About

February 27th, 2010 Leave a comment Go to comments

FINANCIAL SAMURAI – INTRODUCTION

The Journeyman’s Goal To Financial Independence By 45

After 10 years in corporate America, I thought I had it made. A healthy paying job, a real estate portfolio, company stock, and a savings/emergency fund that would last me 4 years if I ever became unemployed. I did everything the personal finance books taught us to do and I still lost 35% of my net worth in 2008-2009 due to the economic meltdown.  The financial downturn has motivated me to share my experiences to help others and keep myself in check.

FROM HUMBLE BEGINNINGS

My first job ever was at McDonald’s for $3.12 cents an hour. I was responsible for opening up the store at 6am every weekend for several months. The job was horrible, and we had a power hungry manager who scolded us for speaking Spanish and not English in front of customers. At least I got a “B” in Spanish. I remember trying to make 9 Egg McMuffins at a time for 3 straight hours, adeptly cracking eggs left and right with both hands. It was hot, and oh the pressure was immense. Things weren’t all bad though.  After-all, we could eat as many hot apple pies we wanted.

My parents never bought me anything too expensive growing up. They were frugal and made an average middle income salary. I never had a camera or a Nintendo console, but I did enjoy playing tennis with my father and listening to my mother talk about religion. The most expensive gift I ever got was a 1987 Honda Civic with 140,000 miles for $1,800 bucks after doing well in HS. I’m truly thankful for this gift as I drove it until I graduated college.

COLLEGE

I had a choice between private school or public school for college, and I chose public school. There was no way I could feel comfortable allowing my parents to pay $25,000 a year in tuition alone, when there were plenty of top quality public schools for only $5,000 a year. Besides, I planned to payback my parents and couldn’t stomach that type of debt. The $30 a day I made at McDonald’s had a more profound impact on me than I realized!

STOCKS ARE VOLATILE

My father introduced me to the stock market in college. Through stocks, suddenly I could make much more money than through working at the library at now $4.5 an hour. Little did I know, that I could lose an infinite amount more money though! The taste of success came when I bought 500 shares of Books A Million (BAM, a now defunct Book Seller). The stock went up 25%, and I made $550 in 1 hour. From that trade on, I knew I wanted to do something in finance, where anybody with enough guts could make as much money as they wanted.

LUCK AFTER ENTERING THE WORK FORCE

When I first entered the work force, things were explosively recovering from the 1997 Asian & Russian financial crisis. I got lucky and purchased a particular internet stock for $3,000. It shot up to $150,000 in three months and I sold, not at the peak of $180,000, but close enough.

Flush with cash in my early 20’s, I went nuts, buying a motorcycle and a very fancy car. I’d eat at the unpronounceable restaurants in NYC and went on lavish vacations. When I changed jobs for a better opportunity, I finally woke up to the realization that I was just flushing my good fortune down the drain. I started to get serious about my finances. In early 2003, I sold m expensive  car and used the proceeds along with the rest of the money left to buy my first 2/2 condo in a prime location in a big city. It is now renting out for positive net income, and I plan to pay it off within 8 years.

Despite this initial taste of success, I’ve made so many personal finance blunders in my 20’s, it wouldn’t be right not to share with you the errors in hopes you don’t do the same. Hopefully, through Financial Samurai, we will never have to say “if I knew then what I know now” as it relates to personal finance again.

WHY RETIRE BY 45?

Retiring at 45 is a “see if I can do it goal.” I actually really enjoy my job, but I think I’ll enjoy it more if I didn’t need to work! What’s the fun and challenge of choosing to retire at 80?  I might be dead by then!  Like studying for an exam, people tend to cram the week before. I want to cram now.  Essentially, I believe that if you can work for 20 years in your profession, you will have the power to retire if you want to.

One of my main motivations for writing is to interact with readers, so please feel free to comment!  I hope we can all grow rich together over these next 10 years!  Welcome to the journey!

Rgds,

Sam @ Financial Samurai – “Slicing Through Money’s Mysteries”

Please sign up for updates via RSS E-mail, or Twitter @FinanciaSamura!

  1. October 13th, 2009 at 00:39 | #1

    thanks for commenting on my humble blog. I’ll be following you.

    [Reply]

  2. October 14th, 2009 at 19:47 | #2

    Hi. Thanks for visiting my blog site. I’ve just read your story. I do hope that I can retire too at the age of 45. I think that I am on the right track.

    As you have said, you’re a finance professional and you’ve been here in the Philippines? Are you a Filipino or American?

    Anyway, my long term goal is to settle abroad, not here. I prefer US or Europe. I just hope to find a job in finance too. However, with the current economic downturn, I believe that it’s hard to find a job abroad. Perhaps, you can help me in achieving this long term goal. :)

    [Reply]

  3. October 26th, 2009 at 17:18 | #3

    What exactly is your freedom fund? Is that your total networth or cold hard cash?

    [Reply]

  4. October 29th, 2009 at 20:26 | #4

    I love this quote: “We’re rich because we’re disciplined and understand basic necessities for financial freedom.” It was very cool to read some of your background and how your life story influences some of your writing.

    [Reply]

  5. November 16th, 2009 at 12:31 | #5

    wow. i think i should emulate you vis-a-vis about pages. Mine is a mere stub. i like your blog very much btw :)

    [Reply]

  6. November 16th, 2009 at 15:25 | #6

    Jane – Howdy. The “Freedom Fund” is 100% cash saved by FS since the inception of this site. Thnx

    [Reply]

  7. November 16th, 2009 at 15:28 | #7

    Tyrone – Let’s just say we’re world travelers and humble students of finance!

    Great long term goal you have! We’re glad to help!

    [Reply]

  8. November 25th, 2009 at 11:08 | #8

    Just stumbled on your site man- dig the name and your story up to this point. Interesting stuff.

    [Reply]

  9. November 26th, 2009 at 23:10 | #9

    Hi Samurai,

    Thanks for visiting my site.

    I like your site. The content, the style, the mood and energy are all good.
    Your personal story is intriguing and your financial success impressive – and a cash saving of $80K since the inception of this blog, which begs the question, How old is this blog?

    Love your attitude too …

    You’re on my radar screen via RSS now! Continued success to you.

    Best…………valentina

    [Reply]

    admin Reply:

    Hello Valentina – Thanks for stopping by too. The blog was created in the summer of 2009. Look forward to having you as a regular! Sam-urai

    [Reply]

  10. November 27th, 2009 at 03:34 | #10

    I totally agree with this >> “I actually really enjoy my job, but I think I’ll enjoy it more if I didn’t need to work!” I too would like to be able to gain financial independence one day. For now, I’m taking it one day at a time.

    [Reply]

  11. December 24th, 2009 at 07:25 | #11

    Hi.. I always like reading the ‘about me’ page.. and I appreciate your ‘about’ page. it is inspiring and i like the secret tips wealth..

    i’ll be visiting u more often

    cheers..

    [Reply]

  12. December 24th, 2009 at 20:12 | #12

    @Rich Money Habits
    Sounds good Rich.

    @frugal expat
    Looking forward to hearing from you more often. Enjoy Dubai!

    @kenyantykoon
    Have seen you around the blogsphere. Look forward to seeing you here more often!

    @SeeJaneGetRich.com
    The Freedom Fund is a savings fund I started in June of 2009. The idea is to grow it, track it and reach $1 million by 2020. Let’s see if I can get there! I should write about it more. Perhaps once a month in 2010.

    [Reply]

  13. January 12th, 2010 at 10:36 | #13

    Hey Samurai,
    I really enjoyed reading your story and am a big fan of your blog. You’re an inspiration to us all. Keep up the great, work.

    [Reply]

  14. January 18th, 2010 at 23:58 | #14

    Hi Samurai,

    Thanks for sharing your story- it’s very inspirational. Hope to be in your shoes some day! (sooner than later, hopefully).

    [Reply]

  15. February 27th, 2010 at 09:58 | #15

    First, I strongly relate to your recent market dive: I was on that same boat ride and sank even deeper in the water than you. Thankfully, I’m in a far better boat now.

    You have a terrific blog here. I like the wide breath of it, the way you touch on so many facets of life. I also admire your generosity, your willingness to share yourself with so many. For a blog started only last summer, you’ve come a heck of a long distance. Congratulations!

    Savvy Saving Bytes

    [Reply]

  16. March 1st, 2010 at 20:36 | #16

    Very interesting information, especially your freedom fund. You started it last summer is that correct? You’ve saved an impressive amount! Did you get in on any stocks that were low in early/mid 2009? Sorry if this is the wrong place for this question – I have some stock I am investing in and find it really fascinating.

    [Reply]

  17. March 2nd, 2010 at 00:45 | #17

    @Mike
    Thanks Mike for stopping by! Don’t ROTH though! lol.

    @youngandthrifty
    Thanks for your thoughts. My shoes are just like anybody else’s shoes, perhaps just a different style :)

    @savvysavingbytes
    Hi Savvy Saving Bytes! Good to hear from you and welcome to the site. Yeah, what a crazy past couple years it’s been financially huh? Good thing is we’re still alive, and I’m definitely going to learn from my mistakes! Hope to see you around!

    @Jeremy Johnson
    Hi Jeremy, I haven’t elaborated too much on how I built it, but it’s a mix between savings, item sales, dividends, and more income. I’ve ear marked one account as “The Freedom Fund” where I can hopefully build it up to 1 mil in 8 years.

    [Reply]

  18. March 2nd, 2010 at 10:10 | #18

    I love reading “About Me” pages as well, and it seems like you had an interesting journey! I dig how you’re encouraging in your writing, and how you interact often with other commenters. Great site! I plan on stopping by more often!

    [Reply]

  1. September 18th, 2009 at 01:19 | #1
  2. October 11th, 2009 at 17:26 | #2

Comment moderation is enabled. Your comment may take some time to appear.

PRIVACY: We will never disclose or sell your e-mail address or any of your data from this site. We do highly welcome posts and community interaction, and registering is simply part of the posting system.

DISCLAIMER: Financial Samurai exists to thought provoke and learn from the community. Your decisions are yours alone and we are in no way responsible for your actions. Stay on the righteous path and think long and hard before making any financial transaction!

Keigu,

Financial Samurai