Wealthy
“The surest path to freedom isn’t earning more—it’s needing less.”
Growing up, I didn’t learn much about money. I think that is a pretty common story, though, so I am not upset.
My adult life, on the other hand, has been a long learning experiment. I’ve been learning about money now for a long time. I finally consider myself fluent in finance.
My wife and I started out with not much at all. We were both teachers. Together, we earned enough to get by. Then, we started having kids and she went home. I wanted that. My mom was home while I was growing up. I wanted that for my kids.
Unfortunately, when she stopped teaching, our income dropped in half. I didn’t want her to go back to work, so I started working before and after school. I cleaned pools, painted, delivered pizzas and even tried roofing houses for a bit.
With all of my side jobs, I had one rule. I worked alone. This enabled me to listen to audiobooks while working. And, that is how my financial education began.
On this page, I will gather and share what I have learned over the years.
I do not think financial independence needs to be complex. I like the way J. L. Collins sums it up: Spend less than you earn. Invest the difference. Avoid debt. Stay the course.
– Dwane
Books
Before you try to invest, or earn more money, learn frugality. If you are an American, you likely think frugality is a bad word. It isn’t. Frugality is not a bad word. It comes from the Latin word fruges. It means: fruit, produce and success. Think of frugality as a superpower, not a sacrifice.
When it comes to health, you cannot outrun a bad diet. When it comes to wealth, you cannot outrun a spending habit.
Early Retirement Extreme: A Philosophical and Practical Guide to Financial Independence by Jacob Lund Fisker. Start here. This book will teach to live on less. Turns out, if you live on less, you can reach financial independence much, much sooner.
Your Money or Your Life: 9 Steps to Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence. This book will change the way the you think about money.
The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America’s Rich by Thomas Stanely and William Danko.
The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich. PG-13 for language. I honestly have lost count. I do not know how many times I hav read this book. I have implemented much of what Ferriss recommends. Using his techniques I even went and lived on a Greek island for a few months back in 2016.
Blogs and Podcasts
Mr. Money Mustache: https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/. This blog is one of the originals. Mr. Money Mustache and his followers talk a lot about the FIRE movement. FIRE stands for Financial Independence Retire Early. The old days are gone. We don’t get nice retirements unless we work for the government. Better to keep your expenses low and simply opt out of the rat race early.
Trip of a Lifestyle: https://www.tripofalifestyle.com/. Steven and Lauren opted out of the rat race early. They document their adventures now on their blog and YouTube channel.
Documentaries
Borrowed Future: How Student Loans are Killing the American Dream. Go to college if you want. Don’t borrow money to do it.
Cars
Cars are quietly destroying your chance to be financially free: https://www.tripofalifestyle.com/money/average-cars-are-money-incinerators/
I’m going to tell you something, as someone who has had lots of cars. Keep that old Toyota Camry. Keep it so so long. Don’t fall into the consumerist trap. Don’t upgrade your car. Save that money and leave the rat race that much earlier. I’m begging you to heed this warning.
Cars are not status symbols. They are metal transportation boxes. By the cheapest, most reliable one you can and drive it into the dirt.
Possessions
Possessions are problematic in the following ways and acquisition should therefore be considered carefully.
They cost money. They take up space. They require maintenance. Possessions often act as a gateway to additional or more expensive things. They can be taken away from you. They are hard to get rid of.
If you are young and starting out, pay careful attention to what the author is saying. Stay small. Stay lean. Do not get on the accumulation train. What we own ends up owning us.
For an example of how little you can live on, check out the page of Jeremy Maluf: https://jeremymaluf.com/onebag/. I only wish I had know this was possible at a younger age. I wish someone had told me. Now, I am telling you.
Investing
I am not a financial advisor, and this is not investment advice. This is simply what I have chosen to do with my own money after reading dozens of books on investing and personal finance.
Over the years, I have become convinced that investing doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, the simpler it is, the better.
Today, I use just two accounts. Most of my investing is done through M1 Finance.
I like M1 because it allows me to create my own portfolio (“pie”) and automatically invest new money according to the percentages I choose. Instead of deciding which fund to buy every month, I simply add money to the account, and M1 does the rest.
Most of my investments are index funds such as VTI and VOO, along with a handful dividend-paying companies that I intend to own for decades.
I rarely sell. My goal is simply to continue buying assets year after year. M1 removes much of the emotion from investing and makes it easy to stay consistent.
By the way, if you join M1 using this link, we both get $75: https://m1.finance/kTiNyTcLYshq
I also an E*TRADE account. I started out with E*TRADE years ago. I don’t use it much any more. Just haven’t closed the account.
If you read enough investing books, you’ll notice that many of the world’s most successful investors eventually arrive at the same conclusion: low-cost index funds are difficult to beat over long periods of time. Rather than trying to pick the next winning stock, I would rather own small pieces of thousands of successful companies around the world.
To sum it up, my investment strategy is rather boring.
- Invest every month and never sell.
- Keep expenses low (index funds like VTI)
- Ignore the news.
- Don’t panic.
- Think in decades, not days.
I have found that simple investing is much easier to stick with—and consistency is often more important than complexity.
Financial Tracking
To gain a clearer picture of where my money is actually going, I use Rocket Money.
Rocket Money securely connects to my bank accounts, credit cards, loans, and investment accounts so I can see everything in one place. Instead of logging into five or six different websites, I can quickly see my spending, account balances, recurring subscriptions, and monthly cash flow.
One feature I particularly appreciate is subscription tracking. It’s surprisingly easy to forget about recurring charges, and Rocket Money makes them easy to spot.
I don’t obsess over every dollar. My goal isn’t to create the perfect budget—it’s simply to stay aware of my finances and make intentional decisions. Rocket Money helps me do that with very little effort.
Like most financial tools, Rocket Money offers both free and premium features. The free version is enough for many people, while the premium version adds budgeting tools, bill negotiation, and other features. I use the features that fit my needs and ignore the rest.
If you’re looking for a simple way to keep an eye on your finances without maintaining complicated spreadsheets, Rocket Money is worth considering.
Credit Cards
I’ve used Capital One VentureOne Rewards credit card for decades. I like most how simple the rewards program is. Instead of trying to keep track of special promotions, I simply earn miles on my purchases and redeem them toward travel expenses.
If you decide to open a VentureOne account using my referral link, Capital One will currently award me 5,000 bonus miles after you’re approved, up to a maximum of 50,000 miles each year. It doesn’t cost you anything extra, and it helps support this website.
As with everything I recommend on this page, I only include products and services that I actually use myself. If the VentureOne card fits your needs, feel free to use the referral link below. If not, that’s perfectly fine too.
Referral Link: https://i.capitalone.com/JiQml96l3
International Transfers
When my daughter moved to England, I needed a simple and inexpensive way to send her money from the United States. After comparing several options, I settled on Wise, and it has worked very well for us.
Wise allows you to transfer money internationally at exchange rates that are generally closer to the real market rate than those offered by many banks. The fees are clearly displayed before you send the money, so there are no surprises.
Over the years, I’ve used Wise many times to send money to my daughter in England, and the transfers have been fast, reliable, and easy to set up. If you travel internationally, study abroad, or have family living overseas, I think it’s one of the most useful financial tools you can have.
Referral Link: https://wise.com/invite/dic/dwanet2. (You will get a free transfer of up to $600. It’s win-win.)
