Why_I_wrote_BTNT
00:00:00.000 | Hello everybody, it's Sam from Financial Samurai,
00:00:03.240 | and I just want to say thank you to the 2,000 plus of you
00:00:06.080 | for pre-ordering a hard copy of my book,
00:00:09.200 | "Buy This, Not That, How to Spend Your Way
00:00:11.320 | "to Wealth and Freedom."
00:00:13.560 | I truly believe my book will be the best
00:00:15.760 | or one of the best personal finance books out there.
00:00:18.680 | I spent two years writing, editing, rewriting the book
00:00:22.120 | over and over again to make it as applicable as possible
00:00:26.080 | and to help as many people as possible
00:00:28.400 | get their finances right.
00:00:30.040 | In addition, over 90 million readers
00:00:32.520 | have come to Financial Samurai
00:00:33.880 | since I started the site in 2009.
00:00:36.280 | And as a result, I've heard many, many different perspectives
00:00:40.920 | that have really elucidated my blind spots
00:00:43.600 | and perhaps many of yours as well.
00:00:45.680 | I truly believe the best way to learn
00:00:48.720 | is to look at different perspectives,
00:00:51.240 | to listen to other people,
00:00:53.200 | and then build upon some of the positives
00:00:56.000 | from their viewpoints into your own
00:00:57.960 | so you can make better choices going forward.
00:01:00.760 | It's hard to believe, but I've spent over 30 years
00:01:04.240 | working in finance, studying finance,
00:01:06.520 | and writing about finance.
00:01:08.560 | So in essence, finance is in my blood
00:01:10.920 | and this is the book I've always wanted to write
00:01:13.360 | to help readers everywhere
00:01:14.920 | live better lives on their terms.
00:01:17.360 | Money is too important to be left up to pontification.
00:01:21.200 | As a result, everything I've written in the book
00:01:23.400 | is based on firsthand experience.
00:01:25.840 | This way, I can share with you the good and the bad
00:01:29.280 | to help you make better decisions.
00:01:32.000 | The secret to stop saying,
00:01:33.720 | "Well, if I knew then what I know now,"
00:01:37.160 | is to simply learn from someone
00:01:38.560 | who has been through what you will go through
00:01:41.200 | or what you may go through.
00:01:43.000 | Preparation is so important
00:01:45.640 | if you wanna get your finances right
00:01:47.400 | and if you wanna get your life right.
00:01:49.480 | Here's the thing.
00:01:50.800 | Once you get your money right,
00:01:52.120 | you can start better focusing on things
00:01:54.420 | that really matter to you.
00:01:56.120 | After all, money is only a means to an end.
00:01:58.840 | And for those of you who treat money as the end all be all,
00:02:02.480 | I hope my book will help change your philosophy.
00:02:05.840 | Once you achieve a certain level of financial independence
00:02:08.640 | where your passive income covers your living expenses,
00:02:12.360 | the world really opens up.
00:02:14.520 | I believe the ultimate goal
00:02:16.640 | is to move money into the background
00:02:18.480 | so you can stop obsessing over it,
00:02:20.600 | worrying about it, fretting over it,
00:02:22.840 | and start focusing on doing the things that matter.
00:02:25.820 | I show you how in the first half of my book
00:02:28.240 | with actionable advice under a logical framework.
00:02:31.480 | I help you move forward with confidence.
00:02:34.080 | And let's talk about the word confidence for a bit.
00:02:36.600 | Some of us have more confidence
00:02:38.600 | and more courage than others.
00:02:41.080 | And that's fine.
00:02:42.040 | The more education you have,
00:02:43.720 | the more knowledge you have,
00:02:44.920 | and the more experience you have,
00:02:46.720 | the more confident and courageous you will be.
00:02:49.840 | So this is one of the reasons why
00:02:51.240 | Buy This, Not That is so important.
00:02:53.520 | Because after reading the book,
00:02:55.160 | I truly believe your confidence and courage will go up
00:02:58.680 | so that you can approach life in a more fulfilling way.
00:03:02.680 | In the second half of my book,
00:03:04.120 | I talk about many of life's biggest dilemmas
00:03:06.920 | and how to approach them
00:03:08.080 | using my 70/30 decision-making framework.
00:03:11.440 | In other words, if you believe there's a 70% probability
00:03:14.180 | or greater you will make the correct decision, go for it.
00:03:17.880 | At the same time, have the awareness of knowing
00:03:20.360 | you may get things wrong 30% of the time.
00:03:23.680 | Unless the outcome is death or financial ruin,
00:03:26.720 | you'll be able to learn from your mistakes,
00:03:28.720 | recover, and make better choices over time.
00:03:32.200 | And if you've been with Financial Samar for a while,
00:03:34.640 | you have heard many of my failures and many of my mistakes.
00:03:39.080 | After every single failure, it stings, it hurts.
00:03:41.600 | Why did they reject me?
00:03:43.480 | What's wrong with me?
00:03:44.920 | But I turn it around to say,
00:03:46.600 | well, the reason why they rejected me
00:03:48.660 | was because I was insufficient in these areas.
00:03:51.880 | Let me improve upon them.
00:03:53.400 | The reason why they said no
00:03:55.040 | was because I didn't have the proper framework
00:03:57.280 | or the idea or the charisma or the courage.
00:04:00.360 | Whatever the rejection may be, we can learn from them
00:04:03.760 | because rejection and failure are the best teachers.
00:04:07.440 | And this is what I've incorporated in "By This, Not That."
00:04:10.640 | One of my core messages is for readers
00:04:13.300 | to think in probabilities, not absolutes.
00:04:16.800 | If you think in absolutes,
00:04:18.000 | you will likely miss out on a lot of great opportunities
00:04:21.440 | because you'll feel you need 100% certainty
00:04:23.960 | before moving forward.
00:04:25.700 | Think back to the time, let's say,
00:04:27.340 | maybe you were in high school,
00:04:29.200 | or maybe it's even middle school.
00:04:30.880 | You liked that girl or that boy, but you weren't 100% sure.
00:04:35.160 | Therefore, you didn't ask them out.
00:04:38.340 | And then 10 years later, you run into them on the street,
00:04:40.960 | and then you just confess your love.
00:04:42.440 | Who cares?
00:04:43.280 | You're an adult now, right?
00:04:44.240 | You don't have any fear.
00:04:45.400 | And then they suddenly tell you, you know what?
00:04:47.640 | I really liked you too.
00:04:49.600 | I really liked you.
00:04:50.920 | Why didn't you ask me out?
00:04:52.640 | Both parties were stuck with uncertainty.
00:04:56.040 | So I say, 70% chance or greater, just go for it.
00:05:00.120 | With the expectation, you'll be rejected.
00:05:02.400 | You'll be wrong 30% of the time.
00:05:04.400 | But who cares?
00:05:05.240 | Because you'll learn from it.
00:05:06.200 | And every single time you get rejected,
00:05:08.640 | you gain a little bit more courage.
00:05:10.840 | With my 70/30 decision-making framework,
00:05:13.520 | I tackle some of these dilemmas.
00:05:15.520 | For example, pay for private school or public school,
00:05:19.120 | join a startup or work for an established company,
00:05:22.200 | start a lifestyle business or go for the grand slam,
00:05:25.600 | job hop or stay a loyal soldier, live
00:05:28.600 | in an expensive coastal city or move to a low-cost area,
00:05:32.200 | invest in real estate or stocks, whether you should
00:05:34.640 | marry or just cohabitate.
00:05:36.960 | Should you marry for love or marry for money?
00:05:39.360 | Should you have children early or late?
00:05:41.800 | Should you seek fame to boost your wealth or stay low-key
00:05:45.320 | and peaceful?
00:05:46.320 | And so many more topics that you and your friends
00:05:49.840 | can talk about, discuss over a drink or a meal,
00:05:53.440 | and argue your own viewpoint and discuss mine as well.
00:05:56.800 | Again, money is just one part of the equation.
00:06:00.480 | It's how we use our money to make better choices that
00:06:03.280 | matters most.
00:06:04.680 | If you've read Financial Samurai or listened to this podcast
00:06:07.680 | over the years, you'll notice that I don't incessantly
00:06:10.760 | talk about financial independence
00:06:12.720 | or early retirement.
00:06:14.520 | And the reason is, is because I'm busy living my life,
00:06:18.200 | even though financial independence is what I achieved
00:06:20.880 | back in 2012 when I was 34.
00:06:23.280 | It was a simple life back then, and it's a little bit more
00:06:25.840 | complicated now because I'm a father of two young children.
00:06:29.040 | So I'm spending a lot of time taking care of them,
00:06:32.520 | trying to help them with their emotional and physical
00:06:34.560 | development, and just trying to be present.
00:06:37.000 | And so as a result, I'll talk about fatherhood.
00:06:39.800 | And maybe another day, I'll talk about the Federal Reserve
00:06:42.160 | hiking rates by 50 basis points.
00:06:44.320 | Whatever the case may be, life goes on after you've
00:06:47.880 | achieved financial independence.
00:06:49.840 | And so it's all about the journey, the journey to
00:06:52.080 | financial independence and post financial independence,
00:06:55.080 | and what you're using your money to do with your life.
00:06:58.000 | Now, obviously, the more money you have, the more options
00:07:00.680 | you have, and that's up to all of us.
00:07:03.440 | And this is why I've decided to dedicate a good portion of
00:07:06.360 | the book by trying to figure out what are the real life
00:07:10.680 | scenarios that we'll face and how money is involved in
00:07:13.900 | these scenarios.
00:07:15.280 | Now, let me share five reasons why I wrote "Buy This, Not
00:07:18.480 | That," and in the end, I'll also share some bonus gifts
00:07:22.000 | that I'll provide for you if you order more than one copy.
00:07:24.820 | So one, the book had to be written.
00:07:27.340 | One of the reasons why I started Financial Samurai in
00:07:29.680 | 2009 is because I noticed there weren't any personal
00:07:33.320 | finance bloggers with finance backgrounds.
00:07:35.980 | It was strange to me.
00:07:37.020 | So therefore, I thought, well, it'd be a good idea to fill
00:07:40.040 | this obvious hole.
00:07:41.720 | I thought about money a little bit differently, and I wanted
00:07:44.480 | to bring my expertise and perspectives to the world.
00:07:47.440 | When I was approached by portfolio Penguin Random House
00:07:50.120 | with the book idea, I noticed there also weren't many
00:07:53.720 | nonfiction finance books that were written by people with
00:07:56.440 | finance backgrounds.
00:07:57.840 | I thought it was really strange, so I said, well, I
00:07:59.960 | figured I might as well fill the hole again.
00:08:03.400 | After being able to escape corporate America at 34 and
00:08:06.760 | live the life I've wanted and I want for the past 10 years, I
00:08:10.880 | just had to write a book that could help people potentially
00:08:13.840 | do something similar.
00:08:15.560 | In my mind, once you see how something is done, it's much
00:08:19.520 | easier to believe a similar path is possible for you.
00:08:22.880 | It's kind of like when Roger Bannister broke the four
00:08:25.640 | minute mile in 1954 at the age of 25.
00:08:29.520 | Before then, nobody thought breaking the four minute mile
00:08:32.480 | was possible.
00:08:33.480 | But after he did so, many other runners followed suit.
00:08:37.720 | All right, the second reason why I wrote Buy This, Not
00:08:40.040 | That, there's a whole world of consumers out there who love
00:08:42.920 | to read books and not blogs.
00:08:45.240 | Therefore, it was only logical to write Buy This, Not That to
00:08:48.200 | try to reach them.
00:08:49.800 | Before you start writing a book, you want to think about
00:08:52.800 | impact and how it will help others.
00:08:55.760 | So in my mind, creating maximum impact in an affordable
00:08:59.080 | way is important.
00:09:00.960 | I could create $2,000 plus e-courses like some of my
00:09:05.200 | peers do, and I would probably make a lot of money.
00:09:08.200 | However, I felt packing in all the information in a book that
00:09:12.400 | cost $27 or less was a more accessible solution.
00:09:16.680 | One of the reasons why I continue to write three times
00:09:19.440 | a week on Financial Samurai plus a weekly newsletter is
00:09:22.840 | because I want to write for free and help as many people
00:09:25.000 | as possible think about different perspectives, get
00:09:28.080 | their finances right, feel more confident in
00:09:30.640 | living their lives.
00:09:31.720 | I know that once I started getting my finances right,
00:09:34.480 | whether it's through investing, budgeting, saving,
00:09:37.560 | asset allocation, I could move forward more.
00:09:40.640 | I could buy a house.
00:09:42.200 | I could feel more confident starting a family.
00:09:45.160 | All these things matter.
00:09:46.760 | And if it's free or if it's low cost, it
00:09:49.760 | can help more people.
00:09:51.360 | If you look at the average net worth, the average median
00:09:54.360 | household income, I believe the world needs more financial
00:09:58.200 | education.
00:09:59.440 | A personal finance course should be mandatory in high
00:10:02.160 | school or college.
00:10:03.640 | But it is curiously still not.
00:10:06.440 | I live in this bubble where I studied economics in college,
00:10:09.840 | got my MBA, worked in investment banking for 13 years,
00:10:13.320 | and I've written over 2,500 personal finance articles
00:10:16.360 | since 2009.
00:10:17.840 | I'm like hooked.
00:10:18.840 | This is just a part of me.
00:10:20.240 | And if I don't write for a couple days, I start getting a
00:10:22.520 | little bit jittery.
00:10:23.840 | Now, the things that seem obvious to me or others with
00:10:26.520 | finance backgrounds don't seem as obvious to those without
00:10:29.760 | financial backgrounds.
00:10:31.720 | Therefore, my goal is to bring more financial education to
00:10:34.840 | those who seek to grow their wealth in a
00:10:36.840 | risk-appropriate way.
00:10:38.560 | And I think it's our duty to share what we know.
00:10:40.760 | Sharing is how we can all learn, and sharing is about
00:10:43.600 | giving back.
00:10:44.600 | One of the things I noticed after I reached 40--
00:10:47.560 | I'm 45 now--
00:10:48.760 | is that the desire to share the knowledge grows.
00:10:51.840 | And I think one of the reasons why is because your skill set
00:10:55.480 | actually slowly begins to diminish from
00:10:59.040 | your 20s and 30s.
00:10:59.960 | Think about as an athlete.
00:11:01.240 | The reason why a lot of tennis players retire in their 30s is
00:11:03.600 | because they just can't compete anymore.
00:11:06.080 | And the mind, thankfully, lasts a much longer time.
00:11:10.080 | But you want to preserve that knowledge.
00:11:11.880 | And the more you share, actually, the better you feel,
00:11:15.440 | because you know that other people are being helped.
00:11:18.440 | All right, the third reason why I decided to write the
00:11:20.800 | book--
00:11:21.680 | I want to narrow the growing inequality gap.
00:11:24.840 | Since the global financial crisis in 2008 and 2009, the
00:11:28.880 | rich have gotten extraordinarily rich
00:11:31.400 | compared to the middle class.
00:11:32.840 | Meanwhile, the top 0.1% have blown past the top 1% as well.
00:11:38.800 | In the book, I want to bring their secrets and their ways
00:11:41.560 | of investing and thinking to the public in order to help
00:11:45.160 | more people build wealth.
00:11:47.440 | And while I was writing the book, I also had an epiphany
00:11:50.120 | as to why so many personal finance authors write mainly
00:11:53.920 | only about saving money, budgeting, and index funds--
00:11:57.760 | all very important topics, but they've been talked about over
00:12:01.440 | and over again.
00:12:02.320 | And I just didn't understand why not write more interesting
00:12:05.840 | and potentially lucrative topics.
00:12:08.680 | After all, you can only save so much, but income and
00:12:11.120 | investment returns are unlimited.
00:12:14.120 | So after over a year of writing and rewriting my book, I
00:12:17.520 | finally understood why.
00:12:19.200 | Without a finance background, writing about anything else is
00:12:23.200 | way more difficult.
00:12:25.120 | And it was very difficult for me to try to distill these
00:12:28.480 | ideas and concepts that I've been practicing and that I
00:12:31.280 | have learned in finance to be understandable and
00:12:34.760 | helpful to readers.
00:12:37.200 | So my hope is that with the knowledge you'll gain from
00:12:39.360 | reading Buy This, Not That, you will build way more wealth
00:12:42.640 | in your lifetime than you thought possible.
00:12:44.880 | And if this happens, your standard of living will go up,
00:12:48.160 | and the growing inequality gap will ultimately narrow.
00:12:51.960 | Now, I can't pretend to imagine this book and Financial
00:12:55.400 | Samurai will reach the whole world.
00:12:57.480 | Of course it's not.
00:12:58.560 | It's just a small, small, tiny sub-segment of the internet
00:13:03.360 | and for the book-reading population.
00:13:05.680 | But if you get your hands on this book, and if you read my
00:13:08.640 | writing, I am certain that you're going to build more
00:13:11.480 | wealth and have more confidence to live your life
00:13:14.800 | the way you want going forward.
00:13:17.120 | All right, the fourth reason, new perspectives with more
00:13:20.640 | representation.
00:13:22.360 | As an Asian person who lived in Asia for 13 years, I used to
00:13:25.600 | be part of the majority.
00:13:27.200 | That's all I knew.
00:13:28.440 | And then when I came to Virginia for high school and
00:13:30.960 | college at the age of 14, I became part of a minority that
00:13:34.360 | made up only 6% of the US population.
00:13:37.120 | The juxtaposition was eye-opening.
00:13:40.040 | I could see both sides.
00:13:41.680 | And it was really, really, really interesting.
00:13:44.000 | At times, it was hard to fit in for me in Virginia.
00:13:46.800 | I got into fist fights.
00:13:48.160 | I was suspended once and felt like I often had to battle to
00:13:52.080 | be given an equal opportunity to participate.
00:13:55.200 | Although some of the experiences were really harsh,
00:13:58.120 | they also gave me tremendous motivation to try harder and
00:14:01.720 | not be beholden to anyone for the rest of my life.
00:14:05.440 | By high school, I clearly realized the world isn't fair
00:14:09.040 | and never will be fair.
00:14:10.600 | Therefore, instead of complaining, whining, I
00:14:14.040 | accepted the way things were and focused on what I could
00:14:16.280 | control.
00:14:17.560 | And I bring this fighter's mindset to the book to give you
00:14:20.880 | the motivation to push on through no matter who you are
00:14:24.400 | or how difficult your struggles.
00:14:27.000 | This is my favorite Chinese proverb of all time.
00:14:30.400 | If the direction is correct, sooner or later,
00:14:33.800 | you will get there.
00:14:35.280 | We know people are biased towards people who think, look,
00:14:38.200 | and talk like them.
00:14:39.360 | It's why podcast interviewees, award winners, bestsellers,
00:14:43.680 | and families who attend elite schools tend to be quite
00:14:46.240 | homogenous.
00:14:47.200 | Let's just be frank.
00:14:48.440 | But that's just the way it is.
00:14:50.760 | But in my mind, I thought it would be nice to change things
00:14:53.480 | up a little bit and provide new perspectives.
00:14:56.680 | And maybe there will be more love and understanding
00:14:59.080 | for Asian folks in America if they read a good book
00:15:02.040 | by an Asian person who helps them.
00:15:04.520 | And maybe, perhaps, a kid who seldom sees anybody
00:15:07.440 | who looks like them will be inspired
00:15:09.440 | to write their own book or do something out of the ordinary.
00:15:12.920 | I personally have this dream one day
00:15:14.720 | that my son and daughter will bring my book to show and tell
00:15:17.520 | class one day and say, this is what my daddy does.
00:15:20.560 | In addition, a large percentage of every country's population
00:15:24.600 | lives in more expensive urban cities
00:15:27.160 | because historically, that's where the jobs were.
00:15:29.360 | In America, about 45% of the US population
00:15:32.560 | lives on the coasts.
00:15:34.600 | And high cost of living areas present some unique challenges
00:15:38.080 | which I address in the book.
00:15:39.800 | With how bifurcated America is, I'm
00:15:42.120 | hoping to create an understanding
00:15:43.800 | bridge between those who live on the expensive coasts
00:15:47.200 | and those who live inland.
00:15:48.880 | There's no right or wrong way.
00:15:50.680 | But there are interesting and new ways
00:15:52.840 | in terms of how to live your life and build wealth.
00:15:56.720 | Ultimately, we all have the same goals of supporting our country
00:16:00.440 | and doing more of what we want.
00:16:02.640 | I'm convinced most conflict in this world
00:16:05.200 | is due to a lack of understanding of other people
00:16:08.560 | and their personal situations.
00:16:11.040 | So let's spend more time getting to know each other
00:16:13.880 | and less time judging people for their choices.
00:16:16.840 | And now to my final reason why I wrote by this, not that.
00:16:20.880 | Steady your navigation through bad times.
00:16:24.080 | As someone who has worked in finance since 1999,
00:16:27.240 | I've gone through the euphoria and despair
00:16:29.920 | of the first dot-com bubble.
00:16:31.760 | I know so many paper millionaires who lost it all.
00:16:35.080 | Then I went through the investment mania of 2000
00:16:38.320 | and the devastation a few years later
00:16:40.440 | with a significant amount of capital.
00:16:42.520 | I lost about 35% of my net worth in six months.
00:16:46.960 | However, after each collapse, I've
00:16:48.600 | learned how to strengthen my finances
00:16:50.360 | so that no matter what happens, I'll most likely be OK.
00:16:54.240 | And I want to share with you what
00:16:55.680 | I've learned to help more people survive downturns
00:16:58.520 | without too much harm.
00:17:00.280 | Reading by this, not that will help armor your finances
00:17:03.280 | and provide security for your household.
00:17:06.160 | For so long, it's only been good times, right?
00:17:08.840 | Since 2009, July, when I started the site,
00:17:11.480 | that was the bottom of the market.
00:17:13.000 | And it's just been up, up, up, and up.
00:17:15.600 | And you may have read only perspectives
00:17:17.760 | of people who've only experienced good times
00:17:20.280 | since 2009.
00:17:21.880 | So in other words, maybe people 40 and under.
00:17:24.960 | This can be very, very dangerous.
00:17:27.360 | Bad times will eventually come, which
00:17:29.920 | is when you'll need financial guidance the most.
00:17:32.840 | And it's really hard to understand your true risk
00:17:35.160 | tolerance and how bad things can get
00:17:37.880 | if you don't go through a prolonged bear market yourself.
00:17:41.400 | Now, although many of us went through the March 2020 crash
00:17:45.400 | and it was quite violent, it was also a quick, quick rebound.
00:17:49.720 | So by this, not that will help navigate you
00:17:52.480 | through stormy waters so that no matter how wretched the economy,
00:17:56.200 | you will not drown but thrive.
00:17:59.200 | On my long journey, I've encountered
00:18:01.240 | many people who've gone bankrupt and who've had to start over.
00:18:05.880 | And it is very, very devastating,
00:18:08.600 | especially if you have a family.
00:18:10.760 | And my goal for by this, not that is to help you be OK
00:18:14.520 | and to give you that courage to live the life that you want.
00:18:18.360 | Thanks so much for listening to this episode.
00:18:20.240 | And thanks again if you pre-ordered a hard copy of
00:18:23.000 | By This, Not That--
00:18:24.320 | How to Spend Your Way to Wealth and Freedom.
00:18:26.240 | For those of you who order two or more hard copies,
00:18:29.080 | I'm going to send you a book plate just
00:18:30.720 | to fill out the form with your contact information.
00:18:33.400 | For those of you who order five or more copies,
00:18:35.640 | I'll send you a couple of book plates and the latest edition
00:18:38.520 | of How to Engineer Your Layoff--
00:18:40.360 | Make a Small Fortune by Saying Goodbye.
00:18:42.320 | It's in its fifth edition, and it has helped thousands
00:18:45.200 | and thousands of people leave jobs with money in their pocket.
00:18:49.320 | And finally, for those of you who order 10 or more hard
00:18:52.120 | copies, I've got a special gift for you.
00:18:55.000 | It'll be a signed copy by yours truly,
00:18:58.120 | plus a signature stamp that only 100 of you will receive.
00:19:03.480 | They're going to be numbered 1 out of 100, 2 out of 100,
00:19:06.720 | and so forth.
00:19:07.600 | And if you're a collector like I am--
00:19:09.160 | I've been a collector since I was a kid--
00:19:11.600 | you might really enjoy this.
00:19:12.960 | I'll send it to you in a hermetically sealed plastic bag
00:19:16.080 | for you to keep as a collector's item.
00:19:17.680 | And who knows?
00:19:18.640 | Maybe in 10, 20 years, it might be worth a lot more.
00:19:23.840 | Take care, everyone.
00:19:24.840 | I'm having so much fun recording these episodes,
00:19:27.800 | writing these posts, and pre-marketing.
00:19:30.280 | Maybe I'll see some of you around the Bay Area, Honolulu,
00:19:33.040 | or New York City.