Financial Samurai

Despite an honest attempt to seek out more great things about the East Coast, several readers actually proceeded to bash the West Coast instead!  What’s up with that?  Some curiously mentioned that the East Coast is fantastic because the horrendous weather for half the year makes the other six months so wonderful.  Ummm, that’s like saying you appreciate your right hand more because you chopped off your left hand!  Wouldn’t you rather have both hands?

The only positive takeaway from the comments I agree with is the cluster of historically significant cities within a several hours drive.  Other than that, nobody came up with any stand out reasons other than the six I provided as to why East Coast living is great.  Given that the West Coast was attacked, I feel it’s important to stand up and defend our honor!

WEST COAST > EAST COAST Read more…

Whoever said, “money can’t buy happiness” is either poor or wealthy beyond their wildest dreams. The incessant amount of studies by researchers trying to prove money can’t buy happiness is simply a result of the researcher’s own poverty. Because they are financially mediocre, researchers are trying to console themselves that it’s OK not being wealthy. Generally, researchers have a higher sense of self because they have more educational training. Hence, it tears them up when they see other “lesser beings” make more than them. Meanwhile, those who continue to highlight research stating that money can’t buy happiness are trying to justify their own financially unspectacular selves as well!

You see, the financially mediocre are all in cahoots with each other. They’ve banded together to proclaim that being middle class is good enough. It probably is good enough for most people, but not for these unsatisfied folks! If being middle class or poor was good enough, then they’d leave well enough alone and be happy in their financial mediocrity. It’s a hard pill to swallow, but swallow they must. Not everybody can make multiple six figures, live in million dollar houses, and pay cash for luxury automobiles. That’s just life and they are trying to bring you down.  Don’t let them!

THE TRICKY RICH Read more…

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 Read more…

$1,780 is what it cost to book two last minute tickets to Lost Island.  I let the web page sit for a while, hesitant to click away a nice chunk of savings.  But what’s the use of money if it’s not spent?  We can save and save and save until we have some magical number we call “enough.”  Or, we can live for experiences that will last until our memories gray.

Why is it that some of us have spending paralysis over good times, but spend so easily on material things?  My fear was due to the impermanence of the experience, and the permanent loss of money.  That was some time ago when I had little savings.  It’s different now.  Memories are always what makes me smile the most.  It’s as if good memories blossom with time.

Readers, what are your thoughts on impulse spending for experiences?  Can spending on experiences be considered less imbecilic than spending on things?  If so, why should there be a difference?

The Samurai Fund: +2.1% YTD vs. -0.53 S&P 500.  I’m making room for a couple new picks to replace a couple existing picks due to inactivity and performance.  Shoot me an e-mail if interested and please read the guidelines first.

Yakezie Alexa Challenge: Stay tuned for a large update this Wed, Feb 24.  We’ll discuss what happens when the rules change on us, how to deal and flourish!  I will introduce a new initiative which should be able to help more members.  Keep on promoting others Yakezies!

HIGHLIGHT POSTS OF THE WEEK Read more…

Samurai On Waialae Beach At Sunset

As one can guess, higher paying jobs leads to higher costs of living.  In fact, more than half of the 20 cities surveyed by the US Census Bureau are based in Caleeforneea, as Governor Arnold would say.

How is it that California is so dominant in the expensive category, when the mass of settlers first arrived on Plymouth Rock 300 years ago?  3,300 miles is a long way to travel, especially on horse and foot!  The main reason for the unfettered move out west is simply warmth and sunshine!

Every time I vacation in Hawaii, I always ask myself, why the heck ain’t I here for good.  Let’s face it, more sunshine equals happier people.  Sunshine is the classic zeitgeber to help us wake up and get us motoring in the morning.  No sunshine leads to no photosynthesis, which means no plant life, and therefore no ecosystem.

After 10 years of living on the east coast, I can still feel the grey skies weigh down my soul every winter.  Don’t get me wrong.  I love the winter snow during the holidays, but I just love being in a cheerful mood more.  Here are America’s most expensive places to live based off median monthly housing costs.

TOP CITIES WHERE AMERICANS PAY THE MOST TO LIVE Read more…

David by Michelangelo

Here’s a guest post from Ryan at Planting Dollars.  I was intrigued by one of his comments of “failing forward” (not falling forward) and asked him if he’d be interested in writing a guest post about the topic.  Please enjoy and visit his site afterwards.  He has my envy of living in Hawaii and pursuing his dream of being a shark photographer!  Best, Sam

Have you ever noticed that some of the most successful people in the world seem to just naturally fit in their role? It’s as if they’ve been perfectly sculpted to be the best actor, businessman, or even blogger.

I have a secret to tell you… It’s because of their previous experiences… The one’s you didn’t see before they became wildly and unbelievably successful. These people are actually the biggest failures in the world! But shhhhh, I didn’t tell you that…

Don’t believe me? I want you to try something… The next time you talk to a successful person simply ask them this question:

“What failures have you experienced on your journey towards being where you are today?”

They’ll probably talk your ear off for hours and you’ll begin to realize this: They’ve just swung the bat of life a few more times and eventually hit one out of the park.

SCULPTING A MASTERPIECE Read more…

If you haven’t seen ABC’s latest hit show “FLASHFORWARD“, you better microwave some popcorn and allocate several hours to catch up online!  The basic concept is simple: every single person in the world blackouts at the same time, and most have a flashforward, or a vision of their future of what they are doing for 137 seconds.

The tricky thing is that some didn’t have a flashforward, which presumably means he or she will die beforehand.  Your flashforward isn’t exactly what it seems either.  For example, you could be popping champagne on a yacht, but that doesn’t mean you’re a billionaire.  It could just mean you’ve been invited to a company party and you’re still mired in debt. Read more…

Honolulu, HI

BusinessWeek

comes out with a Top 10 list of best places to buy vs. rent.  This is their formulation in their words:

“To create a fair match-up between owning and renting, we calculated ownership costs assuming a fixed 30-year loan for 100% of the purchase price with no down payment. If they had instead decided to factor in a 20% down payment, owning would have been the cheaper option for the top 10 metros on our list.”

The problem I have with this list is that I don’t see the words “Honolulu”, “Newport Beach,” “Malibu”, “San Francisco”, or “Paradise”! Everywhere one wants to live is expensive, and everywhere one doesn’t really prefer to live is cheap. Things are cheap for a reason, and real estate is no different.

Think about prime real estate sitting a top a triangle. The triangle’s base always gets wider as demand continues to grow.  Meanwhile there’s only one prime location.  Is it no wonder why Realtors always talk about “location, location, location”?  You can also think of your sub-prime location as an inverted triangle ready to topple over.  Only a very few want to buy, and the supply is overwhelming.

During this real estate correction, you’ve seen expensive areas such as San Francisco correct 15-20% from the peak, however, drive out 1 hour east and places such as Antioch and Pittsburgh have gotten crushed by 40-60%.  If you’re an investor, focus on places where you’d actually see yourself willing to live in.  After all, if you wouldn’t want to live in your property, why would someone else?

A similar purchasing analogy can be made with cars.  You may think that someone buying a limited production Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder for $210,000 is foolish with his money.  But, after one year later, he’ll sell that Lambo for more, or at the least recoup more than if he had bought a brand new Ford Expedition for $48,000.  Obviously this example is extreme here, given most don’t have $200K to splurge on a car, but you get my point.

Things are cheap for a reason. Only if you have the financial means, and are already living in one of these 10 cities should you consider buying.  Otherwise, just focus on buying or renting in that tropical paradise in the best location possible.

Read more to see what paradise cities lie in BusinessWeek’s Top 10 list! Read more…