Financial Samurai

Ready, Set, Go! From now on, all advertising revenue after operating costs will be donated to charity!  I’ve finally got off my rump to figure out this peculiar aspect of blogging.

For the past 6 months I’ve been very disinterested in advertising.  The only thing that did interest me was practicing “free-writing”, meeting new folks, and learning new things.  I played around with various advertising platforms like Adsense early on, and I just scratched my head wondering who would click on ads such as “600% Penny Stocks”?  What if the advertiser was a scam?  For those who use Adsense, more power to you.  It’s my own personal issue for not being entirely comfortable with their platform.

As I learned more about advertising online, I realized there were other solutions to my pre-screening desires.  One solution is to sign up with affiliate advertising networks such as LinkShare (thanks Matt Bell), where I can screen hundreds of advertisers beforehand to provide relevant solutions or interests to readers.  We still will never know with 100% certainty the veracity of the products (Enron anybody?), but at the very least, it’s one level higher than putting up contextual advertisements where we have no control over.

It’s important that advertising never alters the spirit of this site. We will not be like politicians, swayed by corporate interest groups and their tantalizing dollars.  If there’s a product we like we’ll endorse it and introduce the product to others.  If not, we just won’t bother no matter how attractive the incentives.  Making money online is a learned skill that takes time to cultivate.  The best ads are those which are unobtrusive and relevant.

MIND SHIFT Read more…

Author Bios: Manisha Thakor and Sharon Kedar have their MBA’s and CFA’s and are the coauthors of “On My Own Two Feet: A Modern Girl’s Guide To Personal Finance.”

Publisher / Physical Description: Adams Media.  Paper back.  148-pages of easy reading.

The Summary: With a tag-line of “how to talk money with your honey,” how can you not like a book with this kind of wit?  Personal finance books tend to be a little bit mundane and redundant, but not so with Manisha and Sharon’s latest offering.

The first point of interest simply lies on page two.  All page two says is “To All Women…”  As I am not a woman, I immediately began preparing myself for some male criticism.  Does ‘To All Women” really mean “Stay Away All Men”?  To my relief, the real meaning of page two is about empowering women to become financially independent on their own.

Getting financially naked really is about having as clear of an understanding of each partner’s finances as possible.  The authors don’t want women to one day wake up realizing all their money is gone after their husband invested their finances in some unscrupulous investment.  Women need to have a full grasp of each others finances so that there are no surprises.  Even before marriage, our authors go through steps to discover whether a couple is financially compatible.  Financial matter shouldn’t be taboo among serious couples. Read more…

The S&P showed five consecutive days of gains in the first week of 2010 to close up 2.68%.  Meanwhile, The Samurai Fund (TSF) outperformed by 200 basis points to close up 4.77%! For an actual fund of 17 positions, this is absolutely huge!  We are up almost $80,000,000 this week, and if we keep this up, the team is going to get paid like rock stars come year-end!

I’ve put up a permanent tab to track our names to facilitate accountability.  If you are one of the 17 contributors, please provide periodic updates in the page to keep this as realistic as possible.  There will be a review of the bottom performers end of the quarter, to potentially make room for 3 new entrants.  Nobody is safe in this meritocracy!

INCOME POLL: There’s a new poll on the south-right side bar, asking how much money you made in 2009.  The poll is totally anonymous, so feel free to contribute.  It’ll be interesting to see the income distribution of our community, to help me help you discuss more pertinent things. Read more…

Publisher: The Penguin Group.  Hard cover. 257-pages. Price: $26.

Author: Charles Farrell, JD., LL.M., investment adviser with Northstar Investment Advisors, in Denver.  He writes the “Retirement Roadmap” column for CBS Moneywatch.

Review: “Your Money Ratios” sings to me!  For someone who loves using ratios such as the 1/10th rule for car buying, and 30/30/3 rule for home buying, I absolutely adore this book.  Charles’ writing style is very balanced and easy to understand.  When it comes to math, many people, including myself fall asleep.  But, if you can just do simple division and multiplcation, this book will keep you on the right path towards financial security.

Charles’ “Unifying Theory of Personal Finance” is his core philosophy that all decisions you make should help move you from being a laborer to being a capitalist.  In other words, make money work for you, and not the other way around.  It’s important that with every single monetary decision you make, you ask yourself will this help you become a capitalist or not.

Capital To Income Ratio Read more…

The answer depends on if your name is Saddam Hussein, although proponents would say no proof was ever found!  You hear so many stories of consumers up to their eyeballs in credit card debt, and I’m just wondering WHY?  Credit card debt is the most expensive debt out there, second only to usurious rates of loan sharks.

Perhaps the reason why is because credit cards are ubiquitous.  According to the US Census Bureau, there were 173 million credit cardholders in the US in 2006, using 1.5 billion credit cards?  That’s right, the ratio is almost 10 credit cards to every one user, with transaction volumes of over $2 trillion a year!  No wonder the US consumer gets in trouble, and why credit cards are such big business!

My view on credit cards is quite simple: Use credit cards only to your advantage, and never let them take advantage of you!  Whenever you see your credit card misbehaving, you should think to yourself “Bad boy!  Bad, BAD!”  I think my wife tells me this sometimes, but I try and tune it out.

Joel is hosting a $500 American Express giveaway, and gosh darnit, I’m entering to give myself a chance to win.  In “You’re Rejected!  How I Use Rejection To Motivate Me Every Single Day,” we discuss how success is a numbers game.  The more you put yourself out there, the higher the chance you have to succeed.  Here’s my attempt to win and use the proceeds to buy toys and clothing for underprivileged children this winter in San Francisco.  The program is called “Toys 4 Tots.”

TWO MISSLES IN MY WALLET Read more…

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.

"Fall" by Step Into Color

Just like that, another month has come and gone.  I’m determined to make November as productive a month as October.  Who’s with me?  Below is a recap of October and what’s in store for this month.

HIGHLIGHT POSTS FOR OCTOBER:

“We’re Ignorant Idiots!  Tell Us Why A Flat Tax System Isn’t Fair!” - Is the first post to break the 100+ comment barrier as folks argue passionately about why we are ignorant idiots!  Thanks  Larry, Roger, Steph, Fredt, Matt, Kevin, BG, FB, Jon, Mike, Wookie and all of you for chiming in so passionately!  The key takeaways from the comments are: 1) Most are opposed to a flat tax system for some odd reason 2) An introduction of a “wealth tax” and/or “national sales tax” seems more equitable but frankly unfeasible 3) The really rich pay less taxes because most of their income comes from long term capital gains which is currently being taxed at 15%!

“What Renting DVD’s Teaches Us About CD Yield Maximization” - This is an original concept that slaps traditional CD laddering strategies in the face.  It was interesting to see the post picked up by The Bogleheads forum and debated there since those guys are usually hardcore on financial issues.  The bottom line: Regardless of the interest rate environment, one’s CD money should always be invested in the longest term duration possible.

“Party Like It’s 1999!  10 Key Takeaways From This Recession” - The recession is officially over as we grew 3.5% year over year (YoY) in 3Q09.  As we move into 4Q09 and 1Q10 results season, earnings will see a material YoY pick up partly due to low comparables from 3Q08 and 1Q09 levels.  Accepting the economic recovery is one thing, but investing new money in the markets at these levels is another.  I’m staying very defensive as I believe November is going to be another volatile month, vulnerable to a pullback.

“The Worst Seat On An Airplane Is The Best Seat In The Office” - This is a very simple but highly effective concept for those in offices who wish to increase their recognition.  If ever you have an office move, or see a spot near the rest room, take it!  You can buy me a beer 1 year later when you become the most popular guy in your office.

“The 30/30/3 Principle For Home Buyers To Follow” - Home buying is such an emotional decision, to counteract irrational thinking, we offer a simple guideline to follow before mortgaging your life away.  If everybody followed the 30/30/3 principle, we never would have had such a blow up in the economy.  In fact, the government should introduce a bill mandating a minimum amount of financial fitness before people can spend a multiple of their yearly income on housing.

“Why Becoming Debt Free Is NOT A Good Idea!” - This is a very comprehensive guest post by Larry Ludwig where he provides six good reasons why having debt is good for the body.  It’s always good to think about the counter arguments since much of the personal finance community focuses on debt eradication.  If you would like to do a guest post on Financial Samurai, please feel free to e-mail us and send a sample or outline.

GOALS FOR NOVEMBER & WHAT’S IN STORE Read more…

The first winner is Eric, a senior from UCLA!  Eric commented sincerely about his concerns post graduation, and whether or not it is a good idea to go to a “2nd tier” business school or just work for whatever company that hires him first.

We’ll be working with Eric to strategize a plan after UCLA and coach him through the process of finding a job in his desired field of finance, or applying to business school. Read more…

“It’s not whether you have your MBA, it’s where it came from,” writes John Micklethwait, Editor-In-Chief of The Economist. I’m sure on at least two levels, he’s upsetting people. On one level, those without MBA’s are going to find it presumptuous that getting an MBA is a foregone conclusion.  On another level, there are thousands of MBA grads who didn’t attend the top tier schools who will take offense as well.

John is smart to be so opinionated because after all, the people who will be buying his magazine are those who have always wondered whether getting an MBA is a good idea.  He forces the assumption that if you picked up his magazine, you must get an MBA, and not just any MBA, but one of the top schools from his polls.

I don’t entirely agree with John, but let’s face reality, getting an MBA is gradually becoming the new standard for newcomers to the world of finance because some go-getter decided it was the right thing to do and succeeded to get others to follow.  The MBA is also too expensive to not try and go to the best school possible (although it’s not the end of the world).  The inertia is too strong to reverse now!

Here are some of the takeaways from the magazine: Read more…