When I bought my previous home 10 years ago my 68 year old neighbor stopped by to say “hello.” He was the godfather of the block, having bought his building back in the early 70s. He gave me the inside scoop on all the neighbors, and one neighbor stood out in particular.

He said the house across the street was purchased a year before mine by a family who wanted some place for their son to live as he attended UC Hastings School Of Law. The purchase price? $1.45 million for a 2,100 square foot three bedroom, three bathroom house. The son would host at least one fraternity-like party every year, but other than that, the house was pretty tame. The son continued to live in the house after law school and now it looks like they might sell.

For 10 years, the son not only lived for free, but he probably made rental income as well thanks to his two roommates. His $120,000+ law school tuition was also probably full paid for by Bank of Mom and Dad and I’m not sure how he paid for his $60,000 Audi S4 unless you make a lot of money as a law student? If the house ever sells, I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets to keep the $1 million+ in profits.

It’s clear to me that my neighbor is going to be quite alright, even if he doesn’t work for the rest of his life. If you’re willing to accept so much assistance that’s beyond what you can afford, then why bother working at all? Just mooch off your parents forever!

My Other Neighbor

About two years ago my 32 year old next door neighbor came home in a brand new, $48,000 Toyota 4Runner Limited. I thought it was a quizzical purchase because the car couldn’t easily fit in his garage. I saw him struggle for five minutes just to get the beast in.

Even so, I was intrigued and wrote a post about it called, “Dealing With Money Envy” because I was jealous. He’s lived in his parent’s flat for the past 11 years since college while his parents lived in their other home in the South Bay. With the average SF rent for a two bedroom at $3,800 a month, of course he could afford a new 4Runner. He’s saved $400,000 in after-tax money by not paying rent for 11 years.

My neighbor is a nice fella who now works in real estate with his father. For 2.5 years he got to travel around the world in his 20s without holding down a job because he could. His mother would stop by and share with me how his son was having so much fun. Meanwhile, I worked my ass off all throughout my 20s just so I could be able to afford the house at age 27. His carefree lifestyle is what made me the most envious. The car was just an extra kick in the nuts.

When I was moving out he asked whether I’d like to sell my house to him (to the family really). If he could really afford my house at $1.7M, then his finances must be in great shape because valuations have gone a little nuts as you can see in this chart. Then in mid-2017, when I texted him to know I was considering selling my house to simplify life, he gave out an offer of $2.1M. It was a low ball offer because I believed the market value was at least $2.4M – $2.5M, but it just goes to show how much money his parents have to help him buy!

Here are the top Financial Samurai articles of 2013. 2013 was a great year because it was the first full year after I left my day job in finance for good. I’m updating this post eight years later in 2021 to see how far I’ve come.

2013 Was A Productive Year

I’m always curious to figure out which are the most read and most commented on articles of the year. The determinants are based on search engines, social media, and what you the community decides to share. With over three million page views for the year, the results are a partial reflection of society.

One of my biggest goals as a writer is to entertain and educate at the same time – no easy task when it comes to a subject as dry as personal finance! Each article takes anywhere from one hour to 10 hours to create. So if you like an article please help share them over social media or e-mail them to your friends.

I’ve gone a little overboard with the number of articles highlighted because each one is like my baby. There are a lot of subtleties scattered throughout my articles that are easy to miss. They are like out of place stones in a garden acting as markers for remembrance when I’m old.

Out of the roughly 180 articles published in 2013, I’ve curated 35 of the most viewed and discussed. Please enjoy!

Top View Financial Samurai Articles Of 2013

1) Explaining Why The Median 401(k) Balance Is So Low – People really want to figure out what’s wrong with America’s favorite retirement savings plan. It would make sense if you don’t want to work forever you should be saving a ton more money, but that’s not happening. The article shares case studies from various economic groups on what derails people off of my recommended 401(k) amount by age chart.

2) How Much Should My Net Worth Or Savings Be By Income –  There’s a handy dandy chart based on an income multiplier to determine your net worth or savings. The chart should serve as a good guide no matter how much you make, what your work experience, or your age.

3) The Average Net Worth For The Above Average Married Couple – The article provides three main guidelines to determine the average net worth for financially conscious married couples. There’s an interesting discussing on spousal relationships for each of the three scenarios that got readers going. Everybody thinks they’re above average, but we know that’s statistically impossible.

4) Recommended Net Worth Allocation By Age Or Work Experience – It’s not enough to just save money. You’ve got to also invest your money to hopefully provide a positive real return. This article breaks down my thoughts on stocks, bonds, real estate, risk free assets, and your X Factor. See also: The Proper Asset Allocation Of Stocks And Bonds By Age.

5) The First Million Might Be The Easiest: How To Be A Millionaire By Age 30 – This article talks about champagne dreams and caviar wishes for those who want to strike it big in their 20s. I make an argument that it might be easier to get rich when you’re younger because you have more energy, more enthusiasm, less cynicism and are less scared of taking risks.

6) Which Is A Better Investment: Real Estate Or Stocks? – A candid comparison between the two most commonly invested asset classes. My personal preference is for real estate because it’s less emotional. I like the tangibility of real estate, the tax benefits, and the ability to make improvements.

7) How To Better Management Your 401(k) For Retirement Success – Despite the 401(k) being a woefully light retirement instrument, it’s still one of the largest retirement assets for the middle class. I show readers how to create different retirement scenarios in order to plan better.

8) How To Pay Little Or No Taxes For The Rest Of Your Life – After paying six figures in taxes every year for a decade, I decided to go John Galt and protest government waste. If you’re sick of paying taxes and getting very little in return, then this should be one of your favorite articles.

9) Benefits Of Converting A 401(k) Into A Rollover IRA – After leaving my job in 2012, I converted my 401(k) into an IRA. It was one of the best moves because a rollover IRA provides more flexibility and tons more investing choices. The risk is that you become hooked on trading.

10) What Does Early Retirement Feel Like? The Positives And Negatives – Here’s a candid assessment of early retirement life the first year in. Not everything is great. I may do a follow up article every year or two to see if my feelings change over time.

11) How To Build Passive Income For Financial Independence – An update 1.5 years after writing, Achieving Financial Independence One Income Slice At A Time. The new article starts to incorporate the X Factor into the passive income equation. I really try to get into the nitty gritty of passive income with a discussion on mindset, action items, and charts. The next update will probably be in a year and show how I’ve reallocated my CD assets.

12) How Do People Live On Less Than Six Figures In Expensive Cities Like NYC? – To live comfortably (not luxuriously) in places like Manhattan, San Francisco, Hong Kong, London, Paris, and Tokyo, you’ve got to make at least $100,000 a year. I spent a week with my buddy who makes a little over $100,000, and after maxing out his 401(k) which equals ~17% of his salary, he’s left with little to no disposable income every month. I’m still waiting for people who live on less to highlight their budget in a guest post if anybody is interested.

13) CD Investment Alternatives: Why I No Longer Invest In CDs – My 10+ year run in methodically allocating ~30% of my savings into long term CDs is coming to an end because rates are pathetically low. The 10-year bond yield is at roughly 3% while a 10-year CD is only at around 2.5%. This makes absolutely no sense, and I don’t recommend CDs anymore. I’d much rather keep my money in a 1% online money market account that is fully liquid and invest in a muni fund or P2P.

14) Horrible Jobs That Can Eventually Make You Rich – Bad jobs builds character. The worse the jobs, the more you’ll appreciate your future work. The more you appreciate your work, the better you’ll do, the happier you’ll be, and the more money you’ll make until you eventually burn out and contemplate the meaning of life.

15) Subsidy Amounts By Income Limits For The Affordable Care Act – There are four charts to highlight subsidy amounts for Obamacare for singles, couples, a family of three, and a family of four. The charts clearly show how much the government will help you out on a sample Silver Plan. Obamacare is still going through massive growing pains, but it’s a gift for entrepreneurs, people who work at jobs they hate just for their health care, and early retirees.

** The most viewed articles of the year tend to be the ones that get published earliest in the year because they have more time to be viewed.

Top Financial Samurai Articles Of 2013 By Number Of Comments

These are the fun, personal, highly opinionated, and sometimes antagonizing articles I’ve written. The articles in this section exclude the most read articles above which all have plenty of comments as well. If I don’t have a good mixture of eclectic articles to go along with the more educational type articles, I’d probably burn out much quicker and turn this site into a soulless product review only site that will make me rich. It takes a lot of work to keep on going when you’re not getting paid directly for your writing.

1) Feeling Down And Out In This Perfect World (189 comments) – I invited everyone to my pity party, and it looks like a ton of people came! I like to capture the sad moments because I’m seldom unhappy for some reason. My mind is wired to be an optimist, probably because I saw a lot of suffering growing up overseas. Looking back on times of sadness makes me appreciate the present more. I had just returned from a fantastic four week trip to NYC and Europe and fell into a funk, much like a hangover after an all night rager.

2) The Rise Of Stealth Wealth: Ways To Stay Invisible From Society (119) – It’s all about keeping things low key in 2014 after such a huge increase in stocks and real estate in 2013. The gap between the haves and the have nots is getting out of hand. There are protests every week in San Francisco against techies for driving up rental prices and evictions due to their high salaries. I’d like Stealth Wealth to be our theme for the new year.

3) Proof Your Weight Is Mostly Genetic And Not Your Fault (111) – Who knew people were so sensitive about their weight given all we’ve been doing is getting larger while economy class keeps getting smaller. The people who were most offended by this article spend the most time working out. How dare I take away their efforts in getting fit? I firmly believe that all of us have a genetically determined weight band that we will naturally fluctuate in between. How else do you explain a 400+ lb inmate or an obese baby? Why do most diets and exercise routines fail to keep the weight off? Once we accept mother nature, we become more compassionate towards those who are not in shape according to society. More importantly, we begin to love ourselves just the way we are!

4) Why Do People Like To Reveal Their Income? (100) – I am an old soul with old school values working in a new age industry. It’s odd to see people who make much more than the median or average income for their area or age group constantly flaunt how much money they make. Bragging is such a turn off. Why would you want kidnappers and murders at your doorstep? Why would you want to attract more competition? When did we become so insecure and insensitive to the suffering around us? Those who are really wealthy have no need to frequently announce their wealth to the world.

5) The Net Worth Rule For Car Buying (100) – There was so much raucous over my 1/10th Rule For Car Buying (115 comments) from people who can’t afford to buy cars that I figure I might as well introduce a new rule for people who can afford cars! Some of the comments are so filled with hate they are amazing! I love cars just as much as the next fella, but it’s a financial epidemic how much people are blowing their money on depreciating assets. Imagine investing the $35,000 you paid for a car into the stock market a year ago. You’d now have around $40,000 – $48,000!

6) The Best Way To Save A Ton Of Money (100) – I was considering buying a new car, laptop, watch, and shades, but decided not to spend a dime thanks to intense shaming by the community. For anybody who wants to save a lot of money, announce your desires to the public and watch them flog you into frugality.

7) A Correlation Between The Number Of Credit Cards One Has And Net Worth (94) – Three credit cards, no more if you want the best bang for your credit card buck. Folks who have a ridiculous amount of credit cards are playing little league and will never build a large amount of wealth. There’s also a one question survey filled out by over 600 individuals you should answer that tests my thesis.

8) My Fear Of Becoming A Father (90) – A short article that talks more specifically about my fear of becoming a father to a daughter. The dynamics seem very awkward, especially when the daughter becomes a teenager. I love all the feedback from the parents.

9) The Average Canadian Household Net Worth Is Huge! (85) – Who knew Canadians are so wealthy? Another great datapoint that shows there’s way more money out there than we realize. We also recently discovered the average inheritance left by Australians is $501,000! Everybody thinks the US is the wealthiest country in the world until they see how much the Singaporeans, Canadians, French, and Scandinavians are making and leaving. Socialism is a plausible means to a brighter future!

10) Why It’s Better To Invest In Growth Stocks Over Dividend Stocks (80) – Dividend stocks are absolutely fine. I’ve got a good chunk of dividend stocks in my main retirement portfolio, but that’s because I’m retired and want more income and less volatility. If you are relatively young (sub 35) or don’t see yourself retiring for another 25+ years, I’m a much bigger fan of growth stocks with reasons laid out in the article. Just don’t confuse brains with a bull market!

11) How To Get A Rich Man To Marry You (80) – Women privately ask me this over e-mail or when we’re out for drinks all the time once they find out I write about personal finance. I literally see twinkles in their eyes as they start day dreaming of the day while sipping on their Cosmopolitans. The article provides very candid insights on how rich men think in order for women looking for rich men to better relate. I’m confident this article will succeed in creating harmonious relationships for people with means or your money back!

12) Build Your Financial Nut – 401(k) Contributions Matter Less Over Time (80) – Everybody needs to get on a savings warpath so that their financial nut will one day return more than their annual income. It is the absolute greatest financial feeling in the world when you get to think to yourself, Why work when my money is making more for me than I could make myself? A simple chart highlights a cross over point.

13) How Much Should I Have Saved In My IRA At Various Ages (78) – A guideline article which seems to have caught a good amount of discussion. I use basic math to build my two charts, so I’m not sure why there’s so much debate. But when you’re lagging behind, you’ll find ways to come up with excuses.

14) Why Are Asians Ignored By The Media, Research Institutions, And Politicians? (76) If Asians are out-punching their weight in terms of representation in elite universities, leadership roles, and wealth, shouldn’t the media, research institutions, and politicians spend more time learning from Asian cultures in order to help everyone? Why does the media continue to focus on the negatives in society? Why don’t think tanks come out with a white paper on the five things Asian parents do that differentiate themselves from other minority groups? There are some really good charts in this article.

15) How To Stop Haters From Hating You (75) – I’ve searched for haters ever since elementary school to provide more motivation. It’s really easy to hang loose if both your parents are from the islands. Haters help make me feel more alive and I really enjoy it. If nobody is hating on you that means nobody cares. But if you’re tired of the haters then this article will help. I’ve provided one very simple, but effective strategy to get haters off your back.

16) The Main Reason To Do And Not To Do Your Own Taxes (75) – I introduce the acronym FOCK to the world. If you like to FOCK, you should love to do your own taxes.

17) Don’t Stop Fortune Hunting – Money Making Opportunities Are Everywhere! (75) – A article with a National Geographic front cover worthy picture! A story of how I made a lucky return on one stock in six months and then promptly stopped looking for the next five years because I got scared. If you are still young, keep on looking for that next home run. If you don’t, you’ll regret it.

18) How To Improve Your Credit Score to 800 Or Higher (75) – 2013 was the year I finally broke a 800 credit score after 17 years worth of credit building. I’ll show you specifics on how you too can join the 800 club full of beautiful people and unicorns. They even have LED TVs and free Cuban cigars in the bathroom stalls.

19) My Poorest Friend Is One Of The Richest People I Know (65) – A short article about my friend Jabir who is 35 years old, hasn’t worked for two years, and sufficiently provides for his wife and daughter. They live in a rent controlled apartment with his mother. He gets to do what he loves every day for free, which is play tennis. Whenever he hits a winning shot on the court he says, “For Obama!” Besides reselling iPhones when they first come out for a profit, I’ve recently learned he drives an Uber car at night. Thank goodness for technology disruption!

20) Is Not Wanting To Be Rich Selfish? (62) – Maybe society has it all wrong. Maybe the rich are generous, thoughtful, and kind. If you are rich you can donate a lot more money to charitable causes. You’ll certainly pay a hell of a lot more taxes which gets redistributed to help others. If you are rich you can provide more opportunities for your kids. It’s no problem taking a family trip to India for a month to witness immense poverty and provide your children with more perspective. If you don’t have to worry as much about money, you have more time to help others.

Top Financial Samurai Articles Of 2013 Conclusion

As I look back on this vintage year, I see many of the posts still rank the best today in the search engines. I wrote with intensity and hope. I plan to continue such success for another 10 years.

For 2014 I’m going to attempt to write shorter articles that are more punchy, more educational and simpler since that’s what seems to do best on the internet. I tend to write too much because I know I’ll forget some details in the future if I don’t write them all down. Financial Samurai is partially my journal after all.

I’ve also noticed it’s much easier to convince people to be frugal than convince people to take action to make more money even though you can only save so much. The largest personal finance blogs in the world are all about frugality. Making money takes patience, discipline, studying, and risk which are all not fun things to do. We want simple to follow instructions and magic elixirs so that’s what I will attempt to give.

STARTING A INCOME PRODUCING BLOG

It’s been around six years since I started Financial Samurai and I’m actually earning a good passive and active income stream online now. The top 1% of all posts on Financial Samurai generates 31% of all traffic. The average age of the top 1% posts is 2.3 years old. In other words, there’s a lot of passive income being created.

If you enjoy writing, creating, connecting with people online, and enjoying more freedom, see how you can set up a WordPress blog in 15 minutes like mine. You never know where the journey will take you!

Sign up for my free Financial Samurai newsletter here. Also, check out my top financial products page to find the best products for your finances.

Banner by photographer and designer Jai Catalano.

It’s reflection time here at Financial Samurai. I’d like to go over some of the most visited posts by search, the most commented posts, as well as other posts I think are worth highlighting. I wrote over 200 articles in 2012, so there’s a lot to sort through!

I’ve done my best to be as helpful as possible on important subject matters such as investing, retirement savings, and career moves. We’ve got one life to live, so we might as well get our finances in order to live it to the fullest!

The theme of this site is to slice through money’s mysteries to achieve financial independence. I’m not one to shy away from providing my own opinions when I feel strongly about a subject. If I think you are wrong, I will tell you so and provide reasons why. I hope you do the same because that’s the best way we can learn.

It’s important that Financial Samurai never turns into a factory site with neutered content. I started Financial Samurai in 2009 as an outlet for my frustrations about the financial crisis. I hope none of us ever revisit such times, although our government is doing their best to bring us there with the budget debacle! If I ever hire staff writers, I will make sure they come with their own thoughts and not be afraid to challenge conventional wisdom and defend their positions.

Without further ado, let’s recap the year 2012!

Top Five Most Read Posts Written In 2012 On Financial Samurai

1) How Much Should People Have Saved In Their 401Ks At Different Ages? (168,422 views, 431 comments) – A positive sign visitors are taking the initiative to understand whether they are on track for retirement. Although I do not think the 401K is enough for most people to live off in retirement, it’s a big portion of the retirement puzzle. I get the sense that despite the growth of our government, more people are coming to realize they should only depend on themselves.

2) What Income Level Is Considered Rich? (108,232 views, 147 comments) – The term, “class warfare” was bantered around a lot during the Presidential campaign, pitting the wealthy against the not-so-wealthy. People wanted to find out what income level started to make people “evil.” There’s so much hatred towards people who have more. Hopefully this post helps provide some perspective that cost of living is very different across the country.

3) The Average Net Worth For The Above Average Person (81,800 views, 233 comments) – Taking things one step beyond income to find out what above average people have in terms of net worth. Everybody believes they are above average, but that’s mathematically impossible.

4) Definitions Of A Middle Class Income: Do You Consider Yourself Middle Class? (76,300 views, 106 comments) – With so much talk from Obama and Mitt about how they plan to take care of the Middle Class, everybody is wondering whether the candidates are talking about us!

5) Don’t Get Fired Or Quit, Get Laid Off Instead (42,283 views, 143 comments) – There’s tremendous dissatisfaction in the workplace. Studies show that less than 50% of workers are happy at their jobs and a full 25% hate their jobs. The economic downturn of 2009-2010 created pent up demand for those who want to move, but couldn’t. As the economy continues to get better, I forecast a surge of people looking to find more meaning in their lives by taking the leap of faith and doing something they truly want to do.

* For reference, the most read post was written two years ago and received over 450,000 views in 2012.

Top Five Most Commented Posts Of 2012 (Outside The Top Five Most Read)

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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 or unhappiness. 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 regular people is good enough. It probably is good enough for most people, but not for these unsatisfied folks who think they are smarter and better than everyone else!  If being middle class or poor was good enough, then they’d leave well enough alone and be happy with 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

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