Want to learn how to become a millionaire by 30? Here’s my story on how I reached a million dollar net worth in my late-20s. It involved a lot of luck, a lot of effort, and a lot of risk. I believe all Financial Samurai readers will eventually become millionaires due to disciplined saving and| Financial Samurai
It's safe to assume the vast majority of you reading Financial Samurai want to be rich. I trust those of you who've been reading this site between 2009 and 2012, when I was writing heavily about investment strategies, have indeed become much richer. The compounding forces since then have been enormous. We are probably one| Financial Samurai
Passive and active investing are two ways to make investment returns in the stock market. Since my first job in finance, I've always actively invested some of my funds to chase unicorns. The question is: what is the best split between passive and active investing in the stock market? If you are only a passive| Financial Samurai
If you want to get rich, it's probably wise to buy real estate as young as you can. Inflation is too powerful of a force to combat. The earlier you buy real estate, the more you can let your returns compound. In addition, buying real estate keeps you disciplined as a forced savings mechanism as| Financial Samurai
Money is great. Money provides freedom. But you will always regret sacrificing love for money. When you get older, you will realize how true this statement really is if you haven't found someone. Life is simply not as fun if you don't have someone to share it with. Further, finding 'the one' might also want| Financial Samurai
Zillow recently released an intriguing study that outlines the income needed to afford a 'typical home' in different cities. The study considers a 10% down payment and utilizes the Zillow Home Value Index to determine the median home price in each city. A 10% down payment is lower than my recommended 20% down payment based| Financial Samurai
Curious to know the ideal net worth for retirement? As someone fake retired in 2012 at age 34 with $3 million, let me tell you. $10 million sounds like the ideal amount of money to retire with. With $10 million, you can easily generate between $300,000 - $500,000 of low-risk investment income. I was talking| Financial Samurai
To have a top one percent net worth is an impressive achievement. Your net worth is literally higher than 99 percent of the population. However, what is a top one percent net worth amount exactly? Further, it's probably more appropriate to shoot for a top one percent net worth by age, not the overall top| Financial Samurai
If you're wondering about active versus passive investing performance, you've come to the right place. Overall, it's better to be a passive index investor because it is very hard to outperform various stock market indices long term. The vast majority of active equity and fixed income fund managers underperform their respective indices. One of the| Financial Samurai
Are you confusing your good fortune due to your own skill rather than due to luck? I'm here to argue that above average wealth is mostly due to luck. Therefore, stop deluding yourself into thinking you're so great! As President Obama said in a July 13, 2012 campaign election speech, 'If you've got a business,| Financial Samurai
If you've got a pension, count yourself as one of the lucky ones. A pension is more valuable than you realize. With a pension, you won't be forced to lower your safe withdrawal rate in retirement like those of use who don't have pensions. This post will help you calculate the value of a pension.| Financial Samurai
Although being a millionaire sounds nice, it's not that impressive anymore thanks to inflation. In order to be a real millionaire, you will need to have a net worth of at least $3 million, not $1 million. A $1 million net worth provided a great lifestyle before 1990. Not so much today. If you retired| Financial Samurai
There's a happiness conundrum that needs solving. Despite living in a rich country with income levels that put us in the top 1% in the world, there are still many unhappy people. This post explores why we are not happier and what we can do to elevate our happiness. At the end of the day,| Financial Samurai
Thinking about joining a startup to get rich? You're not alone. After so many successful IPOs and media stories about employees and founders getting filthy rich, there is a growing desire to join startups. But joining a startup is like counting on a lottery ticket to get rich. The vast majority of startups fail or| Financial Samurai
In March 2020, we pulled our son from preschool. We ended up homeschooling him until August 25, 2021, or for 18 months. He's now attending a language immersion preschool, which goes up to the 8th grade. Our experience has taught us that homeschooling can be incredibly beneficial. It is more efficient and can provided customized| Financial Samurai
Your net worth composition will likely change the wealthier you get. The wealthier you get, the generally more conservative your net worth allocation. However, wealthier people also have more of their net worth in business equity as you'll see below. For example, my net worth composition in my 40s looks nothing like it did when| Financial Samurai
Divorce is one of the worst destroyers of wealth. May you never have to go through one. Love birds beware. The following is a guest post from Financial Samurai reader and medical doctor, Xrayvsn. A divorced ruined his life but he clawed his way back. Divorce. Few words in the English language can elicit as| Financial Samurai
How To Engineer Your Layoff eBOOK 'I bought How To Engineer Your Layoff for my sister who was then able to negotiate a $50,000 severance. Two years later, I used this book to help me negotiate an $80,000 severance during the middle of a pandemic! What's more, I got a month off to relax, and| Financial Samurai
Ever since the global pandemic began, the private jet market has been booming. But as a financially savvy person, you might wonder how much does it cost to fly private? Further, are there any cost-efficient ways to fly private? Flying private is one luxury that can improve your life once you become rich. No more| Financial Samurai
In a previous post, I discussed the futility of working when your net worth is declining. During a stock market crash or recession, your Return on Effort (ROE) for working drops significantly. Therefore, the only way to increase your Return On Effort is to work less, not more. At some point in your life, you’ll| Financial Samurai
Starting at age 45 in 2022, I consciously started focusing on decumulating wealth. I realized that my life was likely half over, and I needed to start spending more to prevent dying with too much money. If I died with too much money, it would mean that I had wasted a lot of time and| Financial Samurai
With the election over and Trump winning, the political mudslinging and dirt-digging has subsidies. But there was a time when being childless and loving cats was a big debate. Republican VP-elect JD Vance said this during a 2021 interview with Tucker Carlson: 'It doesn't make any sense that we turned our country over to people| Financial Samurai
If you want to invest in venture capital, I believe it's more beneficial to invest in a venture capital fund than in individual private companies. By investing in a venture capital fund, you will not only decrease your chances of losing money but also increase your chances of earning a positive return. I've been a| Financial Samurai
I recently caught up with Ben Miller, CEO of Fundrise in person, about their venture product's latest investments in private AI (artificial intelligence) companies. With OpenAI closing a new round of funding valuing the company at $156 billion valuation after just raising money at a $80 billion valuation in early 2024, the AI space is| Financial Samurai
Net worth composition for the top 1%| Financial Samurai
