This is a free Financial Samurai newsletter that was published on June 8, 2024. Every week, I come out with a free weekly newsletter to help readers achieve financial freedom sooner rather than later. Join 65,000 other readers and subscribe here. This way, you'll never miss a thing.
Financial Samurai began in July 2009 and is the leading personal finance website today with over 1 million organic pageviews a month. Everything is written based off firsthand experience because money is too important to be left up to pontification.
Sam is the pioneer of the modern-day FIRE movement. He attended The College of William & Mary for undergrad, got his MBA from UC Berkeley, and worked at Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse for 13 years until he retired in 2012 at age 34. Sam is one of the rare personal finance writers who actually has the background and experience in finance.
You can learn more about Sam Dogen by clicking his About page. You can also visit his Top Financial Products page to help you save, invest, and organize your finances better. Finally, you can check out Sam's media kit to see where he's been featured.
Financial Samurai Newsletter For June 8, 2024: Almost Escaped
Everything was going great until the May non-farm payroll numbers came in at +275,000, far above the expectations of 185,000. Hiring strength came from the healthcare, government, and leisure and hospitality sectors. Average hourly earnings increased by 14 cents, or 0.4%, to $34.91, double the April increase of 0.2%.
I say we almost escaped the notion that the Fed wouldn't cut rates anymore this year. The 10-year Treasury bond yield was gradually trending down from its recent peak of 4.62% on May 29, 2024, hitting a low of 4.28% on June 6, 2024, before surging higher to 4.43% after the May payroll numbers were reported on Friday, June 7.
So once again, real estate investors need to stay patient as mortgage rates remain higher for longer. Meanwhile, stock investors should stay cautious as well.
The Labor Force Participation Rate fell to 62.5%, the unemployment rate rose to 4% from 3.9%, and full-time workers declined by 625K while part-time workers increased by 286K. Hence, the May payroll figures may not be as robust as the headline figures suggest.
Bottom line: the expectations for a Fed rate cut have been pushed out to September, with only two cuts expected for the year.

We Are All Tech Investors In This Newsletter
Microsoft, Nvidia, and Apple currently make up about 20.1% of the total weighting of the S&P 500. This is the highest weighting of the top three stocks since 1980. Given that I presume most of you have shares in the S&P 500, you're all heavily invested in big tech.
This drift up in tech weighting is one of the reasons why you might want to rebalance your 401(k) or other investment portfolios once or twice a year. Over time, outperformers will take up a larger portfolio weighting, which may rise uncomfortably above your target allocation.
The same goes for your net worth composition in various assets such as your primary residence, stocks, bonds, private real estate funds, and alternative assets.
Even if you only make minor adjustments or no adjustments, the act of rebalancing forces you to review what you actually own. Ideally, you want to match your asset allocation to your risk tolerance, so you don't wake up one day with your portfolio down 30% when you thought you'd only be down 15%.

Cheer Up Folks!
There's a classic saying in the media, “If it bleeds, it leads.” This means that the more negativity the media writes about, the more people will read the articles, generating more business.
I've noticed this negativity bias on Financial Samurai as well. Articles with challenging titles, such as “Blew Up My Passive Income And No Longer Financially Independent,” tend to attract more interest. From a strategic growth point of view, it would make sense to focus primarily on the negatives of the world.
There's just one problem: I'm a super-optimist, and it's not in my nature to focus on bad things. If I touch upon something negative, I will always conclude with solutions to the problem. As a long-time newsletter reader, you should know this.
For over a decade, I've observed a phenomenon where commenters talk about how the economy is suffering and people are experiencing financial hardship. Yet, when I ask about their personal hardships, they often say they're doing great!
I couldn't explain this phenomenon with data until recently. The Fed's 2024 Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking reported that at the end of 2023, 72 percent of adults felt they were “doing okay” or “living comfortably.” Meanwhile, only 22% of the same survey respondents said the national economy is doing OK!

I understand not everyone is invested in stocks and real estate. Meanwhile, inflation of everything from food, gas, healthcare, and tuition, is really putting a damper on sentiment.
However, the unemployment rate is still at only 4%, while wage growth is strong. Therefore, if most of us can't feel good now about the economy, I'm not sure when most of us will ever feel good.
Check out: The Doom And Gloom You See Is Probably Not Real
You Will Figure Out A Way To Survive
Finally, after going through a recent six-month period of worrying about money, I've come to realize that we will figure things out when the going gets tough.
This realization gives me confidence that we won't run out of money in retirement, which is one of the top three consistent worries. This fear is a primary reason people continue working at jobs they don't like long after achieving financial independence. The fear of running out of money also explains why many men who are FIRE refuse to let their working wives retire with them.
I penned this article, “You'll Never Run Out of Money Because You're Rational,” after listening to my latest podcast about the saver’s mindset. It only managed to upset one person who said I was out of touch. Whoo-hoo!
Please Break Free If You've Run the Numbers and Have Enough
I got an email recently from a mom who had her third child last year. She's worked at a big tech company for 20 years, so she's clearly earned millions in her career.
She told me she desperately wants to quit her job and spend more time with her children. However, she said her husband, who also makes multiple six-figures a year, won't let her! He insists they need her health benefits and salary to live a comfortable life in NYC. Yet, he drives a $120,000 sports car and plans to send all three children to private school.
How sad is this? A successful woman who has not only put in her dues at work, but also birthed three children, isn't able to transition to something she prefers doing. I actually feel some anger towards the husband—step up or something!
I know walking away from a healthy paycheck is tough. But if you're not happy, leave. Making all that money is not worth it if you're not happy.
The situation reminds me of two posts:
Scraping By On $500,000 A Year: Why It's So Hard To Escape The Rate Race
Don't Make $400,000 A Year: Look At How These GS Analysts Suffer
To Your Financial Freedom,
Sam
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