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!

November 2020 was a solid month. After a disappointing October 2020, the S&P 500 and NASDAQ returned 10.8% and 11.8%, respectively. After November’s gains, the S&P 500 is up 12% for the year.

Could you have guessed that after being up ~30% in 2019, we’d be up another 12% during the middle of a pandemic? Not me. I would have been glad to have given up 10% of my 2019 gains. It’s possible I still could since the year isn’t over yet. However, many indicators are pointing to more gains in the future.

It is clear that positive vaccine news and more clarity after the presidential election has helped boost investor sentiment. I’m buying any 1%+ dips.

The theme for this review is, “everything is a teachable moment” because I’m in the thick of parenthood. We adults take for granted how much knowledge we’ve accumulated over the years and how little our children know. As a result, whenever we spend time with our children, we can teach them something new.

Here’s my November 2020 review so my ancestors and I will never forget what life was like during the pandemic.

Having honor and pride are good traits. But having honor and pride can also be detrimental to your quest for financial freedom and living a better life.

Life is already hard enough. Don’t make it even harder by being so stubborn!

I assume that many of you are suffering from burnout just like me. Every day, I wake up between 4 am – 6:00 am to write for several hours before my kids wake up. Then we’re talking ~12 hours of rotating childcare and household duties. By the time 9 pm rolls around, my wife and I are wiped out. We are so sleepy, it often takes two sessions to finish one, 1-hour Netflix episode.

One simple solution to living an easier life would be if I just publish one or two times a week instead of three or four times a week. Hot tub sessions would increase three-fold. Binge-watching an entire season would be a breeze too.

But due to a commitment I made in 2009 to publish three times a week, I just can’t quit! It’s like I’m hardwired. Further, I was taught by my high school track coach while dry-heaving after a difficult practice that only losers quit. I don’t want to be a loser.

Let me share some other examples, big and small, of how honor and pride have made my life tougher than it really needed to be. This post is a warning to those who may be too stubborn to change your ways.

In a way, October 2020 kind of felt like the beginning of early retirement. We took our medicine for a long time (strict lockdown for months / aggressive saving for years) and now we’re finally benefitting from our sacrifices.

It feels a little strange to be free again. You’re not quite sure what to do now that you have so many options. Slowly but surely you get back to living the way things were pre-pandemic. But you also know that danger could be just around the corner.

Just like after you retire, you also wonder whether your newfound freedom will last. You ask yourself whether your new life is real and warranted. Maybe you might even prefer to stay at home all day because that is what you’ve become accustomed to.

I’m hopeful things will continue to progress in San Francisco with a sub-1% coronavirus positivity rate. Businesses are opening up everywhere I look.

However, looking around the nation, it seems like just a matter of time before we go back on strict lockdowns again. Therefore, I’m not wasting a day of freedom.

Here’s a recap of what happened in October 2020, the seventh month of the global pandemic.

The right money mindset is important to get rich. If you don’t have the right money mindset you will miss out on opportunities. This post will discuss how you can develop a stronger money mindset to achieve financial freedom sooner.

Every day I encounter seemingly bizarre examples of people getting rich or things that are worth millions that shouldn’t be.

For example, these two blank canvases with black borders I’m staring at are worth millions. They were hanging in the Museum Of Modern Art for all to appreciate.

If a large blank canvas you can buy for $100 each is worth millions, than anything can be worth millions!

A Strong Money Mindset Example

A 63-year-old man knocked on my garage door at 9:30am. I let him in because he was one of my contractor’s helpers. His task for the day was to install baseboards in my downstairs hallway and put up crown moldings in my master bedroom and master closet.

For a couple months I deliberated whether to put crown moldings in my downstairs rooms to match the upstairs rooms. I was so tired from sanding and painting all the walls that I thought “good enough is good enough.”

But as I went to view several nice open houses for design inspiration, I realized that what differentiated the truly nice houses from the average houses were the detail, i.e. crown moldings, wainscoting, draperies, wood panels, furniture, and electrical covers.

The total cost for the baseboards and crown moldings, including materials was $780. If Bed, Bath & Beyond can force me to buy $1,300 worth of curtains (ridiculous!), I figured I could spend $780 on some woodwork.

Wisdom From The Contractor

The older gentleman greeted me with a smile and told me in Mandarin, “Son, great job on choosing crown moldings. You will be elevating the feel and stature of your home! And when you turn around and sell it, you will be able to sell the house for much more.”

I thanked him and wished him good luck in the walk-in closet where the space was extra tight because I had built in some shelves the day before.

The man and his helper were supposed to come a week before to install the baseboards and crown moldings. But their boss changed the schedule last minute as is commonly the case when dealing with contractors.

A Money-Making Idea Thanks To A Strong Money Mindset

He proceeded to ask, “What about the lower level part of the house? Do you plan to develop it so you can rent it out in order to pay off your mortgage sooner? I’d definitely do that!” He was demonstrating his strong money mindset.

I wasn’t evening thinking about developing the storage area downstairs. All I wanted to do was get the existing footprint squared away. “No plans, sir. I’ve had enough of remodeling and I just want to keep things simple,” I responded.

When I came back home from work at 6pm he was filling in the staple holes with silicon. He was proud of his work, and I was impressed with his work ethic. The crown moldings definitely made both rooms look much more luxurious.

Now all I have left to do with my remodeling project for maximum returns is: blow a hole in the closet wall to install a window, install sliding glass doors in the bedroom, build a 250 square foot deck, create a new bathroom and I’ll be done!

I had inherited the worker’s money mindset to growth my wealth. Six months later, I finished the project. The home has gone from a value of roughly $1.24 million in 2014 to $2.3 million today.

Related: The Cost Of Building A Deck: Best Home Addition Ever!

Here’s my September 2020 recap. For the past two weeks, I’ve felt sharp nerve pain thanks to a splinter in my right thumb. I’ve looked closely, hoping to see a tip so that I can use a pair of tweezers to pull the splinter out. Unfortunately, I’ve seen nothing.

I’m resigned to leaving the splinter wedged deep inside, letting my body hopefully one day absorb the foreign object into my bloodstream. For now, I’m treating the splinter as a reminder to never get too comfortable.

Samurai September was supposed to be a month of relaxation. I was going to purposefully write less and spend more time doing nothing when I was off childcare duty. However, after doing nothing productive for about one hour, a restlessness built inside that willed me to get busy again. Things have to change.

Here’s a recap of September 2020 so I don’t forget life during the pandemic when I’m older. To be frank, I’m most excited about doing these recaps for my family.

If you want a better life, you should strive to be in the top one percent of something, perhaps anything really. By being in the top one percent of something, it shows that you’ve achieved mastery. When you achieve mastery, you gain confidence that will help you be successful in many other endeavors.

You know those people who seem to apologize for everything, even just for being? They are this way because they lack self-esteem. For safety, they join a herd. Sadly, they are sometimes cruel to others because they don’t love themselves. Be unapologetically fierce about pursuing your dreams!

Find something you enjoy doing and don’t give up until you become one of the very best. Spend decades practicing if you have to. Build your X-Factor before you need to. If the direction is correct, sooner or later you will get there.

To help remember the pandemic time period when I’m older, I’ve decided to do a recap of some highlights and lowlights of each month. Here is my Financial Samurai August 2020 review.

I’m sure 20 years from now we’re all going to look back with wonder at all that transpired.

Overall, I feel like we’re living in the twilight zone. On the one hand, fortunes have never been greater. On the other hand, uncertainty has never been higher.

I would much rather have less fortune and more freedom and certainty. Wouldn’t you?