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!

 

 

 

The Banker on Wheels looks at what a friend of mine calls the “performance quilt,” past predictions from Vanguard, and other intriguing data points. The Long Game — Historical Market Returns and 2022 Expectations.

 

Predictions are more enlightening to look back on with the benefit of hindsight, but it can be insightful to read what people are expecting and why. Financial Samurai, a former Golman Sachs banker, shares his 2022 Stock Market Forecast.

• Bonus: He shares a more positive outlook for real estate in his 2022 Housing Market Forecast.

 

The White Coat Investor points out that while it’s possible to invest in publicly traded real estate, 98% of it is privately held, and that’s an awfully large asset class to ignore. The Case for Private Real Estate.

 

Have you considered looking at real estate outside of your own country? I have, and so have the folks at Taxes for Expats. Investing in International Real Estate.

 

If you’re not ready to venture outside of the U.S., consider looking at Cadre investments. Discover why Harvard invests in them in Driving Diversity Through Democratization.

 

Jeremy and Winnie of Go Curry Cracker have spent much of their time together traveling internationally, but they now have a million-dollar house to call home. Take the tour and find out where they’ve landed in Our New Home.

• Bonus: Although they paid seven figures in cash for the house, they’ve since taken on a small mortgage for fun and possibly profit. Investing Our Mortgage – An Experiment.

 

If you’re ready for a crash course in real estate investing, you can learn from some of the most prominent physician real estate investors in next weekend’s no-cost PhREI Network Conference, held 1/21 to 1/23. That’s Physician Real Estate Investor, and the speaker list features names you’ll recognize, including Drs. Cory Fawcett, Peter Kim, Kenji Asakura, Leti Alto, Victor and Kate Mangona, Sam Giordano, and members of the PhREI network.

 

You know that Empower can track your portfolio’s balance, holdings, and performance, but did you know about all of these other slick features they offer for free? 5 Things You Didn’t Know Empower Can Do For You.

 

In the New Year, The Physician Philosopher is prioritizing what matters most and carving out time for those things. He suggests you do the same in The Year of Yes.

 

With some measures of inflation pushing 7%, is it time to press the panic button? Mr. Money Mustache opines while sharing a wild fact about the price of a gallon of milk. Inflation – Should We Be Worried?

 

Dr. Bonnie Koo of Wealthy Mom MD doesn’t want you to worry about money. That’s why she’s published her first book, and for a limited time, it’s just $1.99 on Kindle. Defining Wealth for Women: (n.) Peace, Purpose, and Plenty of Cash!

 

Here are five folks who have plenty of cash and are willing to share how they got it and what they do with it. From ESI Money:

• Millionaire Interview #286
• Millionaire Interview #287
• Millionaire Interview #288
• Millionaire Interview #289
• Millionaire Interview #290

 

If you don’t qualify to fill out one of those millionaire interviews, follow this advice from A Dime Saved, and you’ll be well on your way. How to Become a Millionaire – 16 Dos and Don’ts.

 

Our latest Crossroads interviewee has designs on becoming a septamillionaire family. Their path to $7 Million in FIRE Crossroads 016: 42 with a $4.2 Million Net Worth & FatFIRE Plans.

 

Enjoy these weekend roundup posts? Get 3 personal finance articles in your inbox throughout the workweek, curated by J. Money as part of his latest venture with All Star Money.

 

 

Walled Cities & Popeye Village

 

After a week in Malta, we have seen a wide range of historical landmarks and buildings.

Most fascinating and impressive are the fortress cities of Mdina and Valleta. The former is a sandstone marvel stuck in time, and the latter is the larger capital city, built in the 16th century and filled with historic landmarks. St. John’s Co-Cathedral and Fort St. Elmo with its War Museum are mightily impressive.

The most perplexing village is the one built for the live-action Popeye film starring Robin Williams and Shelly Duval, constructed in 1979. I’m shocked that the seaside assembly of buildings has weathered 42 years and still stands. I imagine there’s some maintenance involved; the site is now operated as a tiny theme park with a few shows, character interactions, and mini-golf. We didn’t partake, but I couldn’t leave the island without venturing out that way for the photo opp.

 

 

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I decided to rent a car, as that seemed to be the best way to take in all that the main island and Gozo island (we’re taking the car ferry there today) have to offer. Driving has been a bit of an adventure in and of itself as it’s my first time driving from the passenger side (steering wheel on the right) and on the left side of the road. The ubiquitous roundabouts, where one stays left and yields to the right, also take some getting used to!

I’ve read that cars are generally not recommended nor needed at our next destination, and I welcome a return to our typical adventuring that involves primarily walking and public transportation.

This evening, we’ll land in Sicily, assuming we get negative results from the required four COVID antigen tests that cost us about $40 USD apiece here. By the time we get back to the U.S., we will have spent about $300 on COVID testing. Fortunately, Italy and Greece charge significantly less for the testing at 20 and 10 euros, respectively.

 

 

 

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A Recommended Insurance Agent

 

Doctor Disability

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Based in San Clemente California, President and CEO Chuck Krugh is a Certified Financial Planner with more than 20 years of experience working with professionals in the medical/dental industry.

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Have an outstanding week!

-Physician on FIRE