Table of Contents
Foreword Ryan Pineda 8
Introduction 14
Part 1 The Standard Path and a Different Option
Chapter 1 An Introduction to Financial Independence 24
Chapter 2 Why You Should Tell the American Dream to F Off 32
Chapter 3 The FI Equation and the Four Mechanisms of Early FI 39
Part 2 The FI Foundation
Chapter 4 Happiness 54
Chapter 5 The Concept of Enough 60
Chapter 6 Your Why of FI 65
Chapter 7 The Entrepreneurial Mindset 72
Part 3 The Keys to FI
Chapter 8 The Compounding Effect 82
Chapter 9 Real Assets vs. False Assets 87
Chapter 10 Good Debt vs. Bad Debt 91
Chapter 11 Credit Score 95
Chapter 12 Credit Cards 100
Chapter 13 Income vs. Wealth 105
Chapter 14 Passive Income 110
Part 4 How to Pursue FI: Earning and Spending
Chapter 15 Launching into the Four Mechanisms 118
Chapter 16 Earning More Income 120
Chapter 17 Frugality 128
Chapter 18 The Big Three Expenses 136
Chapter 19 Tracking Income and Expenses 149
Part 5 How to Pursue FI: Saving and Investing
Chapter 20 Saving Your Money 158
Chapter 21 Savings Rate 168
Chapter 22 Investing 176
Chapter 23 Index Fund Investing and the 4 Percent Rule 182
Chapter 24 An Introduction to Real Estate Investing 195
Chapter 25 The Pros and Cons of Real Estate Investing 200
Part 6 Where to Go from Here
Chapter 26 Should You Go to College? 218
Chapter 27 The Freakish Way to Do College 232
Chapter 28 The Pros and Cons of Being a Teenager 243
Chapter 29 The Fl Freak Checklist 250
Appendix A The Fl Freak Checklist 258
Appendix B Additional Resources 270
Notes 273
Glossary 276
