The Financial Samurai Podcast

A college degree is depreciating in value, yet tuition is at all-time highs. For those parents and students looking to attend a private university like Harvard, I'm not sure whether the cost, stress, and all the work to get in is worth it. The reputation of private schools and private school grads are getting sullied due to the college bribery scandal.  Read the post here. 

Retiring early is a dream come true for many. However, there are some not so obvious reasons why people want to leave work early, and they aren't very flattering at all. Secretly, some early retirees are pretty miserable. Let's explore why.  To read the post, click here.  

Being the sole income earner can be brutally difficult and stressful. Money strains can jeopardize a marriage and can create a tremendous amount of resentment in the household. Here are some ways to cope to save your relationship and your children.  To read the article, click here. 

The average wedding cost is over $30,000. That's a ridiculous sum of money given the median household income is only about $62,000 before tax. Here are the new wedding spending rules to follow so you don't end up broke and alone.  To read the post, click here. 

At last! After 10 years, we've finally got our first Fed rate cut. Here's some logical analysis as to why we should all spend a little less, save a little more, and invest more cautiously over the next 12-18 months. If we are indeed at the beginning of a multiple rate cut cycle, history has not been kind to investors. To read the article and check out the charts, click here.

Since publishing my book, How To Engineer Your Layoff, in 2012, I've had a number of people tell me that engineering your layoff is morally or ethically wrong. But I'm here to argue that quitting your job is the morally and ethically wrong thing to do because you leave so many people in the lurch. Creating a win-win scenario and giving your colleagues time to find your replacement is a much better way to go. My book is now in its 3rd edition for 2019 and beyond. 

The old three-legged stool for retirement consisted of: 1) Pension (Company), 2) Social Security (Government), and 3) Personal Savings (You). The NEW three-legged stool for retirement consists of: 1) You, 2) You, and 3) You. It's time to get serious about your finances! To read the post for more details click here. 

Being able to retire early is great, but there are a number of downsides to content with. After leaving work for good in 2012, I'd like to share some surprising things that I went through. I'm sorry to say that early retirement will not automatically make you much happier.  You can read the original post here. 

Without a doubt, being a stay at home parent is harder than any day job out there. For those of you who are considering giving up your day job to spend those precious first years of life with your newborn, you'll find this episode useful in helping you make your decision. If you're a new father, you will especially appreciate this episode.  Original post here. I love you son very much!

Everybody wants to be a millionaire! Alas, only about 12 million households, or 3% of the U.S. population are millionaires. Here's a deep dive look into your chances of becoming a millionaire by age, race, and education. I firmly believe every Financial Samurai listener will be a millionaire in their lifetimes. See this post for detailed charts and graphs. 

As more people look to retire early before 60, more people are looking for shortcuts in order to get to early retirement quicker. What I've noticed is that more people are willing to live in abject poverty or near poverty just to do so. I've crunched the numbers in this episode and post to show you how large of an investment portfolio you need to live poorly. The numbers are based off the official Federal Poverty Limit. 

A lot of people want to retire early, but more than 80% of Americans retire after the age of 60. Let's look at some of the details. Don't get too much FOMO about the early retirement movement. It's not the majority by any means. Read more and view charts here.

There's no point making money if you don't use it to improve the quality of your life. Almost every asset class is going bonkers right now. It feels like we're making free money. Nothing feels better than converting free money into something tangible or creating a wonderful experience.  Check out the post with more charts here. 

This podcast is for someone who is wondering: Whether they have the proper asset allocation How to reduce investment stress while still benefitting from returns How to quantify their risk tolerance How to continue moving forward on their path to financial freedom despite all the uncertainty You can read more and view charts here.

I think money counts for at most 40% of our happiness equation, but we're spending the majority of our time thinking about how to get more money, more power, and more prestige and not on the other 60%. As a result, we are not as happy as we could be. This episode discusses ways to try and increase your happiness. See the post here: Solving The Happiness Conundrum

Retirement has been great so far. But if I could rewind time, here are five things I would have done differently that may help you better plan for your own retirement as well. The article got picked up by CNBC, which made me think of another regret I had, which can be read in the post.  See the post here. 

Want an edge when buying property? Follow the FS20 rule to take advantage of people who are not as sharp as you.  View episode charts and comments here: FS20 Property Buying Indicator  

With a recession looming, the FIRE movement is going to get extinguished. In its place will rise the DIRE Movement: Delay, Inherit, Retire, Expire! This episode appeared in 4Q18 and is something to consider the next time we go through a downturn. Today, we are at peak FIRE. Unfortunately, when you’re at the peak, there’s usually nowhere to go but down. My crystal ball is saying the FIRE movement is in for a rude awakening. Read more and view charts here: Move Over FIRE, Welcome DIRE

$5 million is a lot of money. But it doesn't go very far if you want to retire early with a family in an expensive city like San Francisco. This episode should give folks perspective, help folks re-think their early retirement plans, highlight the cost of kids, and strategize on where they want to retire to.  Read the post here. 

The yield curve has been flat or inverted many times in 2019. It's important to understand what the yield curve is, what it means, and how it can affect your economic future. Every single recession in U.S. history has been preceded by an inverted yield curve.  You can read the post here.