If you want to FIRE, one of my regrets was pulling the ripcord too early at age 34 in 2012. Even though I started writing about FIRE in 2009 with the launch of Financial Samurai—trying to uncover as many blind spots as possible before taking the leap—I still feel like I made a mistake. In| Financial Samurai
I recently had a zero-coupon Treasury Bill redeem in the amount of $102,000. This money is part of the 35% of my taxable brokerage portfolio that’s in bonds. Somewhere between a 60/40 and 70/30 equity/bond split is what I like to maintain at age 48, as a dual-unemployed parent alongside my wife. Given I enjoy| Financial Samurai
On July 3, the House narrowly passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) with a 218–214 vote. According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the bill will add an estimated $3.3 trillion to the budget deficit over the next 10 years. Trump signed the bill the next day on July 4. To help pay for it, OBBBA| Financial Samurai
When my son was born in 2017, I decided to focus on being a stay-at-home dad (SAHD). Every early childhood development book I read emphasized that the first five years are the most critical for a child’s growth. So I figured, why not spend that time with him? It wasn’t a difficult decision since I| Financial Samurai
Dear Readers, Welcome to Financial Samurai! My name is Sam Dogen (doh-gun), the founder and main writer for this site. Financial Samurai is one of the leading personal finance sites in the world with roughly one million organic visitors a month. Everything is written based off firsthand experience because money is too important to be| Financial Samurai
I first heard about Mr. Money Mustache getting a divorce when he publicly mentioned it on Twitter in December 2018. The MMM divorce came out of nowhere given Pete Adney (MMM) had been regularly highlighting how wonderful his lifestyle was in the media. It’s great MMM is open about the divorce and has hosted a| Financial Samurai
If you don't have your health, no amount of money is worth it. As someone who has been writing about early retirement and the FIRE movement since 2009, let me emphasize the health benefits of early retirement in this post. There are many benefits of early retirement. Full control of your time is often the| 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
After 12 years of FIRE (financial independence retire early), I went back to work. Unfortunately, I only lasted four months. Here's my story of what went wrong. I purposefully waited months to release this post to ensure I was thinking logically and not emotionally. From the end of November 2023 through March 2024, I re-entered| Financial Samurai
Fat FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early) is being able to live it up in retirement without having to sacrifice your spending. If you are Fat FIRE, you can easily survive without a job because your investment income more than covers your best life's living expenses. You don't need to work part-time or do anything to| Financial Samurai
As someone who helped ignite the modern day FIRE movement back in 2009 when Financial Samurai began, I'm amazed at how popular the movement has come! There are so many different types of FIRE to fit different people's lifestyles. Today, we'll discuss what is Coast FIRE and whether it's the right type of FIRE for| Financial Samurai
My instant Wall Street Journal bestseller, Buy This, Not That, now in its 4th print due to tremendous demand, is here to help you build more wealth so you can better live the life you want. Not only will you learn how to achieve financial freedom sooner, you'll also learn how to make better choices| 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
There's a classic saying, 'Youth is wasted on the young.' It's meant to convey that those who are young lack the perspective to appreciate all the advantages of youth and thus take it for granted. After more than seven years of being a parent, it is clear to me that not having kids is a| Financial Samurai
On August 7, 2023, I received an email from Amy X. Wang, the assistant editor at the New York Times Magazine, inquiring about the modern-day FIRE movement and its Fat FIRE offshoot. Amy is a self-proclaimed FIRE enthusiast who has worked side hustles to earn extra money and utilized rewards points to save. As one| Financial Samurai
Lately, I've been pondering why I have less admiration for men who claim to be retired but have a working spouse. Is it fueled by envy? It's possible, considering I wouldn't mind if my wife were the breadwinner, easing some of the financial strain on me. The sentiment is akin to observing several of my| Financial Samurai
My family and I could have been set for life. Instead, due to my inability to beat back real estate FOMO, I blew up our passive income. And because our passive income is now much lower, we are no longer financially independent. Desire is the cause of all suffering. Due to my desire to own| Financial Samurai
