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After publishing my post on no longer being financially independent, several media outlets picked up the story and thousands of comments on their respective platforms ensued. The main criticism was that my expenses were way too high and that I am greedy. As a result, I thought it would be useful to discuss the impact […]
Inflation And Greed: The Biggest Wealth Destroyers For Families Read More »
In 2017 and 2019, I superfunded two 529 plans for my two children. Since then, my wife and my parents have also regularly contributed to the two college savings plans. You would think with all this aggressive saving, I would feel confident we’ll have enough saved to pay for college. But I’m still unsure. Given
A 529 Plan Is Not Enough To Pay For College, We Must Save More Read More »
When my kids were born, I made a promise to be a stay-at-home father for the first five years of each of their lives. Mission accomplished with my son in April 2022. But there’s still some time to go before my daughter starts full-time school in Fall 2024 and turns five. Anticipating the completion of
How Parents Can Fill The Void Once Kids Go To School Full-Time Read More »
One of the things I’ve tried to work on since middle school is being less judgmental about others. To function efficiently in society, I often have default assumptions about people which can sometimes backfire. I’m also certain that if more people got to know each other there would be less conflict. As a minority who
A Blind Spot About Private School Families: They Aren’t All Rich! Read More »
After successfully replacing her lost passport, my wife finally got to Tokyo, Japan to help her mother out with her mother’s sister’s estate issues. At times, it felt like mission impossible coordinating the trip, booking the hotels, going to the countryside to place the urn, and meeting with another country’s estate planning lawyers. Her mother
The Things We Learn After Being Apart For A While Read More »
During the summer, I like to work odd jobs to remind myself of the importance of hard work and determination. This way, it helps me not take for granted the things that I have today. Since starting Financial Samurai in 2009, I’ve been told countless times that I live in a bubble and I’m out
A Summer Job Landscaping A Rental Property With My Children Read More »
After every tennis match I lost in high school, my father would console me by saying, “You just weren’t good enough.” Those words stung each time I heard them. But they were true. Over time, my dad stopped coming to my matches because I told him the pressure of his gaze wasn’t helpful. With no
The Joy Of Low Expectations: When Nobody Believes In You Read More »
One of the fun things about giving up on retirement is preparing for upcoming job interviews. I probably gave over 300 interviews myself when I was working in banking from 1999 – 2012. One of my favorite interview questions is asking candidates about a blind spot of theirs they eventually realized and how? The question’s
Blind Spots For Fathers Who Think They Are Doing A Great Job Read More »
Now that COVID is over, my wife and I went to our son’s school fundraiser for teachers and low-income household families. I had never been to one of these types of events before and found it fascinating. The thing is, I almost didn’t go. I had been running around all day with the kids and
What It’s Like Attending A Fancy Private School Fundraiser Read More »
I realized something important after writing about the best reason to retire early. Money doesn’t buy everlasting happiness. However, having more money can reduce stress and anxiety. The goal of achieving perpetual happiness is not realistic. Happiness ebbs and flows. It’s more exciting to be an 8 out of 10 on the happiness scale because
Top 10 Financial Moves To Reduce Stress And Anxiety Read More »
Do you want a rich long life? Of course you do. It turns out that marrying an Asian person may give you the highest chance of outliving and outearning most people! Let me share how I came to this conclusion. After publishing my post on how life expectancy greatly depends on wealth and location, a
For A Rich Long Life, Marry An Asian Person Read More »
Most responsible adults who want children will strive to save and invest as much money as possible before becoming parents. However, after being a parent for six years, I realize this advice might not be ideal for living your best life. Everybody knows raising children is expensive, especially if you live in a major city.
Before Having Kids, Consider Spending Lots Of Money Read More »
Have you ever wondered why there is so much angst and anxiety from some high-income earning households that seem to have it all? Based on my years of research, the three main reasons are: 1) never-ending comparison, 2) a lack of generational wealth, and 3) having children. Generational wealth is next-level wealth. If you have
Generational Wealth And The Angst Of The Not Rich Enough Class Read More »
College is expensive and will only get more expensive over time. If you can get good college financial aid in terms of grants and scholarships (free money), as opposed to bad financial aid (loans), attending college will be much more affordable. We’ve already talked about the different ways for us to pay for college. Now
Free Money! How To Game The College Financial Aid System Read More »
One of the main reasons why I read lots of books is to learn from people who’ve been there before. And after reading The Price You Pay For College, one of my biggest blind spots I realized is that I don’t have to save so much for college anymore! If you are a parent who’s
The Different Ways To Pay For College: My Surprising Blind Spot Read More »
I finally understand why I haven’t been able to shake the niggling stress I’ve been feeling lately. Despite writing less, doing less business deals, and exercising more, I still feel this gnawing pressure because I’m responsible for investing my immediate family’s money. When you invest family money, family money always feels more important compared to
Investing Family Money Can Be A Stressful Full-Time Job Read More »
I have a love-hate relationship with owning real estate because something always comes up. The more physical rental properties you own, the more problems you will have as a landlord. In June 2022, I decided to rent out a fully remodeled single-family home I had purchased in 2019. We had originally planned to live in
How Landlords Can Create Teachable Moments For Their Kids Read More »
A 529 plan is one of the best generational wealth transfer vehicles. Instead of just giving our kids or grandchildren money, it’s way better to give them the gift of education. Thanks to the SECURE Act 2.0, we will be able to roll over leftover 529 funds to a Roth IRA without taxes or penalties.
Rolling Over Leftover 529 Funds Into A Roth IRA: Who Benefits? Read More »
Want to get into an elite university? Develop a better personality so you can receive a higher personality score during the admissions process. In the Supreme Court case regarding using race-conscious admissions (affirmative action) at Harvard University and UNC, we learn Harvard assigns a personality score to every applicant. By assigning a lower personality score
How To Develop A Better Personality To Get Into An Elite University Read More »
For over 20 years, I’ve been a tennis club member. Player levels range from beginner to ex-professionals. Everybody gets along and rallies around a sport they enjoy, no matter their level of wealth. But I just realized something odd. And the realization wouldn’t have come had I not become a father. After almost three years
Where Are All The Adult Athletes? Sports And Your Career Read More »
