If you made it this far into this book, I hope I have changed your mind about this insidious myth. I freely admit that the deck is often stacked in favor of the very wealthy in the investment world, but there are plenty of lucrative opportunities out there for the rest of us. The bottom line is that you have no choice but to invest. As health care costs skyrocket and all sorts of social safety nets perform poorly or fail entirely, it is increasingly up to you to make sure that you and your family are ready for the day that you can no longer work. It is hubris in the extreme to assume you can work forever.
Most jobs today have some kind of 401(k) type retirement account, and a large number have a match. You absolutely must take full advantage of the match from day one. If you never see the money in your paycheck, you will never miss it. If you do not have a tax-deferred retirement account through work, you must establish an IRA for yourself and invest at least 15% of your income into that account. The idea is that you will get rich, albeit slowly. Looking to the future, it seems that you will indeed need to be rich to retire with comfort and dignity.
Last Updated: 6/25/2018