At last, I finally experienced the longest month of my life: June 2020. I’m so glad the month and the quarter are behind us. But it’s also exhausting to think about what lies ahead in an even longer July as America experiences a second wave of COVID-19 cases.

In this 2Q2020 Financial Samurai review, I just want to recap some things that happened so I can reminisce more accurately when I’m older. I already don’t remember what happened in January and February without checking my notes.

Further, I’m absolutely sure 50 years from now, my grandkids will want to get an idea of what grandad was thinking during a global pandemic. I hope all y’all keep a recorded journal of this crazy time as well!

I moved from annual reviews to quarterly reviews this year, but with how quickly April flew by, I just had to write another!

April was supposed to be a terrible month based on the downward trajectory we were experiencing in March. It was easy to imagine the S&P 500 heading below 2,000. However, financially, April ended up as one of the best months ever.

The S&P 500 rebounded by an astounding ~30% from its bottom. Over 80 million Americans got a stimulus check. Over 25 million are getting an extra $600/week in unemployment benefits. And over 2 million small businesses are getting 2.5 months of payroll covered if they keep their employees with the same pay for at least eight weeks.

On the coronavirus front, although there have been tragically over 50,000 deaths attributed to the virus, the government had at one point guided us to expect over a million deaths. With much dire warning, it feels like a blessing the government got their predictions so consistently wrong.

Then on April 29, it was announced some of the Bay Area’s shelter-in-place restrictions would finally be lifted. Starting on May 4, we will finally be allowed to once again play golf, sunbathe in parks, fish, go to the car wash, buy plants at nurseries, and start doing home construction again. I’m excited to dust off my old golf sticks that haven’t been touched in two years.

Once I heard the news, I was reminded what I’ve always known since 2012, that freedom is way more valuable than money.

Money never sleeps, so why should you? Well if you’re a regular ‘ol person, the answer is, “There’s more to life than just money,” and “If you don’t sleep, you’ll die.” 

Sure, those are fine answers but they are not very insightful. Hopefully you’re a personal finance reader who by virtue is interested in money.

So let’s first talk about the general meaning of money never sleeps. Then I’ll go a different route in answering the next question, if money never sleeps, why should you?

What Is The Meaning Of Money Never Sleeps?

There’s a saying that “Money never sleeps” since money can always be working for you no matter what time of day. Money will also find itself in the most lucrative of investments and flee from the most horrific.

There are opportunities out there to make money every minute of the day. Some of the most successful people latch onto this reality and work every waking minute they can muster. Or they find ways to make money by hiring the right people to work for them and generate a profit.

In addition, or alternatively, they find ways to generate wealth through passive income. This is my favorite way to earn money and a perfect example of why money never sleeps when executed well.

Thus, since money never sleeps, and you want to make money, why should you sleep either?

Long Days And Nights Hustling

Here’s a relevant work story of mine about giving up sleep to make money from back in 2011. One evening after coming home from a 14-hour-day at 9:30pm due to a client dinner, I got back to work, online work that is.

I had a conference call with Mumbai scheduled for 11:30pm. Then I had another scheduled with London at 6:30am the next morning.

Normally, I would be OK with these one-off conference calls. However, this was the 8th consecutive workday in a row I was getting home after 8pm and I was beginning to tire.

I was pissed because the guy who was supposed to call me at 11:30pm didn’t call until midnight. I hate egregiously late people. It’s disrespectful. Meanwhile, my conference call at 6:30am went 30 minutes over and I had to then go to into work.

My client wasn’t willing to stay 1 minute past 5pm in London (9am PST) to resolve an issue and pay for my services. As a result, I didn’t close the deal, which left me annoyed. 

He said that I’d have to wait until Monday, which was baloney since I bent over backwards to accommodate his schedule. I will likely never work with him again given how painful the process was.

Why can’t people be on time and do what they are supposed to do? Why can’t folks just provide a little bit extra? If everybody did their duties well, the world would be a much better place. But, you know what? I’d rather have something going on than nothing. Things were too quiet for a week during Thanksgiving and I was itching to get back into the fray.

Make It Count When It Rains

Everything ebbs and flows. You can be on “the bench” for months, and suddenly you’re staffed in a faraway place working 12 hour days for 6 months straight.

This is what happens to consultants from firms like Accenture and IBM Consulting. It’s important to understand business cycles. For example, new budgets are often created at the beginning of the month, and at the end of the year pressure is on to sell.

It’s during robust periods and peak seasons when you’ve got to work full throttle to generate business. In many businesses, the peak season is what makes or breaks the year. The hotel leisure business is a great example.

It would be great if we could all balance our workloads out more evenly. This is part of the reason why I think there’s a benefit of working just a couple hours on the weekends as well. That way, there’s not a massive rush on Monday and cessation on Friday.

Instead, we can spread things out more evenly, and lead more balanced lifestyles! The best time to work to maximize your profits and boost your career is when nobody else is working.

Money Never Sleeps, So Make It Work Harder For You

Every day I try and seize the moment as much as possible. I will never forget starting with nothing, therefore I will never take any opportunities for granted.

In addition, I will continue to utilize the best financial products to grow my wealth. Money never sleeps, so I encourage you to make your money work harder for you.

Utilize free wealth management tools to track all of your financial accounts in one place, budget, and plan for retirement.

Some of you may have workaholic tendencies and have a hard time finding balance. There are literally too many things to do once you build your momentum. You become a rolling magnet that gathers up more and more little magnets until you turn into this giant rolling ball of attraction.  

But it’s important not to push yourself to the breaking point and burn out. You’ve got to pick and choose the most interesting, helpful, and lucrative projects.

For the things you can’t handle, know that there is someone else who would probably find value in them. Refer your friends to your clients! It’s a way of paying things forward.

There won’t be failure due to lack of effort. I encourage you to hold the same belief. Money, success, love are all there waiting for you to grab them. Aim to do at least 1-3 productive things each day and have no regrets.

Related: Waking Up Earlier May Make You Richer, But Not Happier

Recommendation To Build Wealth

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You can track your net worth, analyze your investment portfolios for excessive fees, and run your financials through their fantastic Retirement Planning Calculator.

Those who are on top of their finances build much greater wealth longer term than those who don’t. I’ve used Personal Capital since 2012. It’s the best free financial app out there to manage your money.

Updated for 2020 and beyond.

As I contemplate returning to work once my daughter turns six months old, I fear leaving my wife alone with two kids under three and a half. She’s not too thrilled about the idea, which has tempered my enthusiasm for bolstering our finances.

Since April 2017, I have been a stay at home father with her. I am mostly in charge of feeding the family, cleaning the house, dropping off and picking up our son from preschool, and being her mental support during difficult days. On average, I spend roughly eight hours a day caring for our children and the house.

We’re just facing a predicament because if our finances stay static or if there is a bear market, we may experience a significant financial shortfall by 2022. If there is a shortfall, I won’t be able to provide the lifestyle we want. But at the same time, I don’t want to give up our current lifestyle we’ve spent so many years building.

Then one day I came across a wonderful book called, The Courage To Be Disliked. This international bestseller helped me get into a better mindset about the future. I encourage you to read it as well if you would also like to make significant changes in your life.

The book made such a positive impact on me that I asked my wife to also read it and write a review of the most salient points to share with all of you.

Given the bull market has exacerbated the wealth gap, practicing stealth wealth is a strategically wise move. You don’t want to attract haters just because you decided to diligently save and invest all these years. Instead, you want to blend into the crowd so you can live a carefree life.

The global pandemic has also exacerbated the wealth gap. One the one end is the investor class who has experienced robust asset price appreciation. On the other end is the working class without much investments at all. They’ve been hit hard by pandemic with big unemployment.

What I’ve come to also realize is that it’s important to practice Stealth Action as well. Stealth Action is where you keep what you’re doing private so as to not attract any attention, criticism, and unnecessary stress.

I’m in a funny situation where I publicly write about some things I want to do. As a result, I get a lot of criticism from people who either don’t believe what I’m doing is right or know they probably should be doing what I’m doing, but are unwilling.

But in real life, I always keep mum about my plans. The only person I share everything with is my best friend, my wife.

Let me share with you four examples that demonstrate why Stealth Action is important.