Business

The Income Limit To Qualify For College Scholarships And Grants

If you’re a personal finance enthusiast with kids, you’ve probably wondered: at what household income level will colleges stop offering scholarships and grants (i.e., free money) to help your child attend? What is that income cutoff?

Given that the cost of college is already outrageous — and likely only getting worse — this is a valid and important question. The biggest joke of all? At this rate, you’ll need to be a millionaire just to afford four years at a private university, with the total cost approaching $1 million!

Thanks to an analysis by Bloomberg in an article titled Top Colleges Are Too Costly Even for Parents Making $300,000, we now have a rough answer. The research, conducted by Ann Choi, Francesca Maglione, Paulina Cachero, and Raeedah Wahid, highlights how America’s “middle class” is increasingly being squeezed out of elite college affordability, with little recourse but to opt out.

As a parent of two, neither of whom I believe have a snowball’s chance in hell of getting into a top-50 university, I’ve already mentally prepared for the more practical route: public university or community college for the first two years. However, Bloomberg’s article points out that even public universities might not necessarily be much cheaper, depending on your household income.

Let’s explore this critical and fascinating topic.

Table of Contents

Household Income Limit for Receiving Free Money from Colleges

According to Bloomberg’s analysis, once a household’s income reaches $400,000, families should no longer expect to receive any scholarships or grants. In other words, households earning $400,000 or more are generally expected to pay the full sticker price. Roughly 50% of families at these elite private universities are already doing so.

The Income Level Where College Scholarships And Grants Stop

I think it’s great that private colleges are trying to make higher education more affordable for more families. Getting to pay half price if your household makes around $225,000 a year isn’t a bad deal. After all, $225,000 provides a comfortable middle-class lifestyle for a family of four living in a non-coastal city.

Unfortunately, colleges don’t seem to take into account the cost-of-living differences households face across the country. Earning $225,000 in San Francisco or New York City provides a significantly lower quality of life than earning the same amount in Des Moines. If colleges could take that next step and factor in a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), that would be lovely.

From the article:

At USC, families that make around $180,000 are expected to pay anywhere from 22% to 33% of their income towards tuition, or roughly $50,000 on average — the largest financial burden out of the schools in Bloomberg’s analysis, each of which uses the MyinTuition calculator.

A family with the same financial profile is expected to contribute 13%, or $24,000, towards the annual tuition at MIT.

At Williams College, a student with $300,000 of family income would be asked to pay from $43,000 to $73,000 a year toward the roughly $92,000 sticker price. The same student qualifies for little to no relief at Harvard, where tuition is around $87,000 a year, according to the analysis.

Thanks to the Bloomberg article, hopefully it’s now clear to everyone that earning $300,000 a year is considered a middle-class income in many parts of the country. I was raked over the coals in the comments section of my article, despite having a clear and realistic household budget. But folks are finally coming around!

It’s Not as Simple as Earning Less Than $400,000 to Get Free Money for College

At first glance, staying under $400,000 in household income sounds easy. After all, $400,000 puts you in the top 3% of income earners in America, meaning about 97% of households earn less. Yay — most of us should get free money for college, right? Wrong.

What the Bloomberg article overlooks is the impact of assets. In the personal finance world, net worth matters more than active income. One day you could be earning a high salary, and the next you could be out of a job. However, once you build a large enough net worth, you can generate enough passive investment income to live freely forever.

Perhaps Bloomberg’s narrow focus on income alone reflects broader societal trends. After all, the average savings rate in America hovers around just 5%. Our society prioritizes aggressive consumerism over disciplined saving and investing. According to the latest Survey of Consumer Finances, the median net worth in America is only about $192,000.

Bloomberg may be assuming that the typical American family doesn’t build a rental property portfolio, doesn’t open a custodial investment account (UTMA), and doesn’t save in a 529 college savings plan — and they might be right!

Case in point: I recently spoke to a friend who manages money professionally and has an MBA from Harvard. He has two kids, ages 5 and 8 and he had no idea what a 529 plan even was!

Your Assets Matter When Applying For Financial Aid For College

When filling out the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid), the assets that count against a family (i.e., are considered available to help pay for college and can reduce financial aid eligibility) generally include:

Assets that FAFSA Counts:

Cash, savings, and checking account balances
Investments, including:
- Stocks
- Bonds
- Mutual funds
- Certificates of deposit (CDs)
- Cryptocurrency
Real estate (but not the family’s primary home — see more below)
College savings accounts, like 529 plans (if owned by the parent or student)
Trust funds
UGMA/UTMA accounts (student-owned accounts)
Businesses and farms (only if they have 100+ full-time employees or are investment businesses)

Assets that FAFSA **Does Not Count**:

Primary residence (family home equity is excluded so buy the nicest house you can afford)
Retirement accounts, such as:
- 401(k)s
- IRAs (traditional and Roth)
- Pensions
- Annuities
Life insurance policies
Personal possessions (like cars, furniture, jewelry)

Additional Notes:

Parent assets are assessed at a much lower rate than student assets.
- About 5.64% of parent assets are considered available for college costs.
- About 20% of student assets are counted, which is much harsher.
529 plans owned by parents are treated as a parent asset (better).
- 529s owned by grandparents (under the old FAFSA rules) could mess things up when distributions happen, but starting with the 2024-2025 FAFSA, those distributions are no longer reported as untaxed student income.

The More Assets You Have, the Less Free Money You Get for College

If your household of four earns $80,000 a year but has a $5 million taxable brokerage account, $200,000 in cash, a $2 million rental property portfolio, and $300,000 in each child’s 529 plan, you’re unlikely to get any free money for college.

Don’t even bother trying to manipulate your income lower. Give up! Your years of diligent saving and investing have earned you the “privilege” of paying full sticker price. You can’t hide your assets to make yourself look poorer — and if a school finds out you tried, your child’s admission offer could get rescinded.

All elite private universities go beyond the FAFSA and require the CSS Profile to evaluate whether your household qualifies for need-based financial aid. The CSS Profile is much more thorough because it distributes money from the colleges’ own funds, not from the federal government.

If you are income poor and asset rich, you lose when it comes to getting free financial aid for college.

What About Going to Public College to Save Money?

As a graduate of The College of William & Mary, a public school in Virginia, I’ve long been a strong advocate for attending public college to save money. When I went, my parents paid just $2,800 a year in tuition, while private universities were charging around $20,000.

However, attending a public college to save money over a private one may not be as straightforward today. According to Bloomberg’s analysis, once your household income exceeds roughly $170,000, it could actually be cheaper to send your child to a private university.

The reason? Private colleges often have more resources and are more willing to offer financial aid, while public colleges expect families to contribute more once they cross certain income thresholds.

Public versus private university household income cutoff where going private is better

Personally, I think what will likely happen for my kids is that they’ll either attend a public college or go to a tier 2 or 3 private college with “merit aid.” I put “merit aid” in quotes because many colleges are now giving out money under the guise of merit to make families feel good and incentivize enrollment.

Don’t Be Middle Class When Applying for College Grants and Scholarships

Hopefully, it’s clear from this analysis that when applying for college, you either want to be poor or a multi-millionaire.

If you’re poor, you’ll likely get significant free money for college, which is fantastic. Please take full advantage. A college education is still one of the best ways to break out of the poverty cycle.

If you’re a multi-millionaire, you probably won’t qualify for need-based grants or scholarships. But the sting of paying full price won’t feel as painful because you’ll have enough assets saved up, and possibly a high income as well. If you’re lucky, your child might even receive need-blind merit aid, which is essentially a discount to encourage them to enroll.

Unfortunately, if you’re a millionaire with a net worth under ~$5 million, paying $100,000+ per year for four years for just one child will still hurt. Ideally, you’d want a net worth of at least 25X for the cost to no longer feel painful.

In other words, if you want to send your kid to NYU or USC for $400,000 total, you’d need at least a $10 million net worth to feel financially comfortable doing so. How crazy is that? Pretty soon, going to a private college will only be a luxury for the very rich or the extremely talented.

The middle-class household earning between $150,000 to $400,000 a year will feel the most pain when paying for college. Unless you’re a legacy student, athlete, or part of a special interest group, affording college comfortably will likely be tough. And you can’t count those advantages as they aren’t in your control.

Readers, what are your plans to make college more affordable? Why do you think Bloomberg and others not take into consideration assets when doing their analysis? Are we really just a nation of spenders who don’t save and invest aggressively for the future?

Become a Millionaire to Afford a Million-Dollar College Degree

It’s ironic that households now need to become millionaires because the total cost of college is heading toward a million dollars all-in. But the math doesn’t lie. You can either take matters into your own hands by building serious wealth, or pray for the kindness of others in this brutally competitive world. I choose the former.

If you want to have an easier time paying for college, pick up a copy of my new book, Millionaire Milestones: Simple Steps to Seven Figures. It would be a crying shame for your child to get into their dream school but not be able to attend because you weren’t wealthy enough. The more money you have, the more options — and freedom — you and your children will have.

Millionaire Milestones book by Sam Dogen, Financial Samurai bestseller — Click to pick up a copy on Amazon today

If you love personal finance, join 60,000+ others and sign up for my free weekly newsletter. Since 2009, my goal is to help readers achieve financial freedom sooner so we can do more of what we want.

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Business

Accepting A Preemptive Offer vs. Listing On The Open Market

When you decide to sell a house, you might encounter a preemptive offer—a bid that arrives before you list publicly on the open market or reach your set offer due date. This scenario often unfolds in a robust market or when your property is highly sought after.

It’s a tempting yet tricky situation: Do you accept the early offer or cast a wider net and hold out for something better? You see this dilemma play out in professional sports all the time. Some players bet on themselves and reject guaranteed life-changing money for hopefully more. But it doesn’t always work out as.

This article dives into that decision, drawing from my own experience, to help you weigh your options. Ultimately, your goal is to sell your home for the highest price possible at the time with the least amount of headaches.

Table of Contents

My Journey: Opting for a Preemptive Offer

In 2025, I made the call to sell my old house after renting it out for a year. I’d purchased a larger home a few years back and had an attachment to the old place.

But life was pulling me in too many directions: managing multiple rental properties, raising kids, writing on Financial Samurai, and finishing my USA TODAY bestseller, Millionaire Milestones. Selling the home to someone who’d love it as much as I did felt like the right move. Plus, renting out single-family homes at that price point wasn’t delivering an attractive-enough net rental yield.

Ultimately, I accepted a preemptive offer before listing on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). It wasn’t an easy choice. The decision gnawed at me because I was dying to see how the house would fare in the open market.

Accept A Preemptive Offer Or List On The Open Market

Here’s the detailed thought process that led me to accept the preemptive offer, broken down into seven steps to help guide your own decision.

Frankly, to get the highest price, most sellers should list on the open market—but only if they have a competent agent, a solid marketing plan, and an attractive list price. Opening up your home for the world to see can backfire. The last thing you want to do is price too high and have your home sit for months.

Accepting a preemptive offer, like going the dual agency route when buying, may benefit more experienced sellers. However, even if you’ve sold multiple properties before, accepting a preemptive offer is gambling that might result in leaving money on the table.

Let me review the steps I took to decide on which route to take.

1. Choose a Top-Tier Agent To Increase Your Chances Of Getting A Preemptive Offer

Our first move was hiring a top agent—one ranking in the top 10% of our local market based on sales volume. Why? We wanted someone with a deep network, a stellar track record, and the ability to move a property fast. That expertise came at a cost: We paid a commission 0.25% higher than a competing mid-tier agent.

A key perk of going with a top-tier agent was their access to the Top Agent Network (TAN), a private group connecting elite realtors.

Our strategy hinged on leveraging TAN. Before exposing the house to the open market, we’d broadcast it to this exclusive network of over 500 of the top agents. It was a way to dip our toes in, testing demand without committing fully.

Here’s why that mattered: Once you list on the MLS, the clock starts ticking. Every day past two weeks on the market chips away at your final sales price as buyers start wondering what’s wrong with the place. By using TAN, we could market the property discreetly without starting the official clock.

Besides, the top 10% of agents handle 80–90% of all home sales in our area. That means you’re getting in front of the majority of serious buyers while avoiding most of the looky-loos and tire kickers.

If you’re aiming for a preemptive bid, I recommend partnering with a top-tier agent who’s plugged into TAN or a similar network. It’s like having an inside track before the race even starts.

2. Easier To Experiment With Pricing Strategy Off Market

Pricing a home is an art form, and there are three broad approaches:

List way below market to ignite intense demand and spark a bidding war.
List slightly under or at fair market value, functioning like a “buy now” price.
List above market, hoping to snag someone so enamored they overlook the premium.

With 22 years of buying and selling real estate under my belt, I believe pricing 5% to 10% below fair market value often works best. It’s a magnet for hopeful buyers, creating competition. If they fall in love—and many do—paying an extra 15% to 20% doesn’t feel like a stretch.

We toyed with listing our home at $1.99 million, roughly 15% below the $2.3 million I thought it could potentially fetch in a public sale. The goal? Draw a crowd and let the bids climb. But there’s a risk: Price too low, and some buyers balk at jumping far above asking.

So, we pivoted. We built a sleek website for the property—complete with photos, a virtual tour, and a story about its charm—and listed it on TAN at $2.095 million, 8.8% below that $2.3 million target. This softened the leap to $2.3 million compared to a $1.99 million start. However, it also filtered out buyers capped at $2 million, which reduces potential demand.

The result? A preemptive offer rolled in at $2.2 million—5.3% above our $2.095 million ask, and 10% above our initial though of listing the home for $1.99 million. It wasn’t the $2.3 million I’d dreamed of, but it proved the strategy had legs. The key was to get a legitimate offer and then negotiate upward in price.

Note: These numbers are illustrative, not my actual sale figures, to make the example concrete.

3. Negotiating To Push The Preemptive Offer Higher

Negotiation is where deals are won or lost, and a real estate love letter can tip the scales. If you’re selling, write a heartfelt note about what you adore about the house and why it’ll suit the buyer. If you’re buying, explain why it’s your dream home and you’re the perfect fit. These letters forge emotional connections—crucial in a numbers-driven game.

I’ve been writing online since 2009 and have three bestselling books to my name, so I know the power of words. As the seller, I crafted a seven-page love letter, pouring in everything: the home’s best features, my favorite memories, even my take on strong local economic trends. The buyers—a couple expecting their first child—responded with their own letter. As parents who’d upsized after our second kid, we instantly connected over that shared milestone.

Initial Offer And A Counter

Their initial offer was $2.15 million, 7.5% above asking, but below my $2.3 million goal. I countered at $2.36 million—9.7% higher—bundling it with a two-page letter thanking them, reinforcing our family bond, and justifying the price with market data.

They came back at $2.25 million a day later. Progress! It was so close to my reach target of $2.3 million, and I was tempted to accept. I had 24 hours to respond before deciding whether to go on the open market or not. During this time, I agonized in the hot tub whether it was worth pushing for one last counter or risk having the buyers balk and walk away.

The Final Counter

The next evening, while enjoying some tacos in Lake Tahoe after an epic day of skiing, I felt confident that the connection we’d built through our letters would keep the potential buyers engaged, even if I made one final counteroffer. More importantly, I knew I’d regret not at least asking.

So I responded through my agent with a “best and final” offer of $2.315 million, $15,000 above my original stretch price. Just 30 minutes later, my agent called: they had accepted. I ordered a margarita to celebrate.

Had they held firm at $2.25 million, I would’ve walked and gone to market. But $2.315 million nudged just past my $2.3 million goal, and that was enough to seal the deal.

Negotiation isn’t just about the numbers, it’s about creating a connection. That personal touch can be the tipping point when dollars alone won’t move the needle. Personally, I feel much better knowing I’m selling the home to someone who will truly benefit from it and appreciate it. If I had sensed the buyer was an investor just looking to flip it, their offer wouldn’t have carried the same weight.

4. Setting a Minimum Preemptive Offer Price

Before you skip the open market or forsake an offer deadline, establish your must-have price. If the preemptive offer doesn’t hit or exceed it, list publicly. It’s that simple. For me, that number was $2.3 million (sticking with the example). When the initial offer of $2.1 million came in, I was pleased to have a bid but not thrilled.

A skilled agent can steer negotiations, but ours was skeptical. She doubted we’d clear $2.2 million, let alone $2.3 million, estimating $1.95 million (only 6.6% above our 2020 purchase). She pegged 2020 as the market peak, but I vehemently disagreed and made me really question whether to hire her. I’d been deep in the 2020 trenches—touring homes, submitting offers, tracking comps. I had to figure out whether she was just managing expectations or really believed in her pricing thesis.

I knew values had continued to increase from 2020 until 2022, faded from 2022 until 2H 2023 after the Fed increased rates 11 times, then rebounded aggressively in Spring 2024. So, I took the reins, using my letters and pricing strategy to push us to $2.315 million.

If your agent doesn’t fight aggressively for you, you must do so yourself. Of course, you could also be wrong, and ultimately pay the price in terms of wasted time and selling for a lower price. Mine was a little surprised and dismissive about the initial 7-page letter I wrote, but I believed in my strategy. As a potential buyer, I want to know everything there is about the property, including what was fixed and upgraded.

Your minimum is your anchor. Set it thoughtfully, and don’t budge unless the offer aligns with your goals.

5. Analyzing Recent Comparable Sales

I didn’t pluck my aspirational selling price of $2.3 million out of thin air. It came from poring over comparable sales (comps) from the past year—homes sold, listed, and in escrow. The fresher the data, the better. The trickiest part? Estimating what homes still in escrow will close at, since agents guard those figures until the ink dries. An experienced agent with a strong reputation can pry out that intel, giving you an edge.

I learned a similar-sized home nearby fetched $2.45 million—well over asking. I loved my place more, but its location near the MUNI station in a trendier neighborhood close to everything added a premium to people who need or want to work forever or can’t work from home. With that comp drawing 12 offers, I figured mine could pull at least three and climb to $2.3 million.

Then came a curveball: A “hot home” comp—a full gut remodel—listed at $2 million on Redfin got zero offers the day after my $2.2 million bid arrived. Smaller, with inferior views, and less outdoor space, I’d expected it to sell for $2.1 million. Its flop rattled me. If it couldn’t fetch even one offer at its $2 million asking price after two weeks on the market as a “hot home” on Redfin, maybe it’d sell for $100,000 less. Doubt seeped in, and I trimmed my minimum threshold price from $2.35 million to $2.3 million.

Comps are your compass, but markets can shift fast. One of the greatest risks sellers have is being overly biased on how awesome they think their home is. Just like the ability to buy the dip requires removing emotion, so does selling a house for the maximum price.

6. Evaluating the Offer Beyond Price

Price grabs headlines, but an offer’s “cleanliness” can make or break its appeal. Beyond the dollar amount, you’ve got to scrutinize the closing timeline, contingencies, and any conditions tied to the purchase. These factors determine how likely the deal is to close—and how much stress you’ll endure along the way. Let’s break it down.

Most home sales close in 30 to 45 days, often saddled with contingencies: inspection (buyers can back out or demand repairs if issues arise), financing (the deal hinges on their loan approval), and even home insurance nowadays.

Some buyers toss in extra wrinkles, like needing to sell their current home first—a domino effect that can delay or derail everything. Each contingency is a potential snag, a thread that could unravel the sale.

The Near-Perfect Offer

The dream offer? All cash, no contingencies, and a lightning-fast close. Why? It’s as close to a sure thing as you get. No bank can deny a loan; no inspection can spook the buyer into renegotiating. Cash cuts the risk to near zero.

But there’s a catch: Cash buyers know their offer’s allure, so they often bid lower, banking on sellers prioritizing certainty over top dollar. You might face a dilemma—say, a $2.35 million financed offer with contingencies versus a $2.3 million cash offer that’s clean and quick. It’s a trade-off between maximizing profit and minimizing risk.

I’ve bought properties both ways—cash and loans—so I’m less dazzled by cash than some sellers. At closing, the money hits your account either way; whether it’s from the buyer’s pocket or a bank’s doesn’t change the outcome.

A financed offer with no financing contingency (meaning they waive the loan approval escape hatch) can rival cash’s reliability. Still, I get why sellers swoon for cash. There’s a psychological comfort in knowing no lender can meddle.

Then there’s the closing timeline. A short close—say, 10 or 15 days—slashes your carrying costs: property taxes, mortgage interest, or lost rental income. It also shrinks the window for disaster. Selling a house is nerve-wracking—contingencies amplify the anxiety.

During escrow, you may start imagining worst-case scenarios: a pipe bursts mid-escrow, or, the house burns down before closing, voiding the deal. The shorter the escrow, the less time you spend sweating those hypotheticals.

Hard To Pass Up Our Offer

Our offer was a beauty: all cash, no contingencies, and a 10-day close. After countering twice, I got to my aspirational sales target figure, so I accepted.

Was $2.315 the highest possible price? I’ll never know for sure. But its cleanliness tipped the scales. Speed and security outweighed the chance of squeezing out a bit more on the open market.

When evaluating your offer, don’t just chase the number. Weigh how “clean” it is against your tolerance for risk and delay. Anything, from a forest fire to a burst pipe could happen during escrow.

7. Counting Your Offers (Two Or More Is Ideal)

Ideally, you want a preemptive offer so good that are willing to forgo a multiple offer scenario if you list on the open market. Even better is receiving multiple preemptive offers, a rare scenario. It’s a seller’s dream, like an auction unfolding in your favor.

With just one preemptive offer, it’s much harder to decide. You have to analyze the probability the preemptive offer, a bird in the hand, will be higher with better terms than all other unknown offers in the future. You’re the one who has to create competition, stoking desire and fear of missing out (FOMO) to push the bidder higher. It’s a tougher game, requiring finesse, salesmanship, and maybe even a bit of bluffing.

We listed on TAN for a week, casting a wide net among top agents. I’d hoped for a flurry of interest—maybe two or three offers. But we got just one offer. A week’s a tight window; most buyers need more time to tour, crunch numbers, and commit. Still, that lone initial bid at $2.1 million gave us something to work with.

In Search For More Offers That Didn’t Come

With only 24 hours to respond, we didn’t sit idle. My agent sent a blast to TAN: “Offer incoming—any takers?” We hosted private showings for her top clients, hoping to drum up a rival bid. Unfortunately, nothing in writing materialized. The silence was deafening, especially with that “hot home” comp worrying me—it listed at $2.04 million and got zero offers despite its buzz.

Did I really want to roll the dice, spend at least two more weeks marketing the house on the open market, hope that strong offers would come in, and then cross my fingers that we chose the right one? Or did I want to go with the solid offer in hand and keep things simple? I chose the latter.

If you’re stuck with one offer, don’t despair. Use your agent’s network, signal urgency, and negotiate hard. But if you can’t spark a second bid, you’re betting on that lone horse—make sure it’s a winner. If you don’t like the preemptive offer, then test the open market instead.

Was It the Right Call To Accept A Preemptive?

Taking a preemptive offer leaves you wondering: What if I’d gone to market? Maybe a wild buyer with an inexperienced agent would’ve encouraged their client to pay way above market. I’ve seen it happen several times before.

Post-deal, I think I could’ve squeezed $20,000–$40,000 more, but I feared losing the deal entirely if I squeezed too hard. The fact of the matter is, you will always wonder whether you could have gotten more after you’ve agreed on a selling price. It’s just human nature.

My mission was simplifying life, and I did. I reached my stretch goal and reinvested the house sale proceeds into stocks, Treasury bonds, private AI companies, and private real estate.

Most Home Sellers Should List On The Open Market

In conclusion, unless you and your agent know your local market inside and out—and how to price correctly—listing your home on the open market is the safer bet. As long as you don’t botch the pricing or marketing, the open market is the best way to determine your home’s true market value. Even if you do mess things up, the market will ultimately dictate what your home is worth.

I’d only consider accepting a preemptive offer if:

You’re an experienced seller who knows the market inside and out
You have a strong network of real estate agents and buyers
You value privacy and discretion
The offer meets or exceeds your aspirational open market price
You have doubts about getting a better offer
You want to save time and reduce uncertainty

As I get older (and hopefully wealthier), I place a greater premium on simplicity. I told myself that if I could get at least a certain price, I’d sell—and I did. And remember, I’m a real estate fanatic who visits open houses every weekend for fun and market research.

Sure, making more money is always nice. But at this stage of life, a smooth transaction holds even more value. And who knows, had I passed on the preemptive offer, the buyers might have moved on and never submitted a bid once I went to market. I could have ended up with only one offer below what they initially proposed.

I’ll never know for sure. But what I do know is this: locking in a win at your aspirational price is never a loss.

Readers, have you ever accepted a preemptive offer when selling your house? If so, how did you determine whether the offer was good enough? On the flip side, have you ever made a preemptive offer to buy a house and felt you secured a better deal because of it? What other strategies should sellers and buyers consider to ensure they get the best possible outcome?

If you’re looking to invest in real estate passively, check out Fundrise—my preferred private real estate platform. Fundrise focuses on high-quality residential and industrial properties in the Sunbelt, where valuations are lower and yields are higher. After selling my house, I invested a portion of the proceeds in Fundrise.

Some commercial real estate valuations have dropped to levels near the 2008 financial crisis lows, despite today’s stronger economy and healthier household balance sheets. Seeing this as an opportunity, I’m dollar-cost averaging into the sector with my home-sale proceeds while prices remain attractive.

Commercial real estate prices and how much they declined in 2022 - 2024 compared to how much they declined during the Global Financial Crisis in 2008

Fundrise is a long-time sponsor of Financial Samurai and I’ve invested $300,000+ with them so far.

If you want to achieve financial freedom sooner, pick up a copy of my USA TODAY national bestseller, Millionaire Milestones: Simple Steps To Seven Figures. It’s packed with actionable advice to help you build more wealth than 90% of the population, so you can live free. Order a copy on Amazon today!

For more personal finance goodness, join 60,000+ others and sign up for my free weekly newsletter. You can also sign up here to get my posts send to your inbox as soon as they are published. Since 2009, I’ve been helping people achieve financial freedom sooner, rather than later.

Deciding On Whether To Accept A Preemptive Offer is a Financial Samurai original post. All rights reserved. Financial Samurai began in 2009 and is the leading independently-owned personal finance site today with ~1 million pageviews a month. Everything is written based off firsthand experience and expertise.

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Business

Elon Musk Is Committing to Five More Years as Tesla CEO

Elon Musk‘s new five-year plan has him staying at Tesla.

In an interview at Bloomberg’s Qatar Economic Forum on Tuesday, Tesla’s CEO said that he is committed to staying at the electric vehicle maker for years to come.

When asked if he will still be leading the company in five years, he said: “Yes, no doubt about that at all.”

CNBC reports that Musk wants to keep his position as Tesla’s CEO to maintain “sufficient voting control” over the company to avoid activist investors.

“It’s not a money thing,” Musk said. “It’s a reasonable control thing over the future of the company.”

Tesla’s sales have dropped 13% in the first three months of this year, marking the largest quarterly drop in Tesla’s history. Net profits have plunged by 71%. The EV maker’s revenue also fell 9% year-over-year.

Musk is currently the richest person in the world, with a net worth of $376 billion at press time, per the Bloomberg Billionaire Index.

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Business

Why Your Audience Isn’t Listening Anymore (And What You Can Do About It)

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Every day, we’re bombarded with noise — emails, ads, pop-ups, sponsored posts and DMs from strangers who want to “hop on a quick call.” It’s relentless. And people are tired.

Marketers often call this “audience fatigue,” blaming content overload. But after working with hundreds of leaders to build authentic authority, I’ve come to see it differently: it’s not just content overload — it’s trust fatigue.

Trust fatigue is what happens when people stop believing. When every message feels like a sales pitch in disguise, people disengage — not just from brands, but from leaders who once earned their respect.

So, in a world where trust is slipping and skepticism is rising, how do you become someone worth listening to?

Table of Contents

Trust moves from institutions to individuals

One study found that 79% of people trust their employer more than the media, the government, or nonprofits. That’s huge.

It means trust is no longer institutional — it’s personal. People don’t want another faceless brand talking at them. They want a real person who shows up with clarity, consistency and value.

That’s your opportunity. If you want to lead, you need to earn trust. And the good news? It starts with three moves.

1. Be discoverable

Let’s get practical. Google yourself — what comes up?

If it’s outdated bios, scattered links, or worse — nothing — you’ve got work to do. Your digital presence is your first impression. When someone wants to vet you, they’re not asking for your resume. They’re looking you up.

A strong LinkedIn profile is the first step. Make it sound like a leader, not a job seeker. Then, create a personal website that reflects who you are, what you stand for, and the people you serve. This is your platform.

Next, give people a reason to trust you: thought leadership content — articles, interviews, podcasts — that showcase your ideas. If I can’t find you, I can’t follow you.

2. Be credible

The internet is full of opinions. What cuts through is proof.

Credibility comes from evidence: media features, speaking gigs, client testimonials, books and bylines. These aren’t vanity metrics — they’re trust signals. They tell your audience: this person has earned a platform.

You don’t need to headline a TEDx talk tomorrow. Start small. Write a piece for your industry publication. Share a client win. Build momentum with real, earned signals of authority.

And the data backs this up. A Gallup/Knight Foundation study found that nearly 90% of Americans follow at least one public figure for news or insight, more than brands, and sometimes more than the media itself.

3. Be human

Here’s where many leaders go wrong: they forget that trust isn’t just about what you say — it’s how you make people feel.

You can have the slickest website and the most polished profile, but if your tone feels robotic or your content sounds like corporate filler, people will scroll right past.

You don’t need to spill your life story, but you do need to sound like a real person. Share lessons you’ve learned, not just what you’re selling. Tell stories. Speak plainly. Be generous with your insights.

I once shared a story about a career setback on stage, unsure of how it would land. It ended up being the thing people remembered — and the reason they reached out. Vulnerability built more trust than any polished pitch ever could.

Trust is the strategy — authority is the reward

Many leaders think, “If I’m good at what I do, people will notice.”

They won’t.

In a world overflowing with content and short on attention, visibility matters. Credibility matters. And most of all, connection matters. You build trust gradually — through how you show up, what you say and how well it resonates with what your audience actually needs.

So here’s where to start:

Audit your online presence as if you’re a stranger seeing yourself for the first time.
Share stories in your writing and speaking that make people feel something real.
Post something this week that reflects what you believe, not what you’re trying to sell.

Lead with service. Speak with clarity. Build trust by showing up as yourself.

Authority doesn’t come from shouting the loudest. It comes from being the one people believe.

Every day, we’re bombarded with noise — emails, ads, pop-ups, sponsored posts and DMs from strangers who want to “hop on a quick call.” It’s relentless. And people are tired.

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