My Money Journey
How 30 people found financial freedom – and you can too
By Jonathan Clements
Jacket text
Getting to financial independence can seem like an impossible journey. What path should you take? How do you get started? What about bumps in the road?
The good news is there are proven routes to freedom and wealth—and they’re nearer and simpler than you think.
To help you make your own way to true and lasting financial independence, acclaimed personal finance writer Jonathan Clements has brought together the inspiring financial life stories of 30 people, all told in their own words.
Learn from the triumphs and disasters, the challenges and reflections of a wide range of real men and women just like you—and the surprising but repeatable ways they achieved financial freedom.
From a chemical plant worker to an Army lawyer, a unitarian minister to a high-school teacher, a software engineer to a retired mutual fund manager—all have timeless wisdom and inspiration you can put into action right now, bringing you one step closer to your own financial freedom.
About the author
Jonathan Clements is the founder and editor of personal finance website HumbleDollar.com. Earlier in his career, he spent almost 20 years at The Wall Street Journal, where he was the newspaper’s personal finance columnist. Jonathan is the author of eight personal finance books, including the award-winning How to Think About Money. Born in England and educated at Cambridge University, Jonathan now lives in Philadelphia.
Reviews
My Money Journey is a must read for people—of any age or experience—who want to be better at managing their financial lives. It is chock full of real-world stories of financial and investing success, and challenge, from people ‘just like us.’ There’s no better way to learn. Those stories, and the summary lessons from each contributor, provide a great road map for readers as they chart their own course to financial well-being.
I loved every bit of this wise book. Its financial success stories don’t owe to towering salaries or complicated investment strategies. Instead, the contributors chalk up their financial freedom and peace of mind to more relatable factors: healthy savings habits, common sense, and a dash of good luck. I saw a bit of my own story reflected in its pages, and it’s a good bet that you will, too.
A real-life look at how messy, complex—but ultimately rewarding—a personal relationship with money can be.
Any book can talk about the blocking and tackling involved in personal finance. What I love here are the stories of the stops and starts, the successes and the oops through the decades of a personal journey. No one’s life is a predictable straight line. It is how we navigate the unexpected that gives us the foundations for financial independence and security.
These 30 deeply personal essays on achieving financial goals are inspiring and instructive. Great reading for all who want to achieve lifetime financial security.
Embedded in the unique and delightful financial life stories of 30 individuals are the most important lessons investors must learn. Financial security requires disciplined,
regular saving and investing, minimizing costs (as through indexing) and taxes (as through Roth IRAs), and avoiding common blunders. Perhaps even more important than financial health, loving your work and having a genuine interest in others leads to a fulfilling life.
Media coverage
From Barron's:
Barron’s feature a section adapted from My Money Journey: How 30 People Found Financial Freedom – And You Can Too. In this extract, Jonathan Clements discusses one of the first financial lessons he learned: If you want to outpace most other investors, simply aim to match the market averages. Among colleagues and readers he became… Read more »
From AARP:
How can you achieve financial freedom? A new book, My Money Journey, edited by Jonathan Clements, founder of the financial website Humble Dollar, describes how 30 people are pursuing or achieved financial freedom. I personally could relate to many of these journeys and offer my own advice for you to be financially free.
From LifeBlood:
On this edition of the Book Club, Jonathan Clements talks about his newest book, My Money Journey: How 30 People Found Financial Freedom and You Can Too. Jonathan wrote for the Wall Street Journal for 18 years, is the Founder and Editor of Humble Dollar, and is the author of 8 books.
From Think Advisor:
For his ninth book, “My Money Journey: How 30 People Found Financial Freedom — And You Can Too” (Harriman House, April 2023), he presents a collection of revealing essays written by 29 other people — many in financial services — about their personal money stories.
From BadCredit.org:
Clements is also the author of numerous personal finance books, including “How to Think About Money,” and is the editor of “My Money Journey,” a collection of inspiring financial life stories published in April 2023.
From Oblivious Investor:
On another book-related note, I recently read Jonathan Clements’ new compilation work, My Money Journey: How 30 people found financial freedom – and you can too. It’s exactly what it sounds like: 30 different people sharing their respective personal finance journeys.
From Morningstar:
Jonathan Clements, founder and editor of HumbleDollar and editor of a new book called My Money Journey, shares his thoughts on rising interest rates, crypto, retirement, and his own financial story.
From MarketWatch:
Jonathan Clements, editor of new personal finance book My Money Journey, discusses the many paths to the top of the mountain.
From Morningstar The Long View:
On the podcast today, we welcome back Jonathan Clements, who was among our first guests when we launched this podcast back in 2019. Jonathan is the founder and editor of HumbleDollar, and he is also the editor of a new book called My Money Journey, which is a compilation of essays from 30 individuals about… Read more »
Contents
INTRODUCTION: YOUR JOURNEY STARTS HERE, BY JONATHAN CLEMENTS
PART ONE: FIERCE FRUGALITY
ROAD TO RETIREMENT BY DENNIS FRIEDMAN
My first big investment
A mistake pays dividends
A lesson from my father
Tomorrow is here
SAVING MYSELF BY KRISTINE HAYES
My journey begins
Eyeing retirement
A change in plans
Where I stand
FREED BY FRUGALITY BY SANJIB SAHA
Coming to America
Wrestling with readiness
Buying time
EARLY AND OFTEN BY MIKE ZACCARDI
Winds of change
Trading places
Seven figures
TAKING CONTROL BY JIAB WASSERMAN
Moving to America
Meeting Jim
Arriving early
NOW AND THEN BY JONATHAN CLEMENTS
Growing up fast
Second childhood
PART TWO: FAMILY FIRST
LEARNING BY HELPING BY RICHARD CONNOR
Joining the club
Helping my parents
Assisting my in-laws
Taking care of ourselves
MARGIN FOR ERROR BY ANIKA HEDSTROM
Twin challenges
A lifetime's preparation
Birthing a business
MY FAVORITE DETOURS BY JOHN GOODELL
Money well saved
From zero to three
Sacrificing my pension
Measuring wealth
MAKING IT BY MATT CHRISTOPHER WHITE
Tennessee orange
Falling into place
Not like we planned
Hunting for treasure
The view from here
INVESTING TOGETHER BY SONJA HAGGERT
Off to work
Getting serious
Time to retire
PART THREE: SLOW AND STEADY
LESSONS UNLEARNED BY HOWARD ROHLEDER
From three to two
My turn to invest
Replaying the messages
DRIVEN TO SUCCEED BY RICHARD QUINN
Clambering upward
Fulfilling dreams
PROJECT MICKEY BY PHIL KERNEN
Home and away
Matters of principal
Free at last
FILLING PIGGYBANKS BY KYLE MCINTOSH
Early hustle
Corporate years
Switching gears
MONEY VIGILANT BY GREG SPEARS
Read all over
In the Vanguard
PART FOUR: WINDING PATHS
MAKING A COMEBACK BY JAMES KERR
Beckoning better times
Making it happen
Faith rewarded
A ROCKY ROAD BY DON SOUTHWORTH
Under the influence
Sunday school
Giving and receiving
Doing the right thing
Getting to enough
FINDING MY BALANCE BY WILLIAM EHART
Any which way but happy
Diary of futility
Hard lessons
Back on track
It's okay to pay for advice
COURSE CORRECTION BY JIM WASSERMAN
My rude awakening
Meeting Jiab
Going places
INVESTING IN MYSELF BY CATHERINE HORIUCHI
College on the cheap
Sensitive computers
Faraway lands
Starting to save
Back to academia
My retirement
GETTING BY BY MATT TROGDON
Finding money
Finding my way
FOLLOWING MY MUSE BY RAND SPERO
Getting educated
The future foretold
Some life-changing advice
The accidental planner
A fork in the road
PART FIVE: RISK AND RETURN
FACING DOWN RISK
by Adam M. Grossman
Left with a name
Decision time
Measuring success
A BAD BUSINESS BY JUAN FOURNEAU
Learning the business
Long road back
FIVE TIMES LUCKY BY CHARLES D. ELLIS
Case closed
Meal ticket
Embracing average
A DAY TO REMEMBER BY WILLIAM BERNSTEIN
MY EXPERIMENTS BY JAMES MCGLYNN
Getting down to work
Switching gears
Taking care
A COSTLY EDUCATION BY JOHN LIM
Hatching plans
Choosing badly
Leap of faith
LEARNING BY ERRING BY MICHAEL FLACK
Buying past performance
Fool's gold
Built to last–maybe
Master investor--briefly
Wait, there's more
Road to indexing
CONCLUSION: WHAT'S YOUR STORY?, BY JONATHAN CLEMENTS
| Published: | 25/04/2023 |
|---|---|
| Edition: | 1st |
| Pages: | 320 |
| Formats: | paperback - ISBN 9780857199867 ebook - ISBN 9780857199874 audio - ISBN 0000000000085 |
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