Not raising the debt ceiling could cause another sell-off in the stock market. If so, history has shown it is worth buying the dip as politicians eventually agree to raise the debt ceiling limit and curb some spending. However, have you ever wondered why the government doesn’t spend more responsibly? After all, we individuals are […]
Debt Ceiling Debacle: Why Not Just Spend More Responsibly? Read More »
We’ve gone through exercises on how I’d invest $100,000 and $250,000. Now let’s go through an exercise on how I’d invest a million dollars today. Investing a million dollars is slightly different from investing $100,000 and $250,000. You can more easily afford to lose $100,000 – $250,000. But if you lose $1,000,000, you might enter
How I’d Invest One Million Dollars Today For A Better Tomorrow Read More »
If you’re looking at buying a house in 2024, I believe a window of opportunity is open. I had originally written this post discussing buying a house in 2023, which turns out to have been a great time to buy. But now that it’s 2024, I’ve updated it. You want to be buying before mortgage
Buying A House In 2024: A Window Of Opportunity Emerges Read More »
Have you ever visited Pity City? You know, the place where you feel sorry for yourself and all your problems? I think we’ve all been there before. At Financial Samurai, we accept our situation and take action to make things better. Complaining why life isn’t fair is not the Financial Samurai way! We are all
A Visit To Pity City Shows Your Boss Probably Doesn’t Care About You Read More »
One reason why you might want to attend an Ivy League college or similar college is to earn a higher income. As a parent, you hope your child attending an elite university will make them upwardly mobile. A better life is what every parent wants for their kids. And a better life often means having
Median Income Earned By Ivy League Graduates: Unimpressive At First Read More »
The older you get, the more you will value life because you have less of it. If you want to live longer, you should aim to grow richer and live in a more hospitable place. As you will see in this article, the correlation with life expectancy, wealth, and location is strong. In 2024, life
Your Life Expectancy Depends Greatly On Wealth And Location Read More »
Have you ever wondered why there is so much angst and anxiety from some high-income earning households that seem to have it all? Based on my years of research, the three main reasons are: 1) never-ending comparison, 2) a lack of generational wealth, and 3) having children. Generational wealth is next-level wealth. If you have
Generational Wealth And The Angst Of The Not Rich Enough Class Read More »
After doing a deep dive on the different ways to pay for college and how to get good financial aid, I realized the best thing for my family is for me to go back to work. Coming up with $1,500,000 for two kids’ college experience in 12-15 years is daunting. Going back to work feels
Sadly Giving Up On Retirement And Going Back To Work Read More »
College is expensive and will only get more expensive over time. If you can get good college financial aid in terms of grants and scholarships (free money), as opposed to bad financial aid (loans), attending college will be much more affordable. We’ve already talked about the different ways for us to pay for college. Now
Free Money! How To Game The College Financial Aid System Read More »
One of the main reasons why I read lots of books is to learn from people who’ve been there before. And after reading The Price You Pay For College, one of my biggest blind spots I realized is that I don’t have to save so much for college anymore! If you are a parent who’s
The Different Ways To Pay For College: My Surprising Blind Spot Read More »
Most people have a bank account where they securely receive, withdraw, and manage their cash. But is having just one banking relationship enough today when established banks are at risk to close down overnight? I don’t think so. After the collapse of SVB and Signature Bank, I decided to review our existing banking relationships and
The Ideal Number Of Banking Relationships To Feel Safe And Secure Read More »
The 2024 Social Security COLA (Cost Of Living Adjustment) for over 71 million Americans is +3.2%. What was even more impressive was the 2023 Social Security COLA was a whopping 8.7%! An increase of that size is both huge and head-scratching. The 2023 Social Security COLA is huge in comparison to 2024 and prior years
The Social Security COLA Is Huge: Traditional Retirees Rejoice! Read More »
Taxes are most likely our largest ongoing liability. Therefore, we should understand the latest tax brackets for 2023. I go through this exercise every year to guide how I will spend my time, my most valuable asset. Based on a thorough understanding of the 2023 tax brackets, we can then logically come up with the
2023 Tax Brackets: The Best Income To Live A Great Life Read More »
As someone who wants to buy a new car this year, given my car is 10 years old, I’m having second thoughts. With the average new car price at almost $50,000, it seems like only the rich can buy new cars today! Think about it. If you follow my 1/10th rule for car buying, you
Only The Rich (Or Fools) Can Afford To Buy New Cars Today Read More »
Although it’s a bummer to hear about more layoffs as the economy slows, I also feel a lot of hope and excitement for those who have lost their jobs for two reasons. First, there is the benefit of getting a severance package. Imagine getting a severance package worth six months of salary and then finding
How One Man Negotiated A $40 Million Mass Severance Package Read More »
Early retirement / FIRE is becoming obsolete and that’s a good thing! No longer do you have to grind as hard and save as much to quit your job ASAP and retire early. Today, you can find many better ways to earn a living, no matter your education level or current occupation. As a result,
Why Early Retirement / FIRE Is Becoming Obsolete Read More »
Sometimes you take a leap of faith with and your dreams don’t come true. That’s OK because at least you won’t regret never trying! In this article, taking a leap of faith means trying your hand at entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship means leaving the comfort of a steady paycheck and benefits to make money from an idea.
What If You Take A Leap Of Faith And Your Dreams Don’t Come True Read More »
2023 housing price forecasts from various institutions range from -22% to + 5.4%. There is no consensus as to which way house prices will go. However, the bias is towards the downside. There is also the issue of forecasting the national median home price and the price of your local housing market. While we care
2023 Housing Price Forecasts: More Bears Than Bulls Read More »
Below are the newest 2023 Wall Street S&P 500 forecasts. The S&P 500 price targets range from 3,675 to 4,500. This implies returns of between -4.6% and +16.8% from the Dec 16, 2022 close of 3,852. The key risks to the S&P 500’s performance include earnings cuts and valuation compression. If these two things were
2023 Wall Street Forecasts For The S&P 500: Huge Dispersion Read More »
You don’t need to be a great investor to make lots of money. You just need to be a good-enough investor. Once you’re good enough you’ll be able to ride an almost constant tailwind toward financial independence. Further, you’ll learn to no longer blow yourself up and lose all your progress. One of my favorite
How To Become A Good-Enough Investor: Investing Lessons Since 1996 Read More »
With U.S. Treasury bond yields still high, the interest in buying Treasury bonds has increased. Let me show you how to buy Treasury bonds online. I’ll then share some buying strategies to help maximize returns and liquidity. Treasury bonds are risk-free investments if you hold them until maturity. You don’t have to pay state or
How To Buy Treasury Bonds And Buying Strategies To Consider Read More »
After two of brainstorming, writing, rewriting, and editing during the pandemic, my book, Buy This, Not That: How To Spend Your Way To Wealth And Freedom is now available! Let me share why I wrote a new personal finance book after writing about personal finance since 2009. Buy This Not That became an instant Wall
Why I Wrote A New Personal Finance Book: Buy This, Not That Read More »
In February 2012, I decided to negotiate a severance to break free from corporate life. By mid-June 2012, I had received a severance check and the last of my three months of WARN Act pay. More than thirteen years of fake retirement later, I want to share with you some of my biggest takeaways. Overall,
10+ Years Of Fake Retirement Later: The Most Important Takeaways Read More »
Whether you are a semi-retiree, a traditional retiree living off Social Security, or someone with a day job, cash flow is more important than net worth, especially during an economic downturn. Net worth is often an illusion that only helps to boost your ego when times are good. When times are bad, calculating your net
Why Cash Flow Is More Important Than Net Worth: Focus On What’s Real Read More »
Your financial independence number is the amount of money you think you need in order to be free. Unfortunately, if nothing changes in your life after reaching your financial independence number, then the number simply is not real. You need to accumulate more capital and generate more passive income. Some people continue to believe once
Your Financial Independence Number Is Not Real If Nothing Changes Read More »
I decided to invest in two private funds: 1) Kleiner Perkins 20 (KP20), and 2) Kleiner Perkins Select2. Kleiner Perkins is a top-tier venture capital shop which has made more recent home run investments in Figma and Ripple. This article will explain why I invest in private funds even though they charge higher fees. KP20
Why Invest In Private Funds Even Though They Charge Higher Fees Read More »
At last! After more than three years of deliberating what to do about life insurance, I finally got myself an affordable life insurance policy with no medical exam with Policygenius! If you’re looking to get the same, here’s how I did it. Let me share a bit of background first. Back in January 2012, at
How I Finally Got Affordable Life Insurance With No Medical Exam Read More »
The best time to own the nicest house you can afford is when you have the most number of people living in it. This way, your house is providing for the most number of people. The most number of people are enjoying your house. Finally, the cost is spread out and provides better value. Therefore,
The Best Time To Own The Nicest House You Can Afford Read More »
A Roth IRA conversion is potentially a way to save on taxes in retirement. However, for most people, converting to a Roth IRA is probably a waste of time. It is highly unlikely you will make more in retirement than while working. As a result, your tax rate will likely be lower in retirement. I
A Roth IRA Conversion Is Probably A Waste Of Time And Money For Most Read More »
Given our primary residence is likely one of our largest assets, buying responsibly is prudent. At the same time, living a better lifestyle by owning a nicer home as we get wealthier is also something many people desire. Therefore, let’s try and figure out what our appropriate primary residence value should be as a percentage
Primary Residence Value As A Percentage Of Net Worth Guide Read More »
There’s no one-size-fits-all best age to get life insurance. However, I believe the best age to get life insurance is around age 30. And the best life insurance term to get at around age 30 is a 30-year term life insurance policy. If you get life insurance at 30, you will likely get the best
The Best Age To Get Life Insurance Based On Logic And Reasoning Read More »
If you want to get rich, you should focus on trends. I believe one of the best long-term trends is investing in the heartland of America due to growth of technology and remote work. People want to live in a lower-cost area of the country that is less dense. Thanks to the pandemic, work-from-home is
Focus On Trends: Why I’m Investing In The Heartland Of America Read More »
Curious to know the ideal net worth for retirement? As someone semi-retired in 2012 at age 34 with $3 million, let me tell you. $10 million sounds like the ideal amount of money to retire with. With $10 million in investable assets, you can easily generate between $300,000 – $500,000 of low-risk investment income. I
10 Million Dollars: The Ideal Net Worth Amount For Retirement? Read More »
I’m bullish on real estate for the next several years. With multiple efficacious vaccines, high inflation, continued low and negative real mortgage rates, plenty of stimulus, work from home here to stay, and the desire to own income-producing assets, real estate has a bright future. Here is the latest Fundrise overview. Fundrise is a leading
Fundrise Overview And The Future Of Real Estate Read More »
For those of you without cushy pensions, I’m sorry folks. The 4 percent rule is outdated. The rule was popularized in the 1990s. It is now unwise to follow the 4 percent rule as a proper safe withdrawal rate in retirement, especially if you are part of the FIRE movement. Instead, I highly recommend lowering
The Proper Safe Withdrawal Rate: 4 Percent Rule Is Outdated Read More »
Everybody wants to become a millionaire. Unfortunately, not everybody’s chances of becoming a millionaire are the same, partially because the playing field is not even. This article looks at historical data on your chances of becoming a millionaire by race, age, and education. Getting to at least one million dollars in net worth is a
Your Chances Of Becoming A Millionaire By Race, Age, And Education Read More »
How To Engineer Your Layoff is my bestselling ebook that will teach you how to negotiate a severance package. For those of you who want to walk away from your job with money in your pocket, my book is for you. By age 34, I was able to confidently leave my job in finance and
How To Engineer Your Layoff: Make A Small Fortune By Saying Goodbye Read More »
Can you imagine scraping by on $500,000 a year? Well, believe it. Thousands of households living in expensive cities are running on this never-ending treadmill. It’s only when you can lock down expenses, save and invest aggressively, will you ever escape the rat race. They’ve got big mortgages, private school tuition to pay, and fancy
Scraping By On $500,000 A Year: Why It’s So Hard To Escape The Rat Race Read More »
Only when the stock market goes down do people start to wonder whether they have too much exposure to stocks (equities). Questions arise: Should I cut back? Should I buy the dip? What’s the appropriate allocation to stocks right now? While the answer depends on many variables—your risk tolerance, age, net worth, current asset allocation, and
How To Easily Determine The Right Amount Of Stock Exposure Read More »
Get excited! After over two years of writing and editing, I’m thrilled to finally share my upcoming new book with you: Millionaire Milestones: Simple Steps To Seven Figures! If you’ve enjoyed my writing on Financial Samurai over the past 16 years, you’re going to love this book out on May 6, 2025. With over 30
New Book! Millionaire Milestones: Simple Steps To Seven Figures Read More »
When it comes to selling a home, first impressions are everything. Yet, many sellers make the mistake of thinking buyers can look past an empty room, outdated furniture, or a poorly lit space. The reality? Most buyers have little imagination. They struggle to visualize a home’s true potential unless it’s presented to them in a
Staging A Home Is Worth It Because Most Buyers Lack Imagination Read More »
The first year after purchasing a house is the most dangerous and potentially challenging period. This is particularly true for first-time homebuyers who likely stretched their finances to achieve a 10 percent or greater down payment, leaving their liquidity quite thin. Once you’ve secured the house, you are inevitably confronted with unknowns that only become
How To Survive The Most Dangerous Time After Buying A House Read More »
With a likely recession and potentially stagflation on the horizon, I suspect many more families will join us as DUPs: Dual Unemployed Parents. Mass layoffs and company shutdowns will ripple through the economy. According to USA Facts, there were approximately 38 million single-income households in 2022. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were
The Precarious Life of Dual Unemployed Parents (DUPs) Read More »
Creating an investment game plan is a crucial part of building lasting wealth. Without one, you’re likely to accumulate far less over your lifetime. Now that the S&P 500 briefly corrected by 20% in 2025, we’ve officially entered another bear market. Historically, bear markets have lasted about two years on average, but this one is
My Bear Market Investment Game Plan: Adjusting the Strategy Read More »
As stocks plummet and recession fears grow, there’s one silver lining worth highlighting: the increasing value of your home, if you own one. A home is a fundamental necessity for survival, stocks are not. So, the government sacrificing your stock portfolio to strengthen or preserve your housing situation can be seen as a net benefit.
Sacrificing The Stock Market For The Good Of Your Loving Home Read More »
Stagflation is a rare and challenging economic condition where slow or stagnant growth, high unemployment, and persistent inflation occur simultaneously. Typically, inflation rises when an economy is expanding and demand is strong, while recessions tend to bring lower inflation due to weaker demand. Stagflation defies this pattern, making it particularly difficult to address with traditional
Stagflation Is Worse Than A Recession: Here’s How To Prepare Read More »
As I sadly watch my stock portfolio go down the tubes due to reciprocal tariffs and retaliation from China, I find serenity in my paid-off home. No matter how much the stock market tanks, it’s comforting to know I’ll always have shelter to take care of my family. It’s funny, but only active investors, finance
A Paid-Off Home Is A Great Shield Against Fear And Uncertainty Read More »
Reciprocal tariffs will drive up the cost of most goods, making everyday life more expensive for American households. According to Fitch Ratings, the U.S. tariff rate on all imports has jumped from 2.5% in 2024 to around 22% today. Some research firms estimate the percentage is closer to 30%. As a result, more Americans may
Reciprocal Tariffs Actually Make Wealthy Americans Even Richer Read More »
