The Career Path From VC, To Big Startup, To Creating Your Own Startup

I spoke to my wife about how my saver's mindset naturally kicked in after purchasing our new house in October 2023. Our liquidity was tight, and we were literally living paycheck to paycheck for six months. This is when my frugal gene kicked in and made me lock down expenses. This experience taught me that experiencing financial difficulty often triggers a saver's mindset. The key is to maintain this saver's mindset at all times, not just when you're in a crunch. Articles Referenced: Embrace Living Paycheck To Paycheck For A Better Life Why Earning Less Passive Income Has Changed My Life For The Better Three Sneaky Expenses That Are Ruining Your Budget Recommendations Real estate is my favorite asset class for most people to build long-term wealth. It's important to invest your savings to try and beat inflation. If you'd like to invest in real estate without a mortgage, check out Fundrise, my favorite private real estate platform. The investment minimum is only $10 to help you diversify and earn more passive income.  Financial Samurai is a six-figure investor in Fundrise funds and Fundrise is an investor in Financial Samurai.  Join 70,000 others and subscribe to my free weekly newsletter. You'll increase your chances of achieving financial freedom sooner if you do.     

Property bidding wars are back, despite persistently high mortgage rates, due to the strength of the economy and the stock market. This episode discusses why people are getting into bidding wars and the best time of the year to buy a house.  Articles referenced: Understanding Why People Getting Into Property Bidding Wars Analyzing Housing Price Dynamics: Helping Buyers Buy At The Best Time Real estate is my favorite asset class for most people to build long-term wealth. If you'd like to invest in real estate without a mortgage, check out Fundrise, my favorite private real estate platform. The investment minimum is only $10 to help you diversify and earn more passive income.  Financial Samurai is a six-figure investor in Fundrise funds and Fundrise is an investor in Financial Samurai.  Join 70,000 others and subscribe to my free weekly newsletter. You'll increase your chances of achieving financial freedom sooner if you do. 

I talk to Emily Luk, Co-Founder and CEO of Plenty, a wealth platform for today's modern couples about her career path from VC, to joining a big startup, to creating her own startup. I wanted to now why she lifted a cushy job with good pay. If you're a couple interested in a great tool to manage your finances together, check out Plenty. They've got a great cash flow tool that enables individual, joint, and private money management. Plenty also offers Direct Indexing investment at a low cost.  I've personally met the team multiple times in their offices in San Francisco as I consulted for them.  If you've enjoyed this episode, please leave a review. Every episode takes hours to produce and every review means a lot. Thanks! Sam

For the longest time, I've wondered the following about some men: Why claim to be retired while having a working spouse? Why work so many hours after having a newborn? Why leave your family when your children are still young and need fathers the most? Doing these things didn't make much sense to me until I had an epiphany: every person has a different inherent desire to provide thanks to biology. And given biology is innate, we cannot help the way we are!  Read: A Provider's Clock For Men Is Similar To A Biological Clock For Women For those of you with children and/or debt, it's imperative to get an affordable term life insurance policy to protect your loved ones. Take a look at Policygenius, an insurance market place that will offer affordable life insurance quotes in one place with no obligations.  My wife and I got matching 20-year term policies during the pandemic and felt an enormous sense of relief.  Thank you for your shares and reviews of this podcast. They help keep me recording! Sign up for my free weekly newsletter to never miss a thing. - Sam

In this episode, I catch up with Ben Miller, Co-founder and CEO of Fundrise about artificial intelligence and the latest investments by the  Innovation Fund. We discuss how company valuations are calculated in the fund, a defense AI investment, and so much more.  The Innovation Fund is an open-ended venture capital fund with only a $10 minimum. You can see what the fund is investing in before you decide to invest and how much. Unlike traditional closed-end venture capital funds, you can gain liquidity if you want in one quarter. Check out the Innovation Fund here. Financial Samurai is an investor in Fundrise and Fundrise is a long-time sponsor of Financial Samurai.  Personally, I'm bullish on artificial intelligence and will be building $500,000 worth of exposure to AI companies and funds that invest in artificial intelligence over the next five years. In 20 years, I don't want my children asking me why I didn't invest in AI near the beginning.  Related post: Artificial Intelligence: How To Protect Yourself And Benefit Financially  Subscribe To Financial Samurai To achieve financial independence sooner, Join 60,000+ others and subscribe to the free Financial Samurai newsletter. If you enjoyed this episode, please share, rate, and review. Every review means a lot as each episode takes hours to produce. 

I speak with Colleen Kong-Savage about becoming a children's book illustrator and author, as well as a freelance graphic designer while living in expensive New York City. Colleen has a new book out entitled Piano Wants To Play. It is a wonderful book for children and adults of all ages who appreciate music. It is also a touching story about rekindling the joy we had as children. Colleen has been a long-time illustrator for Financial Samurai, creating all of the custom Samurai-themed graphics, including the logo and the Financial Samurai mask. As you may know, it can be challenging to make a living as a creative professional. Therefore, I'm proud to support Colleen's endeavors. If you're looking to support artists, the best way to do so is to purchase their work and hiring them. Please consider purchasing a copy of Piano Wants To Play and visiting Colleen's website at ckongsavage.com. If you want to learn more about being a children's author and illustrator, you can check out the resources at www.highlightsfoundation.org and www.scbwi.org. If you enjoyed this episode, I'd appreciate a review and a share! To Your Financial Freedom, Sam

Every residential real estate investor and homeowner is richer after the National Association Of Realtors settled its price fixing lawsuit. I know many real estate agents, realtors, and brokerages are upset with the ruling. However, the decision was decided quickly by a jury of our peers. The money that would have went into the real estate industry's pockets are now going back into the homeowners' and investors' pockets.  See: Why Every Residential Real Estate Investor And Homeowner Is Richer Busting The Real Estate Cartel With Attorney Mike Ketchmark Recommendations Check out Fundrise, my favorite private real estate platform with over $3.3 billion under management for 500,000+ investors. With mortgage rates coming down and the stock market strong, the demand for real estate is building.  Fundrise predominantly invests in residential and industrial real estate in the Sunbelt region, where valuations are lower and yields are higher. I believe there is a multi-decade demographic shift towards lower-cost areas of the country thanks to technology.  Financial Samurai is an investor in Fundrise funds and Fundrise is a long-time sponsor of Financial Samurai.  Subscribe To Financial Samurai To achieve financial freedom sooner, join 60,000+ others and subscribe to the free Financial Samurai newsletter. If you enjoyed this episode, please share, rate, and review. Every review means a lot as each episode takes hours to produce. 

The most expensive cities in America include cities like New York City, San Francisco, and San Jose. However, these expensive cities could actually be the cheapest due to all the income and investment opportunities. Let's explore the reasons why. Related post: Income Required To Afford A Typical Home In The Top 50 Cities Recommendations 1) Check out Fundrise, my favorite private real estate platform with over $3.3 billion under management for 500,000+ investors. With mortgage rates coming down and the stock market strong, the demand for real estate is building.  2) To invest in artificial intelligence and other private growth companies, check out the open-ended Innovation Fund. You can see what the fund invests in before you invest and how much. The investment minimum is only $10.  Financial Samurai is an investor in Fundrise funds and Fundrise is a long-time sponsor of Financial Samurai.  Subscribe To Financial Samurai To achieve financial freedom sooner, join 60,000+ others and subscribe to the free Financial Samurai newsletter. If you enjoyed this episode, please share, rate, and review. Every review means a lot as each episode takes hours to produce. 

In this episode, I talk to my wife about what it's nice to own the nicest home we can afford five months after moving in. Although I am no happier, I do feel more satisfied.  Related post: Climbed To The Top Of The Property Ladder  Recommendations 1) Check out Fundrise, my favorite private real estate platform with over $3.3 billion under management for 500,000+ investors. With mortgage rates coming down and the stock market strong, the demand for real estate is building.  2) To invest in artificial intelligence and other private growth companies, check out the open-ended Innovation Fund. You can see what the fund invests in before you invest and how much. The investment minimum is only $10.  Subscribe To Financial Samurai Join 60,000+ others and subscribe to the free Financial Samurai newsletter. If you enjoyed this episode, please share, rate, and review. Every review means a lot as each episode takes hours to produce. 

In this episode, I speak with Kathy Fang, star of the Food Network's Chef Dynasty, as well as owner of Fang Restaurant, one of my favorite Chinese restaurants in San Francisco.  We talk about what it was like making a reality TV show, running a restaurant, expansion potential, and raising a family in San Francisco on chef hours.  You can find Kathy on Instagram @ChefKathyFang and on her website at KathyFang.com.  If you enjoyed this episode, I'd appreciate a review, share, and subscribe. Every episode takes hours to produce. To achieve financial freedom sooner, join 60,000+ others and subscribe to the Financial Samurai newsletter here. Financial Samurai began in 2009 and is one of the largest independently-owned personal finance sites with one million pageviews a month. Visit the site here.