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Work & the Rat RaceFinancial Independence

The Savings Rate Shortcut

How much you keep matters more than how much you make

Two people earn the same pay. One could stop working decades before the other. The difference isn't luck. It's one number.

You'll find out

  • The number that sets the road
  • Why it works twice
  • Why a raise can change nothing

Why it matters

The rat race has a finish line. This number decides how far away it is.

About 3 min6 interactive slides · 5 questionsLesson 18 · Zone 2

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Previous lessonYour Freedom NumberNext lessonRevenue Isn't Profit

More in this zone

  1. 10PaychecksWhere Your Paycheck GoesGross pay is the number you're offered; net pay is what lands
  2. 11TaxesThe Raise That Costs You MoneyA higher tax bracket only taxes the dollars above the line
  3. 12The Rat RaceTrading Time for MoneyA paycheck stops the day you stop
  4. 13History of WorkThe 40-Hour Week Was a FightWeekends weren't a gift; they were won
  5. 14IncomeActive and Passive IncomeMoney you work for and money that works for you
  6. 15HappinessThe Hedonic TreadmillEvery upgrade quickly feels normal
  7. 16PurposeThe Fisherman and the BankerRetold after Heinrich Böll's 1963 tale: a banker urges a fisherman to build a fleet so that one day he can retire and... fish all afternoon
  8. 17Financial IndependenceYour Freedom NumberHow much it takes so that work becomes optional

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Money Wonders

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Zones 20

  • 1Origins of Money
  • 2The Rat Race
  • 3Business Basics
  • 4Budgeting Basics
  • 5Compound Interest
  • 6Debt & Credit
  • 7How Banks Work
  • 8Inflation Basics
  • 9Risk & Insurance
  • 10Stock Basics
  • 11Bond Basics
  • 12Index Funds
  • 13Rent or Buy
  • 14Crypto Basics
  • 15Bubbles & Scams
  • 16Money & Happiness
  • 17Gold & the Dollar
  • 18Pay & Benefits
  • 19Starting a Business
  • 20Lifestyle Creep

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