Agreed, it's annoying and frustrating. If you read the "Start Here" section, the author talks about the secret to financial success is to not have an "overpriced phone" and to "not drive a car". Yeah, those are realistic for most people.
You don't need an iPhone. Live close to work if you can, or remote. If you cannot, buy a reliable used car.
He's preaching simple financial common sense that far too many folks lack. Live below your means, save a significant portion of your income into investments. This is not rocket science.
Protip: You cannot achieve financial independence living in the Bay Area unless you strike the options lottery; the cost of living is simply too high to save the amount of income necessary to do so (can't live below your means when ~50% of your income goes to rent).
I spend just under 50% of my income on rent. I save around 20% per month.
This is London, not the Bay, but I'm reasonably sure it's possible to accumulate savings even there - it just depends what you choose to spend money on.
Guy I work with spends less than half what I do on rent (he shares a room with his gf in a larger house and lives further out), but spends a fortune on things I'd never countenance. A vive, a £400 graphics card etc.
Clothes? Alcohol? Expensive meals? Coffees? Phones? Computer games? Peripherals? All choices that we make, all costs we can avoid/minimise.
