Before I get too far though, I should clarify that the content is NOT about real estate. It is about attaining financial independence<\/a> by getting down to the nitty gritty\u2014increasing your income, reducing your spending, and investing the difference in index funds.<\/p>\n Once the balance of your index funds reaches a certain level (say\u2026 $1 million), you can retire and live off the capital gains and interest from your investments.<\/p>\n The problems and questions everyone has are, \u201cHow do I retire in seven years? How do I sustain my portfolio after retirement? What about health insurance? What about kids?\u201d<\/p>\n This book answers all of these questions and more. Not only is it super insightful, but it is also a super easy read. Kristy and Bryce are very relatable. By the end of the book, you will feel like they are your best friends.<\/p>\n Again, if you are looking for a book on real estate investing, this is not for you. However, are you interested in achieving financial independence in the next seven to 10 years (or fewer) and perpetually sustaining it? Then this book is for you.<\/p>\n Although the book is written by both Kristy and Bryce, you will quickly realize that Kristy is the main voice. Why is this? Well, no offense, Bryce, but her story is much better than yours.<\/p>\n Kristy grew up in mainland China in the late 1980s, early 1990s. Her family was poor.<\/p>\n In China, there aren\u2019t any homeless shelters, so they lived in a dilapidated home. The winters were cold, the summers were hot, and the clothes they wore were poorly made by her mother. They simply did not have enough money to purchase clothes from the store.<\/p>\n As a family, they lived on the equivalent of $0.44 per day. Needless to say, it was a rough few years of Kristy\u2019s life. But at the time, that\u2019s all she knew.<\/p>\n Related: <\/em><\/strong>BiggerPockets Money Podcast 59\u2014Playing with FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) with Scott Rieckens<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n When Kristy was seven years old, her father was fortunate enough to get accepted into college at the University of Waterloo in Canada, studying to be an engineer. One year later, Kristy and her family were able to leave China and start a new, first-world country life in the Toronto area. Kristy went from being afraid of tapeworms and playing in trash heaps to living a semi-normal childhood.<\/p>\n The move was not easy though. She spoke hardly any English, so it took a few years for her to be able to make good friends. (You know how mean middle and high school-aged kids can be.)<\/p>\n Kristy followed in her father\u2019s footsteps and attended the University of Waterloo, studying engineering, as well. This is where she met Bryce.<\/p>\n After four years of studying, they graduated with high marks and were able to get jobs as engineers. They worked hard and saved a ton over a seven-year span and retired with $1 million at the age of 31.<\/p>\n Now, they are retired, travel the world, write a blog, and pretty much just do whatever the heck they want. They have been doing so for three years.<\/p>\n In that time, their net worth has increased to $1.3 million. Not a bad deal.<\/p>\n So, how can you do what they did? This is exactly what the book is about and what I will touch on briefly in the next few sections.<\/p>\n Regardless of where you are in your education journey, Quit Like a Millionaire<\/em> has a lot to teach\u2014from choosing the right college to attend, to making more money and spending less, to investing the difference wisely.<\/p>\n This book has all of the tips. However, as a person who considered themselves very knowledgeable on this subject already, I want to share with you my key takeaways.<\/p>\n The first groundbreaking thing that I learned was how to access your retirement accounts early through what is called the Roth conversion ladder. Popularized by the Mad Fientist, Kristy and Bryce explain this concept very clearly and concisely in this book.<\/p>\n The idea is that you are able to obtain funds from your retirement accounts penalty- and tax-free before you hit the ripe age of 65. How? I\u2019ll give you the three to four sentence overview here, then you can read the book for further details.<\/p>\n In essence, you invest money into your 401(k), which is a pre-tax account. When you become financially independent and do not work for an entire year, your income is effectively $0. Since the standard deduction in the United States is $12,000, you are able to move $12,000 from your 401(k) (pre-tax account) to your Roth IRA (post-tax account).<\/p>\n The IRS does consider that $12,000 you move from the pre-tax to post-tax account as taxable. However, since the standard deduction is also $12,000, the IRS sees the taxable income as zero.<\/p>\n $12,000 income – $12,000 standard deduction = $0 taxable income<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Voila. There is now $12,000 in your Roth IRA that has not been penalized OR taxed. After five years, you are able to take that $12,000 out of your Roth penalty-free. Now you have $12,000 in your bank account that has neither been taxed nor penalized (although you will still be taxed on any capital gains from your Roth IRA).<\/p>\n \u201cWhoa! Is this legal?\u201d<\/p>\n That was my initial thought. The answer? As of 2019, it is 100 percent legal.<\/p>\n This is one of the differences between the rich and the middle-class or poor. The rich seek loopholes and ways around government regulations, whereas the middle-class and poor give in to them.<\/p>\nWho Is This Book For?<\/h3>\n
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<\/p>\nAll About Author Kristy Shen<\/h2>\n
Living in China<\/h3>\n
Living in Canada<\/h3>\n
Living Everywhere and Nowhere<\/h3>\n
What I Learned From Quit Like a Millionaire<\/em><\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\nHow to Access Retirement Accounts Early<\/h3>\n
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