Discover how financial freedom - and not fairy tales - is at the heart of your very own Happy Ever After
Did you know you can become a millionaire by saving just $7 a day and investing for 7% returns? Probably not, because financial literacy is a subject that’s overlooked by the vast majority of schools and universities, despite its importance to every single person on the planet.
Written initially for a teenage daughter and then turned into a course to train migrant workers, Happy Ever After: Financial Freedom Isn’t a Fairy Tale focuses on the fundamentals of understanding money, saving and investing, showing how the "magic" of compound investing can transform tiny initial amounts into genuine wealth. Finally, it shows readers how to achieve the "Freedom Formula" of 25x your annual spending - that can set you free.
Perfect for anyone who hopes to make their future financially brighter than their present, or help their own children avoid mistakes they made, Happy Ever After has a playful tone, featuring a spoiled princess and talking frog, hand-illustrated to help explain some of the trickier ideas that can help change your life.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements xi
Preface: Once Upon A Time . . . xiii
Introduction: Are You Happy Now? xix
Stop Believing In Fairy Tales xxi
This Isn’t A Fairy Tale, Princess! xxvi
The Chapter 1 Cheat Sheet 1
Chapter 1 The M.I.S.S.I.O.N. 3
The M.I.S.S.I.O.N. Stages 5
The ”Freedom Formula" 7
Part 1: The Freedom Formula is 25X 7
Part 2: The “X Factor” 8
Why The Freedom Formula Is So Important 9
“Out Of The Woods” 11
The Emperor’s New Money 18
The Chapter 2 Cheat Sheet 21
Money 21
Chapter 2 M for Money 22
What is money? 23
Time (and Energy) = Money 29
Working people have money but no time 30
Old people, of course, have no energy 31
The Energy Equation Following The M.I.S.S.I.O.N. 32
Your First Step Out Of The Woods 32
Are You Ready To Be Happy Ever After? 33
The Cinderella Side-Gig 38
The Chapter 3 Cheat Sheet 41
How We Learn To Make More Money 41
Chapter 3 I For Income 42
How To Make Active Income 42
Dream job? Dream on! 42
The Bad Things About Bad Jobs 46
The Side-Gig Side Bar 50
Jill Saves On The Side 54
A Second Step Out Of The Woods 56
Are You Ready To Make More Money? 57
Free Income Stuff - Side-Hustle School 60
The Age Of Dragons And Saving 62
The Chapter 4 Cheat Sheet - Saving 65
How We Save More Money 65
Chapter 4 S For Saving 67
Why do we save? 67
Become A Master Of Disaster 68
Saving For Investments 69
Saving For Freedom 73
How do we save? 75
1. The envelope method 77
2. The direct debit method 78
3. Bonuses and businesses 80
A Little Help … 83
How much should we save? 85
Trick Yourself Into Saving More 88
What are you saving for? 91
Do You Know How Saving Makes You Happy Ever After? 95
Back In The Real World …Save-tember! 97
The Wicked Witch Of The Worldwide Web 100
The Chapter 5 Cheat Sheet 103
How We Spend Less Money 103
Chapter 5 S For Spending 105
“50 - 30 - 20”: or should that be “20 - 50 - 30”? 106
The (Basic) Cost of Living 107
30% Fun? 115
Free (Cool) Movements That Discourage Spending 122
Should I Be Worried About My Spending? 125
The First Seven Cuts 127
Are You Ready To Be Happy Ever After? 132
Jack And The Giant Bean Stock 136
The Chapter 6 Cheat Sheet 139
How We Make Money Work For Us 139
Chapter 6 I For Investing 141
The Long-Term Magic of Compounding 145
R for Risk 148
R for Return 154
Risk = Return? 155
“Integrate” Your Investing With Your Life 156
S Is For Spread 166
K is for Knowledge 170
Back In The Real World: Avoiding Scams 179
Are You Ready For Happy Ever After? 183
A Tax Break 185
How To Own One Cool Cat 188
The Chapter 7 Cheat Sheet 191
How We Own This! 191
Chapter 7 Three Os For Ownership 193
Own The Process 193
What Do You Really Own? 195
The Freedom Formula 208
Back In The Real World: Climbing A Pension Mountain In Your 100-Year Life! 223
What Woods? 224
Are You Ready To Own Being Happy Ever After? 225
“Happy Ever After" 230
The Chapter 8 Cheat Sheet 233
How We Know When To Start
Being Happy Ever After 233
Chapter 8 N For Now 234
Here Be Dragons - Yes, Right Here, Right Now 235
No More Delays 238
No More Excuses 240
The End - Or The Beginning? 251
Can You Be Happy Ever After Now? 252
The M.I.S.S.I.O.N. Cheat Sheet (Again) 255
Index 257
