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One of the best things about reading is that it can help readers bridge the gap between where they are in life and where they want to be. This is especially true for people who want to gain knowledge about topics they have not come into contact with before, such as investing. A good example is the story of 36-year-old Rachel Jimenez, who credits three books with helping her earn $120,000 a year in passive income.
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Jimenez is a CNBC contributor, investor and mother of two who has achieved financial independence by developing passive income streams and running an ETSY store. She started her journey four years ago after realizing she was unhappy in her current job but had no knowledge about building wealth. Rachel says that as a child she remembers her parents buying lottery tickets and fantasizing about winning.
That’s not a good investment strategy, but it led Rachel to wonder, “Why not find a way to get rich with better opportunities?” One of the first things she had to do was change her mindset. Like many people, Jimenez struggled with being overly hard on himself. Jimenez credits the book “Change Your Questions, Change Your Life,” by Marilee Adams.
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The central point of the book is to reexamine the way in which internal dialogue can be self-destructive and lead to self-doubt. Rachel credits internalizing the lessons and techniques in this book with shifting her thinking from overly judgmental to more solution-oriented thinking. Self-confidence is the key to achieving any goal, but believing in yourself is a habit. This book helped her learn how to do that.
Once Rachel had the confidence to pursue her dreams, she needed to acquire the skills needed to become an effective money manager and investor. That’s where JL Collins’ “The Simple Path to Wealth” came into play. Rachel says this book gave her the building blocks to build a solid financial foundation.
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Here she learned to live debt-free and save 50% of her income. Jimenez says the book taught her other important lessons, such as the ideal ratio between annual investment income and the investment capital needed to be financially independent (4%). It also emphasizes the importance of avoiding relationships with people who are poor with money, deeply in debt, or reckless spenders. It’s hard to go wrong if you follow that advice.
