United States

The official calculators and guides the book points to for readers in United States, one for each claim.

1. 1
   Compound interest: start early Holds

   Investor.gov compound interest calculator (investor.gov/financial-tools-calculators/calculators/compound-interest-calculator), to compare your monthly sum started now and ten years later.

2. 2
   Small spending: cut the daily coffee Weak diagnosis

   Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Your Money, Your Goals toolkit (consumerfinance.gov/consumer-tools/educator-tools/your-money-your-goals/toolkit), to fill in its cash flow budget worksheet and spending tracker.

3. 3
   Pay yourself first: save before you spend Holds with conditions

   IRS, 401(k) plans (irs.gov/retirement-plans/401k-plans), to compare its automatic enrolment guidance for these employer-run retirement plans with the plan on offer.

4. 4
   Index funds: own the index Holds

   Investor.gov Fund Analyzer (investor.gov/financial-tools-calculators/financial-tools/mutual-fund-analyzer), to estimate what a fund's fees and expenses take from an investment.

5. 5
   Debt snowball: pay off the smallest debt first Holds with conditions

   CFPB, How to reduce your debt (consumerfinance.gov/archive/blog/how-reduce-your-debt), to compare the snowball and highest-rate orders on your own debts.

6. 6
   Emergency fund: keep three to six months of expenses in cash Holds with conditions

   CFPB, An essential guide to building an emergency fund (consumerfinance.gov/an-essential-guide-to-building-an-emergency-fund), to set a target from your own essential monthly costs.

7. 7
   Assets or salary: wealth comes from owning assets Weak diagnosis

   Federal Reserve, Changes in U.S. Family Finances from 2019 to 2022 (federalreserve.gov/publications/files/scf23.pdf), to compare your net worth with your age group's median in Table 2.

8. 8
   Side hustle: start a side business Not established

   IRS, Self-Employed Individuals Tax Center (irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/self-employed-individuals-tax-center), to check the filing and self-employment tax rules from $400 of net earnings.

9. 9
   Frugality: spending less beats earning more Weak diagnosis

   BLS, Consumer Expenditure Survey tables (bls.gov/cex/tables.htm), to compare your household's spending with households on similar incomes.

10. 10
    Mindset: belief creates wealth Not established

    Investor.gov, Savings Goal Calculator (investor.gov/financial-tools-calculators/calculators/savings-goal-calculator), to turn a savings target and a date into a monthly figure.

11. 11
    Housing costs: fixed costs decide what a household can save Holds with conditions

    Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Find a housing counselor (consumerfinance.gov/find-a-housing-counselor), to search by ZIP code for approved housing counsellors.

12. 12
    Stock picking: you can pick winning stocks Not established

    Investor.gov, Asset allocation and diversification (investor.gov/introduction-investing/getting-started/asset-allocation), to compare how many holdings a portfolio spreads its money across.

13. 13
    Market timing: time the market and cut losses early Not established

    Investor.gov, Beginners' guide to asset allocation, diversification and rebalancing (investor.gov/additional-resources/general-resources/publications-research/info-sheets/beginners-guide-asset), to set a time horizon and a rebalancing schedule.

14. 14
    Bitcoin: a hedge against inflation Not established

    BLS, Latest consumer price index release (bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm) and BLS CPI Inflation Calculator (bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm), to price a holding's start and end dates against consumer prices.

15. 15
    Gold: protection in a crash Not established

    CFTC and FINRA investor bulletin, 20 March 2024 (finra.org/investors/insights/buying-physical-gold-or-other-metals), from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the US regulator of futures and commodity markets) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (the industry body that oversees US brokerage firms), to read before buying physical gold or other metals.

16. 16
    Rent or buy: buying a home builds more wealth than renting Not established

    CFPB, Buying a house (consumerfinance.gov/owning-a-home), to read the Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure explainers before comparing offers.

17. 17
    Die with zero: spend it down on purpose Holds with conditions

    SSA, my Social Security (ssa.gov/myaccount), to see your projected Social Security benefit.

18. 18
    Day trading: you can make a living from it Does not hold

    Investor.gov's day trading page (investor.gov/introduction-investing/investing-basics/glossary/day-trading) and FINRA's frequent intraday trading page (finra.org/investors/investing/investment-products/stocks/day-trading), to read both before placing a day trade.

19. 19
    Retirement savings: work out your number and time your state pension Holds with conditions

    my Social Security account (ssa.gov/myaccount), to read your earnings record and benefit estimates at each claiming age.

20. 20
    The 4 per cent rule: withdraw about 4 per cent a year in retirement Holds with conditions

    IRS, Required minimum distribution FAQs (irs.gov/retirement-plans/retirement-plan-and-ira-required-minimum-distributions-faqs) and IRS Publication 590-B (irs.gov/publications/p590b), to divide a balance by the Publication 590-B factor for its age.

21. 21
    401(k), ISA and super: use the tax-advantaged accounts first Holds with conditions

    IRS 401(k) contribution limits (irs.gov/retirement-plans/plan-participant-employee/retirement-topics-401k-and-profit-sharing-plan-contribution-limits), to check this year's limit, then ask your plan for its matching formula.

22. 22
    Inflation and cash: currencies are losing value, so cash savings are being destroyed Weak diagnosis

    BLS CPI Inflation Calculator (bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm), to price a savings balance against prices since its deposit.