How Millennials Can Get Rich Slowly – Book Summary

In How Millennials Can Get Rich Slowly, William J. Bernstein says that if you start by saving 15 percent of your salary at age 25 into a 401(k) plan, an IRA, or a taxable account (or all three). Put equal amounts of that 15 percent into just three different mutual funds: 

• A U.S. total stock market index fund.
• An international total stock market index fund.
• A U.S. total bond market index fund.

Over time, the three funds will grow at different rates, so once per year, you’ll adjust their amounts so that they are equal again (Rebalance). This is what the author referred to as the three-fund strategy. This strategy will only take you fifteen minutes of work per year to outperform 90 percent of financial professionals and in the long run, it will make you a millionaire.

Bad things/ hurdles almost inevitably happen to people who try to save and invest for retirement on their own. If you’re going to succeed, you need to avoid those hurdles. 

5 Hurdles To Avoid;

Hurdle number one

Even if you can invest like Warren Buffett, if you can’t save, you’ll die poor.

Most people spend too much money. It feels nice to spend money on the fanciest car, newest iPhone, most fashionable cloth, unnecessary restaurant meal et al having those things feels nice and life without them may seem spartan, but it doesn’t compare to being old and poor, which is where you’re headed if you can’t save. 

Just by living with a roommate for a while longer, instead of renting your very own place, as bad as having a roomie maybe, it’s not nearly as awful as living on cat food at age 70. Before you can save, you’ll have to get yourself out of debt.

No matter how much debt you have, always max out the employer match on your 401(k), 403, or other defined contribution retirement plan. The “return” on this money is usually between 50% and 100%, which is higher than even the worst credit card interest rates.

In How Millennials Can Get Rich Slowly, the author says that only when you’ve gotten rid of all your debt are you truly saving for retirement. You’ll need an emergency fund placed in T-bills, CDs, or money market accounts. This should be enough for six months of living expenses and should be in a taxable account. (Putting your emergency money in a 401(k) or IRA is a terrible idea since if you need it, you’ll almost certainly have to pay a substantial tax penalty to get it out.)

Two kinds of IRA accounts

Traditional and Roth. A traditional account, you get a tax deduction on the contributions and pay taxes when the money is withdrawn, generally after age 59½. With a Roth, you pay no tax because you contribute with money you’ve already paid taxes on, but pay no taxes on withdrawals in retirement.

The Roth is a better deal than a traditional IRA, since not only can you contribute “more” to the Roth, but also you’re hopefully in a higher tax bracket when you retire.

For retirement savings, it’s better to think about returns that have been adjusted for inflation, that is, “real” rates.