Since 2012, I’ve been arguing that freedom is priceless. After giving up a healthy income and my career for more freedom, how could it not be?

But maybe I’ve just been telling a lie to make myself feel better about not being richer! We lie to ourselves to help justify our decisions. Otherwise, we might feel like idiots for giving up so much.

In this article, I’d like to explore when freedom matters most. It seems all freedoms are not created equally and have different values at different ages. 

Jail Time For Money

For example, in a past newsletter I had erroneously calculated Elizabeth Holmes would only serve half her 11.25 years sentence with time off for good behavior. A part of me entertained whether I’d be willing to give up 5.625 years of my life for $4.5 billion if I could get away with what she did.

Hmmm. That’s

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, you didn’t build that.“

When I first heard Obama say this sentence, I was taken aback. From 2009-2012, I had been working on Financial Samurai for three years from about 5 am – 7 am and from 10 pm – 12 pm after working 12-hour days in finance.

If I wasn’t building Financial Samurai, who was?!

I had also recently left my finance job because I wanted to be free. All I really desired to do was write while traveling around the world, so that’s what I did.

Wisdom Grows With Age

As

There are very few occupations that provide the ideal combination of riches and status. Being a professor is one of them.

Tenured professors are able to make six-figure incomes. Getting a PhD or a post-doctorate is the pinnacle of academic achievement. Meanwhile, most people respect professors for their positive contributions to society.

After I retired from finance in 2012, I considered getting a PhD. Given I had enough passive income, I could afford to return to school for several years. With a PhD, I would then have the option of becoming a university professor.

Teaching is something I thoroughly enjoy doing, as hopefully evidenced by my writing on Financial Samurai. I’m always curious about new concepts and theories because the world is always changing.

My Quest To Become An Academic Professor

Stanford University had a Communications Department that offered a PhD program so I drove down to meet with some

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Despite the pandemic and a bear market making things difficult for so many, there is still so much to be thankful for.

We need to all be thankful for the luck we’ve had so far. Personally, I’m thankful for luck. The more we can recognize luck in our lives, the happier we will be.

I’ve been a super-optimist all my life and I plan to continue being one until the day I die…. a 100 years from now.

During this Thanksgiving holiday, I wanted to re-share one extremely lucky event that occurred in my life. Without this lucky event, my life today would be totally different.

Thankful For Luck That Changed My Life

The year is 2001 and the Nasdaq, down 50%, just celebrated its one year anniversary of hitting its peak. I’m finishing up the second year of my analyst program at GS, paranoid that I

Life insurance is about making final provisions for your loved ones in the event of your death. But there’s more involved in those provisions than just life insurance. And that’s where Fabric by Gerber Life can help.

Not only does Fabric offer life insurance policies – and some of the largest available anywhere – but they also help you through the process of making your final arrangements, and they do it free of charge. That includes drawing up a will to name a beneficiary, appointing a guardian for your children, and spelling out your final arrangements.

In this Fabric by Gerber Life review, I’ll cover some recent changes to the company and let you know how it stacks up to the competition.

Announcement: Fabric is now Fabric by Gerber Life

On October 11, 2022, Fabric announced on its website that they are now Fabric by Gerber Life, owned by

There are many ways to build long-term wealth without an actual J-O-B. Having enough income-producing assets working in your favor can make it possible to “live rich” – or at least get by – without ever having to clock in for an employer again.

It’s why you see all kinds of wealthy people retiring early without having to change their lifestyles. These people have income-producing assets spinning off profits or dividends, and they use those funds to pay for their bills and lifestyle.

When it comes to income-producing assets, more is always better! In fact, having multiple income sources is the best way to feel secure when you’re relying on alternative income sources to leave your 9 to 5.

What Are Income-Producing Assets?

But what are income-producing assets, anyways? While the definition can be somewhat vague, they are assets that generate reliable income or cash flow over time.

Whether you’re a newbie or a seasoned investor, you’ve probably heard these words from a friend or family member who invests in the S&P 500:

“Just buy an index fund.”

Consider the words of the billionaire investor Warren Buffet:

“In my view, for most people, the best thing to do is own the S&P 500 index fund”.

Warren took it one step further, once betting hedge fund manager Ted Seides $1 million that an index fund would outperform a portfolio of hedge funds over the next ten years.

And he won.

But does it make sense for ALL investors to invest in the S&P 500? What if you like to pick stocks? What if you’re not 100% comfortable investing all your money in the stock market?

Let’s look at how the S&P 500 works, along with some pros and cons of investing in the S&P 500, so you can make

Could you turn $0 to $10,000 within a year? If you’re willing to put in the work, there are ways to do it.

With most $0 to $10,000 challenges you find online, participants usually look for “free stuff” they can sell or trade. From there, they invest time and energy into “trading up” to better stuff that can make money, or they create a business strategy that helps them grow their initial cash into something bigger.

If I were to try to grow $0 to $10,000, I would start with proven strategies, including the easy ones everyone should be doing! Most of all, I would focus on the steps I have used to build wealth for my family.

Here are five steps almost anyone could take to grow $0 into $500, which can turn into $5,000, $10,000, or more within a year. And yes, I include plenty of examples to

If you have $500 to invest right now, you probably feel on top of the world. While that’s not a ton of money, it’s better than nothing – and way more than enough to start building toward the lifestyle you want. 

Many multi-millionaires started investing small sums, even $10 or $25 per month! The key to making your $500 grow is to put in an investment that suits your risk tolerance and goals and add more regularly.

13 Best Ways to Invest $500

But what’s the best way to invest $500? After all, there are quite a few places to stash $500 that can make sense for your goal. If you have $500 or more to spare and are ready to invest today, here are the 13 best ways to invest for the short-term or the long haul.

1. Invest in the Stock Market 

The stock market is one of

Real estate investing can be intimidating to new investors – you must search for the right property, obtain financing, purchase the property, and then find tenants. A lot can go wrong, from buying a property with structural issues to challenges with finding the ideal tenants. 

Real estate investing takes work and can be risky, and many don’t have the time or risk tolerance to commit.

Enter Roofstock, a real estate investing platform that helps you invest in single-family homes without leaving your home. Roofstock wants to help you become a real estate investor regardless of where you live. 

About Roofstock

Roofstock is working on building the world’s best real estate investing marketplace. The company was founded in 2015 by Gregor Watson, Gary Beasley, and Rich Ford, all having years of real estate experience. 

Roofstock’s primary service is a marketplace that allows you to buy and sell single-family homes. The marketplace