The best most of us with a day job, boss and salary can ever hope to achieve is to ensure that we are financially independent in our old age. Not rich. Just comfortable and in a lifestyle that we became accustomed to during our working life. Achieving even that is a rarity. Investment industry stats, designed to scare you to the door of your financial adviser, suggest just 6% of us will achieve that goal. Whatever the real number, far too many once-successful professionals find the corrosive power of inflation eats away at the value of their money when they can no longer earn it. Current savings rates at 15% of GDP are their lowest in nearly five decades as investor confidence dwindles. That's what makes the Julia story so compelling. Julia is a 30-something business professional, soon to be mother of a second child, who started investing in lower-cost index funds at the age of 27. She'd been motivated by her aunt, who was clearly better off than her parents because of a diligent in...
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