Financial Samurai

I had lunch today with one of the co-founders of BuzzLogic to catch up on life and discuss the world of online social media. If you don’t know about BuzzLogic, the company is one of Silicon Valley’s great start ups that got into the blogging world early. BuzzLogic developed a unique technological platform and a fantastic premium display ad network that maximizes the returns of advertisers and publishers alike. If you’re an advertiser or publisher, it’s definitely worth a look.

The funny thing is, my friend and I have been playing poker together for the past couple years, and I had no idea what he did. I just assumed everybody was a poker junky and I did my best to blend in, often times trying to beat the lowest denominator on the dress scale with my raggidy sweats and soiled baseball cap. Perhaps they’d have mercy on me given my appearance, or perhaps they’d smell blood and bulldoze me over! Both strategies have their strengths and weaknesses, but after a while, they all figured out I’m one of the tightest players at the table. At any rate, it just goes to show you how small the world is, so be nice to everyone, especially in a big city.

My friend shared with me many great tips for Financial Samurai, one of which I will implement today. At the end of every month, I will produce an“Editorial Calendar” with a theme for the following month. Given that it’s only a matter of time before the unemployment rate breaches 10% nationwide , many of August’s entries will be related to the intricate world of employment. From interview tips, to maximizing your chances of getting your foot in the door, to getting ahead in your career, I’d like to share some of my strategies and experiences, as well as highlight posts from the personal finance community to analyze and discuss. I’m confident that we can collectively help make a difference.

“How High Can Unemployment Go Before We Derail?”

“To MBA Or Not To MBA”

“Do Rich People Try Harder?”

If readers or publishers have great posts they’ve come across, please feel free to e-mail me or put up in the comment section. Have a wonderful weekend everybody and stay frugal!

Keigu,

Financial Samurai – “Slicing Through Money’s Mysteries”

Back in the last downturn from 2001-2003 I had incredible back pain. I couldn’t sit for very long, and my legs were going numb. Doctors told me I had sciatica, a pinched nerve down my spine that spread to the tips of my toes. Even the process of driving wore me out so I decided to stop driving altogether. One day, my colleague and I were walking towards a restaurant to meet a client and he collapsed. Apparently, he was suffering from the same symptoms I was going through. However, in his case, he had a family to take care of with his newborn child, and he was losing much more than me (“Less You Have The Less You Lose”) in the downturn.

I was the junior guy, and he was the senior guy. When rumors came a long that our compensation was going to be slashed in half, I hoped out loud that I would outperform since I didn’t make much in the first place. Half of nothing is still nothing I reasoned. When my bonus was slashed in half like everybody else, I was not a happy camper and asked my mentor how pitiful was I? I didn’t complain too loudly due to the rounds of layoffs, but I couldn’t help feeling disappointed in myself. He explained to me in a funny way I will never forget. He said, “Sam don’t worry, you don’t make much so it doesn’t matter anyways!” He went on to say, “Look at me. I have a big mortgage, a new family to support, got cut in half too and I make A LOT more than you do!” Gee thanks! At the time, I didn’t really appreciate his brutal honesty, but fast forward 7 years later, I know exactly what he’s talking about. My mentor’s absolute income likely declined 10X my amount, and he was so stressed out his fear and anger manifested itself into debilitating back pain.

About two months after his collapse, he told me he was entirely pain free. The markets still weren’t great, and I remember having to fork out $700 bucks for a brand new Herman Miller Aeron chair because I couldn’t sit. He gave me a copy of “Healing Back Pain,” by Dr. Sarno. There was NO WAY after seeing him crumble to the cement pavement that day, and limping around for weeks after that his back pain was healed. I was skeptical that an easy to read, 180-page paper back book could do wonders and get him to go out golfing with clients again. None of the massages or chiropractic visits did anything to help my pain so what’s a fluff book going to do for me?
Read more…

At the beginning of every year, I tell myself that I’m going to eat better and exercise more. Yet, every December, I look and weigh exactly the same and get frustrated until the New Year, when the cycle starts anew. My theory on weight is simply that we all have a weight range we fluctuate in, and every 5 years that band increases towards the heavier side! That was my excuse for my lack of improvement.

I used to also think that our weight was 70% hereditary and 30% diet and exercise until I saw the show “The Biggest Loser!” Now I think the ratios are the complete opposite. If you really want to get motivated and cry at the same time, you’ve got to watch the show. The show’s concept is simple. After 3 months of boot camp, whoever loses the most weight wins gobs of money! The results are astonishing. Season 7′s winner, Helen lost an amazing 140lbs from her original 255lbs start weight. Go Helen!

The Biggest Loser show demonstrates that with enough motivation and discipline we can lose a lot of undesired weight. In fact, for 7 seasons in a row each of the winners have lost over 100lbs!

FOOD EXPENSE & GOALS

On average, I spend about $20 a weekday for food and $100 per weekend for a total weekly cost of $200 and a total monthly cost of around $800! I had no idea how much I was spending until I decided to write everything down for two weeks and annualize accordingly. $800 was clearly overkill, especially since it accounts for over 65% of my then, discretionary spending.

When the downturn hit, I decided to do an experiment partly to bring down my food expenses by 30%, and partly because I was inspired by The Biggest Loser, to shed 15lbs and get down to my college fighting weight of 160. At 160 lbs, my
Body Mass Index would be 23 (18.5-24.9 is normal weight) from slightly overweight at 25.5. If Helen can lose 140 pounds, why can’t I lose a lousy 15?! Read more…

Some of you have asked me to write about property, a topic still dear to me despite the correction. First and foremost, I believe a property is not so much an investment but a lifestyle decision. When we choose to buy property, we’re choosing to plant roots in a neighborhood we love, and build our lives accordingly. Not to say you can’t do the same renting. When you have a large financial commitment to your abode, you tend to be less transient, all with a heightened sense of awareness that your home brings you great pleasure but also great financial responsibility.

When people get in the mindset of buying a property to flip, things can go seriously wrong due to the illiquid nature of the asset and the high transaction costs. Although the hurt in property has been broadcast everyday in every media outlet for the past year, less than 3% of the housing stock trades a year. In other words, the large majority of property owners shouldn’t be affected unless they just had to sell today. This is not a post about the merits of owning vs. renting, a topic which we can get into later.

Buying property is relatively straightforward. Your high tax bracket is killing you, you have at least 30% of the properties’ value in cash so that you can put 20% down and have a 10% buffer, you believe you’ll live in the place for 5-7 years, the rental yield compares favorably with the current gov’t 10 yr risk free rate, the place is nicer than anything available in the rental stock, and the location is good, so you buy. Let’s assume you own a piece of property, and you’ve got a nice big fat juicy Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC). You’ve noticed the HELOC rate drop to an outrageously low interest rate equal to Prime, or 3.25%. What do you do with it?

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The California Muni Bus system recently raised their one way fare from $1.5 to $2, as they desperately try to pay for another mismanaged government agency. When the fare was $1.5, sometimes you had to just eat the 50 cents change you were owed because you only had two dollar bills. Fine, your fault, no big deal. But is this the right type of thinking for those who are really looking to save money? After all, $2 is 33% more than $1.5. Would you be ok with paying $200 for that jacket if it was only $150, because the store has no change? Heck no. Government transportation systems around the world rely on this type of consumer laziness to pad their profits and make more than they normally would. Retailers who sell gift cards, either count on the consumer to lose the gift card, forget they even have it, or let the usage date expire to reaping in millions of dollars each year.

As I was on my way way home from work this afternoon, a woman told the bus driver after he started moving that she didn’t have correct change and only had a $20! He muttered something under his breath and told her to go ask fellow passengers. Come on lady, how many of us bus riders are going to have one $10, one $5, and five $1s for your $20? We take the bus! Change for $5 bucks ok, but $20? So sorry. In the end, none of the 20+ passengers had any change, and she sheepishly put the $20 bucks through the feeder!

If we’re taking the bus in the first place, we’re generally more frugal than the average person, so why would we be so lazy as to not give correct change? The answer probably has to do with convenience. Convenience is definitely valuable, no doubt. However, I want to challenge the RB30RB40 readers on this type of thinking, because collectively, over our life times, not giving the correct change ads up. Laziness is what results in late charges, and over draft fees and robs us of our financial freedom. So much about personal finance is about making conscience decisions that allow us to prosper going forward.

When the lady got off the bus, the bus driver yelled, “Correct change appreciated as always unless you got a $20! Hold on!”

Have a fantastic weekend everybody!

Best,

Sam

A very interesting article in the New York Times highlighted PayScale’s survey of 1.2million college graduates to find out what they made right out of school, and 10 years after graduation. If you look at the picture, it’s interesting to note that the majority of schools are: 1) Private Schools, and 2) Highly Ranked in US News & World Report and other popular college rankings.

The average SAT and GPA scores of these 20 schools are roughly 1,300 and 3.7, respectively. Hence, one could argue that the key to making a six figure income 10 years out of school is simply high test scores and good grades! As such, it behooves all incoming 9th graders to recognize their grades accumulate from 9th to 12th grade, and not to mess their chances up of getting into Dartmouth, UPenn, and Yale.

IN THE LONG RUN

I really used to think education was not very useful since we forget much of what we learn. But, as I grow older, it becomes apparent that many of the most successful people we know have been very well educated. Barack Obama went to Columbia for his BA, and Harvard Law School. George Bush Senior went to Yale, and even Bush Junior went to Harvard. Say what you will, but anybody who becomes the President of the Free World is successful in my eyes. In the long run, the cream rises to the top, be it whip cream or sour cream. Read more…

One of my good friends is getting married, and he asked me, “Sam, what on earth am I supposed to get her for an engagement ring?” What a question, that’s not easily answered.  Generally, the right answer is “whatever she wants“!  However, as we all know, sometimes ladies are harder to read than a children’s book in large print!

Before we begin, if any of you single guys out there want to attract the ladies, bust out the turquoise diamond ring guide book from Tiffany’s in any public space. The white book from Cartier will also do. I take the bus to work everyday, and I remember as soon as I took out the book from my bag, every single lady on the bus looked over. Just think, one of the great pick up lines to a staring woman could be, “Excuse me, but my friend asked me for his advice on this particular design (point to book), what do you think?” Clearly, if you use this line, you should not be proposing!

In the spirit of personal finance, let’s discuss some tips for buying an engagement ring.

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I went shopping this weekend to buy myself a new pair of comfortable brown leather loafers for work. I’ve worn my $60 Timberland loafers from Shoe Pavilion (discount store) for the past two years, and they are starting to get holes. I have to say, when it comes time to shop for work clothes, I’m just so uninterested. To me, shopping for work clothes becomes a “work expense” I resent. Because dressing reasonably professionally is a necessity at work, I feel I’m not spending my money on what I want, and that annoys me. My ideal outfit, after all, is a t-shirt, a well worn pair of jeans and flip flops.

I decided I wasn’t going to buy the same old boring shoes anymore. I was on a shoe revolt! Instead of going to DSW Shoe Company or Ross Dress For Less, I went to Barney’s New York to buy a $435 pair of Tod’s loafers (see picture)! I’ve actually been eyeing this shoe for more than two years, and just couldn’t find my size when it went on sale for “only” $250 last Christmas. It’s a good looking shoe, with beautiful leather and a nice rubber sole. However, there’s no way in heck it’s worth $435, or 5X what I’d normally pay for shoes. That said, I bought it anyway, because I wanted to enjoy the shoe, at least temporarily before I see the charge come up on my credit card bill online.

I’ve really spent $0 dollars, b/c the credit card is a wonderful tool to temporarily borrow something without any cash outlay. Where people seem to get in trouble is when they actually keep the item, go figure. Barney’s has a 30 day return policy, and I expect to tempt myself for at least a couple weeks before I wake up, smack myself and realize that $435 is just an absolutely ridiculous sum of money to spend on loafers. I’m just being lazy, and not searching cheaper stores for equally attractive shoes. In the mean time, I’m going to enjoy these loafers to my heart’s content.

My system of resisting the urge to splurge is quite simple:

1) Splurge on things if you really want it, but make sure there is a return policy and that you understand the terms! The initial point of purchase is generally the highest point of euphoria, especially when not paying cash. The euphoria tends to fade over time, and the dread mounts when the bill comes due. If there was a return policy on cars, I’d be all over it! But, as my wife always says when i’m about to buy a new car, “There’s no return policy!”

2) Enjoy the item for the life of the return policy minus 1 day. You need to enjoy the good for as long as possible to rid yourself of the desire for that good. Return it one day before it’s due at the latest, b/c you may forget, or the store may try and manipulate you into not being able to return the good.

3) Take the cost of the item and multiply it by 130% to get the pre-tax income you need to make/spend. Take this pre-tax income and divide it by your hourly wage to figure out how many hours you need to work to buy that good. The first exercise is generally enough to make me not buy anything wasteful. It’s the second item that really pushes me over the edge.

4) Remind yourself never to pay full retail. The reason why luxury goods manufacturer LVMH has 90% gross margins, is because they charge customer 9X their manufacturing cost. Try your hardest to find a similar good at a much cheaper price during your “borrowing period.” Make it an adventure in savings if you will.

5) Finally, take a look at that credit card bill on-line and tell yourself how good it’ll feel not having to pay such debt and return the darn thing! The reward for not splurging is the cash/savings that remains in your bank account! Think about the lost investment returns you’ll be missing, and remind yourself that the money you spent is less money you’ll have for achieving early retirement.

After all these defenses, there are some things in life you just have to have, such as that fine Rolex watch you’ve waited 10 years for ever since graduation. Whatever the case may be, I firmly believe one should be able to treat oneself within reason. For a car, my limit is spending no more than 1/10th my gross income. It’s just when you want to have that 2nd watch, that 5th pair of jeans, or third LV handbag where things start spiraling out of control. I think you’ll have fun resisting the urge to splurge with the 5 defenses above because you’re actually getting to enjoy the item without having to buy it. Don’t ever feel guilty returning an item. It is your right, and your early retirement prerogative!

Related Post: “Mea Culpa – I Just Spent $1,450 At The Apple Store”

Rgds,

Financial Samurai - “Slicing Through Money’s Mysteries”