Dear Financial Samurai,
I just got back from Honolulu, and my heart is full. My mom didn’t scold me unnecessarily, and most importantly, I pulled off surprising my dad for his 80th birthday.
I landed at 12:50 p.m. on Monday and got to my parents’ house by 1:30 p.m. My mom let me in, and I quietly went upstairs to see what my dad was doing. He was resting on the bed, so I tiptoed downstairs to chat with my mom in the kitchen.
About 20 minutes later, he finally came down to say hello to her. That’s when he turned to his left and saw me sitting at the table, having a drink, and said, “Surprise!” His look of shock and amazement was priceless. I stood up right away to give him a hug.
My mom joked that my wife and I had gotten into a fight and that I’d been kicked out of the house. I played along until my sister landed six hours later and surprised him too.
We ended the night with a wonderful meal at The Cutlery in Kaimuki—salad, bone marrow, ribeye, Kurobuta pork chops, white fish in butter sauce, rack of lamb, and a bottle of wine—all for about $380 after tax and tip. Not bad.
Building wealth and optimizing our finances matter. But in the end, taking care of family and friends is what life is all about.
Took Basic Economy to Get There Last Minute
Even though it’s been a strong year for my stock portfolio—especially after buying the dip in March and April—I couldn’t bring myself to book a $1,600 First Class ticket to Honolulu on my favorite aircraft, the Boeing 777-300ER.
Instead, frugality won. I booked Basic Economy for $360. I then invested $1,100 of the savings between First Class and Basic Economy into my kids’ Fundrise Venture accounts and put the rest in the S&P 500.
If you want to save money on travel and stomach the discomfort of going as cheap as possible, read: Survived Basic Economy and Won the Lottery. The post dives into psychology, gambling, and using discomfort as motivation to build wealth.
The 2026 401(k) Contribution Limits Are Here
For 2026, employees can contribute $24,500 to their 401(k)—$1,000 more than in 2025. That’s starting to feel like real money you can shield from taxes every year.
When I left work in 2012, the maximum employee contribution was $17,000. A solid amount, but not close to today’s level. And what’s even more impressive is how much employers can contribute if they want to.
You still have time to add more to your 401(k) in 2025, and I hope you continue maxing it out in 2026. Don’t take your day job benefits for granted.
Check out my new post: 2026 401(k) Maximum Contribution Limits Feels Like Big Money.
Real Estate Still Matters
A recent conversation with another financial professional prompted me to look across every asset class I own. I’ve long said that real estate is my favorite way to build wealth, thanks to the powerful combination of rising rents and rising property prices. It’s one of the most dependable inflation hedges out there.
But as I’ve gotten older, my enthusiasm for managing rentals has dropped. At 48, I’m maybe half as motivated to deal with tenants as I was at 32. So the logical next step is to shrink my physical real estate portfolio and increase my passive real estate holdings.
During a deep dive into one property I used to own, I discovered a stronger-than-expected return. It was surprising because I'm mainly just buying a home to live in it.
If you can, try to get neutral real estate as soon as you see yourself staying put for at least five years. Once your major housing cost is fixed, max out your 401(k) and aggressively build your taxable portfolio each month. If you do this, odds are you’ll be very pleased with your financial results.
Read: Made More From a Single House Than 26 Years of 401(k) Investing
Have a Wonderful Thanksgiving Week
Yes, the stock market is throwing a tantrum—bubble chatter, forced selling by a few crypto whales and exchanges, and disappointment that the Fed may skip a December rate cut. But we’ve come a long way since early April, when the market was melting down.
A 5% pullback is healthy. It forces everyone to reassess. Maybe we correct by another 5% and squeeze out some excess euphoria. And while valuations are elevated at ~22X (down from 23.5X) forward earnings, it got up to about 33X forward earnings in 1999.
So I’m keeping the faith and bought the dip last week. I’ll let you know when I start losing faith.
Have a wonderful holiday, everyone.
To your financial freedom,
Sam
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