Category: Personal Finance

As any expecting first-time father would do, I read several books on how to support my wife during her pregnancy and how to care for a baby after birth. I also talked to about 25 moms (12 of which were moms of the boys HS tennis team I coached) about what they wished they had Read More… The post A Night Doula Costs A Lot Of Moola: Postpartum Childcare Help appeared first on Financial Samurai. Powered by WPeMatico Please follow and like us:

Paying all cash for a home is one of the best ways to get a great deal on a property. With all cash, a buyer can make a no-financing contingency offer that is much more attractive to the seller. A financing contingency along with an inspection contingency are the two main reasons why deals fall Read More… The post Closing Costs When Paying All Cash For A Home appeared first on Financial Samurai. Powered by WPeMatico Please follow and like us:

One of the main questions that has come out of my 529 savings guide by age post is whether to contribute to a Roth IRA or a 529 plan. This is a great question I did not think about because contributing to a Roth IRA is not something I have ever done. Fortunately or unfortunately, Read More… The post Roth IRA Or 529 Plan To Pay For College: Comparing The Pros And Cons appeared first on Financial Samurai. Powered by WPeMatico Please follow and like us:

We’ve discussed how single family home prices are holding up during the pandemic given inventory is down and mortgage rates are at or near record-lows. It’s worth looking for bargains from the same sellers who sold stock when the Dow was below 19,000 or when the S&P 500 was below 2,300. These motivated sellers are Read More… The post How Commercial Real Estate Is Affected By The Coronavirus Pandemic appeared first on Financial Samurai. Powered by WPeMatico Please follow and like us:

From a financial perspective, one of the best things to come out of the coronavirus-induced market meltdown is being able to contribute to your children’s 529 plans at lower index prices. Given parents are investing for an expense that might not occur for another 10-18 years, it’s easier to invest in a 529 plan during Read More… The post Recommended 529 Plan Amounts By Age: Careful Saving Too Much appeared first on Financial Samurai. Powered by WPeMatico Please follow and like us:

I moved from annual reviews to quarterly reviews this year, but with how quickly April flew by, I just had to write another! April was supposed to be a terrible month based on the downward trajectory we were experiencing in March. It was easy to imagine the S&P 500 heading below 2,000. However, financially, April Read More… The post Freedom Is Way More Valuable Than Money: Quarantine Edition Review appeared first on Financial Samurai. Powered by WPeMatico Please follow and like us:

Before you submit a real estate offer, you should be already preapproved for a mortgage. During good times, being a preapproved buyer improves your odds of beating out other competing offers. During bad times, like during a global pandemic where everyone craves certainty, being preapproved greatly improves your odds of getting a good deal. Let Read More… The post How To Get Preapproved For A Mortgage And Why It’s So Important appeared first on Financial Samurai. Powered by WPeMatico Please follow and like us:

For the moment, it looks like buying the S&P 500 below 2,400 was a shrewd move. The S&P 500 got down to about 2,237 before aggressively rebounding higher. Every investor can easily sell the stock they bought between 2,237 – 2,400 today for a 17% – 30% gain. Whether you do so or not is Read More… The post Real Estate Buying Strategies During The COVID-19 Pandemic appeared first on Financial Samurai. Powered by WPeMatico Please follow and like us:

In early 2005, at the age of 27, I took out a $1,220,000 mortgage to buy a $1,523,000 house in San Francisco. After having bought a modest condo a couple of years earlier, I wanted to go all-in. In retrospect, this was a crazy amount of debt to take on at that age. When the Read More… The post No Mortgage More Courage: Pay Off All Debt Before Retiring appeared first on Financial Samurai. Powered by WPeMatico Please follow and like us:

Thanks to the additional $600/week in enhanced unemployment benefits, there are now some people who are making more in unemployment benefits than they did while they were working. Although the enhanced benefits are only temporary, this is still great news! The never-ending pressure in America to hustle has taken its toll. Our bodies are breaking Read More… The post Lessons From The Rich Who Took Advantage Of Free Government Money appeared first on Financial Samurai. Powered by WPeMatico Please follow and like us: