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Financial Samurai

Slicing Through Money's Mysteries

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A Pathetic Sabbatical: Workaholism Is Difficult To Overcome

Published: 08/27/2021 by Financial Samurai 28 Comments

And just like that, my two-month sabbatical is over. Did you miss me? Of course not! I continued to publish three posts a week and send out one newsletter a week like an addict.

There was only a one-week period where I felt like I truly took things down a notch. Our family went up to Sonoma where we enjoyed swimming in the pool every day. I also took my kids to Train Town twice, which was a whole lot of fun.

However, after our trip was over, it was back to life as usual. I had to give up several business deals to try and recuperate. However, two months later, I don’t feel very rested at all!



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If You Want To Naturally Be Nicer, Get Richer: A Surprise Apology Letter

Updated: 01/05/2023 by Financial Samurai 42 Comments

They say money can’t buy happiness. But what if having money can make you less stressed, less jealous, less combative, less anxious, and more joyful? Then surely having more money can at least make you nicer right? I think so.

My first realization with this correlation between niceness and wealth occurred at the end of 2015 when I wrote, Once You Have F You Money, It’s Hard To Tell Others To F Off!

Ever since I began working on Wall Street in 1999, the term, “f*ck you money” has been thrown around.

Here’s a conversation example:

“Did you hear about Tommy? He just made Managing Director. Now he’s really got some f*ck you money!”

“Nah, he ain’t making f*ck you money until he makes Partner MD at Goldman. That’s when he’ll get the real money through profit sharing.”



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You Will Always Get Screwed: Accept Life Isn’t Fair For Greater Success

Updated: 06/14/2021 by Financial Samurai 20 Comments

If you don’t get screwed now, you will eventually get screwed later. The sooner you accept life isn’t fair, the sooner you can make winning decisions and succeed.

Finding happiness is also accepting that fairness is a human construct. If you plan to play someone else’s game, then you must accept the game will likely be rigged in their favor, no matter how impartial they try to be.

Let me share a story of how I got screwed recently. This was a low-level screwing that isn’t a big deal. However, based on all the banter that followed in our group chat, I thought it would fun to revisit it and share some teachable moments for more important situations.



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Your X-Factor Is Key To Being Rich, Happy, And Free

Updated: 08/01/2021 by Financial Samurai 18 Comments

If you want to be rich, happy, and free, you must cultivate your X-Factor.

Your X-Factor can be building something on the side that makes money beyond your day job. Your X-Factor can also be developing a top 1% talent in a sport, music, or art that provides you a tremendous amount of joy.

Without an X-Factor, life may not be as fulfilling. Let me share why everyone should develop an X-Factor even if they have the best job on earth. Because goodness knows, living to work will eventually lead to tremendous regret.



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Be Unapologetically Fierce About Pursuing Your Dreams

Updated: 10/20/2022 by Financial Samurai 98 Comments

Never let anything get in the way of pursuing your dreams. If you do, you will regret it. As I wrote in my Wall Street Journal bestseller, Buy This, Not That, “You will regret more of the things you don’t do than the things you try!

Remember that annoying kid in school who made fun of you for getting a good grade? The goal was to make you feel bad at doing well so he wouldn’t feel so terrible about himself.

I had plenty of encounters with such kids growing up at my public high school. In the end, I brushed their mockery aside. I decided to be the best student possible to have as many opportunities as possible.

The Kids Who Teased You Continue To Do So As Adults

I thought the mockery would slow down as I got older. However, it seems to have amplified due to the internet. Most recently, I was criticized for my idea of starting and keeping a family business going. My idea was to provide options for my children when they graduate from school. The world is a harsh and competitive place.

Andrew from Vancouver, who is 29 with no kids said I was “obsessed.” Another guy named Li from somewhere in Asia, who is also 29 with no kids, called me “crazy” over e-mail. I’m not sure why people without kids feel like they know about the pressures parents face. But it’s a curious phenomenon I’ve observed since I became a father.

Why is planning ahead and offering an idea to help other concerned parents considered obsessive and crazy? Besides, what kind of fool would sell a cash cow that is enjoyable to run in a low-interest rate environment?

In my mind, it is stupid not to plan for the future. Globalization increases competition for jobs while technology reduces the number of jobs required to produce.

Paradoxically, life is getting easier and harder at the same time. As parents, we must fight for our children until they can independently fight for themselves.



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Reviewing The Start Of 2021: An Uneasy Feeling Amidst All The Hope

Updated: 08/01/2021 by Financial Samurai 75 Comments

January 2021 went by so fast I almost forgot to do a review. Although January flew by, it didn’t feel that different compared to the end of last year. COVID-19 is still out there in force.

When I saw 22,000+ fans at the Super Bowl in Tampa, I was shocked! However, later learning they were all vaccinated gave me relief. Now it’s just fingers crossed the vaccine does its job. Let’s hope there isn’t a spike in cases a month later.

Waiting to get vaccinated is like one big marshmallow test. I’ve already accepted my family won’t be able to get vaccinated until around June. Therefore, we need to remain cautious.

At the same time, it’s probably going to get harder to wait as more people share they got vaccinated and more people post about their fabulous lives. Therefore, we must also make the best use of our time.

My beginning of 2021 review will focus on Family, Financial Samurai, and Finances. The three F’s of life!



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How The Rich Get Richer: Strategies For Competing In A Rigged Game

Updated: 08/15/2021 by Financial Samurai 53 Comments

How the rich get richer: helping you compete in a rigged game

Let’s look at how the rich get richer. After all, half the battle is staying rich for multiple generations.

Making money is like playing a competitive sport. You train hard all your life for those moments on the battlefield where you win all the spoils or go home empty-handed. You console yourself after a loss for having tried your best, but eventually, you realize the game is rigged.

For the past 12 years, I’ve played USTA league tennis. It’s a great way to stay in shape, meet new folks, and keep the competitive juices firing. Everyone needs to balance mental activity with physical activity if they want to stay healthy.

For the past six years, minus one year off due to the birth of my son and one year off due to the pandemic, I’ve played at the 5.0 level. It’s a treacherous level filled with ex-college players and even ex-pros. Few have a beer gut and everyone has at least one weapon, be it a cannon serve or a heavy topspin forehand.



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Three White Tenants, One Asian Landlord: A Story About Opportunity

Updated: 01/25/2023 by Financial Samurai 147 Comments

All any of us want is an opportunity to try and succeed. We don’t want handouts. We just want the opportunity to try. Unfortunately, opportunities don’t come evenly. Here’s a story about opportunity, or lack thereof for this Asian landlord.

I realized the other day that all my tenants are white. I’d never thought about my tenants’ racial makeup until I read an article by Washington Post journalist, Michelle Singletary, entitled, “The Legacy Of Slavery Made My Grandmother Fear Investing.”

Michelle writes how discriminatory policies of the past shaped the way her grandmother approached investing. Her series of articles provides an interesting personal perspective on why there is a racial income and wealth gap today.

Here are some passages from her article that stood out:

When my first employer introduced a 401(k) retirement plan, I sought advice from Big Mama. But she actively discouraged me from “gambling” in the stock market.

“That’s for White folks,” Big Mama said. “They can afford to lose money.”

“The legacies of slavery, Jim Crow, and the New Deal — as well as the limited funding and scope of anti-discrimination agencies — are some of the biggest contributors to inequality in America,” says a 2019 report by the Center for American Progress

So, yes, it’s going to take more than a financial workshop to overcome the anxiety my grandmother lived with all her life and passed on to me.

There was only one investment that Big Mama trusted: her home.

The last line about Big Mama trusting only one investment, her home, really resonated with me.

This article will share some of the following insights:

  • Why there are so many Asian landlords and small business owners
  • Why real estate and small businesses are so highly valued among many minorities
  • How the lack of equal opportunity changes behavior
  • Where the belief of not depending on anyone but yourself comes from


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2021 Financial Samurai Personal Goals And To-Do List

Updated: 02/11/2022 by Financial Samurai 82 Comments

Now that I’ve shared my 2020 review and 2021 outlook for stocks and real estate, I’d like to share my personal goals for 2021.

Given the circumstances, we made the most of our time in 2020. However, as each month goes by with no pandemic resolution, I’m slowly getting more frustrated about not being able to live my desired life.

I care about my family and the safety of my fellow citizens. This care is why we haven’t traveled or partied with others since March 2020. Even though the chances of getting the virus are low and the survival rate is high, we don’t want to contribute to the spread.

At the same time, we know we are in the back of the bus for getting a vaccine. Therefore, our patience must last until July 2021, at the earliest.

The first half of 2021 will be much like the second half of 2020. We must hold on!



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The Unhealthy Desire For Prestige And Money Is Ruining Your Life

Updated: 01/05/2023 by Financial Samurai 111 Comments

The Unhealthy Desire For Prestige And Money Is Ruining Your Life

There is an unhealthy desire for prestige and money that is ruining people’s lives. At the end of all the striving, you might end up feeling empty inside.

The desire for prestige and money is why we: 1) spend an outrageous sum of money on education, 2) kill ourselves at jobs we don’t like, 3) put up with colleagues and bosses we despise, 4) never pursue our dreams, 5) neglect our children, and 6) eventually fill our hearts with regret.

If we can figure out how to rid ourselves of the desire for prestige and money, we will become much happier in the process!

After all, consistently feeling happy and having a sense of purpose may be what life is all about.

One Man’s Desire For Prestige And Money

Years ago, I was attending Finovate, a financial innovation conference, I met a fintech entrepreneur named John. He told me his revolutionary idea was to simplify the documentation gathering process for people looking to refinance or get a new mortgage. As anybody who’s ever taken out a mortgage can attest, it’s a real pain in the ass.

I was intrigued since I’ve done about 10 refinances on four properties since 2003. I planned to refinance one last time when I met him. But when John showed me his product, it still required the user to upload all of the docs the bank wanted onto his website. Further, there are always additional document requests from the bank to upload on his platform after that. What’s the point?

Creating an unnecessary barrier between consumer and lender didn’t seem like a good business idea. At least John was trying to solve a problem. I thanked him for his time and wished him well.

Then just the other month I ran into John at another fintech conference. I tend to go once a quarter with a free media pass. Otherwise, I’d go less often because these tickets cost anywhere from $300 – $2,000 each!

Running conferences during the internet boom is akin to being a landlord. It’s one of the best ways to profit.

I asked John how his product was doing, and he said that he’s looking to hire a CEO with more product experience. One guy slipped away thanks to an offer from Google, but another guy was close to joining.



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