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As a child, my dream was to become a writer. That dream, I was told, would never happen. That’s because when you’re poor, dreams aren’t expected to come true. When your Dad escapes famine, a 10-year labour camp, poverty, and busts his ass to give you this one opportunity to never be poor again, you don’t squander it. Especially on something as frivolous as following your dreams. Dreams, you learn, are only for the privileged.
Fast forward 30 years.
As it turns out, dream really do come true. Even if you weren’t born privileged.
After toiling away in the writing cave for the past 2 years, I’m ecstatic to announce:
QUIT LIKE A MILLIONAIRE is now out in the world!
I’m so thankful for the support of all our friends along the way–you know who you are. JLCollins, for the best, one-of-a-kind Foreword, our incredible hard working TarcherPerigee team at Penguin, Fay Wolf–without whom this book wouldn’t even exist, everyone who took the time to read and give us blurbs, everyone on our book launch team, Alan & Katie for your unwavering support and encouragement, and all the readers of this blog who’s incredible stories inspired us to write this book! And my Dad, who taught me the meaning of “chi ku” (don’t worry if you don’t know what this word means. You will after you read our book).
Book Trailer
Want to know what the book is about? Watch this trailer:
Please Help Us Spread the Word!
We wrote this book because we believe that financial independence should be accessible to anyone, regardless of whether they grew up with privilege or not. Even though I grew up poor, I was able to become a millionaire by learning lessons from poverty, middle class, and the rich. With this book, anyone should be able to find a place in this book that matches their situation, and follow it to get here.
If you believe everyone should have access to these lessons, please share this post and the following book promo page on social media:
Reviews
Once you have read the book, please leave us a review on Amazon. Since Amazon’s algorithm depends on reviews to rank and push the book up, we would be eternally grateful if you left us a review. This will help us spread the message and get the book out to as many people as possible.
And last but not least, thank you so much for reading this blog and inspiring us to write this book! If a country bumpkin like me who grew up in poverty in China can become a millionaire, there’s no limit to how far you can go!
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Reviews:
If you’ve written a review on QLM on your blog, feel free to let me know and I will share it here!
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Media:
We’ve been featured on multiple media outlets talking about Quit Like a Millionaire!
Audiobook PDF
Did you buy the audiobook and can’t find the downloadable PDF? You’re not alone! Because it’s super-not-obvious for some reason! Click here for instructions on how to get it.
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First off, congrats! I’m very glad to have preordered it weeks ago. I haven’t done a book review on my site in ages and I think now is the time.
Also, your childhood picture reminds me of my childhood picture. Our faces didn’t change at all in 30 years.
Also, 1st comment! 😉
Sincerely,
ARB–Angry Retail Banker
Thanks, ARB! Appreciate it!
Since your face didn’t change in the last 30 years, does that mean you’ve been exercising, eating right, taking your vitamins, and stacking your millions as a “side hustle millionaire?” 🙂
A bit (just started kickboxing), no, no, and no (though not for lack of trying).
My secret is that I’ve been making blood sacrifices to the banking gods. I’m actually over 600 years old.
How are you over 600 years old? You must be eating lots of vegetables and doing your cardio! L 😛 L
Nope, just blood sacrifices, along with an occasional dip in a Lazarus Pit and partaking of Utrominom ooze.
Amazing job, and cute picture! Thanks for putting this out into the world to improve the lives of so many! I am on my way to leaving the life of a thousand cuts, you have been an inspiration!
Thanks, Tigermom! Always look forward to your comments 🙂
My copy has just arrived on my desk. I like that new book smell.
Thank you!
Hooray! Hope you enjoy it Bob!
Congrats on the book I know you were working on (and dreaming about) for some time. I’ve read about half the book already and have found some areas were I was not entirely clear about, most specifically with the variety of student loan repayment options available and tax minimization strategies. I’m sure I’ll find other insights too like many others. Thanks much!
Thanks, Allen! Appreciate your support!
Just ordered through my library 🙂 at no cost to me
Hope you enjoy reading it, Matt! Feel free to request additional copies for other libraries in your city, to help others gain access to financial education 🙂
Congrats guys, great job. You are an inspiration for what the success that hard work brings. Plus, you both have tons of fun doing it and that’s why it’s even more impressive.
Thanks, Zoe! Hope to see you in the world somewhere soon!
Congratulations!! You both deserve every success! So excited to get my hands on a copy. I’m sure you dad is super proud! You just keep on crushin’!
Thanks, Tsipora! Yeah, My dad told me “I’m proud of you” the other day and it really teared me up 😀
Just received two copies – though only ordered one – BIG THANK YOU TO AMAZON
My wife and I can now read our own copies at the same time
Congratulations on being published – a great accomplishment
LOL. Oh well Amazon’s loss, your gain!
Hope you enjoy it! If you could write me a review afterwards, I’d really appreciate it! Thanks so much for your support!
I’m really enjoying the book so far!
Also I now feel like the colour scheme for this website is secretly based on CanCan.
Ha ha ha. Subliminally, maybe 🙂
Got my copy in the mail today! Excited to read it. Congrats on the book!
Thanks, Jiji! Hope you enjoy it!
Congrats on the arrival of your bouncing new baby Book! I love it so far! So glad I pre-ordered it. Yep, you’re rich, traveling the world, and writing books. Goals met. Keep rockin’ it, you two!
Thanks, Teresa! Birthing the book baby was challenging but so worth it. Thank you so much for your kind words! If you could leave me an Amazon review after you finish reading it, I’d really appreciate it! You rock!
Congratulations – this is such a big milestone! I’ve been a fan and reader of the blog for years, but this particularly resonates as I’ve always wanted to be a writer and publish a book. Writing isn’t the route to financial freedom (or at least, no the most likely route), so I’ve read a lot about FIRE as I try to map my own path to financial independence so that I can spend time doing things that matter to me…like writing. Congratulations on achieving a ‘dream’ goal. It’s really inspiring to see that it’s possible.
*writer five* Thanks! And yeah, writing is definitely not for the faint of heart, and takes many years and lots of face planting to finally make it. But with your FI armour on, it’s absolutely possible to accomplish this dream without having to worry about the income. Best of luck in your writing journey!
Congratulations! Your triumph is an inspiration to all, young and old.
I worked with a survivor of the Communist Chinese Cultural Revolution. He was smart and had perhaps the best sense of street smarts I had ever seen. While he was reluctant to talk about his experiences as a child, I did manage to find out that his father had been a wealthy pharmacist and those “Commie Bastards” as he put it had destroyed the family. He escaped by joining the merchant marine where he worked as a wireless operator and from there, living by his wits, he constantly learned and adapted. When I met him, he was working as a software QA specialist. As I understand it, his story was not unique; millions were persecuted during the Cultural Revolution.
Micky, as he called himself, was very astute and his employer, and Canada, were fortunate to have him. So many immigrants bring so much to this country and we are blessed by their arrival although we are saddened by the circumstances that led to their leaving their home countries. Understandably, Micky suffered at times from paranoia because of the cruel and inhumane treatment meted out to him and his family. His life was destroyed. At time, in his unguarded moments, he tended to read into people’s behaviour the most evil of motives. We were office mates, and I learned not to ask questions about certain topics and when Micky was in one of his moods I would tread lightly (or go work in the library).
I only mention this to provide some context for how significant your achievement is. The Cultural Revolution was a horrific time. By escaping, your parents were amongst the lucky ones as are you. China’s loss is Canada’s gain and by your willingness to share your experience, many people around the world will benefit. In a sense, you have turned adversity into triumph and this is indeed a great accomplishment. In this case, the bad guys did not win, you did.
Wow, what a comment, Alex! I’m super touched by this. And thank you so much for sharing the story of Micky. My parents can definitely relate. It was a horrible time but you’re absolutely right–the bad guys didn’t win. We did. Take that Commie bastards!
Just bought a hard copy. A small thanks for all your free content over the years!
Thanks for your support, Gary!
This is an amazing & inspiring book Kristy. This was well worth the 2 year of hard work you had to go through to deliver it! Congratulations.
Thanks, Mr.NN! I always love sharing your inspirational story with readers!
Yay! My copy arrived in the mail yesterday. I’m looking forward to diving in. Congrats on your accomplishments Kristy & Bryce! You deserve it.
Thanks, Janna! Hope you enjoy it!
Just finished reading over the weekend. Well done to you both :). 5 stars. And Amazon review written. Definitely provided a much needed boost in continuing on the path to financial independence.
I appreciated how a few sections were broken down, especially account set up, and funds to hold in each for tax advantages, but it left me with a few questions:
-if just starting out, and funding RRSP accounts first (being in 20.5% or higher tax bracket), and might not get to contributing/maxing out TFSAs for a few years… if aiming for 60/40 allocation, all these ETFs end up being purchased in RRSP (and aren’t tax efficient at this point). Once you max RRSP/TFSA and require additional investment account, then do you start swapping around ETFs for tax efficiency? Or at that point, do you just more heavily purchase bonds through tax-deferred/sheltered accounts; and equities in investment accounts?
Another question was about the LIRA. Did you choose ETFs for your LIRA that matched your other investment accounts (on purpose), in order to do that cash-asset swap in future? Or did you need to purchase an ETF in ‘accessible’ account to match your LIRA after the fact? Does it make a difference what type of account is considered ‘accessible’?
When I leave my job in a few years, I’ll end up transferring pension to a LIRA and just wanting to make a plan for this. Cash-asset swap is quite clever.
Sorry for so many questions! Lots of excellent examples. My copy of the book will be highlighted/with extra notes in the margins by the end of it 🙂
Thank you so much, Janna! To answer your questions:
1) “Once you max RRSP/TFSA and require additional investment account, then do you start swapping around ETFs for tax efficiency? Or at that point, do you just more heavily purchase bonds through tax-deferred/sheltered accounts; and equities in investment accounts?”
– Yes, wait until you’re portfolio is big enough that it spills over to a non-registered/investment account, then do some swaps to ensure tax efficiency.
2) “Did you choose ETFs for your LIRA that matched your other investment accounts (on purpose), in order to do that cash-asset swap in future?”
– We picked an asset (for us it was XRE) that we could put inside our RRSP and the LIRA so we could swap it back and forth.
I have never posted on a thread like this, so this is exciting. I bought your book yesterday on Amazon with the hope of picking up a little pointer here or there, but Holy Schnikes this book is AWESOME!!!! I have recently wondered about what the right portfolio allocation was (this was in the book), how the rich optimize taxes (was in the book), wondered about capital gains harvesting (was in the book)….. then I fell asleep – I get up at 4am so I guess I’ll allow for it. I can’t wait to finish this book to see what else I can learn. My eyes are opened. I considered myself on the path to early retirement before, but I have lots of new strategies to think through and deploy – I’m psyched! Thanks for writing this book.
YAY! Thanks, Christina! I’m so touched for your wonderful comment. Once you finish the book, if you could leave me a review on Amazon, that would be amazing! You rock!!!
Ordered an advanced copy in June and am almost done the book….I’m so impressed by the actual real life examples. I’m 51 year old Canadian and the book has shown me all the mistakes I made….If only I had this information 30 years ago. But, all is not lost. I’m learning so much from you. Geographical Arbitrage is the way to go. I’ve been house sitting internationally for 3 years and life is SO much less expensive in SE Asia. I never thought about it as a hedge against inflation, but that is EXACTLY what it is. I truly hope more people purchase this book for their kids. Way to go guys….you ROCK.
Thanks, Kimberley! As they say, the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago and…right now! So you still have time. Also, kudos for using GeoArbitrage to your advantage. yeah, SE Asia is awesome. After 4 years, when we went back in Feb, the prices still haven’t changed! All you have to do is get away from the touristy places.
Once your are finished with the book, if you’ve enjoyed it, could you leave me a review on Amazon? Thanks so much for reading and commenting!
Just finished THE BOOK ! Fantastic ! I wrote a review on Amazon where I bought it as a pre-order. 5 Stars from me.
Now I know I am an optimizer like you rather than a hustler like Kiyosaki or a investor like Buffett. ( I’m still trying to be a Buffett investor though ). This makes me feel much better about myself. Thanks.
And thanks to Penguin Random House for publishing it.
I hope you sell a million copies !
Thanks so much Paul! *Optimizer five!*
This book was waiting for us when we returned from Chautauqua/visiting family. I don’t preorder many books, and this one is exceeding my expectations. I am finding it hard to share the copy with John since we both are reading it.
Thanks, Sara! Comments like this make the hard work of writing a book all worth it! If you enjoyed it, could you please leave us an Amazon review?
Give John a hug from us! (and tell him Bryce says “DS9 4eva!”)
I just finished reading your book! I thought it was very good. Easy to read. I especially liked the summaries at the end of each chapter and the year-by-year financial summaries in Appendix B. I am impressed by how much knowledge you have on personal finance at such young age. Good job and congratulations!
Thank so much Steve! This comment made our day. Glad the book was helpfu and if you could leave us an Amazon review, that would be fantastic!
Long time reader here, finished the book hours after I got it. Really appreciate what you two do, thanks for the inspiration. Best luck in all you do.
Thanks, Braydon! If you enjoyed our book, would you mind leaving us an Amazon review? That would help Amazon show it to more readers and get the book out to as many people as possible.
I heard about your book while listening to the ChooseFI podcast last week. I’ve finished the audiobook today while traveling in Colombia. You are an amazing storyteller and your grit and determination to achieve your goals were awe-inspiring. I recommended your book on my website and to my friends. Thank you so much for your generosity in sharing what you’ve learned to us! Safe travels!
Thanks, Kris! That means a lot to us 🙂 You rock!
I still can’t see the “downloadable pdf”. I purchased the book through itunes but it’s not showing up in the book app or music. Can you send it to me?
Hi Chris,
Thank you so much for purchasing our book! Here are the instructions for accessing the PDF via itunes:
“For iTunes: When a customer purchases and downloads a title, the audiobook downloads to the “Books”
section of the customer’s iTunes library and the PDF downloads to the “Music” section (that’s just the
way iTunes does it.)”
Yeah, I know. It’s a bit confusing. Sorry about that.
I just devoured this book in under 24 hours. I couldn’t put it down. Thanks so much for all the time and effort you’ve put into this blog, including the awesome Investment Workshop, and congrats on writing such an awesome book!
As somone who feels like they’re a little late to the table – I’m 41 and attempting to get debt free once and for all before starting to build my portfolio – I am really inspired by your story and encouraged by the clear path to FI that you’ve described both here and in the book. I mathed shit up and I can see there is a way. It’s not too late!
Thanks, James! Really appreciate your kinds words and glad you enjoyed our book and workshop!
Way to math shit up! As they say “the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago…and right now”. So it’s not too late 😉
Btw, if you enjoyed our book, would you mind leaving us an Amazon review! Really appreciate it!
I was on the waiting list for this and as an avid reader it didn’t take me long to finish (and recommend to friends).
One question i had (maybe I missed this) but how much of your portfolio do you direct to the Yield Shield? I believe in the book and online you write ‘a part of your portfolio’ but looking for more clarity on this. (sorry if i missed this in your writings).
Thanks for reading our book and recommending it, Webz! To answer your question, the table with our exact allocations when we create the YS is on page 185 in chapter 15.
After hearing an interview on YNAB, I previewed the book ‘Quit like a Millionaire’ online and purchased it. For the most part I was pleased with the overall read and collected a few financial nuggets along the way. However, I sensed there was an undercurrent flowing from the early pages. It continue to build until finally I could put my finger on it. The author clearly believes hard work and dedication is a bygone era and will never pay off in the end. For most Americans the number one wealth building tool is our income. I agree self-investment to earn a higher income is a necessity in life but most of us will only have that opportunity once we have achieved a ‘marketable’ degree to offer a potential employer. I just didn’t care for the ‘tell your boss to shove this job up his arse’ tone. Unless you are an entrepreneur, correction – a successful entrepreneur, your only source of ever achieving financial freedom is to be a valuable asset to the company that is paying your salary. If traveling the world isn’t your cup of tea and you’d like to start a family someday, this book is probably wrong on so many levels.
Loved the book! I just read it on audible but it keeps saying check out the downloadable chart…but I don’t know where I can find that. Is it possible to download it from audible or do you need to purchase?
Yeah everyone’s confused about that. Audible’s interface is super confusing. Here are the instructions.
https://www.millennial-revolution.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Bonus-PDF-Instructions.pdf
Thanks so much!
I waited (behind a lot of people) to get this from the library and about 3 chapters in I returned it (to benefit the lots of people waiting behind me) and bought the book, which I rarely do. This is one I’m going to want to refer to and underline–one of the best FIRE books I’ve read. I’ll leave an Amazon review once my copy arrives but just wanted to let you know how great and helpful I think this book is, especially the step by step graphics explaining the financial info.
I purchased the audiobook from WalMart eBook and I couldn’t find any instructions to getting the downloadable .pdf through that platform. Can you help