When people consider the costs of having many children, they often focus solely on the financial burden. But the true cost of raising a large family goes beyond money. It includes the time, devotion, education, sacrifice, love, support, and attention that children need. When any of these elements are lacking, the consequences can be tragic.| Financial Samurai
In order to comfortably raise a family in an expensive coastal city like San Francisco or New York, you've probably got to make at least $300,000 a year. Thanks to elevated inflation post pandemic, the middle-class lifestyle is getting harder to obtain due to rising costs of gasoline, food, housing, travel, tuition, and healthcare. You| 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 what's the best age to have a baby, I've got some very important thoughts for you. Having children is one of the best things you'll ever do. Children make like more meaningful. Their love will fill the household. But children are also hard work. And your happiness will likely plummet in the| Financial Samurai
Savings is the foundation of good personal finance. This article will discuss how much savings to accumulate by age so you can achieve financial independence and retire comfortably. It's important to have savings targets at every age to keep you on track. When it comes to building wealth, you don't want to just wing it!| Financial Samurai
Some people who critique my various budget charts are annoyed I list retirement contributions and investments as expenses. Therefore, I thought I'd explain my logic in this post. Once you start treating your retirement contributions and investments as expenses, you will begin to build much more wealth than the average person. And once you build| Financial Samurai
Your financial independence number is the amount of money you think you need in order to be free. Unfortunately, if nothing changes in your life after reaching your financial independence number, then the number simply is not real. You need to accumulate more capital and generate more passive income. Some people continue to believe once| 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
In 2023, my passive income took a significant $150,000 hit, representing a decrease of 39%, following the purchase of a new house we didn't really need. It was funded by proceeds from selling public stocks and bonds. The decision to buy the house with cash was agonizing, as we didn't need a nicer home. It| Financial Samurai
For those of you who are looking to upgrade homes, let me tell you a sad truth. I climbed to the top of the property ladder with my latest home purchase, and after five months, I felt no happier. Whenever someone would congratulate me about my home purchase, I felt nothing. What's there to celebrate| Financial Samurai
