In Millionaire Habits: How to Achieve Financial Independence, Retire Early, and Make a Difference by Focusing on Yourself First, popular personal finance educator Steve Adcock delivers a fun, insightful, and hands-on discussion of how to build financial security, retire early, and give back to the community. You’ll learn to focus on yourself and your family first, creating personal wealth for the purpose of giving back to others.
In the book, the author explains that “saving money” isn’t a goal in and of itself, but rather the end product of the personal wealth equation: Wealth = Income + Investments - Lifestyle. You’ll discover how to pay yourself first with concrete guidance and practical advice drawn from people who built wealth on modest incomes.
You’ll also find: - Strategies for maintaining your physical and financial fitness so you can maximize the value of your assets - Ways to turn your existing wealth into even more valuable investments that generate continued, passive income - Methods to help you retire early and enjoy your financial independence at a young age
Perfect for young professionals, working families, self-employed people, and anyone else seeking to increase their net worth and get more out of life, Millionaire Habits is the intuitive and engaging personal finance roadmap we’ve all been waiting for.
Table of Contents
Introduction xi
We Retired in Our 30s in an Airstream RV xiv
How To Use This Book xv
Part 1: The 10 Habits of Millionaires - the Wealth-Building Time Line 1
Habit # 1 Millionaires Say Yes 7
Am I Suggesting That You Say Yes to Every Opportunity You Get? 13
Habit # 2 Millionaires Are Selfish 15
Finances 17
The Five Pillars of Financial Selfishness 17
Health 19
Physical Health 20
Mental Health 22
Work 23
Compensation 24
Work-Life Balance 25
Recognition 27
Habit # 3 Millionaires Maximize Income 33
Switch Companies 35
Start a Side Hustle 36
Ask for a Raise 42
What about Investing? 46
Habit # 4 Millionaires Pay Themselves First 49
How Does Pay Yourself First Work? 51
When Is Pay Yourself First Not a Good Idea? 55
Habit # 5 Millionaires Automate Everything 59
What Should You Automate? 61
When Should Each Automation Happen? 62
How to Set Up Financial Automation 63
Habit # 6 Millionaires Invest (A Lot) 67
Stocks 69
Bonds 70
Index Funds 71
Targeted Retirement Funds 73
Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) 74
Mutual Funds 75
Real Estate 75
Traditional 401(k) 78
Roth IRA 80
Health Savings Accounts 80
Cryptocurrencies 81
Active vs. Passive Investing 82
The “Passive-first” Investment Strategy 83
Long-term Investing Makes Millionaires 85
Why Dollar-cost Averaging Works 86
Are Stocks Down? Don’t Panic! 87
Habit # 7 Millionaires Save for Emergencies 91
How Much Should You Save? 93
How to Set Up Your First Emergency Fund 93
Step 1: Separate It 94
Step 2: Make It a Priority 95
Step 3: Use Automation to Make It Easy 95
Where Should You Keep Your Emergency Savings 96
What Is An Emergency? 97
Habit # 8 Millionaires Create Their Own Luck 101
Our Choices Compound 103
How to Create Your Own Luck 105
Adopt a Positive Mindset 106
Take Calculated Risks 107
Be Proactive 109
Be Open-minded 110
Visualize Your Success 111
Work Hard 113
Build a high-quality Network 114
Ditch Your Comfort Zone 115
Volunteer 117
Habit # 9 Millionaires Control Their Spending 119
Your Income Doesn’t Equal Your Wealth 120
The Five-step Framework to Control Your Spending 121
Step 1: Identify All Your Expenses 121
Step 2: Decide on Expenses to Cut or Reduce 123
Step 3: Create a Spending Plan 125
Step 4: Track Your Expenses 126
Step 5: Set Financial Goals 127
The Difference between Cheap and Frugal 128
The 72-hour Rule 130
Habit # 10 Millionaires Stay Out of [Bad] Debt 133
The Two Types of Debt 134
How to Get Out of Debt 139
The Debt Avalanche Method 140
The Debt Snowball Method 142
How to Stay Out of Debt 144
Part 2: How to Fire - what Is Financial Independence Retire Early? 147
The Simple Math Behind FIRE 153
When Have You Achieved FIRE? 154
You Can Fall Out of Financial Independence 158
Health Care in Retirement 161
Healthshares 162
Traditional Health Care 164
Cobra 165
Medicaid 166
No Health Insurance 166
The Different Flavors of FIRE 169
TraditionalFIRE 169
LeanFIRE 170
FatFIRE 171
CoastFIRE 171
BaristaFIRE 172
HybridFIRE 173
Debunking the Criticisms of FIRE 175
Why You Should Never Retire Early 181
What Are You Retiring To? 183
What’s Next? 185
Bonus Chapter: Why Credit Cards Are a Gold Mine 187
Benefits of Using Credit Cards 188
How Credit Cards Get Hacked 189
How to Use Credit Cards Wisely 190
1. Use Credit Cards Only as a Convenience 190
2. Choose Credit Cards with the Best Perks 191
3. Pay Off the Card Every Month 192
Bonus Chapter: Why “Follow Your Passion” Is Bad Advice 193
Problem: It Assumes That Our Passions Never Change 194
Problem: It Makes It Seem as If Jobs Should Be Fun 194
Problem: Full-time Jobs Destroy Passions 195
Problem: Your Passions Are Not Always Your Strengths 195
Problem: You Might Not Know Your Passion 196
Bonus Chapter: How to Talk to Your Spouse about Money 199
Conclusion 203
Acknowledgments 205
About the Author 207
Index 209
