Inskip and Jessie DeNuit

Market MakeHer Podcast

157 Listeners