The personal finance expert landscape is always changing and I enjoy listening to almost all of them. I am going to review, compare and contrast various financial experts. Please comment below if you have a financial expert that you would like me to review.
JL Colllins is my favorite financial expert. When I was a librarian I often recommended his books to military trying to learn more about personal finance. He has three books which I have read multiple times. In the chronological order there is the Simple Path to Wealth (TSP), How I Lost Money in Real Estate before it Was Fashionable, and Pathfinders.
TSP lays out the simplest and most powerful way of building wealth I have found. Collins is a self-defined Boglehead which I have found to be the most academic and least exploitative personal finance community. This group follows the teaching “St. John Bogle” which promotes utilizing index funds.
Collins is known as the “Grandfather of Financial Independence.” He was early on the scene of the modern day FIRE movement (Financial Indepepdence Retire Early).
One area Collins’ advice is controversial is that he prefers renting to owning a house. His second book details renting out a condominium that he calls an alligator. This is because the property ended up “eating him alive.” We recently ran a comparison between renting and buying and currently we are getting much better deal renting. Theres some great rent vs buy calculators that I recommend people utilize trying to make this decision.
Collins also popularized the idea of FU money and how when you buy investments then you are effectively buying back your life. Another idea I have revisited recently is allowing money to let you live on your own terms including taking large breaks from work.
Overall JL is my favorite financial expert. He is not a provacateour like many financial expert “influencers.” His advice is simple, thought provoking, honest, and powerful. He embraces frugality but makes it purposeful. His advice is simple but that makes it purer and easier to follow.
Millionaire Librarian 