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Financial Samurai

Slicing Through Money's Mysteries

Following Your Dreams To New York City: A Tenant Story

Updated: by 33 Comments

Following your dreams can take a big leap of faith. As exciting as it may be, it takes a lot of courage to break out on your own. Yet, every now and again, people surprise me. One of the greatest feelings is when you want to laugh and cry at the same time. For years I’ve had the most wonderful tenant. And his story of following his dreams to NYC made me so proud.

Timothy was always courteous and kind, and never more than 10 days late on rent. When he told me in January of his plans to move back East, he did so in a hand written letter that was so kind.

Saddened by his impending departure, I wrote a post about it. I wrote, “Is It Better to Rent To Males or Females?” to help deal with the preparation ahead. Most of you mentioned you prefer females. However, all of my past five tenants have been males.

Who Comes Hither?



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Hire A Personal Trainer Or Get Buff On Your Own?

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If you hate working out, hire a personal trainer to get you motivated. A personal trainer will help kick your ass when you don’t want to do anything.

Working out sucks. I hate it with a passion because I find it so wasteful to expend energy on doing nothing. I would rather use the energy to build a house in Somalia, landscape the backyard, or play sports than lift some stupid weights. 

That said, working out is also convenient because there’s a gym right across from me that I attend before every team or client dinner outing.  I figure I better pump some iron and jog a little before blitzing my diet!

One of my goals in 2016 is to win a tennis tournament.  To do so, I have to improve my endurance given I faded in both tournaments since we had to play back to back matches each day.  The season really gears up in March, leaving me with a solid two months to get in shape.  I know there is no way in hell I will be able to go to the gym 3X or more a week so I’ve thought about enlisting a personal trainer for help.

Personal Trainer: Spending Big Bucks

For $795, I get 10 one hour sessions with any trainer of my choice at my local club.  Yes, $795 sounds like a ridiculous amount of money, which is part of the reason why hiring a PT might just work!  If you’re spending $79.5 a session, it’s likely you will always attend and work your butt off to see results.  If the sessions were free, I’d probably slack off here and there until I don’t go at all.  Think about how often you go to your gym’s free classes.  If you’re honest, the answer is not as much as you should.

I always thought hiring a physical trainer was for clueless rich people who need a lot of hand holding.  I mean come on, who can’t read the little instructions on the machine and move one’s arms back and forth?  Who can’t go on Youtube and watch a workout video and emulate what they’ve seen at the gym?  And then I realized, maybe it’s not all just about getting fit.

Why Do I Feel Guilty With My Personal Trainer?

As I was surveying the 12 trainer’s bios with pictures on the wall, I found myself gravitating towards a very fit and attractive looking woman.  I could choose the beefcake body builder guy, the Madonna-arms looking woman, the crazy-eyed man, the woman in this post’s picture (momeee), or this attractive looking woman named Meredith.  Who would you choose if you had the choice?

Meredith has three years of personal training experience and is obviously in great shape.  She’s an ex-athlete herself and can empathize with me on all the mental anguish that athletes go through during crucial match scenarios.  I met her in person and she’s very friendly and fun to talk to.  She invited me to observe her train one fella and I obliged.  She was terrific and her client obviously felt the same when he told me to jokingly “get in line“.

Do you remember in school where there was this really hot girl (or guy) in your class you had a crush on?  The class could be the most boring subject on Earth, but it didn’t matter because you got a chance to see her for 50 minutes. 

A personal trainer like Meredith is like that.  She makes you automatically want to get in shape because she’s very attractive and you develop this unconscious desire to look good for her. 

OK, maybe it’s a very conscious desire since you’re scheming to ask her out once you’re ripped.  She not only introduces you to some great exercises, she’s also 100% behind you for a full hour.  Some people pay thousands of dollars an hour for this type of companionship.  Just ask Elliot Spitzer or Charlie Sheen!

So what do you think folks?  I know that if I spend $795 for 10 sessions with Meredith, I will be in the best shape of my life and ready to achieve one of my many goals for 2011 of winning a tennis tournament.

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Related: The Healthiest Foods To Make You Fit And Rich

Updated for 2021 and beyond.

Financial Samurai Goals And Resolutions for 2011

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Dear Readers, here are my goals and resolutions for 2011.

The list is long, and the funny thing is, I have another 5 goals to achieve which I’ve left off the official list.  There’s just so much I want to do in 2011 that it’s important to write things down so I can revisit them every month to evaluate my progress.  I’ll be bookmarking this post and checking back regularly for sure.

I’m under no illusion that I’ll be able to achieve everything on the list, but I will certainly try.  A lot of the goals and resolutions below are doable if I adjust my lifestyle accordingly.  In fact, practically everything on the list is something I really want to do, hence maybe I will be able to achieve them all!

GOALS AND RESOLUTIONS FOR 2011

BLOGGING / INTERNET Goals and Resolutions for 2011

* Maintain and grow Yakezie.com into one of the largest networks on the web. By the end of the year, we aim to generate $100,000 a month in revenue for all Members.  Stretch goal, but a possibility for sure.  We will host at least 6 Scholarships and award at least 18 Yakezie Scholarship winners.  Yakezie.com will also build out its Lifestyle Vertical with 10 new Lifestyle Members and plenty of content.

It’s 2020 now and Financial Samurai is one of the largest personal finance sites in the world with over 1 million visitors a month! Revenue is fantastic too!

* Make you believe that I blog full-time. In other words, readers of Financial Samurai will be treated to consistent (2-4 posts), quality content every week of the year.  Readers will forget that I work 55-60 hours a week running another business because the quality of the site will remain high.  Comments and e-mails will be responded to, guest posts will be welcomed, product reviews and giveaways will be conducted.  Like eating the most scrumptious chocolate cake, you’ll develop an urge to keep coming back for more without gaining any weight.

* Fly just under the radar. It’s very tempting to brag about financial achievements with a personal finance blog after a certain point, and that’s something I don’t want to do.  I realize times are still tough for many, and I find it inappropriate to share specific financial successes without the proper balance of financial failures.  There are a host of other PF bloggers who publish their net worth progress regularly.  Check them out and encourage them.

I don’t want credit for anything that comes out of Yakezie.com either.  The site is for the Members and I’m careful not to impose my style and voice on the Network because I have a very strong personality that’s not suited for everyone.  I want readers of Financial Samurai to read the content for what it is and to have no preconceived prejudices if possible.  If Yakezie.com or Financial Samurai gets picked up by larger media outlet, great, thank you!  However, I don’t plan on seeking attention.  Everything I do will be guided by one word: fun.  If the interview or project or whatever isn’t fun, I just won’t do it.

Offline, I want people to see me as just another regular person who looks less senior than his job title would indicate and is very financially mediocre.  You know the scene in The Matrix where the ship is trying to avoid the attention of the Sentinels?  My goal is similar to that – to disappear while being present.  11-year old Moose, worth $3,000 will help me stay invisible.

* Read a book on better writing. I flow write, which is to say that I just write everything down that goes through my head and then go back and edit for punctuation and grammar.  However, in the entire year that I’ve been writing, not once have I picked up a book on how to improve my writing.  Since this is a blog and not a New York Times article, I’m not so worried about beautiful writing.  Furthermore, I don’t have an Editor to make anything pop.  That said, I would like to incorporate a couple new writing techniques for 2011.

PERSONAL FINANCES Goals and Resolutions for 2011

* Take more financial risks. I’ve never been much of a financial risk taker partially because I’m easily satisfied with whatever I make, and partially because I’m too chicken to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars.  Although things have recovered, it was disconcerting to observe so much wealth destruction in 2008. I need to buy more growth stocks.

The pain of losing $100,000 is at least 2X the pleasure of making $100,000.  I haven’t decided whether to open up a new trading account to punt the market with, or buy another vacation or rental property.

Maybe I could turn $100,000 into a million bucks and surpass one of my goals from last year?  Or maybe I’ll lose $50,000 of it and become an alcoholic for a week.  I’m looking to invest in another private company, so if you know of any promising ones out there who need capital, let me know.

Related: Why It’s Easier Getting Rich Off Real Estate Than Stocks

* Get rid of excess and maintain living expenses. I’m keenly aware of lifestyle inflation.  This is the problem with hanging out with wealthier people.  I’m joining an expensive tennis club and now I’m getting pitched to join this resorts vacation program which costs $130,000 and “only” $10,000 a year for 10 days in any one of their “400 multi-million dollar residences” around the world.  That’s the cheap package!  If I want 30 days of usage a year, it costs $300,000 and $30,000 a year to join.  At least they give you 70% equity.  Ummm, no. Stop spending money like Snoop Dogg and simplify life.  Break free from things and reduce, reduce, reduce.

One of the greatest challenges will be to remain frugal, but not cheap with friends who are wealthy.  The strategy I’ve come up with is to simply spend money on them so they have nothing to say about the way I live.  Coffee, lunch, tennis balls, golf balls, dinner whatever… they’re all on me rich buddy.  Please, just don’t call me cheap.

* Save at least 60% of my gross income after maxing out my 401K. This goal will be on my list every year until I retire.  Everything is pretty much automated as I save one paycheck and 90%+ of my year end bonus if I receive one.  If for one instance I feel that saving this amount crimps my lifestyle, I will allow myself to spend more by saving only 50%.  Thankfully, good personal finance is quite basic and logical, which is why I try and write about all the fun things around personal finances instead.  Hope you guys feel the same way about personal finance, so we can address some more interesting topics this year.

LIFESTYLE Goals and Resolutions for 2011

* Dress better. I dress very simply because I love to feel warm and comfortable.  I used to always equate fancy clothes with being cold and uncomfortable.  As I looked into tailored clothes more closely, I discovered a whole host of beautiful materials which keeps one warm and looking sharp at the same time.  Several months ago, I went to a tailor and added a couple of well knit blazers, two suits, and seven dress shirts to my wardrobe, yet I’ve hardly worn any of the items except for the shirts!  I haven’t even put on one of the suits yet to my dismay.  The entire ensemble wasn’t cheap and I’m not planning on letting that money go to waste.  I’m just too casual in the way I dress, which may be borderline inappropriate.  The goal is to dress well and come across as someone who doesn’t have much if that’s possible.  Every week, I will wear my blazers at least once and wear each suite at least twice a month.

* Take guitar and/or singing lessons at least once. I will find some good references and get some lessons by golly!  After some encouraging comments from readers, I proceeded to record a couple more songs that day, when I only recorded 3 other songs all year: Landslide and First Day of My Life.  Each song took at least 2 hours to get right and record because of so many strumming/finger picking and singing mess-ups.  However, it is immensely gratifying to practice like crazy to record a final product which you find good enough.  Guitar is an outlet that allows me to smile, cry, and do something completely different from the day-to-day norm.  Guitar also helps me cope with boredom when it’s raining and I can’t go out and play.  As a matter of fact, blogging also acts as the same way this winter!  Aim to record 5 songs.

* Enter at least four tennis tournaments with the goal of winning one. Part of the reason why I failed to achieve my tennis tournament win goal is because I only entered two of them!  Like dating, winning a tournament is also a numbers game.  The more I enter, the more chances I have to win.  In order for me to win, I need to stay healthy and fit.  As such, I will stretch at least twice a week, do yoga once a week at home for 20 minutes, stay under 165 pounds, and lift weights at least twice a month.  I hate working out with a passion, but I love to play sports and stretch, so that’s what I’m tilting my physical routine towards.

* Trend towards vegetarianism. The diversity of food I eat is mind boggling and often times unhealthy.  Just last week I had Korean BBQ, Peruvian Ceb(v)iche, dry-aged prime rib, Singaporean Chili crab, Toro Sashimi, In N’ Out Burger, Burrito Mojada, Roti Prata, Shabu Shabu and Indian Mee Goreng!  A lot of the diversity is because I love all types of food and I live in a city which allows for such pleasures.  Furthermore, I often take clients out for meals and try to keep things flavorful, which often means unhealthy.  As a result, I plan on making one day a week on average an all vegetarian day.

* Rediscover golf. When the downturn hit, I decided to give up golf and just focus on tennis.  I couldn’t break a 10 handicap (got down to 10.1 and ricocheted higher) and I felt golf just took too long and was too expensive.  It’s a shame because all of 2007 and most of 2008 I was enthralled with the game.  I got some second hand Mizuno MP-50 irons that just felt so buttery.  I found my driving swing again, and could regularly smack it at least 260 yard on a flat hole.  Most importantly, my father has also rediscovered golf in retirement, so I’d love to spent my free time on the course with him.

* Remember my dreams. There once was a time where I would dream frequently and remember many of them.  I’d fly across the city, go on crazy adventures, and meet interesting people.  Perhaps one of the downsides of getting up early and quickly is that the “kick” happens too quickly.  It’s in those snoozing waking hours where one seems to remember most of their dreams, and I simply don’t snooze at all because I wake up automatically by 6:15am.  We sleep about 1/4th to 1/3rd of our lives.  Wouldn’t it be amazing if we could be awake in our dreams?  If you haven’t watched the movie Inception, please go watch it twice.  It’s now my favorite movie.  I’ll be doing a lot of research on increasing my unconscious memories.

* Take all six weeks of vacation. 2010 was the first year I did and boy did it feel great!  I’m also glad to see the world didn’t fall apart while I was away, which is a silly notion I used to have.  I plan on continuing my path of visiting one or two new foreign countries a year so I can visit 60 before I die.  I’m shooting to travel to Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Peru (went as a kid and don’t remember), Australia, New Zealand, Greece, or the Galapagos Islands this year.  If you have any thoughts on where I should go, or recommendations of what I should do, please let me know!

* See my parents four times instead of the usual one or two times a year. My parents are globetrotters and they are hard to track down sometimes.  We will use Skype more often and check in at least once every two weeks.  One of the reasons why I started this site is so that my parents can check in on me, any time, wherever they are.  They can read some of my thoughts, and comment whenever they want and I will respond.  Mom and dad, if you are reading this, come visit me at least twice a year please.  Thanks!  There is no other resolution more important than this one.

GOOD LUCK with your goals and resolutions for 2011

I’ve made sure that everything on my list is measurable in some sort of way so that in one year, I can look back and see whether I succeeded or failed.  I’ve already booked a trip to see my parents this February and I’m excited to get going on every single one of my goals.  Feel free to share your goals and resolutions for 2011 as well!

Best of health and best of fortitude. What are your goals and resolutions for 2011?

Update 2021

It’s been over 12 years since I started Financial Samurai and I’m actually earning a good passive and active income stream online now. The top 1% of all posts on Financial Samurai generates 31% of all traffic and revenue.

I never thought I’d be able to quit my job in 2012 just three years after starting Financial Samurai. But by starting one financial crisis day in 2009, Financial Samurai now makes more than $200,000 a year. If you enjoy writing, creating, connecting with people online, and enjoying more freedom, see how you can set up a WordPress blog in 15 minutes with Bluehost.

You never know where the journey will take you. I was able to travel to Cambodia, Malaysia, Taiwan, Korea, and Vietnam for four weeks while running my online business. Starting a website is the best lifestyle move I’ve ever made, and it could be for you too!

For more resources check out my:

Financial Samurai has been online since 2009 and is one of the most trusted and largest independently-run personal finances today.

Sam – “Slicing Through Money’s Mysteries”

The Comfortable Lifestyle Business Or The Big Payout?

Updated: by 65 Comments

Contemplating the Lifestyle Business In Hawaii - The Comfortable Lifestyle Business Or The Big Payout?

Back in late 2010, I had a dilemma. I was wondering whether to have a comfortable lifestyle business or the big payout. I’m pleased to say that 13 years later, I’m still happily running Financial Samurai as a comfortable lifestyle business.

Sure, I’m not crazy rich. But I feel rich. More importantly, my wife and I have the freedom to do what we want.

One Night At The Poker Table

Over poker one night, we got to talking about what we always talk about: entrepreneurship.  

Out of a table of 10, four work at start-ups, three are at Google, one is a high-tech lawyer, one works as a medical correspondent for CNN, and then there’s me, a hybrid. I had just got done working on Yakezie.com for three hours after working an 11 hour day. Needless to say, I was a little bit tired.

I love going to Friday night poker mainly because I get to bounce ideas off of really smart and incredibly hard working people. 

When I hear stories of one start-up player working from 7am to 3am every night for two weeks straight to launch a product offering, I get pumped. When the Venture Capitalist player recounts his firm rejecting a pitch by Tim Westergren, Pandora’s founder in 2008, I wince, but daydream in amazement.

The Comfortable Lifestyle Business Or The Big Payout



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My First Car Was A Heap Of Junk How About Yours?

Updated: by 52 Comments

Joining Uber As A Driver With $50 Gas Promo
Rhino Joins Uber

My first car was pretty crappy. How about yours?

After getting my driver’s license at 17, I talked to my parents about finally getting a car.  I don’t remember why I didn’t get my license at 16, but perhaps it was because I had such a spiffy bicycle the ladies loved.  *Ring a ding a ling * was the sound of my bell every time I rode by a hot girl.

It always felt odd that I had to walk or ride my bike to school when other kids got to drive their new Ford Explorer SUVs, and VW Jettas.  Even my parents drove an 8 year old car at the time.  Oh well, I thought to myself.  Perhaps one day.

THE HIDDEN GEM THAT WAS NOT A GEM

The day I got my driver’s license was one of the most memorable days.  One, because I failed the written test the first time, and my mom wasn’t too happy.  Two, because my parents took me to “Fresh Choice”, an all you can eat buffet restaurant to celebrate.  I had dreams of rumbling in a 5.0 liter Mustang for my first car.  Nothing sounds so beautiful.  In fact, I actually test drove one of my classmates because he was selling it to buy an Acura NSX!  “$9,000 and it’s yours Sam!”  Yeah right.  All I have is like $900 bucks, but I sure am glad I got to test drive!

My parents gave me a $2,000 budget, so I searched the Auto For Sale section of the papers gleefully to find my dream vehicle. Damn, even in those days $2,000 wasn’t too much money.  There was no internet at the time mind you so all I could do was base my impression on some text in a paper.  I finally stumbled upon one ad that just sung to me, “Excellent condition 1987 Nissan Sentra with only 135,000!  Seller is running for District Supervisor. Only $1,699!”  $1,699 was $500 cheaper than all the other comparables and I thought I had a deal.

We drove out to the aspiring District Supervisor’s shoddy apartment and took a look.  What a junker!  The car had a faded yellowish color, with a newly painted driver’s door, because obviously someone bashed into it.  Even still, we took it for a ride, and I just loved it.  We paid cash on the spot and drove it home.

With all the scrubbers and cleaning chemicals I bought from the auto store, I got to work detailing every single inch of my new baby.  I even got one of those scented pine cone car fresheners to hang from my rear view mirror.  It was a dream come true.  My very first car to drive to school in!

FIZZLE POP

Too bad only a month had past when * boom * my clutch broke down and my car no longer could shift gears and move.  No wonder it was $500 cheaper than all the other cars in the paper.

I had to replace all of the CV boots as well.  $1,100 later, the car was as good as new.  Curses to you District Supervisor!  Now I remember why I don’t trust politicians.  It all started at age 17.  I’m glad I started with a piece of crap, because nothing could have been worse!

Related: The 1/10th Rule For Car Buying Everyone Must Follow

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Updated for 2021 and beyond

The Secret To Early Retirement Is So Simple And Logical

Updated: by 124 Comments

As an early retiree since 2012, let me share with you the secret to early retirement. I originally wrote this post in 2010 when I was desperately seeking to leave my arduous finance job. I had been working in banking for 11 years and was completely burned out.

Now that I have more than a decade of early retirement wisdom, let me share some interesting thoughts about retiring at age 34. Instead of going the more honorable and grueling route, I should have been more strategic.



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The $300 Million Dollar “A” Yacht Owned By A Russian Billionaire

Updated: by 64 Comments

Well, well, well.  Not everyday does a $300 million dollar mega yacht stop by the San Francisco Bay Area!  The creatively named “A” yacht is owned by 38 year old Russian billionaire Andrey Melnichenko and his lovely supermodel wife Aleksandra!  Andrey made his money in fertilizer, banking, and energy and is worth a reported $4.4 billion dollars.  Interest alone on $4.4 billion at 4% is over $178 million a year!

The “A” looks like something out of a James Bond movie.  Can you imagine all the crazy parties on this bad boy?  Wow!  I rode my bike to the very north end of San Francisco to take a look and boy oh boy is it big.

Some nice mouth watering yacht stats for all you billionaire wannabes out there!

* 25,000 square feet of total living space

* 2,500 square foot master bedroom suite

* 160 foot long main hallway

* 62 feet wide

* 6 cabins in addition to the owner’s master bedroom suite

* 3 speed boats

* 3 mini swimming pools

* A crew of 37 and staff of 5

* Can outrun pirates (or the Russian IRS) with a top speed of 24 knots

* Costs $500,000 to fill up the tank of gas

* Costs $20 million a year to operate

* A secret escape pod to outrun the pirates or the Russian IRS

* A secret “nookie” room for indiscretions with other super models

TOTAL INSPIRATION

Some people might say this $300 million yacht is an absolute monstrosity and that $300 million could have been spent helping save the world.  Yes, Andrey could have spent the $300 million on someone else, but shouldn’t he have the right to occasionally indulge?  Andrey already donates millions of dollars a year to charity and he’s living the dream because he can.

I used to drive to the toniest of neighborhoods in San Francisco and walk around the neighborhood just admiring the mansions.  Whenever I felt down and out, these mansions would pick me up.  If you happen to be in San Francisco, tell the cab driver to drop you off at Broadway St. and Lyon.  Bring your running shoes too as you’ll arrive at one of San Francisco’s most popular workout routine.

The street is littered with $25-50 million houses and I just gawk in amazement.  Do I envy these mega millionaires?  Not at all.  They give me inspiration to work harder and make it on my own.

YOU KNOW YOU WOULD TO

I don’t know about you, but if I was worth $4.4 billion dollars I’d happily own this mega yacht as well.  Furthermore, I’d probably own 20 different properties around the world where I’d sail to for 6 months of the year.  Of course, for the other 6 months of the year I’d be building my online blogging endeavors so I can diversify my income stream (I kid)!

Oh yeah, I forgot one thing.  If I were a billionaire and owned this mega yacht, I’d immediately fly over all the members of The Yakezie Network and party it up all weekend long!  OK, all month long!

Readers, if you were a billionaire, what kind of indulgences would you splurge on?  What are some of the things the rich do to inspire you?  To look at more pictures of the “A” yacht, check out the WSJ’s feature!

Regards,

Sam @ Financial Samurai – “Slicing Through Money’s Mysteries”

Follow on Twitter @FinancialSamura and subscribe to our RSS or E-mail feed.

Personal Finance Bloggers Cause US Retail Sales To Plunge!

Updated: by 34 Comments

May retail sales drop 1.2% or the most in 8 months as more and more people turn to personal finance bloggers for frugality advice! I’m pretty certain nobody has ever come up with this statement, but think about it for a little bit.

The Rise Of Personal Finance Bloggers

Why is it that the public should take personal finance advice from BusinessWeek, for example? The articles are written by relatively well-paid writers who are on a mission to report the news. 

They do a fine job at that, but perhaps not as fine a job making things visceral like the personal finance community. What’s more personal than a real person like Jeff delivering pizzas to get out of debt? Not much!

It’s very hard for the mass media to compete against a team of personal finance bloggers such as the Yakezie.  We’re real life people responding to comments and putting ourselves out there. There’s a two-way street with us. 

If I were Editor in Chief of any mass media publication, I’d go out and hire an bunch of influential personal finance bloggers and put them on my payroll. $75,000 a year will do or perhaps $150,000 a year if you want us to write an article a month exclusively for you. By doing so, the Editor will inject new life, new readers, and therefore a wealth of new advertising dollars to the publication.

As evidenced by May’s retail sales figures, we are creating the news with our frugal ways instead of just reporting the news. There’s a movement underway, can you feel it? Maybe we’ll band together and talk about how we should never buy new cars again, causing June’s new car sales to dip. 

Or maybe we’ll discover how amazing one person’s unsung journey is to fight poverty in Uganda and direct millions of dollars their way. That counts for something. Let’s make a palatable difference with the words we write. Someone is out there listening.

Further Reading

Passive Income X Factor – Starting Your Own Site

It’s been around six years since I started Financial Samurai and I’m actually earning a good passive income stream online. The top 1% of all posts on Financial Samurai generates 31% of all traffic. The average age of the top 1% posts is 2.3 years old.

In other words, after putting in the hours to write some very meaty content over two years ago, 10 posts consistently generate a monthly recurring income stream that’s completely passive. The posts probably won’t continuously rank high in search for years due to tremendous competition, but that’s partly why I continue to write 3-4X a week.

I never thought I’d be able to quit my job in 2012 just three years after starting Financial Samurai. But by starting one financial crisis day in 2009, Financial Samurai actually makes more than my entire passive income total that took 15 years to build.

If you enjoy writing, connecting with people online, and enjoying more freedom, see how you can set up a WordPress blog in 15 minutes with Bluehost. It’s cheap and easy to start.

If you’re looking to start a blog of your own, click the link as I put together a 3,000 word free tutorial on how to do so.

Samurai’s Alexa Ranking Challenge Update: Progress Through Adversity

Updated: by 83 Comments

Financial Samurai

It’s been just over a month since the Samurai Alexa Ranking Challenge was announced, and I’m pleased to report we’ve made tremendous progress! With 35+ members strong, we are actively helping each other achieve our respective goals. I’d like to use this opportunity to recognize several Yakezie members for their achievements and initiatives in helping the team.

* Daniel-San from Sweating The Big Stuff took the initiative to compile the list and keep track. His efforts have in turn created a home for us members to visit once a week and get pumped.

* @Elle_CM from Couple Money has been amazingly selfless in retweeting my posts and many other posts. She is exactly the type of member the Yakezie Group seeks.  @FinEngr created a Yakezie Twitter Group to keep track of us and follow.  Pls follow so the group can follow you back.

* Monevator, The Amateur Financier, Evolution Of Wealth created weekly wraps to specifically highlight posts from the Yakezie Group. Meanwhile, Money Funk wrote a derivative post on how to increase your Alexa ranking.

* Eliminate The Muda and Planting Dollars have busted through their 200,000 goal and should obviously now shoot for top 100,000!

THE RULES HAVE CHANGED AND WE WILL ADAPT

At some point over the past several weeks, all of us got dinged by 2 spots on Wise Bread’s Top 100 PF list because of the addition of two new blogs in the #1 and #2 spots. Congrats to those two blogs for being able to piggy back off their respective major platforms. The Atlanta Journal and The Star Tribune of Minneapolis and rocket straight to the top.

I liken the scenario to a situation at work where you struggle for a long period of time to get promoted, only to find out your manager hires someone laterally or from outside the firm to fill the spot! 

Others have mentioned it’s like some who get into prestigious schools simply due to their connections, while the rest of us just make due with what we have. Guess what team? Life isn’t fair, and Wise Bread can do whatever they want. We are not going to complain. Instead, we will simply try harder!

It’s important to realize that in 5 months, to get on Wise Bread’s first page, reaching 200,000 will no longer be enough. The 100th ranked blog will probably be ranked around 165,000 by then. 

Furthermore, Wise Bread might start adding other piggy back blogs from major publications which will impede our progress further. Once again, we must do as much as we can to help each other out. Never surrender!

New Initiatives

* Guest Posting UP: I ask that all those in the Top 100,000 allow others who are outside the Top 200,000 to guest post if they want to. There is a mutual benefit to guest posting where the guest writer gets to reach out to the host’s readers, while getting a link back to their own site. 

Meanwhile, the host blog receives content.  The guest writer really benefits most, because many of the bigger sites already have a ton of content in the pipeline already.  The host blog will actively promote the guest post on Twitter and elsewhere.

* A Playful Dance: One of the great ways to get to know each other better is to write a post in response to a post from one of your members. You see Ryan and Planting Dollars and Wojo at Fiscal Fizzle plays this out with the topic on “Is There Really Such Thing As Passive Income”. That exchange has created a fantastic amount of insight for the readers, and I’m sure Ryan and Wojo’s relationship is better because of it.

* Carnival: Another major initiative is to create an ongoing Samurai Alexa Challenge Carnival each week or two.  We are small enough where we can highlight a post from each challenger, thereby helping promote their content, while promoting yourself since everybody will visit your site and read your content as well. 

You don’t have to highlight a post from every site, however, please do your best to highlight as many as possible.  Just check out the comments at Evolution of Wealth’s Rodeo.  We’ve already got three lined up!

Other Updates From The Alexa Ranking Challenge

* Ranking Host Rotation: Daniel-san has benefited by keeping track of the group’s progress, as he should.  What we are proposing is to allow a new member to host and update the rankings for every month of the challenge. 

I think we should discuss this proposal below, and get an idea of whether people like this idea, and would want to host the ranking as well. With two things in motion (weekly wrap and ranking), we can share the wealth further.  Or, we can keep the ranking at Daniel-San’s site since it’s already there. 

The host’s duty is to obviously update the rankings, check back on the original challenge post to see if new members would like to join, and add, while highlighting any big changes.

* A New Go To Ranking: Finally, at the end of the 5 month period, I plan to either bring the ranking back home to Financial Samurai or let the ranking float forever once a month. The plan is to morph Samurai’s Alexa Ranking Challenge into the go to personal finance ranking page. This will purely consist of individually run personal finance blogs that do not piggy back off other major publications. 

We will create a entirely apples-to-apples comparison of the best PF sites in the world. If anybody has any programming skills to create a page where entries will be automatically updated, please let me know. When the rules change on us, we have the power to make our own rules!

The Alexa Ranking Challenge Is For Everyone

You may think this challenge is just dedicated to a community of bloggers.  In reality, the Samurai Alexa Ranking Challenge is a case study on how to improve all our lives, readers and writers alike! 

Our personal real-life goals can range from finding love to early retirement. What we want to show is that through the selfless promotion of others, continuous teamwork, and an unwavering commitment, we will succeed despite setbacks. This is The Yakezie Way.

** Update Feb 25th: The Atlanta Journal and Star Tribune blogs which took up the top 2 spaces in WB’s rankings are no longer there.  Maybe this post made a different, maybe not. Regardless, this is a positive for all of us, and should serve as a reminder that the rules can and will change. We need to continue being diligent in our efforts.

Further Reading

Here’s some further reading for the week.

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Charles Farrell From “Your Money Ratios” Speaks! Part II

Updated: by 32 Comments

The following is the second and last part of my interview with Charles Farrell, the author of “Your Money Ratios“.  Charles Farrell discuss the much maligned 401k, whether Social Security will survive, and crowd favorite, how raising personal income tax levels further will ruin America!

The 401K AND ALL ITS GLORY

Question: Why do you think there are so many detractors of the 401k plan? Furthermore, do you think it is fair that the pre-tax limit contribution is only $16,500 for some 22 as well as someone who is 45? Presumably, the average 45 year old is making much more than the average 22 year old, so how come the government doesn’t propose an increased pre-tax contribution scale the older one gets?

Charles Farrell: Many people don’t like 401(k) plans because they believe the burden of funding retirements should fall on employers and not employees; thus they would like to see us go back to defined benefit plans that are funded by employers. Well, that is just not going to happen. Employers have no appetite for guaranteeing to pay their workers for 30 or 40 years after they stop working for them.

And DB plans are not flexible enough to accommodate a globally competitive marketplace, plus they discriminate against individuals who change jobs or careers. Moreover, many DB plans (particularly government plans) are significantly underfunded and many who thought they had guaranteed retirements may be unpleasantly surprised at some point. So I think the “romance” with DB plans is misguided, but many people would like to see those types of plans again. I just don’t think it’s going to happen.

Then there is another set of individuals who don’t like 401(k) plans because of the limited investment choices and sometimes high expense structure of the plans. I agree with people on this front, and there are problems with some 401(k) providers, particularly those smaller plans that can’t drive better deals on their investment platforms.

But, most plans do offer competitive options and are low cost. It’s important for readers not to lose sight of the primary reason to use a 401(k) plan, which is the huge tax benefit provided to those who contribute; and if you get a match, that is just makes it more attractive. The tax deduction, the match and the tax deferral on growth are incredibly valuable tools to help build your capital. So even with some restrictions, the plans are basically the best place to build your retirement assets.

Regulators Are The Problem! (401K Con’t)



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