Top 35 J.L. Collins Quotes (2025 Update)

1. “There are many things money can buy, but the most valuable of all is freedom. Freedom to do what you want and to work for whom you respect.”

— J.L. Collins

2. “Money can buy many things, but nothing more valuable than your freedom.”

— J.L. Collins

3. “Everything you want is on the other side of fear.” – Jack Canfield.”

— J.L. Collins

4. “Simple is good. Simple is easier. Simple is more profitable.”

— J.L. Collins

5. “Stop thinking about what your money can buy. Start thinking about what your money can earn.”

— J.L. Collins

6. “I may not have owned a Mercedes, but I owned my freedom. Freedom to choose when to leave a job and freedom from worry when the choice wasn’t mine.”

— J.L. Collins

7. “Waste no time. Debt is a crisis that needs immediate attention. If you are currently in debt, paying it off is your top priority. Nothing else is more important.”

— J.L. Collins

8. “Try saving and investing 50% of your income. With no debt, this is perfectly doable.”

— J.L. Collins

9. “When you can live on 4% of your investments per year, you are financially independent.”

— J.L. Collins

10. “It’s not hard. Stop thinking about what your money can buy. Start thinking about what your money can earn. And then think about what the money it earns can earn.”

— J.L. Collins

11. “Here’s the simple formula: Spend less than you earn – invest the surplus – avoid debt.”

— J.L. Collins

12. “You know, if you could learn to cater to the king, you wouldn’t have to live on rice and beans.” To which the monk replies: “If you could learn to live on rice and beans, you wouldn’t have to cater to the king.”

— J.L. Collins

13. “Look again at those people around you. For most, debt is simply a part of life. But it doesn’t have to be for you. You weren’t born to be a slave.”

— J.L. Collins

14. “Avoid fiscally irresponsible people and certainly don’t marry one.”

— J.L. Collins

15. “The lines between need and want are continually and intentionally blurred.”

— J.L. Collins

16. “Simplicity is the keynote of all true elegance.” – Coco Chanel.”

— J.L. Collins

17. “Before you decide to use kicking techniques on the street ask yourself this question: ‘Am I Bruce Lee?’ If the answer is ‘no’ keep your feet on the ground.”

— J.L. Collins

18. “Governments love a little inflation. They can add money to the system, keep the economy humming and not have to raise taxes or cut spending to do it. In fact, it is sometimes called “the hidden tax” because it erodes the buying power of our currency. It also allows debtors, like the government, to pay back their creditors with “cheaper dollars.”

— J.L. Collins

19. “If your goal is financial independence, it is also to hold as little debt as possible. This means you’ll seek the least house to meet your needs rather than the most house you can technically afford.”

— J.L. Collins

20. “You own the things you own and they in turn own you.”

— J.L. Collins

21. “It’s a big beautiful world out there. Money is a small part of it. But F-You Money buys you the freedom, resources and time to explore it on your own terms. Retired or not. Enjoy your journey.”

— J.L. Collins

22. “But the simple truth is this: the more complex an investment is, the less likely it is to be profitable. Index funds outperform actively managed funds in large part simply because actively managed funds require expensive active managers. Not only are they prone to making investing mistakes, their fees are a continual performance drag on the portfolio.”

— J.L. Collins

23. “Wisdom comes from experience. Experience is often a result of lack of wisdom.” – Terry Pratchett.”

— J.L. Collins

24. “Three things saved us: Our unwavering 50% savings rate. Avoiding debt. We’ve never even had a car payment. Finally embracing the indexing lessons Jack Bogle – the founder of The Vanguard Group and the inventor of index funds – perfected 40 years ago.”

— J.L. Collins

25. “There are pervasive and powerful marketing forces at work seeking to obscure the idea that such a choice exists. We are relentlessly bombarded with messages telling us that we absolutely need the latest trinket and that we simply must have the most fashionable of currently trending trash. We’re told that if you don’t have the money, no problem. That’s what credit cards and payday loans are for.”

— J.L. Collins

26. “Since money is the single most powerful tool we have for navigating this complex world we’ve created, understanding it is critical. If you choose to master it, money becomes a wonderful servant. If you don’t, it will surely master you.”

— J.L. Collins

27. “As individuals we only have one obligation to society: To ensure we, and our children, are not a burden to others.”

— J.L. Collins

28. “When interest rates rise, bond prices fall. When interest rates fall, bond prices rise. In either case, if you hold a bond to the end of its term you will, barring default, get exactly what you paid for it.”

— J.L. Collins

29. “Being independently wealthy is every bit as much about limiting needs as it is about how much money you have. It has less to do with how much you earn – high-income earners often go broke while low-income earners get there – than what you value. Money can buy many things, none of which is more important than your financial independence. Here’s.”

— J.L. Collins

30. “If you intend to achieve financial freedom, you are going to have to think differently. It starts by recognizing that debt should not be considered normal. It should be recognized as the vicious, pernicious destroyer of wealth-building potential it truly is. It has no place in your financial life.”

— J.L. Collins

31. “In the simplest terms: When you buy stock you are buying a part ownership in a company. When you buy bonds you are loaning money to a company or government agency.”

— J.L. Collins

32. “Life choices are not always about the money, but you should always be clear about the financial impact of the choices you make. Sound investing is not complicated. Save a portion of every dollar you earn or that otherwise comes your way.”

— J.L. Collins

33. “If your interest rate is... Less than 3%, pay it off slowly and route the money to your investments instead. Between 3-5%, do whatever feels most comfortable: Either put the money to debt payment or investments. More than 5%, pay it off ASAP.”

— J.L. Collins

34. “Ironically, a crash at the beginning of your investing life is a gift. In fact, any pullback in stock prices is a gift while you are in the process of accumulating your wealth.”

— J.L. Collins

35. “The Three Considerations You’ll want to consider: In what stage of your investing life are you? The Wealth Accumulation Stage or the Wealth Preservation Stage? Or perhaps a blend of the two? What level of risk do you find acceptable? Is your investment horizon long-term or short-term?”

— J.L. Collins

36. “But Dad,” my little girl once said to me, “I know money is important. I just don’t want to spend my life thinking about it.”

— J.L. Collins

37. “Bonds are in our portfolio to provide a deflation hedge. Deflation is one of the two big macro risks to your money. Inflation is the other and we hedge against that with our stocks.”

— J.L. Collins

38. “When interest rates rise, bond prices fall. When interest rates fall, bond prices rise. In either case, if you hold a bond to the end of its term you will, barring default, get exactly what you paid for it. Stage 6 As you’ve likely guessed, the length of the term of a bond is our third risk factor and it also helps determine the interest rate paid.”

— J.L. Collins

39. “Bogle’s brilliance, for us investors, was to shift the ownership of his new company to the mutual funds it operates. Since we investors own those funds, through our ownership of shares in them, we in effect own Vanguard.”

— J.L. Collins