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The money advice I wish someone gave me at 17
Published 3 days ago • 5 min read
I wrote this letter for my almost 17 and 18-year-old daughters, but this could be helpful to any young person. Feel free to forward it to them...
I want to share something with you that I wish someone had told me when I was your age. It’s about money—but not in a boring way. This is about your freedom.
The most valuable thing money can buy isn’t stuff—it’s time. The ability to do what you want, when you want. That’s real wealth. Some people even call it “F-You Money.” It means you’re in charge of your life.
Getting there is very simple, but not always easy. Start early, underspend your income, invest consistently, and let time do the work. That’s it.
If you invest just $1,000 a year from age 20 to 30—then stop—you could end up with more money than someone who starts at 30 and invests every year until they’re 65. You invest less, but end up with more. Why? Compound interest. It’s like planting a tree—the earlier you plant it, the bigger it grows and the more shade you get later. (source)
It’s a single investment that gives you tiny pieces of over 3,500 publicly traded companies in the U.S.—Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, all of them. When companies fail, they are automatically removed. When new ones succeed, they add them. You don’t have to lift a finger because it's self-cleaning.
Back in the day, a company called Sears was the Amazon of its time. They were so successful mailing people products from their catalog that they built the world's tallest building in 1973—the Sears Tower.
Now, it's called the Willis Tower.
But they got comfortable, didn’t adapt, and eventually went bankrupt in 2018. If you’d owned only Sears, you’d have lost everything. But VTI would’ve quietly sold it and bought more of the companies taking over, like Walmart and Amazon.
And VTI costs almost nothing—just 30 cents a year for every $1,000 you invest. And you get millions of people at thousands of companies working all day, every day, to make you richer.
If you want to go even bigger than VTI, there’s another option called VT. It lets you own not just U.S. companies, but every publicly traded company in the world—almost 10,000! Right now, about 62% of it is U.S. companies, but that mix can shift over time as other countries and economies grow.
VT's current market exposure
Like VTI, VT also cleans and updates itself automatically. As new global companies rise and older ones fade, VT quietly adjusts your investments, so you’re always holding the world’s strongest businesses without doing a thing.
Here’s the minimum you have to do: Live on 90 cents of every dollar that comes your way, and invest the other 10. Get $100? Invest $10. Earn $1,000? Invest $100. If you can do more, you'll get your "F-ck You money" even sooner. Set up your investments to be automatic, then forget about it.
And here’s my favorite part: You’re also investing in companies that don’t even exist yet. Some teenager right now is building the next Apple or Tesla in their garage. When it goes public, VTI will buy it for you.
Even professional money managers can’t beat this. Over 20 years, 92% of them fail to beat the market. So don’t try to be clever. Just be consistent. (source)
When the market crashes—and it will—don’t freak out. Just keep buying. The market always recovers because it’s made up of people and companies constantly solving problems. It won't go up every week, month, or year, but it will eventually go back up. Don’t take my word for it—check out the chart below.
source: Paretoinvestor.substack.com
We have over 150 years of history on our side, and one day, you’ll thank yourself for starting early. And maybe me, too.
Every dollar you invest today is a seed. Most people spend all their seeds (and even seeds they don't have) and stay broke. You can plant yours and grow a great money tree.
Warren Buffett said it best: “Someone’s sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.”
Do your future self a favor and make sure you have a giant money tree to sit under when you want, on your terms.
I'd love to know what you thought of this! I'll respond to every reply!
Disclaimer: This is not investment advice, just one person's opinion that may be incorrect. Do your own research before making any investment decisions.
😁THANK YOU to all who responded to the last newsletter!!
The aforementioned JL Collins was on Afford Anything with Paula Pant sharing his thoughts on augments to the simple path to wealth and answering listener questions. Very enjoyable listen!
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