Going through hard times in life always seems to have a point to it. I’m currently going through some hard times now.. guess I have something to look forward to. I’ll see what good comes out of it! Life takes hard work, setting goals and gaining knowledge and wisdom from people like Sam or JD.

The secret to coverage is to just pay more for coverage. I’m not quite sure what the deeper meaning is that you are asking.

Perhaps you want to read this post to have a better understanding of my current income streams.

http://www.financialsamurai.com/2012/04/16/achieve-financial-freedom-slice/

Thanks,

Sam

Also, you may or may not still be single at that time. Let’s say you’re not. Now there are health insurance costs for your spouse, and for your children if any. How would those be covered?

Health insurance is pretty cheap if you check online. A single health 35 year old can get HI for $350/month for example. There are a lot of issues. Check esurance or somewhere.

As part of my severance, I have health care for a specific period of time for free. It is great, and something one gets if they get to engineer their layoff or just get laid off. You don’t quit, you get nothing.

One of my properties is sucking wind. So yes, it is only a paper loss, but it is psychologically a painful loss and does cost me more than I take in. If we go this route, then really, if we have enough money to survive, any money above subsistence is just psychological as well.

Best,

Sam

First, if you retired at age 35, how are you paying for health insurance? Are you paying for it with your savings, or are you going without?

Second, I fail to understand how the collapse of the housing market directly affected you. Granted, if you were about to sell your own home, or one of the rental properties, then yes, that’s a problem. But if the rentals were paying for themselves, who cares what their market value would be? And if you were comfortable in your own home, and could afford the mortgage payment, and weren’t planning to move, then what’s the difference what the sales price would be? Stay in it as long as it suits your needs. Only when you decide to move would the sales price actually affect you. Otherwise, the “loss” is purely theoretical. No?

Truly inspiring – thanks a ton for writing.

Tim Murphy

How would you react if you got that type of response? Your second comment is constructive, but definitely not your first.

Share with me your story. Why do you think other commenters have no problem with this post?

Do you mind reading this post after you’re done answering my questions? http://www.financialsamurai.com/2012/06/23/you-will-always-be-viewed-as-arrogant-if-you-have-more/

What’s your story? Love to hear it.

I’m definitely not in the 1% with no more day job income! But, that’s the thing, I don’t mind. The free time increase has been wonderful and worth it.

S

Those that get there, wherever “there” is sometimes forget how to relate to those not as fortunate to get “there’. This feels a bit like another ‘get rich blogging’ article when all is said and done.

Hypocritical because yes, in the article you do blame others (incl. the gov’t, pols, and your former tenants) for your losses. You say in your reply here, and in a subheading in your article, that “you’re a changed man” and no longer so angry, but that’s not quite the same thing as taking responsibility for your situation. Nor is “coping” the same as “changing one’s attitude.” At least, I just skimmed over your article again, and I don’t see such a change in actual words.

FWIW, I don’t resent you your former wealth or your newfound promising career trajectory, and I wish you well in future. I’m just sayin’, the tone of your writing strikes me as unempathetic; egotistical. You can take that or leave it — I’m just one reader — but I do mean it as constructive criticism.

That has been bugging me for a while.

Bleakest of times? Why I never! Cancel my subscription immediately!

Wait, you’re saying all these interesting stories are free?

Why I never! Cancel the internet!

Thanks for your comment. To answer your questions, I became financially independent through 13 years of saving, investing, sweating, and taking a lot of risks. 2008-2009 slaughtered me financially, and I thought I was going to lose everything at one point.

I never thought I’d be able to last at my job more than 5 years, let alone 13 years. Everything gets a little dull after a while, and I know a lot of people feel the same way about their jobs.

You can read this post (http://www.financialsamurai.com/2012/04/16/achieve-financial-freedom-slice/) where I highlight my investments and passive income streams. I decided at the age of 35 it was NOW OR NEVER. I wanted to show people that even in bleak situations such as when the world was ending in 2008-2009, that doing something small can make profound differences in one’s life over time.

I originally wanted to gut it out for 5 more years until I was 40, but I decided to take the leap of faith and do something on my own. JD took his leap of faith, and I have been following GRS since early 2008 and watched him evolve.

Things change. Circumstances change. What we can control is our own outlook, our own optimism, and our own work ethic. Everything else, we just hope for the best.

Thanks for reading.

Best,

Sam

Its charming on TV or in magazines, but the reality is a hard life.

I should have done a better job of redescribing how bleak the 2009 year was. I really thought I was going to lose everything and get fired and live at home w/ my parents.

I was hoping to connect w/ others who lost a lot during this time period share their stories as well.

S

“Rich” is relative. I can assure you that I am poor compared to many of my friends in SF. Furthermore, I don’t have a W2 income anymore, and am therefore earn much less since I’m just surviving off my passive investments now (rental, dividends, deferred comp etc).

I don’t know your financial status, age, goals, outlook, but here’s what I would do if I did not discover the online world:

* Look into rental property that have been hit and yield 2X the borrowing cost if you need a mortgage e.g. 8% rental yield and 4% mortgage. I think it’s a no brainer if you can accumulate immediately accretive assets now. You have an optionality of appreciation over time as well. Just hold it for a long enough time.

* I traded money for more time. For some reason, I feel very sensitive to my mortality and how quickly time goes. Here are the income streams I developed in more detail: http://www.financialsamurai.com/2012/04/16/achieve-financial-freedom-slice/. I’m looking into Social Lending now, and paying off rental property mortgage (3.375%) when my 7-year CD’s come due.

* I plan to just live off the cash flow of the passive investments, or just the online income pennies that I can generate and keep the passive investments compounding.

* If I lost everything, I would get a job at a startup or probably go back into finance and start a blog. I’d probably be so risk averse that all my investments would probably just be in CDs. I’d make sure I have enough insurance so I would get wiped out.

Thx, Sam

Although I do agree the title of this article could use an adjustment.

ETA: there are two of us Tracys posting. I think the other one might be new to the blog?

“Bleakest of situations” to me is like when my friend was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of cancer in late 2008 Even as he suffered the affects of the cancer and the treatment he had to constantly fight with his office while they tried to find creative ways to fire him to get him off their insurance rolls. This at the same time he’d watched his carefully grown assests plummet in value at the point he and his family needed them most. Then he got to make a choice of paupering himself and his family (non-working spouse and three young kids) seeking a potential experimental cure at an out of state facility that could gave him a 50% chance at a decade or more of life, or sticking with the traditional insurance covered treatment, which, while not paupering his family, had a low (20%) probability of doing the same. He chose not to pauper his family and though he did amazing, it finally got the better of him and he passed in 2010.

Sorry, but keeping your job without a significant pay cut, not facing foreclosures, not facing total financial ruin, not facing any serious choice or lifestyle adjustment other than bitting you nails with fretting, and not having anyone but yourself you’re responsible for, doesn’t even come close to “bleak” no matter what the financial landscape looks like or how you got better.

I can appreciate your story, but just can’t stomach the title being associated with it especially given the raw nerves and lives many people have with respect to the last four years.