I must live in a bubble. Because in my circle, I don’t know anybody who has a car worth more than 1/10th of their annual gross income. I came up with the 1/10th rule for car buying over 15 years ago to help people achieve financial freedom sooner. Thousands have followed this standard rule since, […]
Your Car Payment Is A Huge Roadblock To Financial Freedom Read More »
As someone who’s been writing about FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early) since 2009 and actually leaving full-time work for good in 2012, it’s been quite an interesting ride. For the most part, I’ve been lucky because the stock market and real estate market have generally trended up, except for in 2018 and 2022. 12 good
FIRE Psychology During a Stock Market and Economic Downturn Read More »
As a parent to two young children, I am a target client for universities everywhere. So far, I have saved over $800,000 in two 529 plans to pay for universities in 9 to 12 years. I know we need to pay full freight because we are nobodies with average intelligence, but make above the low
American Universities Hiring H-1B Foreign Workers Seems Off Read More »
Since 2009, I’ve been writing about all the ups and downs of my financial independence journey, the good and the bad. What I can clearly say is that who you partner with in life is one of the most important variables for achieving financial freedom. Get that right, and everything else gets easier. Get it
My Wife Took The Kids And Left Me – Thoughts Appreciated Read More »
In a previous post, I debated whether it’s better to buy a home with a bigger lot or an amazing view. One key point was that unlike increasing livable square footage, it’s nearly impossible to create or improve a view. Sure, you could add a level to peek over surrounding houses. But building a 1,000-square-foot new level
How To Improve Your Home’s View With Foresight and Patience Read More »
We all know that panicking is one of the ways investors lose money. Panic selling during the 2008–2009 global financial crisis may have put some investors into the permanent underclass. Not only did they lose money, they weren’t able to benefit from the incredible recovery since. Panicking during the March 2020 lockdowns caused many people
How Panic Lost Me Money In A Non-Investment Way Read More »
Since I started Financial Samurai in 2009, I have been on a mission to help readers achieve financial freedom sooner rather than later. And one of the core strategies I keep coming back to is encouraging readers to get neutral on real estate by first buying a primary residence. Once you have secured your primary
It Is Easier To Make Millions On A Home Than In Stocks Read More »
One of the biggest fears workers have about retirement is losing their sense of purpose. That fear is not unfounded. It is one of the negatives of early retirement nobody likes talking about. For the first several months, maybe even a year, you may feel a little lost. The steady paycheck is gone. The camaraderie
Finding Purpose After Retirement Is Easier Than You Think Read More »
The Fundrise venture capital product, VCX, listed on the NYSE on Thursday, March 19, 2026, to remarkable success. It had a NAV of about $19 a share, opened at around $31, briefly rocketed to $125, then closed the day at $76. That is roughly a 300% premium to NAV and far beyond what I thought
Stay Humble After a Large Investment Win: Scrub A Toilet Read More »
At the end of 2024, a relative asked me for financial help. She was planning to leave her expensive money management firm at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, where she was being charged close to 1.5% in fees and placed in a series of esoteric GS funds that charged another 1–2%. I’m not a fan of double-dipping, so I
I Fired Myself As Money Manager And It Feels Great Read More »
