The Sunday Best is a collection of articles I’ve curated from the furthest reaches of the internet for your reading pleasure.

Every week, I scan hundreds of headlines, read dozens of posts, and bring you the best of the best to save you time and mental energy.

Financial Independence (FI) is a primary focus, but it’s an awfully broad topic. I tend to approach FI and early retirement from a fatFIRE perspective and through the lens of a physician, so expect to see those biases in the selected articles.

Related topics that have become recurrent themes include early retirement, selective frugality, tax issues, travel, physician issues, and of course, investing.

For more great articles, take a peek at The Sunday Best Archives. Now let’s get to the best… The Sunday Best!

 

 

 

We like to celebrate milestones here in The Sunday Best, and the Dragons on FIRE just finished their first year of FIRE together. How did they fare? A Couple’s First Year in Early Retirement.

 

What would it take to bring “Stop Ironing Shirts” back to the ironing board? More than I would have guessed. Reflections on Two Years of Early Retirement.

 

Did you know that retirement has 4 areas of disruption and 6 stages? Chris at Can I Retire Yet recaps them all for us. The 6 Stages of Retirement.

 

They’re not retired yet, but they shaved a few years off of their timeline by trimming the post-FIRE budget. Don’t worry, their #fatFIRE plans still include $52,000 AUS (that’s about $40,000 USD) in travel per year. Our Revised High Income Early Retirement Budget from Alex at His Her Money Guide.

 

Could they save money by using a timeshare? Probably, but don’t buy directly from the source! A Timeshare Presentation Survival Guide: Getting to “No.”

 

Once you’ve bought a timeshare or graduated from law school, consider it a sunk cost and do the best you can with your life going forward. That’s how the side-hustling former attorney Kevin at Financial Panther looks at it. My Legal Career And The Example Of Sunk Costs.

 

Joe Udo at Retire by 40 retired from Intel long ago, but he’s been side-hustling since 2008. He reflects on the best and worst of his side gigs. What Makes A Good Side Hustle?

 

Here’s a fun side hustle, and one that’s been pretty successful. From Budgets Are Sexy, How I Started a Quarantini Business During the Covid Pandemic

 

Jim from Route to Retire became a 401(k) millionaire during the pandemic. And he wasn’t even working or contributing! I’m Now a 401(k) Millionaire – Can You Be One, Too?

 

ESI Money has made been talking to millionaires for years. See how these 7-figure folks acquired their wealth and how they invest it:

• Millionaire Interview #216
• Millionaire Interview #217
• Millionaire Interview #218
• Millionaire Interview #219
• Millionaire Interview #220

 

Isn’t investing exciting? No? That’s actually a good thing, as the Prudent Plastic Surgeon explains. My Love Affair with the Fading Excitement of Stock Market Investing.

 

Real estate investing can be exciting, especially when you’re adding a million dollars’ worth to your portfolio each year. How did the Banker on FIRE get to this point? Eight Lessons From Building A Seven-Figure Real Estate Portfolio (And Adding $1M A Year).

 

When should you consider adding real estate to your portfolio? I started with REITs early in my career, and I’ve expanded my holdings to include other passive real estate investments in recent years. Passive Income MD reminds us that It’s Never Too Late To Start Investing In Real Estate.

 

Invest in Real Estate Without Being a Landlord

 

If you can carve out a little time on Thursday 4/29 to learn about passive real estate investing, our friend Peter Kim at Passive Income MD will be hosting a 1-hour masterclass: How Doctors Can Invest in Real Estate Without Being a Landlord. He’ll be covering the following:

• Why it’s important as a doctor to have multiple streams of income
• Different ways to invest in real estate without being a landlord 
• How important the vetting process is 

Class starts at 5pm Pacific / 8pm Eastern (Happy Hour! )

Pre-register for the free masterclass here.

 

As you may know, the spring 2021 edition of Passive Real Estate Academy is starting soon, and you can join the no-obligation waitlist for access to a $200 discount, but you must join before the end of the day today.

 

Home Improvement

 

I haven’t been this busy since I had a real job!

As you may know, my wife and I closed on a new house two weeks ago. It’s a lovely mid-century ranch with one previous owner for the last 60 years.

The good news is that the house has had some updates. The bad news is that the most recent updates were in the mid-1990s.

The great news is that there’s over 1,000 square feet of beautiful hardwood flooring in great shape that’s been protected by carpet for decades. We’ve got a father and son team working through the weekend to sand and refinish it with four coats of a water-based finish.

They’re not the only ones working on the place. My kids pulled hundreds of staples from those floors, staples that once held down the carpet pad.

My wife, with a little help from her aunt and me, has declared war on wallpaper, and every scrap of it (and its glue) in the living room, dining room, and kitchen has been removed and replaced with a coat of primer and two fresh coats of paint.

I spent more time than I should have installing, uninstalling, then properly reinstalling vinyl plank flooring in a basement room that will soon be our boys’ toy (mostly Lego) room. They’re excited for that.

There’s still so much we plan to do, and I expect we’ll be working on this home in some way, shape, or form for as long as we own it. It’s going to be great, though!

 

 

You can follow my Instagram account for more updates on our home improvement projects and FIRE life, in general.

 

A Recommend Tax Strategist / Tax Prep Service

 

We talk a lot about reducing taxes here on Physician on FIRE, but I’m not able to dig into your own personal situation. Luckily, we’ve been compiling a list of people who do just that.

If you’re interested in tax preparation services or seeking advice on how to best structure your investments or businesses to reduce your future tax burden, look to our short list of Recommended Tax Strategists, which includes Alternative Accounting Solutions LLC.

 

Alternative Accounting Solutions LLC

Alternative Accounting Solutions LLC is a full-service CPA firm located on the East Coast serving the small to medium sized medical/dental practice, the hybrid physician (both W2 and 1099 contract income), and the independent contract physician.

Our CPA provides strategic tax planning, tax preparation (including audit assurance), payroll, monthly bookkeeping, and business setup services. Strategic tax planning services are comprehensive and proactive, assisting you every step of the way to optimize your overall tax situation as you grow your income and your practice.

Serving clients across the United States, fees are affordable, flat rate, and communicated up front after a free initial discovery session. Contact us today to learn more.

Contact:

Atlanta, GA tinamcgeehen@alternativeaccountingsolutions.com (770) 295-8506
Visit Alternative Accounting Solutions

 

 

Have an outstanding week!

-Physician on FIRE