Dear Financial Samurai, Based on the reactions to my new post, A 50-Year Mortgage Is Fantastic For Homeowners And Investors, there are clearly a lot of anti-debt folks out there — and that’s perfectly fine. Less debt is generally better than more, and being debt-free by retirement is a great goal. At the same time, much […]
Newsletter For Nov 15, 2025: We’re All On Borrowed Time Read More »
Housing is one of life’s fundamental needs, right up there with food, water, and safety. For decades, though, housing affordability has become increasingly out of reach for the average American. With the median U.S. home price hovering around $440,000 and the median household income roughly $80,000, it’s easy to see why homeownership has become more of a dream
A 50-Year Mortgage Is Fantastic For Homeowners And Investors Read More »
But no matter how hard I studied, I couldn’t crack the code. I finished with a 3.65 GPA — a B+/A– average. Spanish verb conjugations tripped me up, advanced math seemed pointless, and science teachers were brutal graders. After reading some SAT prep books at the library, I couldn’t break a 1,200 on the SAT
Be an American Nerd, Not the Cool Kid, If You Want to Survive Read More »
During my free financial review of my investments, I was feeling pretty good about how far it had come. Back when I retired from finance in April 2012, I had about $300,000 in my 401(k). After leaving, I rolled it into an IRA and invested in index ETFs and individual stocks. Since then, it has
You Might Not Be As Good An Investor As You Think Read More »
Dear Financial Samurai, I’m not usually one for technical analysis, but I was trading stocks on November 7 before our parent-teacher conference. A 3-month T-bill expired October 31, and I’d been waiting for a dip to buy back in, and it came. According to Challenger, October saw 153,000 job cuts, the most for any October
Newsletter For Nov 9, 2025: The Hammer Arrives, A Bullish Sign Read More »
Housing security is something I hope everyone will one day obtain. Once you are house secure, you can more easily focus on your career, family formation, and other things you care about. However, if you rent for life, you may face housing insecurity, which can feel especially uncomfortable when you’re older or no longer willing
Please Don’t Rent Your Entire Life: Housing Security Is Vital Read More »
It’s a raging bull market, and I’ll confess, I’m a little annoyed I don’t have a large paycheck anymore to take advantage of more investment opportunities. Every day, I see people with steady W-2 income are funneling thousands into stocks, real estate, and private deals. Meanwhile, I’m sitting here, asset rich but cash flow constrained.
FIRE Confessional: No Big Paycheck During a Bull Market Stinks Read More »
A poor millionaire sounds like an oxymoron, but they definitely exist. Roughly 6% of U.S. households are millionaires, yet many of them still don’t feel rich. A poor millionaire is someone worth over $1 million but unable to access much of their wealth. In other words, their net worth is highly illiquid. A layoff, bear market, or
Poor Versus Rich Millionaires: Liquidity Is The Difference Read More »
Dear Financial Samurai Readers, Happy Halloween and November, the start of what I believe is the best time of the year. Our family took our little ghouls and goblins to two neighborhoods this year for trick-or-treating, and it was a blast. Watching the kids don their costumes, raid candy stores, and end the night with
Newsletter for Nov 2, 2025: Best Time Of The Year For Stocks Read More »
Despite finally having the permission to live it up in retirement, I still find it hard to spend money on things I don’t truly need. A big part of building wealth has always been about endurance and suffering. The more we can withstand—long hours, delayed gratification, and the occasional investment blowup—the greater our odds of
How to Endure Suffering to Build Greater Wealth and Resilience Read More »
