The ‘godfather of financial independence’ says that young people should do two things to build wealth, and is not buying a house, which is ‘silly’

Minhaj, who jumped to fame as a correspondent in “The Daily Show” and then was host of the Netflix Emmy winner “Patriotic act“He interviewed Collins in June about his best -selling book,” “The simple path to wealth. “The book, which has sold more than one million copies in 20 languages, emerged from Collins’ failed attempts to teach her daughter about money when she was young. Collins spent decades in the publication of B2B magazine, but has been investing in the stock market all the time, for more than 50 years. He also worked as an investment officer in an international investment research firm, marketing analysis for institutional investors.

The Financial Independence Community has embraced Collins as a pioneer, with its Blog launch in 2011 After he began writing letters to his daughter about the investment of concepts, he initially showed little interest in the audition. His direct approach and his real world experience have gained recognition As a fundamental figure In the fire (Financial independence, retire early) Motion.

The two simple collins strategies to build wealth

During his interview with Minhaj, Collins emphasized his main advice for younger generations: “VTSAX and RENT”, a philosophy that says he has shared with his own daughter, who is now just over 30 years old. VTSAXOr the Avaguard Total Stock Market Index Fund actions, provides broad exposure to the entire US stock market with an extremely low expense relationship of only 0.04%.

The fund, which has more than $ 1.9 billion in assets, tracks approximately 100% of the US stock market. Invertible in large, medium, small and microcapal shares. With a current performance of 1.16% And a five -star Morningstar qualification, VTSAX has delivered strong yields for long -term investors. Collins argues that this only fund provides sufficient diversification for most investors, while avoiding complexity and higher rates associated with actively administered funds.

His second recommendation, the trial instead of buying, costs conventional wisdom on housing property. Collins told Minhaj that his daughter successfully avoided becoming “poor house” when choosing to rent, which provided him with the flexibility of making bold professional decisions. Recently he renounced his corporate work, after having accumulated what Collins calls “f – k you money”, the entire financial cushion to make race changes without depending on a payment check.

Collins emphasizes that although housing property can provide lifestyle benefits, such as stability or space for children, it should not be seen as a wealth construction strategy. “If your key objective is to build wealth, then own a house will not contribute to that,” he said in the interview. On the other hand, it frames real estate purchases such as lifestyle decisions instead of financial investments.

This perspective is aligned with its broader philosophy that arose from Observe your father to lose their ability to obtain income During Collins Childhood, an experience that motivated him to ensure that investments could replace labor income. Collins began saving 50% of his income from his first professional work paying $ 10,000 annually in 1974, a practice that he maintained throughout his career.

For millennials that face economic challenges, including student debt, housing costs and uncertain employment perspectives, Collins advice offers a direct path: constantly invest in low -cost indices while avoiding the financial burden of housing property until the objectives of accumulation of wealth are met. As he demonstrated both through his own experience and his daughter’s success, this approach can provide financial freedom to make career and life decisions based on personal fulfillment instead of economic need.

You can see the complete conversation between Hasan Minhaj and JL Collins below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v360aygov7a

For this story, Fortune He used generative to help with an initial draft. An editor verified the accuracy of the information before publishing.