One of the reasons I accepted Portfolio Penguin's book deal in 2019 was to demonstrate to my kids the importance of work. Not working sets a bad example if you are a FIRE parent. If I spent two and a half years ideating, writing, editing, and marketing a book they could eventually find in a bookstore, […]
The post Children Doomed To Follow In Their Parents’ Professional Footsteps appeared first on Financial Samurai.
from Financial Samurai
via Finance Xpress
Part of the American dream is to climb the property ladder and live in the nicest neighborhood possible. We spend more than half our lives at home, so we want a neighborhood that offers as much peace, quiet, safety, and convenience as our budget allows. As an old man with young kids, long gone are the days […]
The post The Downside Of Living In A Nice Neighborhood Nobody Warns You About appeared first on Financial Samurai.
from Financial Samurai
via Finance Xpress
I recently shared that I'm 49 and out of cash because a venture capital fund called capital much faster than I expected. I assumed a conservative 30% of my commitment would be called in year one. Instead, 46% was called in just six months. On a $1 million commitment, that's $460,000 out the door instead […]
The post FIRE Makes Taking On New Debt A Non-Starter appeared first on Financial Samurai.
from Financial Samurai
via Finance Xpress
After stretching for the nicest house I could afford in 2023, I ended up living paycheck to paycheck for six months. It was stressful enough that I picked up a part-time consulting gig to shore up liquidity. Thankfully, stocks and real estate kept rebounding after a rough 2022, and the broke feeling faded. I promised myself I […]
The post Broke Again At 49, And This Time There Is No House To Blame appeared first on Financial Samurai.
from Financial Samurai
via Finance Xpress
Once both our children began school full-time in 2024, my wife and I had more breathing room. At least six hours a day of free time. No more wrangling toddlers in the chaos of the early years. I used the time to finish Millionaire Milestones, which became a USA Today bestseller in 2025. Now I'm […]
The post Financial Despair Is When You End Up Paying Money To Work appeared first on Financial Samurai.
from Financial Samurai
via Finance Xpress
In 2012, two months before my 35th birthday, I engineered my layoff from a 13-year career in investment banking. At the time, it felt like the riskiest thing I had ever done. Was I really going to blow up my career right as my earning power was about to compound? It did not seem wise. […]
The post Why It’s Easier To FIRE At 35 Than At 50 appeared first on Financial Samurai.
from Financial Samurai
via Finance Xpress
Ever wonder why Honolulu, Hawaii has the highest median life expectancy of any city in America? Sunshine, moderate temperatures, walkability, and an unhurried pace do wonders for your mental and physical health. As a relatively low-stress guy who doesn't have to commute to a day job to sit in meetings all day, every time I […]
The post Live Where The Weather Is Great, Invest Where It Isn’t appeared first on Financial Samurai.
from Financial Samurai
via Finance Xpress
Historically, I've viewed stocks as funny money. It's not real until it's converted into something you can use. Given the lack of utility for stocks, I've long preferred owning real estate. Being able to touch, see, and enjoy your investment without experiencing daily volatility is a huge win. And the feel good wealth effect of […]
The post Venture Capital Paper Gains Aren’t Real But Still Feel Great Anyway appeared first on Financial Samurai.
from Financial Samurai
via Finance Xpress
The other day I made $10 winning a set of tennis at a public park. It was a funny situation because I didn't set out to make money playing tennis. It just happened. I was hitting with my long-time buddy, Richard, next to a young man and a couple of regulars. We asked them if […]
The post Sandbagging As A Way Of Life To Build Greater Wealth appeared first on Financial Samurai.
from Financial Samurai
via Finance Xpress
A neighbor across the street from my rental texted me at 3:35pm on a Saturday to say something had been beeping inside my property all day and my tenants appeared to be gone. I drove over, let myself in, and found three smoke alarms stacked on the garage floor with the top one screaming away. […]
The post The Reason Insurers Won’t Insure A Vacant Home appeared first on Financial Samurai.
from Financial Samurai
via Finance Xpress
This summer, my new AI investment advisor, Mezzi, discovered roughly $300,000 of hidden stock exposure in Google I didn't know I had. It sounds a little absurd, given the amount. But I've been investing in Google for over 15 years, and with a complicated net worth it's hard to track everything accurately when your mind anchors […]
The post How Mezzi Uncovered Over $300,000 In Hidden Stock Exposure appeared first on Financial Samurai.
from Financial Samurai
via Finance Xpress
Happy Labor Day weekend everyone. Perhaps some of you are in the market for a new car this weekend. I'm definitely not. After almost a year of deliberating between replacing my 2015 Range Rover Sport or continuing to fix it, I've finally decided to keep fixing it indefinitely. The main reason is that we may […]
The post The Hidden Costs Of Buying A New Car Nobody Warns You About appeared first on Financial Samurai.
from Financial Samurai
via Finance Xpress
I'm reading a great little book called The Practice Of Not Reacting: Zen Wisdom For A Happy Life by Ryushun Kusanagi. The publisher is Portfolio Penguin, the same publisher for my 2027 book, Your Children Will Be OK. One of the core concepts is that all of us want to be recognized for our contributions. At work, at […]
The post The Sting Of Not Being Recognized, And How You Cure It appeared first on Financial Samurai.
from Financial Samurai
via Finance Xpress
Ever since graduating from business school in 2006, one of my favorite ways to learn is through case studies. And there's no better case study for understanding the IPO quiet period than Anthropic's upcoming IPO. Anthropic is expected to publicly file its IPO prospectus after Labor Day, with a listing as soon as late September […]
The post The IPO Quiet Period Explained: What Anthropic Can And Cannot Say appeared first on Financial Samurai.
from Financial Samurai
via Finance Xpress
In April 2026, I gave up my private sports club membership. The stock market was correcting again due to the war in Iran, oil and inflation had shot up, and I figured it was time to cut expenses and simplify. The membership was $185 a month. On top of that I paid $25 per guest […]
The post The Sad Reason People Go Private, And It’s Not Status appeared first on Financial Samurai.
from Financial Samurai
via Finance Xpress
The Beeping Was Coming From Inside The House: When A Landlord Can Enter Without Notice
4:31 AMI have been a landlord since 2005, the year I rented out the very first property I bought in San Francisco after buying a single-family home. Since then I've been through all sorts of disputes. Neighbors texting me that my tenants were running across their roofs during Fleet Week. A heaping pile of trash left […]
The post The Beeping Was Coming From Inside The House: When A Landlord Can Enter Without Notice appeared first on Financial Samurai.
from Financial Samurai
via Finance Xpress
I wrote this post because I needed a kick in the pants. I was finishing my fifth straight day of seven to nine hours of childcare, plus three posts and a newsletter. My wife and I were both sick, but she had it worse, so stepping up wasn't optional. What follows is mostly me talking myself […]
The post The Golden Window To Spend Time With Your Kids Is Smaller Than You Think appeared first on Financial Samurai.
from Financial Samurai
via Finance Xpress
Housing affordability is at a crisis low. You've read that headline a hundred times. Incomes have to rise or home prices have to crash to return to the housing affordability levels pre-COVID. It's true if you measure a home in dollars earned. It is not true at all if you measure a home in stock […]
The post Build A Taxable Stock Portfolio The Size Of Your Dream Home appeared first on Financial Samurai.
from Financial Samurai
via Finance Xpress
After publishing The Untold Burden Of Being Your Family's Financial Provider, I got this comment from a reader named Brian: “I can identify with this post as I am the family CFO / CIO. I think you are WAY overcomplicating this. What is wrong with merely investing in VTI / VXUS and chill? My returns have […]
The post Take More Risks To Avoid Being Financially Average appeared first on Financial Samurai.
from Financial Samurai
via Finance Xpress