If you feel like debating, head over to “The Dark Side Of Early Retirement” and get your fix.  I stand by my main thesis that nobody quits a job they love to do.  Someone who is able to find a fulfilling job is one of the luckiest people on Earth.  We shouldn’t make fun of them for being a “loser” as one commenter put it.  Instead, we should figure out what makes them tick!

Everybody gets bored at something after enough repetition.  That’s why it’s key to have many different interests which straddle both the mental and the physical aspects of your life.  No surprise that interesting people have a plethora of interests.  These people also probably have a higher than normal level of commitment to their activities which make them that much more intriguing.

THE TOP 5 “I CAN’T BELIEVE THEY’RE PAYING ME TO DO THIS!” JOBS

1) Tennis instructor at the 4 Seasons in Bora Bora. Crystal blue waters and sunshine, two of the best things, which also so happen to be free in life!  You can be dirt poor, but if you’re living in a place like Bora Bora, I venture to guess you can compete with any rich person in a downtrodden, polluted land.  I think it’d be great to meet new travelers through tennis and keep in touch online.

2) Snowboard instructor for The Lodge at the base of Vail, Colorado. Nothing beats the back bowls of Vail!  We’re talking 10 minute wide open, steep, tree-less, and massive powder runs!  The Lodge is a quaint resort, and every time I go to Vail I meet some very interesting people.

3) TV sportscaster for college football and basketball. I literally could watch college football and basketball all day and night long, to the dismay of some!  That said, I don’t and pick and choose so as to not over indulge.  When college football and basketball season start, my excitement literally goes up a notch.

4) Food critic for Michelin. Yes, for starters I would like the Black Truffle Salad and Yellow-fin Tuna Carpaccio.  Please pair with a bottle of 1974 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay.  For the main course, I’ll have the Butter Poached Maine Lobster with a cup of extra melted butter on the side.  I’ll pass on your selection of caviar and artisan cheeses and go straight for the Mandarin Souffle.  Oh, and here’s my business card.

5) President of The United States. There’s no amount of money in the world enough to match the stress of being the Commander in Chief.  Hence, I’d rather not take a salary and serve my country for free.  One of the first steps as President?  Institute a flat tax so we no longer have to discriminate against hard working American citizens who’ve struggled to get to where they are!  I’d also reduce military spending to fund education.  It’d be awesome to take Airforce I and a bunch of family and friends to Hawaii like the President does every December.  Meanwhile, winning the Noble Peace Prize for being in office after one year ain’t too shabby either!

THE NEXT TOP 5 JOBS THAT COME TO MIND

6) Masseuse guinea pig. Rub me baby!

7) Blogger. Financial Samurai is so fun, thinking about monetizing just isn’t on my mind for this site.  It’s just a blast learning from y’all meeting new people and gaining perspective.  If someone wants to pay to advertise, great!  Someone else who needs the money more will receive it.  If not, that’s OK too.  The next project will come out by mid August, and I’m working hard behind the scenes to make sure it gets executed.

8} Late Stage Film Critic (Academy Awards). I say late stage because I’m specifying the desire to critique only the best movies that have already passed the gauntlet!  You know, movies such as Shawshank Redemption, The Matrix, The Usual Suspects, Hot Tub Time Machine and many more, which only a late stage film critic would get to review.  What joy!

9) Travel writer and photographer. I don’t know how to take wonderful photographs like our friend Lyndon, but I do love to travel and write on occasion.  Send me to Barcelona or Rio de Janeiro to write about their favorite foods and secret gems I’m there!  Put me on a train towards Amsterdam to write about whether locals really eat special brownies after lunch, no problem!

10) English teacher in a non English speaking country. If we can’t communicate properly, we’re wasting our potential.  Given English continues to become the global language standard, teaching English to those who wish to speak English is very important.  Let me go see if the Maldives or somewhere in the South Pacific needs an instructor.

CONCLUSION

So there you have it.  I love travel, sports, eating, and writing.  Many of these jobs provide free lodging (White House anybody?) and food (4 Seasons) can literally be done for free.  When it comes time to retire at 45, I’m prepared to incorporate these elements into the next stage of my life.  Perhaps I can be a travel writer in Bora Bora in the morning while teaching tennis in the afternoon?  Perhaps I can be a traveling food and luxury resort critic on my site, while letting the new spa staff give me full body massages before they work on paying customers.  At any rate, I look forward to early retirement by 45, because I’ve got a full docket of things planned!

Readers, what are some of the jobs you’d be willing to do for free?

Keigu,

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

Related posts:

1. The Dark Side Of Early Retirement
2. The Good Times Are Back Again – The Indulgent List Of Things
3. The Mental To Physical Connection For A Healthier Lifestyle

If you look carefully around the web, you’ll read scores of articles about the desire to retire early.  Yours truly wishes to finish up no later than 45, as I believe working for 20 or so years is a long enough time.  I’ve done the math with various living and return scenarios and it can be done.  But the question is whether it’s a good idea?  Perhaps not.

Now that the economy is in recovery mode, it’ll be interesting to see how attitudes change towards early retirement.  Will those who’ve short circuited their careers feel the pull to return to full time work and maximize their earnings potential again?  I believe so.  What about all our “lifestyle design” and “digital nomad” friends who had a rough time landing something stable they truly love?  Possibly they’ll come back too.

Those who are able to retire early are often cherished.  I certainly admire those who are able to cut down their desires to the bare bones and live a very frugal lifestyle.  I also admire those who’ve been able to strike it rich very early!  That said, perhaps early retirement isn’t a good idea for the large majority of people.  Let’s explore several reasons as to why people want to retire early, why they exist, as well as understand why it may not be a good idea.  Someone has to argue the other side, so it might as well be me.

WHY PEOPLE WANT TO RETIRE EARLY (IT ISN’T THAT OBVIOUS!)

1) Haven’t found the right job. The number one reason why people want to retire early is because people haven’t found a job that gives them enough fulfillment to do for the rest of their lives.  Nobody quits a job they like.  If there was a job paying $80,000 a year to hike in the mornings and get massages in the afternoon, I’d do that forever!

2) Easier way out. People give up or are sub-optimal performers at what they are doing now.  Let’s say you are a research scientist who after 10 years never produces any relevant research, and finds no cures.  Instead of going on with your failure, you decide to give up, and get out of the game.  Early retirement is kind of like the cowards way of not having to be the best any more.  Some even liken it to suicide.

3) People are lazy and want things now. Society has shifted our ideals from hard work and thinking long term, to instant gratification.  Nobody has the patience to work for decades before being eligible for a pension.  We all think we know more than we do, and deserve to be the rich boss now.  When we don’t get our way, we quit, rather than letting people know we couldn’t reach our potential.

4) A feeling of hopelessness. During the downturn, a tremendous amount of people began writing about a location independent lifestyle, and breaking free from the 9-5 and really doing what you want.  It’s because of this downturn, that many people were displaced, and had nowhere to go.  If they did, perhaps they’d think differently.  In an economy where everybody is losing money left and right, what’s the point of working?

5) Realization that time is precious. With the median lifespan hovering around 80 years old, you only have 15 years of retirement to enjoy your life if you retire at 65.  People in this camp have a heightened awareness of time, and therefore do everything possible to make sure they are financially stable sooner, rather than later.  I’m a strong believer in this thought process, but at the same time, I don’t want to cut short my potential.

THE DANGERS OF EARLY RETIREMENT

1) Oops, you change your mind. Imagine retiring at 37 after 15 years of work after undergrad.  You spend the next 3 years traveling the world, living a leisure lifestyle and experiencing new things.  At age 40, you realize the reason why travel and play is so fun is because of work!  You have the urge to get back into the game, but who’s going to risk hiring a 40 year old with a 3 year employment gap? The employer will suspect you are rusty, and may just bolt after a year.

2) You run out of money. No matter how conservative we are in our retirement money needs, something unforeseen may happen.  Maybe you have a medical disaster, or your house blows down.  Maybe your investments tank due to a massive economic downturn.  Who knows what the future holds.  But if you partake in “normal” early retirement, without the mega-millions windfall, you may find yourself needing more one day.  Again, a large employment gap is perceived as riskier by the employer and you may be un-hireable.

3) You lose touch with friends and family. It’s nice to have all the time in the world to do whatever you want.  But, if your friends and loved ones are busy working all day, they can’t join you on your midday hike or adventure to Bora Bora.  They may also have a family to attend to during the evenings and on weekends.

4) You may find it difficult to start your own family. Unless you have a tremendous amount of money, raising a child may be too expensive an endeavor to undertake as early retirees.  If you never wanted to start a family, chances are you haven’t been saving for a family.  Let’s say you’re a woman who turns 35 and suddenly realizes the safety window for having a baby is closing rapidly.  May be tough to even get pregnant, let alone support a new born without the right support network.

5) You lose your own self-respect, and the respect of others. Unless you’re out there saving the world,  you might start getting depressed you are contributing very little to society.   Others will stop respecting you because you aren’t doing anything productive either.  A great many rich early retiree friends from the Dotcom bubble have mentioned they wish they didn’t get rich so quicky work a little harder for their money.

CAREFUL WHO YOU LISTEN TO

Early retirees will croon about how great their lifestyles are.  I’m sure, in some ways they are spot on.  But notice how they seldom write about the hardships they face.  They can’t, because it’s important they continue highlighting how awesome everything is, to justify their decision to no longer work.  Can you imagine spending 16 years going to school (grade school + four years of college) only to work for 10 years?  Some would surely say that’s a waste, would they not?

The worst that could happen is some aspiring scientist, musician, lawyer, or teacher decides to give up their careers because they believe traveling around the world on a shoe-string budget is so glamorous.  Years later, they realize their fingers don’t remember the notes anymore and the chemical formulas are one big haze.  Maybe they would have made it as a concert pianist, or helped discover the cure for seasonal allergies, ACHOO!  What a shame they never reach their full potential.

EARLY RETIREMENT IS SELFISH

As I strive to fulfill my goal of retiring by 45, I’ve come to the realization there’s an unhealthy focus on self.  “What do I need to amass to be comfortable?” should be replaced with “How much do I need to be comfortable while helping others?”

It’s absolutely selfish for me to even consider working less than the number of years I went to school.  I think back upon my childhood years and how much effort my parents put into raising me.  My mother would spend hours a week sitting down with me after dinner to explain mathematical equations.  My father would read all my essays and fix all the punctuations and grammatical mistakes.  I would feel like a disgrace not to at least try and do great things.

45 is just an age goal.  If I haven’t achieved my potential by then, I don’t plan on retiring even if I have the money to do so.  The point of having an earlier-than-normal retirement goal is to help keep someone focused to achieve whatever it is they set out to achieve.  Like an exam that’s 3 months away, we don’t study until the week before.  Hence, better to believe the exam is only a week away so that we are better prepared.

CONCLUSION

Early retirees sometimes like to pity those who have to work.  Yet perhaps we should empathize with those who are lost and haven’t found something they truly love to do (point #1).  It’s impossible to all be great humanitarians working tirelessly until the age of 65.  It’s easier just to give up and tell the world how fabulous your life is, and how you’ve retired on your “own” terms.

As the economy recovers, perhaps we’ll be able to bring back our lifestyle design friends to their home countries to work again.  Our early retiree friends will stop fearing failure as employers open their arms wide open and allow them to succeed.  Entrepreneurial ideas flourish once again due to an abundance of capital.  The more the wealth gap widens, the more the early retiree crowd will want to get back to work, and realize their full potential.

There comes a point when working isn’t about money anymore since we have enough.  If we all reach this point, we’ll no longer be focusing just on ourselves, but on helping others as well.  We’ll be doing something we love, that provides a sense of purpose.  Here’s hoping we all get there!

Readers, do you agree or disagree that early retirement is a selfish proposition?  Are we all just inherently selfish to begin with?

What is your ideal age of retirement and how do you know when is the right time?

Do you think once we’re back to a raging bull market, there will be less people who want to retire early?

Keigu,

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

Follow on Twitter @FinancialSamura and subscribe to our RSS or E-mail feed.

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Here’s an insightful post from Allan from The Philippines.  He shares with us his story about growing up poor and working his way up.  It’s always great to read about international perspectives.  Hope you enjoy!

They say we are creatures of habit. This is especially true when it comes to money. When the going gets tough, it is easier to resort to what’s comfortable. When that happens, your own money habits take over. The only question is – will your money habits get you through and make you rich?

Money Habit # 1 – Playing with money

Learning my money habits started when I was still a young kid playing outside the house on a sunny afternoon. The first money habit I learned was playing with money. Yes, literally. But not with actual money. My friends and I would play games betting on carefully folded cigarette packs looking like play money. A red Marlboro is worth PhP 50 (US 1$). A green local brand “Champion” cigarette is PhP 5 (10 cents). A Philip Morris cigarette pack is worth PhP 100 (US $2).

It was all play money then. And it was easy to get. I only need to wait for my father to finish his cigarette pack and I’d be on my way to earning my (play) money for the day. Sometimes, we even played with coins, taking turns and rolling them on the floor like a dice. Playing with money was fun!

Somewhere between playing with other kids and being conscious on what’s cool, I learned that money can buy me things. But since we were poor, I had to make do with my worn out clothes. After some time I’ve already outgrown it so much, I already looked like Winnie the Pooh.

It’s not so much about other kids having better clothes. It was more because I was not able to play outside as much as the other kids. My mother would always remind me to do my house chores. Wanting to go out and play instead, I would reason out “how come the other kids are not doing any chores?” To which my mom lovingly responded,

“Because we are not like them. They can do whatever they want because they are rich. We are poor. ”

That was the first time I realized we were different from other people. We were poor. I began to notice how worn out my clothes and shoes are. I remember even going to school with no shoes on.

That’s one lesson I took to heart. If you don’t have money, you are poor. If you are poor, you need to work to have some money.

Money Habit # 2 – Working for money

Growing up with a family of farmers, I knew how hard my parents worked just to put food on the table. My mom would sometimes ask me to help out in harvesting tobacco leaves at a nearby town. She’d motivate me by paying for every tobacco leaf I was able to harvest. With promise of a paycheck, I willingly agreed to go.

The next day, I woke up early in the morning, went with her to the farm, and started plucking tobacco leaves left and right. After hours of standing under the grueling heat of the sun, I managed to harvest loads of tobacco leaves. That day, I went home enduring an aching back and torn muscles. But I was happy. I was able to help out my mom and it also made me PhP 100 (2 US $) richer. That’s actual money, not a Philip Morris cigarette pack. :)

It was hard work. I was so tired I thought I was going to get sick the next day. Good thing I was able to watch my favorite TV show that night – a Japanese game show called ‘Takeshi’s Castle’. I was able to laugh it off and sleep soundly that night.

One thing was clear from then on. I must first have to work before I can expect to earn money and get paid. If I don’t get paid, I don’t have any money to spend.

Money Habit # 3 – Spending money

After graduating from College, I was fortunate enough to get hired by a multinational IT company as a Mainframe Programmer for a monthly salary of PhP16,000 (about US $320). It was big money for me then, coming out straight from College without any working experience.

When I got my first paycheck, I was so thrilled. I thought it was the best time of my life. Why shouldn’t it be? I had money to buy what I could not afford before. Even if it’s just a new pair of shoes. Even if it’s just occasional dinner out with friends. Even if it’s just a nice shirt or two. After all, the money I earned was finally my “own”. It was liberating.

But not for long. The more I consumed, the more I realized I wanted more. I wanted more money to buy that new mobile phone. So off I went and tried the only way I knew how to make more money then – work hard on my job. As a result, I got promoted almost every year and my paycheck steadily increased. Sooner than later, I realized that even with the higher pay, it seemed like it was still not enough. I was still always short of cash.

That’s when I realized, there’s actually another way to get more money – borrow.

Money Habit # 4 – Borrowing money

Once I started earning quite a bit, I got comfortable spending for stuffs. It got to a point where I bought something even though I didn’t have the money to pay for it. I only had to use my new credit card.

In one day, I bought a new washing machine, a refrigerator, a gas stove and a new pair of shoes all at the same time. Worse, all the balance had to be paid off at the end of the month. I didn’t know there’s a thing called “monthly installments” then so I never bothered to ask. All I cared was showing off, pretending to have a lots of money using my new credit card. Looking back, it was one of the most stupid thing I’ve ever done in my life.

Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t pay ALL of the balance after a month. In the first place, the reason I used the card is because I didn’t have the cash. I tried to pay as much as I can but after months of painfully paying a little bit above the minimum I was getting nowhere near paying the balance off.

To make matters even worse, I got myself in deeper trouble by doing cash advance on my credit card just to have the cash to pay for my rent. I paid the hefty cash advance fee with a sinking feeling in my stomach. I had no choice. I could get thrown out of the apartment if I didn’t pay up. It was a humiliating and painful experience for me. From then on, I bowed not to allow myself to experience the same thing again.

Money Habit # 5 – Saving Money

The next day, I went straight to our company’s cashier and signed-up for an automatic savings program. The program automatically deducts a percentage of my paycheck and transfers it into my savings account.

I started with only 2% of my paycheck enrolled into the savings plan. After 3 months, I increased it to 5%. Another 3 months and I increased it again to 10%. After a year I felt comfortable enough to increase it further to 20%. In my mind, if the money does not reach my hands, I won’t be able to touch it. I won’t be able to spend it.

I was still paying off my debt at this point but the automatic savings plan was a big help on my confidence. It was liberating to know that I had some money saved somewhere, even if I don’t see it.

After years of saving, I was finally able to pay up my credit card debt. I was so scared of debt, I immediately had my credit card cut off the day I paid the whole balance. I felt finally free after a really long long time!

Months of saving through the automatic savings plan was a big help in building my emergency fund for around 6 months worth of expenses.

This proved to be a great thing since a few months after, my sister slipped while walking through our staircase and sustained a head injury. I was shocked. With adrenaline rush kicking in, I managed to bring her up to the hospital. To this day, I still thank God that this happened when I already had a bit of money saved up. I was able to buy the necessary medicine. I was able to pay for the hospital bill. I was able to pay for the operation. More importantly, my sister got well without any complication. I can’t imagine how it would have turned out had this happened while I was still heavily in debt.

Why these 5 habits will never make me rich

Looking back, I certainly have come a long way as a young kid playing with cigarette packs pretending they’re money to now a debt-free IT professional with an emergency fund able to help out his sister in an actual emergency.

In all honesty, I really think these 5 habits alone will never make me rich. I’m still a long long way to go from financial freedom. Saving money is good, but making it grow is another thing.  At least it’s a good starting point.  I’m eager to learn the money habits of investing and starting on my journey to becoming truly rich.  When that happens, I’ll have another 5 money habits to share to you.

About Allan: Even with the insider knowledge of working as a mainframe programmer for a credit card company over the past 7 years, he still got burned with credit card debt.  Alan is trying to learn better money habits and sharing them through his Rich Money Habits blog.

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Look around.  What do you see?  I see packed buses, traffic jams, busy open houses, expensive restaurants with only 9pm seatings, and friends finding new jobs again.  Double dip recession?  I don’t think so.  With the Dow over 11,000 and the S&P 500 over 1,200, it’s as if last year was just a bad dream.

Yet, it is exactly during good times, when we must be more diligent about our finances.  It’s so easy to forget how bad things were and stray.  Rather than spend more money, save more money during upswings so that we can spend more money during downturns.

When times are good, it’s not necessary to spend more money to create any sort of additional fulfillment or pleasure.  We’re getting paid more, the opportunities for promotions are greater, and the demand for our services surpass our supply.

In essence, we feel good because we feel wanted again.  It’s when a downturn hits when money can help balance the mood out a little with some retail or food therapy, or maybe even a vacation.  In essence, spend money counter-cyclically for better returns.

DAY DREAMING TO RELIEVE DESIRE

There’s an exercise I like to do every now and again, and it’s called “Indulgent Reminding.“  In one minute and not a second longer, type out all your material wants within reason if you didn’t have to worry about money.

My Indulgent List Of Things:

* Two Tennis Racquets ($400)

* 5 tailored three-ply dress shirts ($300-500)

* Sports jacket (blazer) ($500-$800)

* A couple tailor made suits ($1,000-2,000)

* Brown loafers & dress shoes ($200-1,000)

* Digital SLR Camera ($1,000)

* Macbook Pro 13″ ($1,200)

* 42″ LED TV ($1,200-$1500)

* Panerai Submersible Stainless Steel Watch ($8,000)

* Audi S5 Coupe in Silver or Black ($60,000)

* A vacation for two to Greece ($10,000)

* A weekend getaway to Napa’s Auberge Du Soleil with full spa experience for two ($2,000)

In one minute, I’ve been able to come up with $85,000 worth of stuff to spend on!  It gets me giddy thinking about all the goodies I must admit.  The feeling of splurging without having to actually spend money is what financial daydreaming is all about!

After you’ve written your list, try to come up with several conclusions as to what these things reflect.  My list says I like action and appreciate expensive adventures.  Pretty standard guy stuff frankly, not to mention pretty shallow stuff too!  $8,000 watch?  Come on!

Now see if you can come up with a new list with a much cheaper set of things.  See how many of the items you can also happily do without.  Looking over my list again, all I really need are a new pair of brown loafers since my current ones have holes.  Ahhhh, saving $84,700 sure feels great!

CONCLUSION

I don’t know what it is, but I get the greatest satisfaction out of using things I already have, over and over again until they die.  Take my car Moose, for example.  He’s 10.5 years old now, with a finicky CD player, and a broken electrical passenger seat.  With 130,000 miles, it brings me greater satisfaction that he can still bring me from point A to point B just as well as a car 10X the price.

Once you start buying things out of pure desire it’s hard to stop.  Marketers are brilliant at getting you to buy more than you really need.  From shoes, to sporting equipment, to clothes, it’s a never ending list of things you can buy.  You’ll never be satisfied.  Hence, best to just use what you have, and do a little day dreaming to keep your desires at bay!

Readers, when times are good do you feel you tend to spend more or save more?

What are the things you like to do to keep your wants and desires in check?

Anybody else have the condition of really loving the stuff they already have?

Keigu,

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

Follow on Twitter @FinancialSamura and subscribe to our RSS or E-mail feed.

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It’s difficult to save money and not splurge on things you want.  Let’s face it, those financial goals you made this year will need as much help as you can get.  One of the key ways I save is to play games.  Let me show you what I mean.

SAMURAI SEPTEMBER

Last July, I made a resolution not to spend any money on things other than basic necessities such as food and my bus pass in September.  Even filling up Moose with gas was pretty much off-limits as we decided to do a lot of biking, walking, and carpooling instead.

By naming September, Samurai September, the game was set in motion to see if I could succeed.  Not only did I not spend any money that month, I didn’t spend any money in October either!  I wanted to beat the rules of my game, and break the record by as far a margin as possible.  The feeling is just like trying to smash the Pacman record by a wide margin, so nobody will ever unseat you.

THE “I WON’T SPEND MONEY UNTIL…..” GAME

The game is really easy and fun to implement.  Pick something that you hope for, and not spend on anything until your hopes turn true.

1) Until… the 49ers and Redskins make the playoffs.  I love the 49ers and Redskins and I also love the new LED HGTV technology that has come out.  The picture quality is amazing!  Since these 40″+ TV’s are $1,300+, I promise I won’t buy a new LED HGTV until either team makes the playoffs!

2) Until… I record 10 songs and sing to an audience. Music is one of my great passions, especially trying to sing and play the acoustic guitar.  I’m pretty horrible, despite practicing for the past 10 years.  Within those ten years, my desire for a new,  beautifully constructed Martin Brazilian Rosewood guitar has emerged partly due to an increase in income.  Yet, I’ve promised not to get a new guitar until I put together my darn 10 song play-list, and get the guts to sing to a live audience.

3) Until… both electrical car seats stop working. Folks know I love cars. I’m going for a record 4th year in a row of owning one car.  It’s quite an accomplishment since there was a time where I went through eight cars in ten years.  Currently, my passenger side electrical seat no longer adjusts.  Thankfully, it’s set in a comfortable position.  Not until the driver’s seat breaks will I buy a new car!  With the dealer offering a handsome $1,500 trade in value for Moose, I’d rather poke my eye out than trade Moose in and spend $20-50K more for a new car!

4) Until… I can touch my toes without bending my knees. Flexibility is as important as physical strength when it comes to sports.  As the tennis season revs up, it’s important to strengthen my core and stay limber to prevent injury and beat the competition.  Not being able to touch ones toes is pretty darn pathetic.  Luckily, it’s pretty easy to work on!  Hence, if I’ve promised  not to buy any more tennis and general sporting gear (shoes, raquets, clothing, bags, etc) until I can comfortably touch my toes.

5) Until… I get a raise or a promotion. Finally, if you want to really play a serious game, which corresponds completely with personal finance, tie your goals back to work.  Promise yourself that until you do get that raise or promotion you won’t spend money on anything superfluous until that day.  By setting this target, you will focus on your greatest money making asset, you!

CONCLUSION

Finding reasons to save money is pretty boring compared to finding reasons to spend money.   If you can create fun reasons to save money, stipulated on things that have nothing to do with the actual savings process (football playoffs), I think you’ll find it much easier to build your freedom fund.

Time can be your friend or your enemy when it comes to savings.  The weak see more time as leading to more opportunities to spend and blow up their budgets.  The strong see time as an opportunity to build savings and watch their investments compound.  The great thing about this game is that it’s scalable to whatever you wish to strive for.  Once your goals are achieved, you may be so happy that you may not even need to spend any money!

Readers, any goals you’ve set for yourself to achieve before spending any money?  Any type of games you play?

PS Another game played starting last summer was to not buy a new laptop  (bought and ultimately returned) until this site broke Alexa 500,000.  500,000 was breached last winter, and I’m still playing until this site can get into the top 35,000.

Keigu,

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

Follow on Twitter @FinancialSamura and subscribe to our RSS feed.

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2. Where Did All The Time Go?
3. My SUV Will Beat Up Your Hybrid & Save The World!

So that’s it.  One quarter of the year is done, and a new quarter begins.  How’d you do?  Did you just meet expectations set forth in the 4th quarter of 2009?  Or did you beat expectations and prove to your shareholders and yourself that you’re investment worthy?  Executives of public companies go through this thought process all the time, and so should you.

There’s never been a better time than right now to go through all the clutter in the house and donate it all away.  Clutter should drive you nuts, because it’s a sign of excess.  Why do you need 7 pairs of jeans, 50 pairs of shoes, and all those magazines?  You don’t!  I don’t and I’m very disappointed in myself for accumulating so much junk over the years.

It really makes me sick to have so much stuff.  When I lived in a studio apartment, the place was filled with crap.  Now I live in a house, and it’s no different.  Consumerism has infiltrated me thoroughly.  On the bright side, thank goodness for counterbalancing mechanisms. If a person never feels full (sick of clutter), they’ll eat until they explode!  Today, let’s de-clutter and simplify.

MARCH FAVORITE POSTS ON FINANCIAL SAMURAI

* “The Mental To Physical Connection For A Healthier Lifestyle”

* “Insuring The Uninsured Is Worth It”

* “Wealth Is An Illusion Of Happiness”

Heads up Wall Street Journal, CNBC, and Bloomberg, if you want to do an interview, better let us know quick because The Samurai Fund is now up 11.5% vs. only +5.6% for the S&P year-to-date!  LEN, HAR, BIG are leading the way.

HIGHLIGHT POSTS FROM AROUND THE SPHERE

* “Successfully Work From Home” by new Yakezie Challenger Craig Ford guest posts on Ryan Patrick’s site on a topic which many of us would love to do one day!

* “Dealing With Dread“ is a fun video clip by entrepreneur Beth Andrus highlighting how to neutralize dread.  It’s all about proper association.  I hate doing push-ups and sit-ups, but that’s exactly what I do after every post because I link writing with exercise.

* “Saving Money By Staying Healthy” is a hilarious read by Money Reasons which any germaphobe will appreciate!

THE YAKEZIE

There are 60 members now working towards a common goal.  With three months left to our deadline, may I suggest focusing our efforts on getting to know and support 10 less familiar members in the group per month from here on out?  This way, we’ll ensure a tighter weave when we enter the second challenge after July 4th!

Our current challenge of improving the activity on our sites will never really end.  It’s just important that we get ourselves in as good a shape as possible before we take on new initiatives.  It’s like a boxer training for six months before a fight, or an astronaut going through all the necessary modules before launch.  The more prepared we are, the more success we will have in stage two!  I’m so excited about the next challenge, I can’t wait to formulate and share with you all the game plan.  Write on challengers, write on!

Regards,

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

Follow on Twitter @FinancialSamura and subscribe to our RSS or E-mail feed.

Related posts:

1. Samurai’s Alexa Ranking Challenge Update: Progress Through Adversity
2. The Katana: Revisiting Our New Year’s Resolutions
3. The Katana: Don’t Be All Things To All People

One of the best things about living in a big city is the diversity of people.  Minorities are actually a 51% majority, leading to an abundance of food, culture, and festivities.  Most importantly, a diverse community teaches us acceptance and understanding of each other.

Canadian-Indian comedian, Russell Peters recently visited San Francisco where I got to see him perform.  He is an absolute riot!  Russell pokes fun at the incredible ability by both Indian and Chinese to drive hard bargains.  It’s interesting to witness what happens when they negotiate with each other!  Keep an open mind, and I hope you enjoy the skit.

Three Key Lessons From The Video:

1) Never discredit the value of 50 cents, because 50c + 50c = $1 dolla!

2) Don’t be afraid to negotiate.  It’s your money.

3) “Be a man!  Do the right thing!”

Readers, what are some of your best negotiation strategies when it comes to buying things from vendors? Anybody big Dollar Store fans?  What are some of your favorite comedic skits?

Regards,

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

Follow on Twitter @FinancialSamura and subscribe to our RSS or E-mail feed.

Related posts:

1. Hire A Financial Adviser or Lose Money All By Yourself For Free?
2. The Katana: Randy Pausch and Basketballs 12/21
3. Use The Sandwich Method To Provide Constructive Criticism

For the past two years I’ve taken the bus to work after driving for 7 years prior.  The company removed our free parking benefits and I wasn’t about to pay $350/month to park in a garage just 5 miles away.

I have a love hate relationship with the bus.  When it’s raining, and I have to stand outside shivering, I hate it.  When the bus skips my stop every so often, I hate it.  When the bus driver slams on the brakes a couple feet away from the stop light and we all go flying, I hate it.  When the bus is packed like sardines, but there are some very attractive riders I need to squeeze next to, well, I guess it’s OK.

My VIP Pass aka monthly bus pass costs $60, while taking a cab to and from work costs $30.  Hence, the cost breakdown is simply $60 for a bus, $350 for parking, and $600 for a cab every month.  Out of principle, I wasn’t going to spend 5-10X more on transportation if I could just ride the bus.

WHAT A DUMMY

A funny thing happened to me yesterday.  I tried to cheat.  Because I was going to work midday, and the express bus wasn’t running anymore, I decided to drive.  I got into Moose, drove downtown and left him at my fitness club just five blocks away from my office.  The plan was to work for 6 hours, take advantage of the “free parking”, and drive home.

After a hectic day of work, it was so refreshing to come back home and relax.  Oddly enough, there was something that felt off and I just couldn’t figure out what.  CRAP!  I left Moose at the club because I took the bus home instead!

What’s more stressful is that I’m really only supposed to park at the club for a couple hours.  They tow and ticket sometimes if the rules are violated.  Even though it was dark and freezing, I just couldn’t bring myself to pay $15 to take a taxi to pick up Moose.  My objective that day was to save money and time by driving in the first place!

CONCLUSION

If I took a cab, my $60 monthly transportation fee would jump 23% to $75 ($15 for cab), and I wasn’t going to let that happen.  With a full belly from dinner, at 7:30pm I decided to bike through the hills, and between the lanes of traffic to save Moose from the pound.  Sometimes saving money is just about principle.

Readers, do you think I was foolish to not just spend the $15 to get in a cab and go back downtown given the inconvenience and danger of riding my bike at night?  Have you ever done something as stupid, and out of principle decided to go the less convenient route?

Regards,

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

Follow on Twitter @FinancialSamura and subscribe to our RSS or E-mail feed.

Related posts:

1. Losing Your Way To More Money
2. My SUV Will Beat Up Your Hybrid & Save The World!
3. Play Games To Save Money And Achieve Your Goals!

After a long week, the last thing either of us want to do is cook.  We don’t go out because of the rain, and delivery for the 3rd time this week is out of the question.  Inglorious Basterds arrives in the mail, and we just seek something sufficient and efficient to eat.

Unfortunately, as we raid through the cupboards all we find is peanut butter, with no bread and spaghetti with no sauce.  We also find stale crackers, and a pound of dried pumpkin seeds, but that’s it.  Drats!  Good thing I keep looking, because I find my canister of protein powder which I forgot I had.  The filthy drink contributes today.

We pour stale crackers onto our plates, along side two heaping spoons of peanut butter.  To wash it all down, a lumpy and not so delicious vanilla protein shake each.  It was nostalgic, eating like college kids again.

FIVE KEY TAKEAWAYS

1) Even if someone says, “there’s nothing left in the house to eat”, there’s always something.  We just aren’t looking hard enough.

2) It often takes two things to create an even yummier whole e.g. peanut butter sandwich.  We realize why teamwork is highly valued.

3) Food can be a wonderful experience, but hunger can be a pain.  We forget that much of the world eats for sustenance, and not for pleasure.

4) All the pain goes away once we sleep.  Meanwhile, eating less than normal feels great the next morning.  There’s no bloating, money is saved, and although we’re still a little hungry, we have the energy to feed ourselves again.

5) We adapt to what we have.  A large house inevitably fills with clutter.

CONCLUSION

Sometimes things just don’t go according to plan.  Yet, we all have an amazing ability to adapt to our surroundings and make do with less.  It’s refreshing not always wanting more.  Dig out your old things and enjoy them again.  Call your friends you’ve lost touch with and catchup.  Our reservoir of sustenance runs deep.  We just have to discover it all again.

Readers, anything you’ve experienced recently where you had to adapt?  What did you learn from your experience?

Have a great weekend everyone!

Keiju (Regards),

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

Follow on Twitter @FinancialSamura and subscribe to our RSS or E-mail feed.

Related posts:

1. Mea Culpa – I Just Spent $1,450 At The Apple Store
2. Book Review And Giveaway: “Secrets Of A Stingy Scoundrel”
3. Losing Your Way To More Money

Author: Phil Villarreal was a syndicated film critic (one of the best jobs on earth) and is a general reporter for the Arizona Daily Star.  Phil contributes to OK! Magazine and blogs at becauseitoldyouso.com.

Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.  244 pages in soft cover.  $12.95.

Summary: “Secrets of A Stingy Scoundrel” is a hilarious book that has been reviewed by many personal finance sites already.  Hence, I’ll take a slightly different approach.

First of all, Phil is one proud cheapo who is potentially helping millions of Americans (if they buy his book) save thousands of dollars a year.  Second of all, the breadth of stinginess is impressive, with nine chapters: Personal, Eating, Relationships, Household, Finance, Leisure & Entertainment, At The Workplace, Corporate Cataclysm, and Gross, Mean and Just Plain Wrong.

My favorite chapters are Relationships and Gross, Mean, and Just Plain Wrong.  Interestingly, the Relationship portion only has 3 tips vs. 30 tips in Gross.  Why is this Phil?  I think the main reason for the brevity is because Phil doesn’t want to totally ostracize the female reader and get the feminist movement on him!  Phil is also married, and I can see his wife shaking her head in disapproval with every tip he writes.

Come on Phil, you and I know there are at least 10 ways to really save money in a relationship!  You know, like forgetting your credit card, making a b-line to the restroom due to food poisoning, and asking the parents to pay for the wedding.  But wait, I think you touched on some of those already!  Can I be your guest contributor in your next book?  The titles of the three relationship tips are: Yay WNBA, The Dutch Are A Wise And Just People, Art Of The Well-Timed Fight/Breakup.

The Gross and Mean chapter is simply vicious. We’re talking “stealing” the bartenders tips, pretending you’re a clairvoyant on Craigslist, and never getting married (which should be in the relationships chapter!).  The chapter is full of ethical dilemmas which can be argued either way.  Maybe that’s the secret of saving a ton of money?  If you can consciously never tip the pizza man or your waiter, you’ll save 15-20% of your annual eating out expense.  In my case, that’s around $6,000 X 17% = $1,020 a year in savings!

CONCLUSION

Secrets Of A Stingy Scoundrel is a finance and humor book wrapped up into one.  I’m pretty sure we’ve done many of the things in his book already.  I remember when I was a kid, I’d go to 7-11 and fill my entire Big Gulp Slurpee cup with candy and then add in the slush!  I was poor, so don’t hate.  The book is a fantastic gift to friends, offering 100 “practical” ways to save money.  If I got this gift for my birthday or Christmas, I’d be pumped!

GIVEAWAY GUIDELINES – 2 Books, Feb 6 Deadline:

* Share with us your one ethically challenged money saving tip.

* Sing up for our RSS or E-mail feedback and comment that you’ve done so.

* Tweet this post and follow on Twitter.

To Buy Click: Secrets of a Stingy Scoundrel: 100 Dirty Little Money-Grubbing Secrets

Keiju,

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

Follow on Twitter @FinancialSamura and subscribe to our RSS or E-mail feed.

Related posts:

1. Book Review & Giveaway: The Other 8 Hours
2. Book Review & Giveaway: “America, Welcome To The Poorhouse”
3. Book Review & Giveaway: The New Rules For Mortgages

The following is a guest post by long time reader and entrepreneur, Investor Junkie!  IJ writes about how we should stop our complaining, and realize we are wealthier than the large majority of the world.

If you live in the United States, you are wealthy beyond what most others dream of. Your salary is 99% higher than of the world population.  Visit areas like India, and Africa, and you’ll see what real poverty looks like. If you moved there, you could live like a king! Don’t believe me?  Visit Global Rich List and plug in your yearly salary.

So what exactly does it mean to be wealthy anyways?  It’s all relative to the environment you live in. What might be considered below the poverty level in the USA ($22,050 for a family of four), might be considered well off when living in say Uganda.  According to the Global Rich List even at the US poverty level, you still make more money than 89% of the world.

If you look at the Wikipedia chart, you will see the USA has the most wealth compared to any other country (including Japan). No other country comes close to the USA.  So while you may not feel wealthy comparative to what you see in the media, you still are better off than 99% of the world population.  In terms of average income,  the USA is only 13^th in the world, but we still have more stored wealth than any other country.

Stop complaining that you can’t afford that new Lexus you lust for. Many people around the world don’t even own a car! They get from place to place by bicycle. It’s true you may not live like a rock star, famous actor, or business titan, but you live better than most.

Most people in the United States have:

• Enough food to feed themselves daily
• A dry, heated and enclosed shelter
• Enough clothing to wear for one week
• Reasonably affordable health care and this is before ObamaCare
• Even if you can’t afford health care, you still will be treated by Medicaid
• What was once considered luxury items only 10 – 20 years ago, most people own multiple luxury items

How many “poor” people in the United States have items like a TV, computer or a cell phone? These luxury items most people in our country now have and are commonplace. It’s not so bad being poor.   One time in history flying the friendly skies was considered only available for the elite few.  Today, because air flight is so common, it’s one step above bus travel. This once luxury item is now available to most of the population, and with capitalism, at a low price.

With all of this talk about comparing yourself to the world, I’m not saying you shouldn’t strive to better yourself. Instead, be thankful for what you have, compared to the world population.

MORE, MORE, MORE

It’s part of human nature to want more, and unfortunately in some circles it is frowned upon. It is known as the evil G word, greed. Gordon Gekko said it best:

“The point is, ladies and gentleman, that greed — for lack of a better word — is good. Greed is right. Greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms — greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge — has marked the upward surge of mankind.”

You see greed will always exist regardless of the “ism”. If you live under Socialism, Communism, and especially Capitalism – greed is still there. The thing is with Capitalism, despite its flaws, still appears to be the best economic system to work with human nature.

Milton Friedman said it best:

“What kind of society isn’t structured on greed? The problem of social organization is how to set up an arrangement under which greed will do the least harm; capitalism is that kind of a system”

So why are we better off than 99% of the world population? Why are we economically better off? The only logical conclusion is because of capitalism and the free market system we have. Even with our recent setbacks questioning capitalism, no better system exists. Capitalism is still the best method to raise people out of poverty.

CONCLUSION

Be thankful you live in a society that allows you to exploit greed. In the process, you not only improve your living conditions, but also helped your neighbors in the process. That’s the magic of capitalism. History has shown the United States has raised its living standards to be better than 99% of the world population. We have capitalism and free markets to blame for our success. It has been shown, the more freedom people have in society the more wealth is created. The USA may have creeping Socialism, but we still have much more freedom than many other countries.

If you want to decrease your living standards, continue to approve the path the US government is heading towards.  As history has shown, more government intervention and less free market solutions will lead to a overall poorer nation.

Readers, do you agree with Investor Junkie’s view that we are already wealthy?  If everybody is a millionaire, are we wealthy or just average? Why is it so difficult to realize how good we have it in America?

Investor Junkie - His blog discusses all things related to investing and being an entrepreneur. It’s about making money work for you by passive and active investments; stocks, bonds, real estate, businesses, and other investments.  You can follow him via Twitter @InvestorJunkie.

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For those of you who don’t know, I’m a recovering car-aholic.  Funny enough, the way I deal with my addiction is to go to the BMW dealer!  I also go to the Audi, Mercedes, Honda, Land Rover and Porsche dealers too, but only the BMW dealer is on my way home and has an easy parking lot to leave Moose unattended.  I wonder if they cut out the free popcorn and diet cokes because of me.   Hmmm.

Over the past 3 years, I must have visited the BMW dealer at least 65 times to the dismay of the sales people.  They must have a code word for my type, “cheap bastard” or “stop wasting my time you poor SOB” maybe, but I don’t care.  Nothing thrills me more than sitting in a brand new, over-priced automobile and inhaling that unbeatable new car smell!  After every experience, I deftly try and avoid the salespeople and pick up a new brochure so I can extend the enjoyment at home.

In fact, as a joke I wrapped up the latest Land Rover LR4 brochure for Christmas and gave it to my wife.  I told her she should expect a nice shiny black on black beast when we get back to San Francisco.  She was kinda amused, not really.

If the salespeople insist on going for a test drive, who am I to argue?  But, I make it a point to only waste the time of the most eager of sales people beavers.  The fun of gunning a $80,000 BMW M3 every other month is such a thrill!  Besides, I hear they get a little commission for every test drive anyway.

NEW OBSESSION

Ever since I spent $1,450 on an impulse buy at The Apple store this September, and subsequently returned the darn thing weeks later, I’ve been obsessed.  If we’re in the mall, or some general shopping area, I must pay a visit, or 30+ visits since Sept more accurately!  The Genius Bar is wonderful, and all the shiny toys for us to play with for free is such a joy.  Like “Moose”, my current iBook G4 is old and slow, but that’s what makes each visit to that much more exciting!

Did you know that over 80% of the computers sold over $1,000 are from Apple?  It’s not a surprise to me because their products and customer service rock.  Too bad they are just too smart for the US consumer.  The current Macbook Pro is getting dated after the   the latest Macbook edition.  I’m patiently waiting until the latest MBP comes out next year.  Until then, more fun visits!

THE PROBLEM

It’s not like I can’t afford a new computer, it’s just that I have spending paralysis on things I don’t absolutely need.  I also have spending paralysis on myself.  If the gift is for my wife or my parents I’m all for it!  I often tease my wife that she always gets the new stuff, and I get her hand me downs, which I get for her in the first place.  It makes me happy though, and isn’t that all that matters?

The question I’ve been thinking over and over is whether or not my frugality is being taken too far?  Why shouldn’t I drive a nicer car that have car seat controls that actually work and brakes that aren’t so squishee?  Why not produce prose on a speedier machine with a more eye-friendly monitor?  A $1,000 Macbook Pro just consumes 1% of the “Freedom Fund” but still, I cannot let them swipe my card.

NOT SURE IF I CAN CHANGE

The thrill of material things lies in the anticipation of buying, but not actually going through with the purchase. I’m the type of person who is sometimes more excited a week before the vacation, than during the vacation because every day spent on the vacation is one less day of relaxation!  Buying material goods brings down my utility, because the brief feeling of happiness gets consumed by the permanent loss of money.

Sometimes I must have something, and go ahead and buy the darn thing, but return it before the return policy runs out (“Controlling The Urge To Splurge”).  Some say it’s malicious to buy something with no intention of purchase.  Hak-fooey!  Why is there a return policy in the first place?  It’s so the consumer can try before they buy or give us consumers a financial self-destruction insurance policy!

I never thought I’d be obsessed with another “freement” (free + enjoyment) store like the BMW dealer.  But, thanks to Apple I guess there is.  A special shout out to Brookstone for all those wonderful chair massages you’ve given, as well as props to Barnes & Nobles for the magazine experiences.  Let freement reign!

Readers, what are your material obsessions and how do you deal with your obsessions to prevent financial ruin?

Why do women go crazy over shoes, clothing, and hand bags, while men tend to splurge on cars and electronics?  Is a $5,000 Hermes handbag more ridiculous than a $50,000 BMW?

Do you have spending paralysis on yourself?  How do you get out of it and return to center?

Keiju,

Financial Samurai – “Slicing Through Money’s Mysteries”

Follow on Twitter @FinancialSamura and subscribe to our RSS feed.

Related posts:

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Can you spot the heli-pad?

It’s Black Shopping Weekend and world stock markets are crumbling anywhere between 2-5% because Dubai World, the country’s main investing arm can’t pay its $60bn in debt for another 6 months!

Who would have thought that one of the most glitzy countries in the world would have trouble paying their own debt on time?  The fear of systemic contagion is real as investors sell first, and ask questions later.

If Dubai can’t pay their debts, who else can’t?  The US of course, but that’s OK!  Everybody will fund our debt as you observe the US dollar and US treasuries strengthen.  Don’t believe me?  The 10-yr US treasury yield has dipped below 3.25% again.  What inflation?  Cheap money forever!

Investors around the world can mock us, and debase our weak currency all they want!  You shouldn’t care, because all you have to do is watch what investors DO and not what they say.  Investors are rushing in to our arms today crying “We love you America!  Give us shelter!”

So many have disagreed with our “A Weak Dollar Doesn’t Matter Folks!” thesis.  Yet so many are going to shop till they drop for pieces of junk they shouldn’t be buying in the first place!  It’s Black Friday every day at Ross, TJ Max, and Craigslist, so save your stress and relax!  If you go shopping today and check your 401k and stock accounts when you return, you might just have to go back on Monday and return everything!

* CONTEST * Predict where the Dow Jones closes today (11/27) and win a free pat on the back!  I predict 10,288.  I’ll also highlight the winner in my weekly Katana wrap.

Readers, are there any out there who are relaxing at home in their pajamas being entertained by the media coverage of shopping frenzy?  Why don’t people just shop on-line instead, given similar deals?  If you make $20/hr from work, but stand in line for 5 hours to save $100 on a laptop, doesn’t the bring you back to even?

Dale Siegel is offering a second “The New Rules of Mortgage” book as a giveaway.  Why not just comment and give yourself a chance to win?  What’s cheaper than FREE?

Keigu,

Financial Samurai - “Slicing Through Money’s Mysteries”

Twitter @FinancialSamura and sign up for our RSS feed.

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In a stunning move to shore up a $535 million budget gap, the UC Regents voted to raise student undergraduate tuition by 32 percent (to $10,302/yr) this past Thursday!  Nothing like a little 10X increase over the rate of inflation to get blood boiling.

It’s really sad that during a difficult economic climate, the University of California Regents can conceivably raise tuition by such a magnitude.  Part of the reason why many of these fine students attend the UC system is because of cost.  Students from UC Berkeley or UCLA, for example, can easily get into many of the best private schools in America.  But for many, $40,000 a year in tuition is just too hefty a burden to carry.

The reality remains that due to careless spending by the state, budget cuts and a competitive market place for attracting top professors, tuition increases are inevitable.

TUITION HIKE FOR THE POOR IS LIKE A TAX HIKE FOR THE RICH

The parallelism of a tuition hike and a tax hike proposed by the Obama administration for the “rich” (35%->40% for the highest marginal tax bracket) is an eye-opening irony. As a student, I remember rallying against “evil corporations and the rich people who run them.”  It was just cooler being a liberal then since I had nothing monetary-wise to lose.  I may have felt very differently if my tuition bill arbitrary went up one day.

Students by definition are poor, because they are students and don’t work full-time.  Why should these UC students help fund the atrocious spending habits of the State? These students worked their tails off during high school to attend a world class university and shouldn’t have to pay for another organization’s indiscretions.  Yes, the education budget is down, but shouldn’t the budget have baked in spending over a normal cycle?

I feel the rage of the students because such a large increase is ridiculous.  What I wonder though, is whether students can better empathize with “the rich” for suddenly having to pay 5%-10% more in total taxes due to a new administration?  Those doctors, lawyers, and other high income earners, like the students, also worked hard to get to where they are.

Imagine if you’re a doctor who spent 8 years and $240,000 in tuition.  You’re ready to make your well-deserved 35%-taxed salary when the government tells you, “So sorry, give me 40% of your salary now! On top of that give California another 10% to pay for their bankrupt ways!“ How would you feel?”  Should the government disproportionately tax high income earners for their spending mistakes, just as the UC Regents bilk bright, hard working students by 32%?

Guess how many of the UC Regents took a pay cut?  Zero!  Oh how nice it would be to get a 27% pay RAISE to $400,000 as the Chancellor of UC Davis, or a 100% pay raise to $900,000 as the President of the UC this year!  This is a classic case of “Do as I say, not as I do.”

CONCLUSION – A BETTER UNDERSTANDING & EMPATHY FOR “THE RICH”

What I hope from this unfortunate situation is a better understanding from “the poor” why raising taxes for “the rich” by a disproportionate amount is not right.  Why should existing or incoming students pay for a budget gap they had no hand in creating?  The budget gap responsibility lies in the hands of state regulators and politicians.

The bright side is that the University of California has unknowingly created thousands of future fiscal conservatives who believe big government is bad and egregious pork spending should be curbed.  The solution to all government budget problems lies in fiscal prudence and not taxing honest citizens up the wazoo!

Remember, if you vote for big government, whether you are rich or poor, they will eventually come for you. And when they do, be prepared to greet them with your arms and wallets wide open.  Here’s hoping for a cash-for-jewelry program since I’ve always wanted a Rolex Stainless Steel Daytona!

Fight on students and never surrender.

Related Posts:

“We’re Ignorant Idiots!  Tell Us Why A Flat Tax Isn’t Fair” (105 comments, join in on the fun!)

“Do Higher Taxes Lead To Socialism In America?” (obviously, maybe)

Readers, what do you think about the UC system’s 32% tuition hike?  Is it a necessary evil?  Are there other ways we can fix this budget gap without putting the burden on students?  Do you think students experiencing this tax hike from famously liberal Berkeley will start empathizing with the rich?  Why are rich people so often considered evil?

Keigu,

Financial Samurai – “Slicing Through Money’s Mysteries”

Twitter @FinancialSamurai and don’t sign up for our RSS feed so you can visit more often and comment.

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Alrighty, thank goodness it’s October!  After declaring September to be frugality month (“Samurai September”), I’m finally free to splurge on as much junk as I want!  Was it painful for a recovering spendaholic to not buy anything other than food for a whole month?  Damn straight it was!

Here are some things I learned along the way:

1) By writing out a promise whether it is on a piece of paper stuck to your refrigerator, or on a world-famous website, your goals become REAL.  Writing out my goals really motivates me to stick to them.  It’s just like when you have your To Do List on a notepad.  If there’s one thing that’s not crossed out, you do your darndest to execute .  Focus on the mission soldier!

2) When your goal is to not spend money, you start revisiting things you already have and enjoy them again.  I went through my 1950′s baseball card collection that I had stashed away in the closet and had a fantastic time reading all the stats of great players such as: Mickey Mantle, Sandy Koufax rookie, Roberto Clemente, Yogie Berra, and Al Kaline.  I picked up my dusty Martin acoustic guitar and learned how to play: “This Is The First Day of My Life,” by Bright Eyes, “Every Rose Has It’s Thorn” by Poison, and “Blackbird” by Paul McCartney pretty well.  Finally, my old Klein mountain bike sure got plenty of good use as well.

3) Once I got in the habit of appreciating all that I have, I started not wanting to buy new stuff.  My five year old G4 iBook is a great example of making due with less.  In fact, I wanted to start selling stuff and getting rid of clutter.  There’s no sacrifice in my mind anymore about not buying new things out of desire.  The only things I need to buy now are things out of necessity, such as replacing my loafers given they have holes in them.

4) Time really goes by quickly. I still remember very clearly when I wrote my declaration, and now it’s over.  But, what remains is a nice chunk of change in my savings account because I didn’t splurge on stuff I didn’t need.

5) It’s more fun doing things together! I joined a club of like-minded individuals who want to be millionaires eventually.  I discovered a guy who works three jobs to make ends meet (Brian at My Next Buck).  Brian then introduced me to another fella who was $101,000 into debt and decided to deliver pizza to pay it off  (follow Jeff on Twitter @DeliverAwayDebt.  Jeff is freaking hilarious, and makes me want to go work at In N’ Out Burger for kicks!).  I then was able to call into Blogtalk Radio and speak to Baker at Man vs. Debt and Jim at Bargaineering about their views on using cash and credit cards.  It’s just FUN to speak to, and trade e-mails with random folks, all with the same purpose of becoming financially independent.

Patek 5396R Annual Calendar

ALMOST BOUGHT, BUT DIDN’T!

Here’s a list of stuff I contemplated buying in September, but held strong:

Apple Macbook Pro: $1,450 (Typing to you on a 5 year old iBook G4 13″ laptop hand-me-down with a 10 minute battery life and speed as fast as old pokey the donkey isn’t the greatest.)

Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711 Watch: $23,000! (My jeweler said it’s a collectors item and impossible to get.  Yes, impossible to get because it costs $23,000 bucks! WTF!)

Tod’s Loafers: $400 (I have a hole in each shoe, but nobody knows because they are in the soles.  I just can’t find any normal looking, super comfy loafers except for these.)

Babolat Aero Pro Drive Tennis Racquet: $180 (I accidentally smashed the racquet on the court while doing a “thunderous” overhead, and I need a backup racquet since playoffs start end of the month!  Despite a sore shoulder, and achy knees, I ended up 10-3 in my 8.5 & 9.5 combo league!  Club pro is seeing if he can hook me up with a replacement, and has given me a loaner in the meantime.)

Definitive Tech Sub-woofer: $1,000 (Started making an annoying non-stop squealing sound after 3 years of ownership.  Thank goodness Def Tech has a 5 year warranty and I’m waiting for it get repaired.  Need that thunderous base for a complete home theater movie experience!)

In a sense, maybe I actually saved $26,000, because a penny not spent is a penny saved right?  I’d love to get the opinion of readers.  It’s interesting to note that I didn’t write “laptop, watch, shoes, tennis racquet”, but instead detailed out exactly what I want.  I think if one can narrow down their exact desires, it then becomes easier to focus on getting the best deals.

CONCLUSION

So what now for October you ask?  First of all, September held up quite well in the stock markets, which unfortunately gives me less confidence the markets will do well in October.  Hence, I’m staying defensive and only putting extra money back in when we get at least a 5% pull back.  We’re ripping again in the stock market, and I think it’s wonderful for all of us.

With regards to my spending habits, I think I’ll give it a go for another frugal October!  Although “Samurai October” doesn’t have as nice a ring as “Samurai September,” we’re still far enough away from the holidays where marketers won’t be in full blitz mode yet!  I really need to get some new loafers, but after that it’s just about savings.  Anybody know how to play “I’m Yours” by Jason Miraz?

Readers, if you have the money, but end up not spending it on stuff you’ve been desiring, does that count as savings in the bank?  Can I add $23,000 to my “Freedom Fund” or does that not count?

Freedom Fund Update: Added $6,000 from salary and investments for October to now $80,000.

Related Posts:

“Controlling The Urge to Splurge”

“Mea Culpa – I Just Spent $1450 On A Macbook”

“Laptop Returned, Money Saved, Computer Optimized!”

Keigu,

Financial Samurai – “Slicing Through Money’s Mysteries”

Follow me on Twitter @FinancialSamurai

Related posts:

1. Mea Culpa – I Just Spent $1,450 At The Apple Store
2. Play Games To Save Money And Achieve Your Goals!
3. Laptop Returned, Money Saved, Old Computer Optimized!