In 2022, I published 156 posts on Financial Samurai. Every post is written based on firsthand experience because money is too important to be left up to pontification.
For background, I worked in finance from 1999 – 2012. Along the way, I got my MBA part-time in 2006 and started Financial Samurai in 2009. Since 2009, I’ve written over 2,100 personal finance articles.
Check out my About page for more details. You can also subscribe to my free weekly newsletter where I discuss all things personal finance.
I still haven’t hired a staff writer to help with the workload. But I might in 2023 if I can find a great storyteller who can tackle different personal finance perspectives from firsthand experience.
Given I’m a man, finding a woman, preferably with a finance background is a logical choice. Hit me up if this sounds like you. Hmmm, maybe I can convince my wife to write more in 2H 2023 as well.
In the Fall of 2023, our daughter will start attending preschool three times a week. She’ll be our last child, so we will spend as much time with her as possible before then. That said, I’m sure I can convince my wife to do more podcasts with me, like this Apple episode on loneliness.
Without further ado, here are the top 10 Financial Samurai posts of 2022.
Financial Samurai Top 10 Read Posts Of 2022
The below posts were all written in 2022. They are not the most read posts of all time on Financial Samurai.
1) How To Enjoy Your Life After The Fed Ruins The World
The Fed is no longer our friend. But that doesn’t mean we still can’t have a great time!
2) It’s Easier To Generate More Passive Income In A Bear Market
There’s always a silver lining to every bad scenario. As a perennial optimist, this is one of them.
3) The Ideal Environment For Real Estate Investors Has Arrived
For real estate investors with cash, the next 6-12 months should present many buying opportunities.
4) How To Buy Treasury Bonds And Buying Strategies To Consider
A deep dive into buying one of the best risk-free investments today.
5) My Secret To Retiring Early With Only $4 Million And Two Kids
You can work harder and take more risks, or you can work smarter and find love.
6) 10 Years Of Fake Retirement Later: My Biggest Takeaways
2022 marked my 10-year anniversary of leaving investment banking for good.
7) Why Cash Flow Is More Important Than Net Worth
Our net worths are illusions. Regular income is what will support our desired lifestyles.
8) Why I Wrote A New Personal Finance Book
When I started Financial Samurai in 2009, there weren’t many bloggers with financial backgrounds. Interestingly, in 2022, there are few personal finance books written by authors with financial backgrounds.
9) The Best Decumulation Age To Start Spending Down Your Fortune
Dying with millions is silly. You will have wasted all that time, stress, and energy if you do.
10) The Second Biggest Financial Mistake You Can Ever Make
Before you violate the second rule of financial independence, do you know what the first rule is? It became very clear to me in 2022 why some people get way richer than others.
Top 10 Posts If Given More Time
Posts published toward the second half of the year don’t have as much time to get read as posts published during the first half of the year.
1) Capital Preservation And The Desire To Protect Your Money
Those of us who are better able to preserve capital during difficult times usually end up much wealthier when the inevitable upswing arrives.
2) Your Financial Independence Number Is Not Real If Nothing Changes
You can talk all you want about having enough money to be free. But if you’re still stuck in a suboptimal situation, like a broken marriage or a crappy job, you’re not really FI.
3) Why Invest In Private Funds Despite High Fees
Most of us focus on fee minimization. However, even if there are zero fees, it can still feel terrible to get reminded every day of your stocks going down. Mental health optimization is worth a lot.
4) How I Overcame Money Trauma With $600,000
All of us have experienced money trauma to a certain extent. Some more severe than others. The more we can recognize money trauma in others, the more empathetic we’ll be and the less sting we’ll feel when others lash out at us.
5) Why Pay Off A Negative Interest Rate Mortgage When Inflation Is So High
Even though paying down a negative interest rate mortgage was technically the wrong thing to do at the start of the year, the deployed cash ended up outperforming the S&P 500 by over 15%.
6) How To Be A Good Enough Investor: Investing Lessons Since 1996
The media makes you feel like you need to be a great investor to retire will millions. Not true! Good enough is often good enough.
7) Treat All Investments As Expenses If You Want To Get Richer
This one mental trick can make a big difference to your wealth.
8) Surviving Off $400,000 A Year And Then Being Asked to Pay More Taxes
This post is a discussion about whether the hard work is worth it.
9) 2023 Housing Price Forecasts and 10) 2023 S&P 500 Wall Street Forecasts
Unfortunately, there’s not a lot of optimism for either real estate or stocks.
Top 10 Epiphany Posts In 2022
Finally, here are some “ah ha” type posts. One of the best things about writing (and meditating) is that random realizations come to you.
1) Why Remodeled Homes Will Sell For Bigger Premiums Going Forward
After going through the biggest PITA remodel from 2020 – 2022, I will never do a big remodel again. Remodeling takes so much longer nowadays more people will opt for already remodeled homes.
2) I Found Out I’m Autistic As An Adult And I’m Glad
This post was a big revelation by my wife. It also shows that we’re never too old to discover new things about ourselves. Don’t go your entire life without knowing the true you.
3) Your Dynamics Safe Withdrawal Rate In Retirement Can Now Increase
The Financial Samurai Safe Withdrawal Rate is a dynamic one that changes with the times. 25X expenses or the 4% Rule to achieve financial independence is outdated.
4) The Student Loan Forgiveness Threshold Is The Ideal Income For Max Happiness
Understanding what the government wants is an important variable for happiness. The government and the elites decide who gets a helping hand and who doesn’t.
5) How To Get Life Insurance For Free: Make More Money
This concept made me feel even better about paying for life insurance. I also discovered that getting life insurance was better than therapy.
6) Minimalism And Early Retirement Go Perfectly Together
The older you get, the more you may want to simplify life. It doesn’t matter how much money you have, you can only live in one home at a time.
7) I Could Have Been A White Man, But I Remained Asian
A story about always speaking up for yourself. If you do, you might be surprised by the results.
8) How To Develop A Better Personality To Get Into An Elite University
Even if the system is stacked against us, we should still work on our personalities.
9) How To Convince People You’re Middle Class When You’re Actually Rich
Social media is entertaining because everybody is trying to convey a certain image. I learned from a rich guy how he hides is wealth.
10) Two Levels Of Rich: One Of Which Doesn’t Rely On Index Funds
None of my really rich friends ($10+ million) got rich due to index funds. Yet the entire personal finance world loves to focus on index funds. What a conundrum.
Thanks For Reading!
Phew, going through all 156 posts to choose these 30 took a while. If each post takes three hours on average to write and edit, this means I spent over 450 hours writing on Financial Samurai in 2022.
If you want to do anything creative, the most important advice I can give you is to keep showing up. You will overestimate what you can do in a day, but underestimate what you can do in a year.
It’s easy to give up. But we have a saying in the Samurai household, “Hard things get easier with practice.” Keep going!
Reader Questions And Recommendations
Readers, do you have any favorite posts? What would you like to read more about in 2023?
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