Data by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED) reports the national average on non-jumbo money market accounts deposits (i.e. less than $100,000) is a miserly 0.08%. It’s only marginally higher for jumbo deposits at 0.12%.

CD rates have also plummeted. The current national rates for CDs are only 0.22% for 1-year, 0.49% for 3-year and 0.78% for 5-year. That’s a far cry from the 4.1% I’m currently receiving for a 7-year CD that is finally coming due in March, 2017.

Given the low rates, investors have bid up income producing assets such as rental properties, REITs, and bonds. Stocks have certainly been a beneficiary as well. The question on every investor’s mind now is: how much have income producing assets risen due to fundamentals versus a Fed-induced frenzy?

Are you conflicted by how much time and money you should give to help other people because you aren’t financially secure yet? Because you feel fortunate, do you feel guilty for not giving more? Welcome to the club!

In my 20s and early 30s, because I was getting beaten by a stick at work, I struggled with giving generously. The more I gave, the longer I would have to work in the salt mines. Of course I participated in various volunteer and giving activities through work, but I didn’t go out of my way to give much more. Instead, I told myself to hurry up and make “enough” money so I could help more people later.

How much of your time and money to give is a personal decision. Don’t let anybody judge you for what you decide. There are countless people who despite having never walked in your shoes will say you should have done this or you should have donated that without doing anything themselves. Ignore them.

If you can’t donate any money, consider donating some of your time. If you can’t donate time or money, then work to get yourself in the best possible financial shape so that nobody will have to take care of you. After all, it’s always best to put on your oxygen mask first before helping others.

I have trouble spending money on things I don’t need because I extremely value the freedom money buys. After enjoying complete financial freedom for the last four years, I NEVER want to be forced to go back to work for money again. Once you have financial freedom shooting through your veins, you’ll do anything to keep the high going!

At the same time, I struggle finding a proper balance between my earnings and my spending. To earn money is why we wake up at 5am, commute in painful rush hour traffic, tolerate micromanagers, work 80 hours a week, start a business, ignore our spouses, neglect our kids, and do all sorts of other selfish things. Thus, if we sacrifice so much, surely we are entitled to spend a portion of our earnings on things we don’t need.

To overcome spending dysfunction, I’ve come up with a no-brainer ratio to help people spend responsibly. Let’s just call it the Financial Samurai Responsible Spending ratio (FS:RS).