![]() Joan Didion wrote, "We tell ourselves stories in order to live," your book reminds me of that a bit, don’t you think? We wander off the path multiple times through our careers, and that’s fine. You know, many people try all kinds of different paths. They don't all enter the workforce in their 20s, start saving like crazy, and are smart about investing from the get-go, ending up with these huge portfolios. People reach financial freedom in all kinds of different ways. One of the biggest surprises is that there is more than one path to the top of the mountain. (Photo courtesy of Jonathan Clements) Were there any surprises in the stories? "Everybody should sit down and write their financial life story:" Clements. Because if you retire with the notion that you're going to sit around all day watching the Lifetime channel and playing golf, you are destined for a miserable retirement. I would encourage anybody who's approaching retirement, or in retirement, to think about what it is that will give you that sense of purpose. We all need a reason to get out of bed in the morning. ![]() And we all need a sense of purpose in retirement. It gives retirees extra income, but also it gives them a sense of purpose. ![]() One of the great silliness out there is that I've had countless readers over the years tell me that if you’re still earning money, you aren't really retired. Working a little bit in retirement can help. What lessons can we glean from these people’s stories about how to retire in comfort? You can still retire in comfort in your 60s. One of the lessons of the book is that even if you mess up in your 20s and 30s and didn’t save as much as you should, or made foolish investment mistakes, it doesn't mean you're sunk. Eventually, they settled down, and they spent many years saving diligently and shoveling those dollars into index funds. Many of them made mistakes early in their financial lives, but eventually came to realize that they were harming their financial future by chasing the latest hot stock, or trying to guess which way the stock market is headed. A lot of them didn't start out as index fund investors. Most of the contributors are dedicated index fund investors. What are some of the other major themes in these money essays? It's much more important than being able to decipher Social Security or figure out the best credit card to use. It's much more important than being able to pick good investments. That is the most important financial skill. They've become very good at delaying gratification and living beneath their means. Story continues You are known for extolling frugality in your own financial advice, how does this play out in the book?Ī thread that runs through is that these 30 people are disciplined. I think it's entirely unfortunate, and hopefully, generations to come will be much more balanced about it. But I do think that there’s also a societal issue here, which is that for far too long, men have been in charge of financial issues in households, and women have taken the backseat. These are the readers who have followed me from the Wall Street Journal, and when I was there, it was mostly read by older white males. If your financial desires are relatively modest, you could be financially free with a relatively small portfolio. It doesn't mean that you can buy anything you want, but it does mean that you have enough money to meet your wants and needs. The message: If these everyday Americans and investors can reach financial freedom, so can you. ![]() I invited the contributors to tell their full financial story. When they write for the site, they're writing about their personal experiences such as how they've dealt with retirement, how they've dealt with down markets, how they've dealt with financial emergencies. One of the strengths of the website I run is that I have everyday Americans tell their financial stories. Edited excerpts: What inspired you to write this book?
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