The Simple Road Toward Financial Freedom: A Guide to Building Wealth and Independence

A bestselling personal finance book for young adults, recent graduates, and beginners-designed to teach the money habits school never taught so you can stop living paycheck to paycheck, start saving with confidence, and build long-term financial freedom.

Simple enough for your first job. Powerful enough to reset your money at any stage.

"This book can help you take control of your life without living paycheck to paycheck."- Will Ferrell, from the foreword

This is a hardcover book that ages with you. And surprisingly to most, you don't need to save a million dollars to accumulate a million dollars.

Written by longtime financial advisor Mark Schlipman and corporate executive Steve Short, this book breaks down personal finance in a way that's easy to follow and act on-without jargon, overwhelm, or product sales. It's ideal for recent graduates, young professionals starting their careers, and anyone ready to build lasting financial confidence.

Inside, you'll learn how to budget, save, invest, and avoid common money mistakes-using simple, proven frameworks like the Save-First 50/20/30 Model(TM), the 20-to-$1M Method(TM), and STL Moments(TM) (Stop, Talk, Listen). You'll also build practical habits such as avoiding lifestyle creep and capturing "free money" through employer benefits and tax advantages.

What You'll Learn

✔ Build a simple, savings-first budget that actually works

✔ Use the Three Bucket System to balance short-, mid-, and long-term goals

✔ Automate investing with confidence (401(k), IRA, HSA)

✔ Maximize "free money" from employer matches and tax benefits

✔ Avoid lifestyle creep and build habits that stick

What Readers Are Saying

⭐ "I paid off $10,000 in three months thanks to your book." - Amazon review

⭐ "Where was this book when I graduated college? Thank you for making financial concepts easy to understand." - Amazon review

⭐ "My kids aren't readers! This book is written in simple, bite-sized chunks with such important life lessons that it's imperative they read it." - Amazon review

Give Back

A portion of every sale supports Cancer for College, helping cancer survivors with scholarships and debt relief.

Mark Schlipman is a financial advisor and founder of Schlipman Wealth Advisors, a strategic partner of Carson Partners. An Accredited Investment Fiduciary and Certified Exit Planning Advisor, he helps young adults and families build simple, durable money habits.

Steve Short is a corporate leader turned author who has led large B2B and B2C divisions in travel, technology, and legal services, including a $3B leisure division at Enterprise Holdings. He specializes in making complex financial ideas simple and actionable.

Will Ferrell, comedian, actor, and producer, contributes the foreword. He supports Cancer for College, the nonprofit that benefits from a portion of this book's proceeds.