Financial Samurai

Well, here we are!  It’s been six month since the original challenge was announced and I want to congratulate all of you for making it this far!  The network has grown to be a powerful one and now it’s up to us to harness it for the greater good  This is where the 2nd challenge comes in, which officially starts on August 16th when Yakezie.com is launched.

The 2nd challenge is simply to use the power of the Yakezie network to help others through monetary means or donations of our expertise, while at the same time grow our online revenue by various rates (i.e. 25%, 50%, 100%).  The good thing about percentage increase targets is that we can all challenge ourselves whether we have a $100/month site or a $10,000/month site.  More will be explained once Yakezie.com is launched.  The first challenge of getting our Alexa rankings below 200,000, and now below 100,000 still stands.  As long as we are part of the network, we should strive for progress or at least a steady state of satisfaction.

Some of the most interesting types of posts around the web are voyeuristic posts about what goes on inside the mind of the blogger.  Part of the reason why DVDs are such a hit is because of the “special features” section where you can watch outtakes and behind the scenes featurettes.  Many have asked whether I had a grand plan all along for this group, and the simple answer is no.  It was because all of you that the group flourished.  I’d like to share with you some of my thoughts as The Yakezie grew.  Perhaps you’ll do the same and post your own write-up as well!

DECEMBER, 2009 – BEFORE THE YAKEZIE.  Alexa Ranking 94,000. Read more…

Here’s a short 10 minute video I stumbled upon which eerily highlights several things I do and why (ie play guitar), as well as touch upon reasons why some people are willing to do things for free, and others strongly consider giving up big salaries to just work on a hobby.

NODDING MY HEAD Read more…

As a tennis fanatic, it would be remiss of me not to mention the greatest match in tennis history when American John Isner beat Frenchman Nicolas Mahut 70 to 68 in the 5th set last week.  That’s right 70 games to 68 games in the fifth set because one must win by two in the fifth set at Wimbledon.  The 11 hour, 5 minute match spanned over 3 days and finished when John Isner hit a solid down the line two-handed backhand to seal the deal.

The previous record for longest match was at the 2004 French open, lasting now just a paltry 6 hours and 33 minutes.  It is completely unfathomable that a match could last so long, simply because it is unconscionable how Nicolas Mahut could hold serve over 60 games in a row to survive!  The physical endurance is one thing, but what’s most impressive is the mental fortitude both players had to never give up.

LESSONS LEARNED Read more…

Even at 7:30pm the night is hot.  That’s what happens when you go barbecuing somewhere in the South Pacific in the middle of summer.  You can almost taste the grilled chicken from the remnant fumes simmering off the grill.  Dinner is served!

The family gathers around the picnic table.  We take a deep breath and begin to eat.  In just the first bite, my father freezes, tries to swallow and let’s out a little gag.  We ask him what’s wrong, and he shakes his head not knowing.  One of us gives him a glass of water, and still, no change.  My father raises up his hand, excuses himself and says that he has to go to the emergency room.

DOUBT AND CONFUSION

Read more…

Dear Readers,

It’s been a wonderful journey so far and I want to thank you for visiting my tiny slice of the matrix.  We may not always agree, but that’s the beauty of it all.  Through differences of opinion, we’re allowed to learn from each other and flourish mentally, and hopefully financially as well.  Besides, it’s not like I’m going to hold your puppy hostage or something if you challenge my opinion!  Hope you feel the same.

Sometimes it’s hard to to respond to all of your wonderful comments (7,100+ so far), yet I will always try.  I wish there was an easy way to tag all of the most interesting comments and show case them.  Perhaps I still will!  It’s so fun to visit other sites, comment, and interact, I want you to experience the same here.

Each blog has a different personality and tone to it.  I’d like to think that Financial Samurai is unique with a flavor that challenges conventional thinking.  We can go back to basics regarding budgeting, savings, and retirement planning.  Or, we can continue blazing new trails.  It’s really up to you frankly.  What would you like to read more of going forward?  Generally we should enjoy writing what we’d enjoy reading.

Finally, I thought it would be fun to dedicate this song to all the female readers who helped share their viewpoints.  Five String Serenade was composed by Mazzy Star in her 1993 album, So Tonight That I Might See.  The original plan when I learned Five String Serenade 12 years ago was to sing to a girl after an evening picnic on a beach somewhere.  I never got the chance until recently, and now it’s been recorded, in my own version for you.  Funny how things never turn out quite like you plan.

Here’s to another 200 posts!  Thank you again! Read more…

Samurai Nadal

Before every tennis match, I watch a short video on Youtube of a favorite tennis pro to get inspired.  All that goes through my mind are beautiful strokes and luscious sounding *thwacks* each time the ball leaves my strings.  I prepare my tennis bag with the right equipment: grip, Advil, Gatorade, a change of clothes, flip flops, hat, and sunglasses.  My outfit matches, down to my shoes and I say a little prayer.  Essentially, I go through a routine that any pro would go through, pretending to be one myself,  in order to get ready for battle.

Pretending you have arrived, so you can become is a way for us to get in the right frame of mind so we can tackle many of your challenges with full vigor.  If you are not mentally tough on the court, you will defeat yourself before even giving your opponent a chance to defeat you!  In essence, you are your own worst enemy if not properly trained.

Some may think that if you are a pretender, you have a risk of becoming delusional.  There’s no doubt we often over estimate our own abilities, however, I encourage all of us to increase the belief in ourselves.  If you don’t believe in yourself, nobody else will.

PRO BLOGGER Read more…

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!) Read more…

Nick Vujicic was born with no arms and no legs.  He admits to us there were plenty of times when all he wanted to do was give up.  Nick didn’t understand the point to his life and therefore wanted to end it.  Thank goodness he’s alive because he’s shared his story with millions of people around the world, inspiring them to keep on going.

Just the other day, someone forwarded me an article about this young woman venting because everybody is a workaholic at her office.  She tells us how incredibly amazing it is that she gets in at 8am and works until 6:30pm everyday.  In other words, she’s asking for praise and sympathy for working normal hours.  The kicker?  She was unemployed for over half a year and just started this job!

Whenever I feel like complaining about how unfair life is, I stop and think about people like Nick who have it just a little bit harder.  Is he complaining?  No.  He is trying harder, and so shall I.  Perhaps so shall we all!  Let’s eradicate the sense of entitlement that lingers among everyone of us; some more than others.  We shall not whine about our jobs or complain why our love lives crumble.  Let’s take ownership of our own actions.  If you are a complainer, please go somewhere else!

Readers,  who inspires you to keep on going?

Regards,

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

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

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 Read more…

Every large corporation has some type of annual “Diversity Training” course where we learn not to harass colleagues, send out crude jokes over e-mail, and discriminate against those unlike ourselves.  Everything generally makes sense except for one rule that I once read: “One shall not discriminate against someone over 40.”  I thought about this for a second, and I began to wonder if they had made a typo.

At age 40, one will have worked for 18 years out of college or 15 years out of graduate school on average.  If the accepted age of retirement is 65, or 25 years away from 40, then the rule is implying that age discrimination starts before you are even half way through your average 40 year long career!

The other interesting fact is that most people are living longer nowadays.  Forties are the new thirties as they say.  People are looking younger and younger at various age milestones.  Hence the question, why 40?  Let’s explore the various reasons.

NEGATIVE PERCEPTIONS ABOUT OLDER WORKERS Read more…

The following is a guest post by newcomer Jeremy Johnson, a husband and father of two girls (a 2 1/2 year old and a newborn).  He recently created a website dedicated to helping people realize their dreams and ideas, make progress on them, and see them through to completion.  You can follow Jeremy on Twitter at @JeremyNJohnson.  Enjoy!

Have you ever wondered why some people give thousands or even millions of dollars to charities and other organizations for a good cause?  Why do some people spend hours on end selflessly parting with their finances and free time just to help other people?  Could it be for the tax breaks alone?

There’s a formula for wealth and happiness that confounds the grumpy and unfulfilled person.  It’s not that other people are just lucky and born happy.  It is that the ‘lucky’ and ‘born happy’ person has discovered one of life’s most simple, yet lucrative formulas for real wealth and happiness.

You’re probably wondering what the magic formula is by now. What could possibly give you wealth and happiness that overflows your financial and fulfillment coffers?  The formula is giving – giving of not only your finances, but of your time and talents, without expectation of reward.  Pure and selfless giving well beyond what you could ever expect to receive back is life’s magic formula for real wealth and happiness.

The effect of throwing a stone into any body of water is really fascinating. Even a small stone will hit the water and cause a ‘ripple’, that is it will cause the water around it to cascade outwards creating an area of effect far greater than the size of the stone that initially hit the water. And the bigger the stone used, the greater the ripple effect.

Methods of Giving Read more…

My name is Lyndon and I’m overwhelmed by all the feedback from “The Curse Of Making Too Much Money And Not Pursuing Your Dreams.“  Thank you guys for sharing your thoughts, and thank you Sam for presenting my dilemma in a tasteful manner.  It’s only right for me to provide some feedback and give everyone a little more insight.

WEALTH IS AN ILLUSION OF HAPPINESS

One of my happiest memories was studying abroad in Chile for an entire semester.  I lived off beans and rice, and slept on a wooden plank bed.  At night, sweat would bead up on my forehead until it dripped down across my temple and into my ears.  It was that hot.  Yet, despite having no money, I was so happy.  Life was simple and the greatest pleasure I got was learning from others.

At the time, I told myself that if I could just earn $1,000/month and have my trusty camera, I’d be happy.  Well, I lost my way when McKinsey gave me a job offer.  Nobody turns down McKinsey, partly because nobody gets into McKinsey.  The curiosity of the job compelled me to take it rather than pursue my interests.

I recognize I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to work for a respectable company that may one day allow me to retire comfortably.  Yet, I wonder about that semester abroad in Chile all the time.  A couple years ago I went down to Chile and revisited the old AC-less dorm room where I used to live.  It brought back so many good memories.  Afterwards, my friend and I went back to our 4-star hotel, sipped on a Mojito and ate some ceviche.

It was then that I realized that despite living in a much nicer place on 100X the budget, my happiness compass pointed towards the dorm room of the past.

CAVORTING WITH THOSE WHO UNDERSTAND Read more…

The following is a guest post from Neal Frankle at Wealth Pilgrim.  Neal is a dedicated father, insightful financial adviser, and honorable Yakezie Challenger who always writes with a breath of fresh air.  You can join his 2,500+ followers on Twitter @NealFrankle.  Enjoy!

Failure is not only a necessary part of life, it can be a beautiful part of life.

This may sound like crazy talk.

After all, if you are a hardworking person, you work hard because you want to succeed, not fail.

And failure stings.

It hurts.

Man….it hurts.

That pain is real….but despite that temporary pain, those set backs are likely key ingredients to your future success. And the success I’m talking about dwarfs financial or career gains.

Let me explain by telling you about an experience I had several years ago.

BACK IN THE MOTHERLAND Read more…

Congratulations to the Democrats for passing a smaller, less corrupt version of Obama’s health care plan to cover the 30 million+ Americans who are uninsured.  I’ve read numerous articles about the pros and cons of this plan, and I still can’t figure it all out.  An Associated Press article writes, “Obama practically needs a spreadsheet to tell people what’s going on and when.“  That said, progress has been made.  I’d like to go over some of the basics, and end with a discussion.

LOOKING OUT FOR EACH OTHER Read more…

If there’s one thing I’m consistent at, it’s making some stupid error at least once a year. One of the classic errors happened my first year out of college. One of the IT guys and I were good friends, always winding each other up and cutting each other down. He sent out a department-wide e-mail saying the systems would be off for the weekend, therefore nobody should bother coming into work.

Instead of clicking “Reply”, I mistakenly clicked “Reply All” and wrote, “Isn’t this why you have a job? So you can fix my computer and we can work all weekend? Who hired you anyway?!” As soon as I sent the e-mail, paralysis took hold.  I was mortified!

With my head tucked low, I immediately walked into my supervisors office and apologized profusely. “I am a complete bumbling idiot! I can’t believe I was so careless and stupid. I’m such a fool. Please forgive me!” I think I may have shed a tear, but I don’t recall exactly.

To my surprise, my manager laughed, and told me not to worry about it, and to go back to my desk. “No big deal Sam, don’t be too hard on yourself!  Didn’t realize how much you enjoyed busting people’s chops!”

Phew, bullet dodged.

DARN, ANOTHER ERROR Read more…