A recent WSJ piece entitled, If You Sell Your House, The Buyer Might Be A Pension Fund, caused some commotion. The article highlighted how competition is heating up for single family homes due to demand from institutional real estate investors. When I read the article, I was surprised to see Fundrise mentioned in the second […]

As the wealth gap continues to widen, it may be beneficial to learn how to convince people you are middle class when you’re actually rich. Otherwise, you might become target enemy number one when the revolution comes! To get things out of the way, I feel rich. Not only do I feel rich, but I […]

Let’s say the next black swan event isn’t a pandemic, but a zombie apocalypse. Or maybe World War III breaks out due to a fight for scarce resources. Clearly, instead of venturing out into the wild, we all need to find the easiest way to make money from home! The pandemic has been a little […]

Before reviewing my 1Q 2021 and discussing what’s next for various asset classes, let’s talk about hard things. Waiting for the opportune time to propose after buying an engagement ring is hard. The ring just starts burning a hole in your pocket. But do you know what’s even harder? Writing an April Fool’s Day post […]

Well folks, I decided to take my revenge spending seriously and buy myself a beachfront dream house. I was going to wait until my family moved to Hawaii before making the splurge. But after such a rough 12+ months, I asked myself, why wait? I’m not getting any younger! Ever since I landed my first […]

As we finally come out of the pandemic, let’s to take a look at the best places to invest in commercial real estate in 2021 and beyond. Inflation has become one of the top issues for investors this year. If inflation does begin to accelerate, I believe owning real assets is one of the best […]

Harvard University consistently is ranked one of the top universities in the world. But what if you got to Harvard University and still end up a nobody? When I say nobody, I’m just talking about being an average person working an average job. Not someone still living in mom’s garage playing video games all day […]

If you want to be happy, don’t make over $400,000 a year at your job. It usually requires long hours and lots of stress to make over $400,000 a year. Any envy about people making high incomes is often misplaced. Earning multiple six-figures doesn’t just come to you. Further, if President Biden gets his way, […]

The following is a guest post by FarmTogether, a leading online marketplace that provides accredited investors with direct access to institutional-grade farmland. FarmTogether is a long-time supporter of Financial Samurai. The mainstreaming of alternative investments and farmland investing is picking up steam. For example, FarmTogether recently closed on the largest single-asset crowdfunded farmland investment to […]

One of the benefits of property ownership is that you can remodel based on your tastes. Further, you can increase the value of your property by expanding its livable space. When the time comes to remodel, you will face a dilemma of whether to remodel with permits or without permits. In this post, we’ll go […]

Never let anything get in the way of pursuing your dreams. If you do, you will regret it. Remember that annoying kid in school who made fun of you for getting a good grade? The goal was to make you feel bad at doing well so he wouldn’t feel so terrible about himself. I had […]

Are you a parent worried about getting your kid into a great preschool or private grade school? Ever wonder about the preschool or private grade school interview process? Or how about what type of interview questions they will ask and what type of kids get in? After three years of navigating the preschool admissions process […]

It dawned on me a severance package can be valued like a risk asset (stocks, bonds, real estate etc). The value of a severance package can go up or down based on its projected income, your need for a financial buffer, and your ability to negotiate properly. Enhanced federal unemployment benefits since the pandemic began […]

Life insurance is a good idea if you are still on the path to financial independence. If you have debt and dependents, getting life insurance is a no-brainer. But do you still need life insurance when you’re financially independent or retired? To answer this question, we must first define what financial independence means and how […]

Bad pricing estimates by Zillow and Redfin are commonplace. Despite starting in 2004, Zillow’s estimates are especially unreliable for some reason. Over years of comparing the two, I’ve noticed Redfin’s pricing estimates are more accurate. Further, Redfin is much quicker to update the final sales price of a home after it goes pending. But even […]

There is a never-ending debate between real estate versus stocks as a better investment. Currently, ~40% of my net worth is in real estate while ~30% of my net worth is in stocks. Perhaps the main reason why is because I believe real estate is less risky than stocks. As I’ve gotten older and thankfully […]

In general, buying stocks on margin is a bad idea. However, the idea of buying stocks on margin has increased due to a long bull market and a drop in interest rates. More people are trying to get rich as quickly as possible thanks to what we see and hear on the internet. Let’s quickly […]

The ideal financial scenario in retirement is steady income and conservative returns. Financial loss creates stress. And given stress kills, your goal as a retiree should be to remove as much stress from your life as possible. Recently, I’ve been thinking about being OK with no longer making a lot of money from investments. With […]

After the unforeseen volatility of 2020, CrowdStreet wanted to know how individual investors were thinking about real estate investing in 2021. CrowdStreet was able to conduct a survey with 1,200 respondents, one of the largest of its kind. The survey results provide an insightful commercial real estate outlook for 2021 and beyond. I’m particularly interested […]

Let me share why I dislike investing in the stock market even in good times. Times are good now because we’re near all-time highs after a scary March 2020. Corporate earnings are rebounding. The economy is gradually opening up. There is light at the end of the tunnel. The problem with the stock market is […]

If there is one time to have money and spend money, it’s during a pandemic. Money should help make difficult times more bearable. If you can’t afford to spend extra money during a pandemic, then you can always revenge spend once the pandemic is over. Revenge spending is a way to make up for tougher […]

Before the internet, traditional publishing a book was the main way to get your book out into the world. Today, many aspiring authors have decided to bypass the gate keepers and go the self-publishing route. Traditional publishing means that your book is published by an established publishing house. The largest publishers are the “Big 5” […]

Whether you like it or not, interest rates are rising once more. This article will discuss how to invest and profit in a rising interest rate environment. I’m in the camp that interest rates will stay low for years to come because of the following reasons: Information efficiency Economic slack Contained inflation Coordinated Central Banks The […]

Antoine Watson, 19, decided to bum-rush and kill an 84-year-old man walking on the sidewalk minding his own business. Apparently, Antoine Watson was vandalizing a car across the street when he looked up and barked at the 84-year-old man to mind his own business. This incident hit home with me. I was parking my car […]

Are you a parent who feels guilty for not spending enough time with your kids every day? Perhaps you are chasing money and prestige more than you should. Good news! The average amount of time parents spend with their kids a day is shockingly low! The amount of time is so low, it makes me […]

In the never-ending desire to get rich quick, Reddit investors are the new kings and queens of day trading. Back in college, I was a degenerate day trader who bet on stocks between classes, partially based on what I read on message forums. More than 25 years later, it is fascinating to see forum-based trading […]

January 2021 went by so fast I almost forgot to do a review. Although January flew by, it didn’t feel that different compared to the end of last year. COVID-19 is still out there in force. When I saw 22,000+ fans at the Super Bowl in Tampa, I was shocked! However, upon learning they were […]

If there’s ever a time to have the ideal body weight, it’s during a global pandemic! All the studies have shown that those who are overweight or obese have a much tougher time combatting the coronavirus. Another thing to think about is maintaining an ideal body weight once you’ve reached financial independence. If you’re financially […]

If there’s ever a time to have the ideal body weight, it’s during a global pandemic! All the studies have shown that those who are overweight or obese have a much tougher time combatting the coronavirus. Another thing to think about is maintaining an ideal body weight once you’ve reached financial independence. If you’re financially […]

There are two different retirement philosophies that will determine your safe withdrawal rate. It is up to you to decide which retirement philosophy is best for you. There is no right or wrong philosophy. The first retirement philosophy is to spend all your money before you die. In other words, you wish to accomplish complete […]

I was talking to a tennis friend of mine who said his sister checked out once she cleared 10 million dollars. She was 37 when she decided to quit her job and go on an Eat, Pray, Love journey to Southeast Asia. She had made a bulk of her fortune as an early investor in […]

Do you know who missed out on great growth stocks like Tesla, Apple, Netflix, Google, Facebook, and more over the last 10+ years? Dividend stock investors. For younger investors (<40), I believe it’s better to invest mostly in growth stocks over dividend stocks. You’d rather invest in a company that is providing more capital appreciation […]

Look for Robinhood alternatives. Robinhood is an online brokerage house that steals from the poor (retail investors) and gives to the rich (hedge funds). When Robinhood decided to arbitrarily shut down the trading of 13 names on January 28, 2021, it caused thousands of investors to lose billions of dollars. As a result, you would […]

Let me say up front that day trading is a waste of time and money. You are much better off investing in long-term trends and dominant companies that are consistently growing their earnings. I first started day trading junior year in college. It was an expensive endeavor since each trade cost $10 at the time […]

Passive and active investing are two ways to make investment returns in the stock market. Since my first job in finance, I’ve always actively invested some of my funds to chase unicorns. The question is: what is the best split between passive and active investing? If you are only a passive investor, you won’t be […]

Have you just been rejected by a company you desperately wanted to join? Are you now feeling melancholy because your future isn’t going as planned? Don’t worry! I’ve got a money-making and heart-mending solution for you. In Three White Tenants, One Asian Landlord, I wrote about my experience getting rejected by over 100 tech companies […]

If there’s one thing I love to do, it’s plan for retirement before retirement and during retirement. The more you can plan for retirement, the more retirement success you will likely have. In the old days, I would write everything out on a spreadsheet and update each line item every month. Fortunately, more fintech companies […]

Like many of you, I’ve been wondering how Joe Biden, a Democratic President will affect my life. And I’ve come to the conclusion the best time to retire may be under a Democratic President. In general, I’ve tried not to rely on the government for anything. Instead, I’ve been indoctrinated since getting my first job […]

I realized the other day that all my tenants are White. I’d never thought about my tenants’ racial makeup until I read an article by Washington Post journalist, Michelle Singletary, entitled, “The Legacy Of Slavery Made My Grandmother Fear Investing.” Michelle writes how discriminatory policies of the past shaped the way her grandmother approached investing. […]

I’ve written about how to become a millionaire by 30. A lot of luck, hard work, strategy, and risk are involved. Most of us will eventually become 401k millionaires by 60 if we keep contributing the maximum. However, what about becoming a millionaire by 20? It sounds almost impossible given kids must focus on school […]

To gauge performance, you need to have net worth benchmarks. Otherwise, you have no idea whether you are outperforming or underperforming the masses. Even if your net worth is up 20% one year, it may be not be so great if the S&P 500 is up 40% and you’re still young. At the end of […]

Coming up with a sizable down payment is one of the key barriers to affording a home. Learning how to invest your down payment if you’re planning to buy a house is a whole other issue. On the one hand, you want to invest your down payment conservatively so that’s it’s available once you find […]

I’m bullish on real estate in 2021+. With two efficacious vaccines, an accommodative Fed, continued low mortgage rates, another round of stimulus, work from home here to stay, the desire to own income-producing assets, and pent up demand, real estate has a bright future. Here is the latest Fundrise overview. Fundrise is a leading real […]

There’s a saying that goes something like this: To feel rich, take whatever you earn and triple it. Once you get there, triple it again. In other words, due to hedonic adaptation, it’s impossible to ever feel rich! But I’ve noticed on my path to financial freedom there were several times when I felt incredibly rich. […]

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Given Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, I thought it would be a good idea to discuss when to have more children. Having children is a personal choice. There is no right or wrong answer. However, once you have children, it’s hard to imagine anything more […]

In the debate between stocks versus real estate as a better investment, a common issue that comes up is real estate’s lack of liquidity. Due to its lack of liquidity, it should be considered inferior to stocks. However, I believe the need for liquidity is overrated. If you are financially competent, there will rarely be […]

Right before negotiating my severance in 2012, I wondered whether I should get a Ph.D. After 13 years in the private sector, I thought it would be nice to switch things up. Besides, if I got my Ph.D., I could demand people call me doctor, just like how our incoming First Lady demands to be […]

Ever since the global pandemic began, the private jet market has been booming. But as a financially savvy person, you might wonder how much does it cost to fly private? Further, are there any cost-efficient ways to fly private?  Flying private is one luxury that can improve your life once you become rich. No more […]

For the past 10 years, traffic for the post, West Coast Living: Yes It Really Is Better, starts picking up around Thanksgiving. In the past, people landing on this post would come mainly from the East Coast. However, this year, I’m seeing more people coming from the Midwest and the South. The topic of migrating […]

A bullish indicator gives investors more confidence to buy or hold a position. There are many variables to track when making an investment decision. However, this bullish indicator has been flashing green since 2Q2020 and is still flashing green today. As I was updating my post on helping people decide whether to pay down debt […]