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!

 

 

 

All Time High, as you may or may not recall, is the theme song to Octopussy, a titillatingly titled James Bond film from 1983. It’s also the current state of many stock market indices, including the S&P 500. JL Collins ponders what you may also be contemplating. Is it Time to Sell?

 

Bonds are off their all time highs, and their futures are not so bright that they’ve gotta wear shades. The wanderer at Millennial Revolution discusses some alternatives. Is it Time to Ditch Bonds?

 

If you live in a place with a high cost of living and/or a high tax burden, it may be time to ditch the place you call home. Jachim Gobien of Mayowe ditched Belgium for Bahrain, and it’s worked out very well for him. He penned this megapost on one of my favorite wealth-building tactics. How geoarbitrage and the 8th Wonder of the World can supercharge your net worth.

 

So you make great money, build wealth, and then what? Wealthy Mom MD explains how your life may not change as much as you think as you climb the ladder of success in podcast episode 55. Why You Won’t be Happier With More Money.

 

They sold all of their belongings and moved to Spain for 3 years. Now they’re starting from scratch with few possessions, slowly building up a carefully curated collection of household goods. Jim Wasserman discusses his affinity for Wooden Spoons at the Humble Dollar.

 

Quarterly estimates were due this week, but you’ve got another 4 weeks or so to file your tax return “on time” without an extension. Are you tax diversified? The White Coat Investor shows us How to Use Tax Diversification To Reduce Taxes Now AND in Retirement.

 

Retirement is a time when you choose not to work, but there are times when the choice is not yours. Planning for Plan B: What Happens When You Can’t Work Anymore.

 

Or maybe you can work, but circumstances make work difficult and undesirable. The Physician Philosopher says Doctors Aren’t Burned Out, They are Morally Injured.

 

You’ve read the headlines. I paid off X amount of debt in X amount of time. Oh, really? Jay Rigler with Practically Independent has heard enough. The Only Way to Pay Off Debt is to Pay Off Debt.

 

Your net worth is not what you think it is. The MD on FI/RE does the math to show you how much of your retirement funds are actually yours. Who Owns Your Money?

 

The same could be said for a home. Even if you own it outright, you still pay rent in the form of property taxes. Never the less, I’m excited to share this one. How We Got Our Home Offer Accepted in a Crazy Aggressive Seller’s Market. Yes, we got a new house!

 

There are many advantages to buying real estate as an investment, and Dr. Dennis Bethel expounds on several of them at NestEggRx. Bonus Depreciation And Other Tax Advantages Of Apartment Investing.

 

Real estate investing terms should be considered a dialect of the English language. The Debt Free Dr. breaks terms down in Understanding Private Placement Memorandums For Syndications.

 

If you’re interested in learning more — a lot more — about passive real estate investments, consider Dr. Peter Kim’s Passive Real Estate Academy. The course will be available soon, and if you join the waitlist, you’ll have a chance to get in at a substantial discount.

 

 

The Easiest Side Gig

 

There’s a lot of talk about side gigging, even among doctors who earn multiple six figures. Sometimes, it’s not so much about the money, but about having another source of income, even if it’s a small fraction of what you make in your day / night job. Beer money, if you will.

I’m happy to share that we’ve partnered with one of the most prominent providers of easy side income for physicians. If you’d like to make some easy cash by sharing your opinions and knowledge, sign up with All Global to get those opportunities.

 

 

Some survey companies have more opportunities for particular specialties. If you’re not getting enough opportunities, you may want to unlock additional opportunities with a few other medical survey companies.

 

Ritual de lo Habitual

 

I’m a creature of habit, and I hit 2 milestones this week.

For the first time in over a year, I missed a day of Duolingo — my preferred language learning app (I’m working on Spanish). We spent almost the whole day working on home improvements at our new house, and I came home tired, ready for bed, and simply forgot to do it.

Luckily, Duolingo has a cheat called a “streak freeze” that artificially extends your daily streak when you miss one day, so the app says I’m on a 545 day streak of consecutive language learning. It’s a white lie, but I know for a fact that I didn’t miss a day in over a year before having to use that streak freeze.

The other streak I’ve got going is one of pushups, sit ups, and squats. They’ve been an integral part of my daily routine since the pandemic started, and I’m proud to say that I’ve done at least 100 pushups and situps for 365+ days in a row.

I’ve been increasing my reps this year and my current pre-shower routine is 45 pushups, 10 squats, 40 situps. Repeat times 4. I’ve never had a workout routine that I’ve kept up for this length of time. Gotta love semi-retirement!

 

 

Have an outstanding week!

-Physician on FIRE