Financial Samurai Personal Finance Consulting

Dear Financial Freedom Seeker,

I spent 13 years working in one of the most high-powered, fast-paced, and stressful industries in the world. By the time I was 27, I was promoted to Vice President — the typical VP promote is 32-33. In 2009, I started Financial Samurai, which has now grown to about 500,000 organic visitors a month.

At 30, I led a region responsible for generating tens of millions of dollars in yearly revenue. The very next year, I was promoted again to Executive Director. During those 13 years, my income increased by more than 10X, leading to the financial freedom I now experience today as a full-time father, writer, and investor.

I want you to achieve in five or ten years what the typical person takes 15 or 20 years — or perhaps never — to achieve. As you grow older, you will realize time becomes more precious because you have less of it. This is why you have got to make the most of your opportunity right now.

Note: I'm doing a promotion to celebrate my USA TODAY national bestseller, Millionaire Milestones: Simple Steps To Seven Figures. Details below if you want to give people the gift of financial freedom and get an objective financial consultation from me. The promotion ends June 10, 2026, at which time I will begin finishing my third book with Penguin Random House, Your Children Will Be OK.

Why Work With Me Instead of a Traditional Financial Advisor / Money Manager?

Here is something worth understanding before you hire anyone to help with your finances.

A traditional financial advisor charges ~1% of assets under management every year. On a $1 million portfolio, that is $10,000 per year — year after year, whether markets go up or down, and whether they did anything useful for you or not. On a $3 million portfolio, you are paying $30,000 a year. On $5 million, it is $50,000 annually. Forever.

A single consulting session with me costs $2,500. That is it. One flat fee. No annual drag on your returns. No conflict of interest from products they are incentivized to sell you. No generic advice designed for the average client.

What you get instead is someone who has actually lived the journey: retired at 34 with $3M+, built a multiple eight-figure net worth, engineered a six-year severance package, written two national bestsellers on personal finance, and spent 17 years helping hundreds of thousands of readers on Financial Samurai navigate the exact decisions you are facing.

Here is what that math looks like in practice. Say you have $2 million in investable assets. A traditional advisor charges you $20,000 per year — $100,000 over five years — for portfolio management that largely mirrors index funds you could buy yourself. Or you spend $2,500 with me once, get a comprehensive, personalized analysis of your specific situation, a written action plan, and walk away with a clear path to financial independence. The value difference is not close.

I am also unbiased. I do not manage your money, earn commissions, or benefit from steering you toward any product. My only goal is to help you build wealth in a risk-appropriate manner and live your best life.

My Background and Journey

I know what it takes to get ahead in a brutally competitive world. I came from a middle class family and attended The College of William and Mary, a top state school, with no rich uncle to help get me started. I went on to receive my MBA from UC Berkeley in 2006 while concurrently working brutal banking hours at Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse.

In 2012, I retired early with a $3M+ net worth at the age of 34. Today, my net worth is well into the top 1%, largely due to coming up with an investment game plan and sticking with it. I have also built a successful lifestyle business that generates roughly $380,000 a year in passive income and brings a lot of meaning and joy.

If you are the smartest person in the room but have no social skills, you will not succeed. If you have incredible social skills but lack substance, you will eventually fail. If you have accumulated a million dollars but do not know how to invest it beyond a 0.1% savings account, you are not maximizing your returns. It is important to cultivate all your skills and your knowledge to get ahead. I will help you get there.

The key to never saying “if I knew then what I know now” is to consult with someone who has been there. Find a friend, mentor, relative, parent, or professional coach. Whatever you do, find someone today to avoid the many land mines of tomorrow. One of the reasons I wrote my WSJ bestseller, Buy This, Not That, is to help people make better financial decisions and minimize regret.

My expertise covers contract negotiations, business negotiations, real estate, retirement planning, investment portfolio construction, passive income, FIRE, and career planning. If getting into business school, earning a promotion, negotiating a severance package, building multiple streams of income, selling a business, or finding ways to maximize your returns are things you care about, I am the coach for you.

What I Can Help You With

Putting Together a Long-Term Retirement Plan. Retirement takes careful planning. You do not want to end up short. Nor do you want to end up with too much money and realize too late that you sacrificed your best years for nothing. I want to help you build multiple income streams, optimize your tax strategies, and develop the savings mindset to reach financial independence on your timeline, not someone else's.

Analyzing Your Investment Portfolio. Stocks and bonds are an integral part of your wealth accumulation strategy. I spent 13 years in the investment business at Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse, was Series 7 and Series 63 registered, and have an MBA from UC Berkeley with an emphasis in finance. I will review your portfolio and advise on whether your asset allocation is appropriate for your risk tolerance and stage of life. I have built a framework for the proper asset allocation of stocks and bonds by age that has held up across multiple market cycles.

Maximizing Severance Agreements. One of the biggest financial tragedies I witness constantly is long-time employees quitting their jobs out of frustration, fear, or false hope — and leaving tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in potential severance on the table. One person I know gave up over $400,000 in potential severance because he failed to understand the linkage between his departure and various contractual losses. Others simply do not know their rights or how to negotiate.

After a month of negotiations, I engineered my own layoff with a severance package equal to six years of living expenses. I also helped my wife negotiate a severance as a high-performing employee. I have since worked with hundreds of clients and written a bestselling 245-page book called How To Engineer Your Layoff, on how to do the same. If you are thinking about leaving your job, please do not do anything until we talk.

Contract Negotiations. There is a very delicate balance between earning what you are worth and putting a target on your back. Whether you are being bid away by a competitor, negotiating a raise, or trying to maximize an offer without damaging a relationship, I have been through all of it. As one of the top performers at my firm, I received bids away practically every year for the last decade of my tenure. I will teach you how to play both sides to your advantage.

Building a Real Estate Portfolio. Real estate is my favorite financial asset. The best deals are won by the best negotiators with the most creative terms. I have built an eight-figure property portfolio and will help you analyze deals, find the right financing, attract quality tenants, and reduce turnover.

Building an Online Business. I have spent 17 years and 30,000+ hours learning how to build sustainable online income. Financial Samurai is a wonderful lifestyle business that attracts roughly 500,000 organic visitors monthly. I will teach you about affiliate income, negotiating sponsorships, building a community, content marketing, and search engine ranking.

Selling a Business. After dedicating years of your life to building something, you might want to sell it. I will help you think clearly about whether to sell, what strategic options you may be overlooking, and how to get the best possible outcome.

The Ideal Financial Samurai Consulting Candidate

Someone who is willing to invest in themselves and no longer wants to make excuses.

A parent who wants what is best for their children and understands the importance of a long-term financial plan.

A late bloomer who recognizes that time is limited and wants to do everything possible to get back on track.

Someone who has worked at their job for five or more years and is looking to leave profitably — without leaving money on the table or burning bridges.

Someone who wants to build diverse passive income streams and create more optionality in life.

Someone who wants a real estate investment strategy, not just a vague aspiration to own property.

Financial Samurai Consulting Cost and Format

A la carte (One Session): $2,500 for a 75-minute live session. Before we speak, I will review your application and ask follow-up questions to understand your situation deeply. We will cover your specific issues and develop clear action items. Within 48 hours, I will send you a comprehensive written report — typically 10 or more pages — with a detailed action plan. You will also have the opportunity to ask final follow-up questions after reviewing the report.

Samurai (Two Sessions): $4,500 for two 75-minute sessions over three months. The first session assesses your situation and sets the plan. The second reviews execution and adjusts course. You also have email correspondence between sessions.

We can speak by phone or Google Meet video.

All information between us is 100% private and will never be shared with anyone.

To put the cost in perspective, traditional wealth managers charge 1% of assets under management annually. If you have $500,000, that is $5,000 per year, every year, compounding against your returns. At $2M in assets, a traditional advisor costs you $20,000 per year — $200,000 over a decade — often for generic advice and index-fund-like portfolio management.

A single session with me is $2,500. The written report alone has helped clients avoid six-figure mistakes in severance negotiations, real estate, and retirement planning. I'll provide you comprehensive and unbiased advice that goes beyond simply your portfolio.

Special Promotion To Celebrate My New Bestseller

To celebrate my instant USA TODAY best seller, Millionaire Milestones: Simple Steps to Seven Figures, I’m offering a special BONUS for new consulting clients until June 10, 2026. There are only four spots left. Afterward, my next promotion will be in 2027, when I come up with my third book, Your Children Will Be OK.

You will receive up to 50 hard copies of Millionaire Milestones, worth $1,850 retail after tax and shipping, for free, if you sign up for one or two consulting sessions.

You can then share the books with family members, friends, colleagues, or local organizations. It feels wonderful to give, especially during the holidays. If you prefer, you can also receive fewer copies — with a minimum of 25 hardcovers, which is the lowest quantity my retailer, Books-A-Million, can ship. My main goal is simply to get as many people as possible reading and focused on improving their personal finances.

If you’re ready to gain an objective perspective on your finances and move closer to financial freedom, fill out the form at the bottom of my consulting page to get started.

Once the inventory of books runs out, the promotion will be over until my next book comes out in 2027. Simply fill out the form below and follow the instructions. Giving the gift of financial freedom through a book is a wonderful feeling.

Finally, if you run a business, sole-proprietor or freelancer, you may be able to deduct the cost of the consulting expenses. I will send an invoice of services rendered if requested. You also have the option of donating books to eligible charitable organizations to qualify for a tax-deductible contribution.

Financial Samurai Consulting Testimonials

Consulting client Z on March 1, 2026:

The impact Sam has had on me and my wife is immeasurable and will likely compound over time. While lots of value can be derived from reading Buy This, Not That and FinancialSamurai.com articles, nothing beats getting specific and relevant guidance directly from the source. Sam put a tremendous amount of time and thought into our specific consultation and I am excited to follow the plan he's outlined for us. 

Before meeting with Sam I was unsure how much money was needed to retire, if we could ever generate enough wealth, and how much time it might take to reach those goals. After meeting with Sam we are thrilled to learn we are on the right track, what to do next, and realize how much sooner we'll likely reach financial freedom.  

Thanks Sam for your wisdom and guidance.

Client Limitation / Requirements

Due to time constraints and my commitment to providing the highest quality service, I'm limiting the number of clients to four per month. I only want to work with individuals who are truly serious and determined to get ahead.

You may have noticed that this page is not advertised or linked anywhere on Financial Samurai. That's intentional — partly due to overwhelming demand and partly because I want to manage how much I work. Most importantly, I prefer to work with people who are familiar with my content and motivated enough to seek out my help on their own.

Before you consider becoming a client, please take the time to read and watch more about my background, listen to several podcast episodes (Apple), and read at least five articles on Financial Samurai so you can be better acquainted when we finally speak. I publish about 150 articles a year, so if you've been reading Financial Samurai for a while, you're good to go. This way, you'll know who you'll be speaking to and my philosophies as best as possible.

Please fill out some basic information below so I can understand more about you and what you'd like to accomplish. The more details you provide, the more I will analyze and help you set a course of action. All information is private and I will get back to you within 72 hours. Make sure you scroll down to the bottom of the form and click submit.

Please also email me at financialsamurai AT gmail DOT com to confirm you've filled out the application.

Thanks for your interest!

Please make sure to scroll down and answer all six questions and click submit for the application to go through. Then e-mail me. If you'd like to take advantage of the Millionaire Milestones promotion, please say so as well.

To Your Financial Freedom,

Sam

In the meantime, don't forget to join 60,000+ others and sign up for my free weekly newsletter. I've written it for over 17 years and my goal is to help you achieve financial freedom sooner, rather than later.