If You Can: How Millennials Can Get Rich Slowly

Implementation Notes

• Immerse yourself in the art of patience: the investment path paved with Bernstein’s advice requires not hurried moves, but calmly following your chosen strategy, like a gardener who trusts time to grow their crops.
• Build a portfolio from three simple ingredients: U.S. stocks, international stocks, and bonds—this triptych, like harmony in music, creates a steady melody of long-term growth and protection.
• Don’t give in to the temptation to time the market: Bernstein urges you to reject the illusion of foresight and not try to catch short-term waves, but instead trust the steady flow of passive investing.
• Contribute to your investments with discipline: let monthly contributions become a familiar ritual, like the sunrise, unaffected by the weather or your mood.
• Accept inevitable downturns with humility: treat market storms like the seasons—they come and go, and your task is to stay in the field so you don’t miss out on the future harvest.
• Reduce costs: choose funds with minimal fees, since every unnecessary expense is a drop leaking from your future wealth.
• Educate yourself and stay curious: read, reflect, ask questions, because financial literacy is the light that illuminates the path through the fog of uncertainty.
• Don’t chase quick wins: Bernstein reminds us that true wealth is built over years, not moments, and only consistency and common sense will lead you to the desired shore.