My first venture capital investment was in 2007. I invested $70,000 in my college classmate's gin company called Bulldog Gin, which ended up selling to Campari in 2017. Looking back, investing $70,000 in a single private company at age 30 was…

Investors and particularly homebuyers are wondering when will the Fed finally start cutting rates? After 11 rate hikes so far since 2022, investors and homebuyers are starting to feel the strain of higher borrowing costs. The longer the Fed Funds rate…

Home insurance costs are going up due to rising home prices, rising building costs, increasing natural disasters, and less appetite for risk from the insurance and reinsurance companies. As a result, more homeowners are looking to save by taking out an…

One of the best ways to increase your chances of making more money is to move to a city that has a high number of high-paying jobs. Ideally, you should secure a high-paying job offer first before moving to one of…

If you want to get smarter financially, it helps to think in extremes. Thinking in extremes makes financial concepts easier to understand. Since 2009, I've been using my background in finance to help readers and listeners achieve financial freedom sooner. However,…

Just like job loyalty, bank loyalty often doesn't pay in the short-term. I made the mistake of being a loyal employee for eleven years at my previous firm. If I had job-hopped, I probably could have made $1 million more in…

Paying all cash for a house is one of the best ways to beat out your competition and get a better deal. With all cash, you don't have to submit an offer with a financing contingency, which sellers dislike. As a…

The 60-day rollover rule enables you to borrow money from your retirement plans tax- and penalty-free. However, in general, I don't think it's wise to borrow from your retirement plans. If you do, you may get into the habit of robbing…

If you're thinking about holding individual municipal bonds as a safe and liquid source of funds, think twice. Owning highly-rated municipal bonds is low risk. However, selling individual municipal bonds can be incredibly expensive and cumbersome. Unlike stocks, which now have…

As an avid pickleball player and real estate investor, I thought it'd be good to go through a thought exercise on pickleball's impact on real estate prices. More pickleball courts will appear over time given pickleball continues to be the fastest…

As a homeowner and real estate investor, I want home prices and rents to rise. Real estate is an integral part of my Fat FIRE strategy of perpetually generating six figures in passive income. So when I saw Zillow's latest bullish…

Fidelity recently came out with its average and median 401(k) balances by generation. They are as follows: Gen Z: Average $7,100, Median $2,500 Millennials: Average $44,900, Median $15,500 Gen X: Average $145,500, Median $44,000 Boomers: Average $215,000, Median $61,200 How does…

Thanks to several commenters in my going back to work post, I'm getting more enthusiastic about sending my kids to community college! As a result, it may no longer be necessary for us to try and accumulate $1.5 million for two children…

With interest rates rising across Treasury bonds, municipal bonds, and corporate bonds, there comes a point where owning bonds becomes more attractive than owning stocks. The objective of this article is to figure out an appropriate stock allocation by bond yield…

Virtue signaling is the public expression of opinions or sentiments intended to demonstrate one's good character, social conscience, or the moral correctness of one's position on a particular issue. I don't mind virtue signaling if the person also lives by their beliefs. It is natural to want…

High interest rates could be the best thing for investors, personal finance enthusiasts, retirees, savers, and those seeking financial independence. You know, most of us. Even though it was uncomfortable to lose money when the Fed first started hiking rates in…

I've written about the importance of having a strong money mindset to get richer. But what I've also realized is having a scarcity mindset can also make you richer as well! Could both mindsets lead to good fortune? Let's explore. The…

Now that I'm in contract to buy a home with contingencies, I've been wrestling with my emotions on whether buying a new home is a good idea. Perhaps you've also become emotionally attached to your existing home and are questioning your…

With the tragic fire that occurred in Lahaina, Maui, it's important to review your home insurance policy and understand what it does and does not cover. You also need to have contingency plans in case your house burns down. If you…

If you or your spouse are rich, consider creating a trust fund job. This way, you'll gain more status, stay relevant, and deflect suspicions that you are an unproductive member of society. The older I've gotten, the more I realize there…

I realized something important for all of you who have automatic mortgage payments and also like to automatically pay down extra principal each month. It is don't forget to adjust your mortgage autopay amount when rates change. When I refinanced a…

After successfully replacing her lost passport, my wife finally got to Tokyo, Japan to help her mother out with her mother's sister's estate issues. At times, it felt like mission impossible coordinating the trip, booking the hotels, going to the countryside…

If you want to get rich, you might as well aim to get really rich. Being so-so rich, or mass affluent, where your household earns multiple six figures and has a single-digit million net worth, is not bad. But you'll likely…

During the summer, I like to work odd jobs to remind myself of the importance of hard work and determination. This way, it helps me not take for granted the things that I have today. Since starting Financial Samurai in 2009,…

I watched something on TikTok that made a good point. The premise is that Finance is the language of the elite. It sounds presumptuous and elitist, but it could be true! Have a watch or a listen and see if you…

CNBC got folks fired up when it came out with its top 10 worst states to live and work in. Texas, a state with a population of almost 30 million, came in as the worst state. I've been to Austin and…

In this podcast episode, I speak with Ben Miller, Co-Founder and CEO of Fundrise. We discuss the various opportunities and risks he sees for real estate and stock investors over the next 12-24 months. For the several years that I've known…

If you've been laid off from an employer with 100 or more full-time employees, you are eligible for Federal WARN Act pay. An employer must provide written notice to employees 60-days prior to a plant closing or a mass layoff. In…

In my quest to upgrade homes, I've come to realize that buying a home with contingencies is like getting a free call option. Your likely worst case scenario is that you make nothing. But your best case scenario is that you…

Although the Supreme Court striking down of Affirmative Action for college admissions is disappointing for many, there are some positives. One such positive is less stereotyping about how someone got into college. Another positive is that legacy admissions is now on…

Now that you know why a home's accurate square footage is important, it's time to exploit the inconsistencies and make some money! Every home buyer is a real estate investor, whether they know it or not. I always encourage homebuyers to…

If you're buying a home, you should compare the home's advertised square footage with the official square footage on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and tax records. Your goal is to uncover any discrepancy and understand why the discrepancy exists. The…

I wrote about the various paradoxes of wealth based on a Charles Schwab Modern Wealth Survey. In this article, I want to highlight another wealth paradox based on the amount people expect they need in retirement versus how much they actually…

Everybody should have some investments in stocks. Although stocks provide zero utility, some stocks provide dividend income and all stocks have the potential for capital appreciation. Since 1926 the S&P 500 has returned about 10% on average a year. Further, at…

I first wrote this post about financial independence in 2012, soon after I had left my day job in the finance industry. It was a 13-year slog, but I was thrilled and also a little worried about the unknown. The idea…

Let's say you've just graduated college and have a negative net worth due to student debt. Don't fret. You actually have a higher net worth than you think! This post will help you calculate the value of a college degree. A…

After every tennis match I lost in high school, my father would console me by saying, “You just weren't good enough.” Those words stung each time I heard them. But they were true. Over time, my dad stopped coming to my…

The 2023 Charles Schwab Modern Wealth Survey highlights the paradoxes of wealth in America. Over 1,000 individuals of all different backgrounds filled out the survey. Overall, the survey, conducted between March 1 and March 23, 2023, says it takes a net…

Why the heck are home prices not going down more with mortgage rates so high? In many parts of the country, home prices are actually going up! The answer to this conundrum is partly due to the “life goes on” home-buying…

After a 3-year COVID pause, student loan interest will resume starting on Sept. 1, 2023, and payments will be due starting in October,” according to the Department Of Education. “We will notify borrowers well before payments restart.” Given the pandemic was officially…

In one of my recent newsletters, I supposedly wrote something absurd. It didn't occur to me I was being absurd until a reader called me out. Read for yourself the introduction before I got into stocks, the economy, and more. Happy…

One of the fun things about giving up on retirement is preparing for upcoming job interviews. I probably gave over 300 interviews myself when I was working in banking from 1999 – 2012. One of my favorite interview questions is asking…

For those who follow golf, there was a blockbuster announcement that the PGA Tour would merge with the LIV Golf League. Nobody expected the PGA Tour to merge with LIV because the PGA Tour had been adamant in its disdain for…

With the Supreme Court decision on affirmative action in college admissions imminent, I thought it would be fascinating to see what artificial intelligence (using ChatGPT) thinks about the topic. This way, we can hopefully get a more balanced perspective about affirmative…

As a landlord who did a post-mortem pandemic review, I've come to realize renters also won big once the lockdowns began. I'm not talking about the renters who decided to stop paying rent even though they continued to be gainfully employed.…

Every landlord wants to increase rent to at least keep up with inflation. However, regularly increasing rent is hard to do. Let me show you how you can increase rent with minimum tension. Recently, I received a surprise automatic rental increase…

On August 1, 2020, I took out a 7/1 adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) at 2.125%. I could have gotten a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage for 2.75%. However, I wanted to save 0.625% in interest. Years later, mortgage rates have zoomed higher thanks…

I currently have an opportunity of upgrading homes but am unsure whether it's the right move. Maybe you're going through this dilemma as well and need to talk things through. The house I wanted to buy a year ago failed to…

Have you ever wondered why wealthy people are more willing to invest in hedge funds, venture capital, venture debt, private equity, and specialty funds? These are all actively-run funds that mostly have a history of underperforming the S&P 500. Yet, billions…