The Simple Path to Wealth

Your roadmap to a rich, free life — in just five minutes per week.

September 1, 2026

JL famously developed The Simple Path to Wealth from a series of letters he wrote to his daughter Jessica.

Now she's carrying the torch with a companion piece, The Simple Path to Wealth Workbook, and earlier this month Jessica joined the Fit Rich Life podcast to discuss the new project and her life walking the Path—which includes an early retirement at 32 years old!

That interview will go live closer to the book's release in November, but FRL host Justin David Carl has published a newsletter reflecting on the conversation.

"Here's what makes her book so interesting to me," he writes. "JL created The Simple Path, but he spent most of his life wandering around trying to figure it out. Jessica is the one who actually walked it, start to finish, with the map in hand."

THE SIMPLE NUMBERS

A few years back, a report from Morning Consult found that half of adults age 18 to 34 were not saving for retirement at all, and that just 39% of adults who are saving began doing so in their 20s.

There is some good news for parents of daughters, according to a 2023 report from the Financial Times: Women get into the market at an average age of 32, three years earlier than their male counterparts.

Those following The Simple Path will know how important it is to start early. The magic of compounding means that $1,000 invested at 25 years old will be close to $22,000 at the traditional retirement age of 65, assuming a fairly conservative 8% annual return. The same $1,000 is worth just over $10,000 at retirement when it's invested at age 35, with 10 fewer years to compound.

Of course, we chose the round numbers above for simplicity's sake! You can model your own finances and see how your choices around saving, spending, and investing could shape your path to financial independence with ProjectionLab:

SIMPLE PATH OF THE DAY

A slice of timeless wisdom from The Simple Path to Wealth:

"He starts with the $35,000 from his grandparents and moves it immediately into VTSAX. The average market return of the past 40 years has been approximately 11.9% annually.

At that rate, his money doubles about every six years. By the time he is 62 (in 36 years), it will have doubled nearly six times over. A quick calculation shows he’ll have over $2,000,000 without adding a single penny. By the time he is 68, it will double again to about $3,900,000.

That’s the power of compounding. Did I mention he should take his grandparents to dinner?"

ASK JL

Q: Walking my dog with my nine-year-old daughter today, I tried to explain what we had set up for her and what this meant in real terms. I also tried to explain the concept of investing to her. I’m not sure I did a fantastic job. Do you have any approaches for this or helpful resources? Am I just trying to engage her at too early an age? —Tom L.

Hi Tom,

I used to think—and say—that I started way too early, pushed too hard and turned my daughter off all things financial. And she did seem to shut down when I started up on it.

At the same time, my wife would tell me she was absorbing more than she let on. To which I’d say, “If she is absorbing anything, it is more than she is letting on.”

Fast forward to two years ago, and at age 32, she left her corporate gig having achieved FI. I guess she did absorb a bit.

So, no, I don’t think you are too early. But don’t expect her to show great enthusiasm or engagement. Keep gently trying and she’ll absorb more than you think.

Also, be keenly aware she is also absorbing your behavior around money — probably more than your words.

—JL

Got a money question keeping you up at night? Reply to this email and we'll get it over to JL.

WHAT WE'RE READING

📚 This month, Ben Carlson at A Wealth of Common Sense had a look at the history and the astounding success of the 401(k), as well as how these vehicles can still be improved.

📚 In Stay Calm, David Booth — a pioneer of index investing — traces the early history of the movement and makes the case for tuning out the noise, planning for uncertainty, and staying the course.

📚 JL loved this bit in the ChooseFI newsletter: "The 90-Year Audition."

Child in a grocery store aisle looking at products — When it comes to learning the value of a dollar, start 'em early!

THE BIG QUESTION

When did you start teaching your children about investing and financial independence? How did you get them interested at a young age?

Reply to this email and we'll feature some of your responses in upcoming issues!

Last time, we asked whether there came a time in your life when renting no longer made sense—and whether reaching retirement age changed your calculus. Here are a few of your answers...

I was married before and owned a house with my husband. When we divorced we sold the house and I became a renter again. I always thought the pinnacle of adulthood was having a nice bed frame (instead of the cheap metal thing) and owning a home. This is programming I have had to unlearn.

Not owning a home in the past 10 years has meant that I've been able to accept a job where I want, without worrying about selling; leave a bad relationship without worrying about the large asset; and have fun adventures with full freedom and no constraints.

Sometimes, I feel like I should settle down and finally buy a house. Then I listen to Ramit Sethi (and yourself) who remind me that financially I am making the right decision, and I continue renting. From an emotional standpoint, it can be hard to resist, but the numbers never lie and they have always told me to keep renting. One day, I might buy, but for now I like the freedom and flexibility renting gives me. And I really like that when something goes wrong, someone else takes care of it! —Emma T.

This is a great topic! In 2020 I got divorced, moved out of my home, and began renting for the first time since college. At the time I was 62 years old. I fully intended to buy a townhome or condominium, but as prices rose and I didn’t see anything I particularly liked, I never made a purchase, and now at 68 years old I am still renting.

While I daydream about a condo or townhome, I have found living in a nice apartment to be wonderful! It’s easy to clean, and if anything at all goes wrong, I simply fill out an online maintenance request and it’s repaired immediately—even changing lightbulbs that are hard to reach! I never worry about all the things I’ve repaired or replaced in the six homes I’ve owned over the years.

I have a nice garden box outside, the neighborhood is well lit and safe to walk around in, nice stores are nearby, and I even work at a local LLBean retail store in walking distance as a retirement gig! In the six years I’ve been here, I changed units to be on the top floor. I can see the Adirondacks and watch the sunset. The biggest adjustment was that I don’t have windows on all sides of my unit.

If I were to buy anything at this point, I would find myself in the home-rich, cash-poor situation, so I much prefer to watch what’s going on in my Vanguard accounts, knowing I still have choices with it. [That portfolio] will go to my daughter after I pass, but I still have the flexibility if ever we want to buy a place together that will be hers when I’m gone. —Karen K.

Very recently I made a decision to sell a house I owned to rent. Never underestimate the hidden pop-up costs of owning a home!!! I’m NOT a handy person, so I ended up paying people to do the things: Cleaning the roof, trimming the trees, fixing the floor after a rogue flood. Appliances needed replacing, plus there were large land taxes and home insurance costs! It was never-ending, it was overwhelming.

In 2025, I met a lovely man who was 19 years my senior. We fell in love and he asked me to move in with him. I sold my home. We both wanted to travel the world. I felt like I was finally free from the constraints of marriage and the responsibilities of homeownership. I invested the money from the house, half in Vanguard funds, half in dividend ETFs. I have easily lived off of the dividends in the past year, investing the remainder, and I’ve traveled everywhere from Egypt to Antarctica. I’m now a keen student at world school! I’m FREE!

Will I be a homeowner again in the future? I may consider it. But my advice is to truly weigh out those many pop-up costs of homeownership and the stress they can cause. The freedom of renting in your retirement years, being able to move around as you please, is very empowering! —Angela P.