Financial Independence Archives - Physician on FIRE

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Are You Moving Closer to or Further From Financial Independence?

closer to FI

This is a classic post from The White Coat Investor that addresses the fact that Financial Independence, and your progress towards achieving it, can be a fluid situation. Some people feel you should focus solely on your income, particularly if you’re a high-income professional. Dr. Jim Dahle looks at the flip side and the double impact of increasing or decreasing your annual spending as it relates to the amount of money you actually need to call yourself financially independent. This is an important concept to understand as you progress to becoming truly financially independent. As per usual, this post previously appeared […]

Ether to FI: Shifting Focus from the “FI” to the “RE” and a Net Worth Update

PoF: I’ll start today’s post with a quote from Ether to FI’s very first guest post. “Hello FIRE nation. I am E.T.F. You are probably wondering what happened to the missing “RE” in my name. That was not an accident. I will probably have many different occupations in my life, but I am on a mission to find work that I love. Charlie Munger working at 93 is my inspiration.” -Ether to FI It seems he may be having a change of heart. Interesting what the influence of a better half can do. I try not to plan […]

You’re Financially Independent. Now What?

Seller_at_Heart_Pub

Today’s guest post comes via Peter Koch who also shares his stories and thoughts with a growing readership on his popular blog, Seller at Heart. Peter is an international serial entrepreneur who has run a variety of businesses both online and offline. The father of two and huge basketball fan has now reached financial independence, and he often ponders what to do with his newfound freedom and time. What will you do? Let’s explore some options with someone who contemplates the question from a practical and very real standpoint. From the Seller at Heart: You’re Financially Independent. Now What? […]

Ten Ways to Feel Rich

Dahle Family Tubing

Today’s Saturday Selection from The White Coat Investor describes a number of ways for you to feel like a rich person, even if you’re one yet. Going through the list, I can check just about every box. I could probably add a few items, too. “Rich” means different things to different people, but in this case, the good doctor is referring to material wealth. Try a few of these tips to feel rich and eventually, you’ll probably end up actually being rich. This post was originally published on The White Coat Investor. As I write this (back in December […]

Rounding the Bases of Financial Independence

rounding_the_bases

First things first — The White Coat Investor’s Signature Course has been reduced 15% for one week in honor of our graduating residents and fellows, and newly minted interns. Just enter the code INDEPENDENCE to save $75 Check out my review or go straight to the course page to learn more about how to Fire (not FIRE) your Financial Advisor and create your own customized and thorough written financial plan. Hundreds have now taken this course and have been delighted with the value of their purchase. If you’re not, there’s a 7-day money back guarantee. Today’s Saturday Selection comes […]

House Hacking: A Lucrative Passive Income Stream for Young Professionals

Today’s post is a guest post from fellow Minnesotan Erik who runs the blog and podcast The Mastermind Within. On his site, he shares tips and strategies to unlock your full potential in the areas of personal finance, self-improvement, and entrepreneurship. He loves to help others, and uses his site as an outlet for this passion. In this post, Erik shares how he created a passive income stream of $15,000+ a year after finishing grad school and commanding a high salary, and how you can create passive rental income with house hacking. The timing couldn’t be better with college grads about […]

Chief Mom Officer: Overcoming Obstacles to Achieve Early Financial Independence

bad euchre hand

Hi all – I’m Liz, the Chief Mom Officer, and I’m so happy my friend Physician on FIRE has invited me over to the site today to talk all about one of my favorite topics – overcoming challenges on the way to Financial Independence (FI). In fact I like to say I’ve been pursuing it for 20 years now. I’ve been an avid fan of all things personal finance and investing since I was a teenager, reading The Wealthy Barber at my local library at sixteen. That may have given me some significant advantages in being financially smart, but […]

Ether to FI: Mrs. E.T.F., Are We on the Same Page?

Today, we have the fifth installment from our anonymous friend E.T.F., an anesthesiologist out there in the ether working his way to FI. His goal is $3.3 Million in ten years, and he’s been documenting his journey roughly every other month here on this site. Today, he invited Mrs. E.T.F. to answer some money questions to gauge how compatible their financial intentions are. How is it that I’ve written hundreds of blog posts and haven’t had my wife chime in yet? I may need to follow his lead and change that! The floor is yours, Ether to FI. Ether […]

How to Achieve Financial Independence Spending $200K Per Year

FI 200k

Today’s Saturday Selection is a bit of a jaw-dropper from Passive Income MD. I’ll be honest. It’s a lot easier to become financially independent when spending $60,000 to $80,000 per year than it is when your annual expenses are two to three times that! There are some reasons that PIMD’s numbers are much higher than mine. He lives in southern California; I live in Minnesota. He pays absurd southern CA prices for everything, including a mortgage and childcare. I own my home outright and my children are in elementary school. Most of our flights are practically free using travel rewards […]

Six Months of Part-Time Work. Or How I’ll Save $60,000 on Taxes in 2018.

Reykjavik Duck

Today is Tax Day. To commemorate the event, I’d like to share with you how I plan to slash this year’s tax bill by upwards of $60,000, or nearly double what my salary was 13 to 16 years ago when I worked about three times harder as a resident physician. Half a year ago, I executed a bold move based on a decision I couldn’t have imagined I’d be making in my early forties. I made an intentional choice to slash my income by 40% while showing up for work quite a bit less. I had been contemplating such a […]

What is fatFIRE?

fatfire

Four years ago, I didn’t know what FIRE was. I mean, I knew what fire was — something to gather ’round to drink beers, tell stories, and burn marshmallows. But I was oblivious to the acronym that has since become life changing: Financial Independence, Retire Early. Now, four years later, you could say FIRE is my middle name. Except you’d be wrong. It’s my last name — “on” is my middle name. But that’s neither here nor there. I’ve learned what it means to be financially independent. I’ve taken advantage of my FI status by working less and adventuring more. […]

One House. One Spouse. One Job.

PoF Second home

Today’s Saturday Selection comes courtesy of The White Coat Investor. I believe the title may be Dr. Dahle’s version of One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer. Picture yourself around a campfire near Lake Powell and sing it with me, “one house… one spouse… and one job. Now ain’t seen my wakeboat since I don’t know when…” To be honest, I haven’t followed this advice very well. I’ve had several jobs and we once owned five homes at the same time (we’re down to two plus some additional lakefront property). Thankfully, I’ve got one spouse, and I plan to keep her […]

He’s Financially Independent! [If He Moves]

austin texas sign

Passive Income MD lives in sunny southern California. There’s a lot to love in the seaside cities of SoCal, and then there’s the cost of housing. The good doctor has realized that his house payment would diappear if they lived practically anywhere else in this great nation, save for a few select cities where houses similar start at about a million bucks for anything halfway decent. So… should he move? As always in our Saturday Selections, this post originally appeared at Passive Income MD. He’s Financially Independent! [If He Moves] So it’s no secret that my goal is […]

Rest in Peace, E.T.F. A Love Letter from a Dead Man and a Net Worth Update

Today’s post is the fourth installment from the anesthesiologist in his first year of practice with a plan to reach financial independence within a decade. He’s got a goal of $3.3 Million, or enough to have an allowance of $100,000 a year with a very safe 3% withdrawal rate. He’s seen hardship in his personal life lately, which prompted him to pen this piece. Read on for his love letter and an update on his progress towards financial independence. Rest in Peace, E.T.F. Did I get your attention? Good. Breaking news! You are going to die. Sorry to be […]

Be an Owner, Not a Consumer, to Achieve Financial Freedom

wallet tape measure

This week’s Saturday selection comes from WCI Network member Passive Income MD. He has recognized that a change in mindset and habits can make financial freedom much more likely. This post was originally published on Passive Income MD. Recently I read a book on finances and entrepreneurship, The Millionaire Fastlane by DJ DeMarco, and the author gave an excellent piece of advice. He said, “Be an owner, not a consumer.” Already, I’m sure you have some ideas in your mind what that might mean. The phrase sounded like good, solid advice, especially in a book on finances. The author mentioned this phrase […]

14 Milestones to Celebrate on the Path to Financial Independence (and Beyond!)

Steak Dinner New Orleans

I’ve got a great one for you today. The White Coat Investor gives you lots and lots of reasons to party as you advance in your career surpassing one financial milestone after another. If I had celebrated this often, I’m not sure I’d actually be financially independent, but one can certainly celebrate without breaking the bank. Most of these waypoints passed us by unnoticed. That’ll happen when you stumble into financial independence like we did. Where are we now? At least at #13 and probably at #14. Where are you? Today’s Saturday Selection was originally published at The White Coat […]

Ether to FI: Home Days & Net Worth Update

Home Days

Welcome to the third installment from Ether to FI, an anesthesiologist chasing financial independence. He finished residency and started his first job as an attending physician just over six months ago, and he has a goal to hit his FI number of $3.3 Million within a decade. The floor is yours, E.T.F. Let’s get philosophical for a minute. Do you have a why? It took a conversation with my toddler to define why I am chasing financial independence. My canned answer: to have choices. I want to wake up without an alarm. I want to look at a […]

Ether to FI: Obeying WCI’s Ten Commandments & Net Worth Update

ETF portfolio

Back in July, we met Ether to FI, an anesthesiologist, father, and husband just starting his career as an attending anesthesiologist. Several months have passed, and the good Dr. E.T.F. has updated his net worth worksheet and written an excellent article detailing his compliance with the Ten Commandments of my business partner and mentor, Dr. Jim Dahle of The White Coat Investor. As you may recall, E.T.F. has a goal to reach FI faster than I did (which was about 10 years into my career), and I’m rooting for him. He’ll benefit from a second household income and a wealth […]

Financial Independence With Kids: How Procreation Impacts FIRE

Ecuador Galapagos Beach

Having recently spent nine days away from home at not one, but two mega conferences, I was happy to be home and eager to wake up last Monday morning to get my boys ready and off to school. It’s not often I look forward to a Monday morning, but after a long stretch away like that, I start to feel disconnected from my normal life. My wife joined me at FinCon, which was awesome, but our boys are such a huge part of our lives that I feel off-center without them. We’re planning to bring them with us for next […]

Top 5 Reasons to Work After Financial Independence

Holmsvollur Golf Course

I was browsing the Bogleheads forum last night, and my eyes naturally gravitated to the thread titled “What is FI if you love your job?” The short answer is that FI is financial independence. Nothing more, nothing less, and it doesn’t look any different if you love, hate, or feel indifferent towards your job. The long answer, after learning that the man asking the question is about 10 years away from FI, includes the fact that the person or the job is quite likely to look and feel quite a bit different in 10 years, and Fi is a smart […]

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