The Simple Path to Wealth

The Simple Path to Wealth started as a series of letters JL Collins wrote to his teenage daughter about money and investing. It became a blog, then a book that is now considered the definitive guide to simple, index-fund-based investing for financial independence.

Collins' message is radically simple: invest in VTSAX (Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund), avoid debt, spend less than you earn, and wait. That is essentially the entire book. But Collins makes this simplicity compelling by explaining why complexity in investing is usually the enemy of returns, why stock-picking is a losing game for most people, and why the simplest investment strategy is also the most effective one.

The book covers the stock market's history, the case for index funds, asset allocation, withdrawal strategies, and the mechanics of financial independence. Collins writes with the warmth of a father advising his child and the conviction of someone who has lived his own advice for decades. In a world of financial complexity, this book is a glass of cold water.