Financialsamurai

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Higher Credit Score Now Means Higher Mortgage Fees Or Rate

The higher your credit score, usually the lower your mortgage rate. Every time I went to apply for a new mortgage or refinance an existing mortgage, my mortgage lender would first ask for my credit score. If I said anything lower than a 720, they would politely tell me to look elsewhere. Before the 2008 global financial crisis, a credit score of 720 and above meant borrowers could get the lowest mortgage rate with the lowest fees. However, after about 2012, to get the lowest mortgage rate with the lowest fees often required at least an 800 credit score out

Financialsamurai

| 1y 4m ago
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Before Having Kids, Consider Spending Lots Of Money

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. From the cost of childcare, to preschool, to college, parents better save a hell of a lot of money if they want to give their children a good chance at making it! But there has been a growing conflict inside me that now feels too

Financialsamurai

| 1y 4m ago
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Artificial Intelligence: How To Protect Yourself And Benefit Financially

I'm a late adopter, which is why I haven't thought too much about artificial intelligence (AI). I'd rather have all the early adopters figure out all the kinks first so I can better spend my time using the technology. However, at a kid's birthday party one Saturday, a dad, who works in finance, came up to me and asked how my book was doing. I told him in a nonchalant way that it was doing fine. Then he asked me when my next book was coming out. I told him probably sometime next year. He responded in astonishment, 'I didn't

Financialsamurai

| 1y 4m ago
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A Visit To Pity City Shows Your Boss Probably Doesn't Care About You

Have you ever visited Pity City? You know, the place where you feel sorry for yourself and all your problems? I think we've all been there before. At Financial Samurai, we accept our situation and take action to make things better. Complaining why life isn't fair is not the Financial Samurai way! We are all given different strengths and weaknesses. How we make the most of our differences is what matters. However, I've never actually been told to go visit Pity City before and then suck it up by someone earning millions of dollars. OK, maybe I have, but not

Financialsamurai

| 1y 4m ago
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Why Nobel Prize Winners Were So Wrong About The Ideal Income For Happiness

In 2010, Nobel Prize winners Daniel Kahneman and Angus Deaton from Princeton University argued that $75,000 was the ideal income where happiness increased no further. As someone who made as little as $4/hour at McDonald's to multiple six figures a year working in investment banking, it was clear to me happiness continued way beyond the $75,000 threshold. In response to the Nobel Prize laureates' claims, in September 2010 I wrote The Ideal Income For Maximum Happiness. My article argued that $200,000 per person was more appropriate. Several years later, the figure was updated to $250,000. Why $200,000+ Was The More

Financialsamurai

| 1y 4m ago
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Regularly Selling Your Company Stock Is Probably A Good Idea

Some employers pay their employees with company stock as part of their total compensation package. This way, employees become owners and potentially feel a greater sense of duty towards the firm. If you don't own any of your company's stock, you might be less inclined to come in early or leave late. Without company stock, maybe you'll walk by the piece of trash in the hallway instead of picking it up. Instead of going the extra mile, you may do just enough not to get fired! Since I began working after college in 1999, I've always received company stock as

Financialsamurai

| 1y 4m ago
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How To Better Manage Your Private Investment Capital Calls

Recently, I temporarily went broke because I improperly managed my private investment capital calls. Because this happened, I thought I'd discuss some straightforward solutions to ensure you always have liquidity. If you are a new private fund investor or plan to invest in more private funds to diversify your investments, please learn from my errors. Not only will you learn how to better manage your capital calls, you'll also learn the process of how private funds reinvest capital. What Is A Capital Call? A capital call is when a private fund asks for a percentage of the capital you’ve committed

Financialsamurai

| 1y 4m ago
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Generational Wealth And The Angst Of The Not Rich Enough Class

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, you don't have to stress as much about the future of your children. Great colleges and well-paying companies can shut your kids out. But it doesn't really matter because your children are already set for life. The problem lies in accumulating the vast

Financialsamurai

| 1y 4m ago
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Sadly Giving Up On Retirement And Going Back To Work

After doing a deep dive on the different ways to pay for college and how to get good financial aid, I realized the best thing for my family is for me to go back to work. Coming up with $1,500,000 for two kids' college experience in 12-15 years is daunting. Going back to work feels like giving up since I helped kickstart the FIRE movement in 2009. But the reality is, times are always changing. Sitting idly on my hands, hoping my investments will miraculously cover such an expensive nut in the future feels uncomfortable. I want to take action

Financialsamurai

| 1y 4m ago
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Your Life Expectancy Depends Greatly On Wealth And Location

The older you get, the more you will value life because you have less of it. If you want to live longer, you should aim to grow richer and live in a more hospitable place. As you will see in this article, the correlation with life expectancy, wealth, and location is strong. Sadly, life expectancy at birth fell in 2021 to its lowest level since 1996 according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This almost one-year decline in life expectancy in 2021 followed a 1.8-year life expectancy decline from 2019 to 2020. The CDC attributes roughly half of

Financialsamurai

| 1y 4m ago