Empower surveyed 2,304 U.S. adults about financial happiness. And one of the most fascinating data points from the survey was that Millennials need to earn $525,000 a year to feel happy! Although $525,000 isn't a top 1% income ($650,000+ is in 2023), it's a top 3% income. And if you need to earn more than …
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Partially thanks to high mortgage rates, the percentage of homebuyers who pay cash has risen. As of September 2023, according to Redfin, 34.1% of U.S. home purchases were made in cash. This is up from 29.5% in September 2022, when mortgage rates were lower. Redfin analyzed county records across 40 of the most populous U.S. …
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Instead of sharing the usual things I'm thankful for (health, family, being Asian, etc.), I thought I'd share some unusual things I'm thankful for this year! 2023 was supposed to be a return to easy living. Alas, I don't feel very relaxed. The combination of keeping Financial Samurai going and being a dad is grinding …
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I've been trying to leave San Francisco since 2014. After fake retiring in 2012, I thought it was only logical to move to a lower-cost area of the country, like Honolulu, to save money and be closer to my folks. Yes, Honolulu isn't cheap, but it's cheaper than San Francisco! However, every time I try …
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The Internal Revenue Service announced that the amount individuals can contribute to their 401(k) plans in 2024 has increased to $23,000, up from $22,500 for 2023. In addition, the limit on annual contributions to an IRA increased to $7,000, up from $6,500 in 2023. Not bad! Given the new three legs of the retirement stool …
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If you are curious how attorney Mike Ketchmark and his team were able to win a landmark $1.8 billion class-action lawsuit on price fixing against the National Association of Realtors, Keller Williams, and HomeServices of America, you're going to love this podcast episode. This was truly a David vs. Goliath moment that will change the …
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The IRS has introduced new income limits for its seven tax brackets for 2024. Thankfully, the thresholds have all increased by 5.4% to account for inflation. In 2023, the IRS expanded its tax brackets by a historically large 7%, reflecting last year's elevated inflation. Although it's getting harder and harder to earn a top one …
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Selling bonds to buy real estate is a much easier decision to make than selling stocks to buy real estate. Real estate acts like a bond plus investment because bonds have more similarities to real estate than stocks do. The word “plus” is added to bonds to describe real estate as a type of bond …
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One of the best ways to get a better deal on a home is by paying cash. Sellers prefer all-cash offers because there's less risk the transaction will fall through once in escrow. As a result, some sellers are willing to discount the sales price or take your cash offer over another offer with a …
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If you want to succeed long-term, make sure you are working mostly for intrinsic rewards not extrinsic rewards. I believe the right balance for success is to have >70% intrinsic motivation and <30% extrinsic motivation. If most of the reason why you are doing something is due to extrinsic motivation, you will likely burn out …
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As a real estate investor since 2003, I've been disappointed by the real estate buying and selling process for a long time. While transaction costs have declined to zero or near zero for every industry due to technology, real estate commissions have remained stubbornly high, partly due to collusion. After I sold a rental property in …
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