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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!
Dr. Jordan Grumet and I had one of those difficult but important conversations on the Earn & Invest podcast. Having it All But Unhappy Anyway.*
*Not meant to describe me. I’m happy like Pharrell.
The Physician Philosopher would be happier if he had avoided a number of mistakes that he admits to making. Money Mistakes That Doctors Make.
Index funds are always a viable option, but Passive Income MD likes to spread his investments around. He lists 22 ways to Invest $25,000.
The Physician in Numbers deals with a health emergency in the family. Some things are more important than money, but having money allows one to focus on those things. The Flip Side Of Money And Medicine.
Yes, money can help you deal with surprises, and there were a lot of them in 2022, says Ben Carlson of A Wealth of Common Sense. 9 Things That Surprised Me in 2022.
Looking at investment returns of the past year and decade, the Banker on Wheels examines what it means for the future. The Long Game — Historical Market Returns and 2023 Expectations.
Ether to FI also reflects on the year that was and how his views on life and money have changed over the five years he’s been writing about them. Ether to FI: Bye Bye 2022 & a Net Worth Update.
What can we look forward to in 2023? SECURE 2.0 makes a slew of changes that may impact you. The White Coat Investor analyzes what it all means for high-income professionals. Secure Act 2.0 — Here’s What You Need to Know.
Here’s another detailed analysis of the new legislation from Jeff Levine with Nerd’s Eye View. SECURE Act 2.0: Later RMDs, 529-to-Roth Rollovers, And Other Tax Planning Opportunities.
Some wear “busy” as a badge of honor, but is it best to always feel busy? Retirement Wisdom questions the wisdom of busyness. Are You Heading for a Busy Retirement?
Our latest interviewee wonders how he ever had time for full-time work now that he’s mostly retired in his fifties. Post FI Notes 022: 2x FI and Working By Choice.
Retirement, particularly early retirement, is the ideal time to make conversions. Stop Ironing Shirts has identified The Sweet Spot for Roth IRA Conversions after examining tax implications and different timeframes.
If you don’t have an optional drawdown strategy in retirement, says Dr. Matt Poyner with Dividend Strategy, you could be making a mistake. Retirees are Leaving Money on the Table.
- Long-time readers may remember Dr. Poyner from Big Family Small World. For a personal update, see their Christmas Letter 2022.
Is a buyout in your practice’s future? The Prudent Plastic Surgeon shares What Doctors Should Know Before a Private Equity Sale.
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Looking Back on 2022
2022 was quite a year for my family and me. With my older son about to enter high school this fall, last year was our last full year to travel, and travel we did!
Altogether, we spent about two months in Europe, a month on cruise ships between two repositioning cruises with many stops on three continents, about a month each in Minnesota and Florida, a week in Colombia, and the rest of the time (maybe half the year?) at home in Michigan. I don’t write up all of our travel experiences, but I did publish these posts in 2022.
- Family FIRE Travels: Krakow, Poland
- Family FIRE Travels: Rome, If You Want To
- Family FIRE Travels: Catania, a Sicilian City
- Family FIRE Travels: Malta in the Mediterranean
- Family FIRE Travels: Athens, Greece
- 6 Weeks of International Travel During Peak COVID
- No, You Didn’t Travel for Free With Those Points and Miles
We also did some downhill skiing in December, and plan to get another 2-3 weeks of skiing in both locally and out east before the end of February when we leave for our final Big Trip. We start out with WCICON23 in Phoenix, head to New Zealand for 3 weeks from there, then a week each in Tasmania and Sydney, Australia before an 18-day cruise to Honolulu via Tahiti and the Society Islands.
Back home, we broke ground (that is to say that the excavator that our contractor hired) broke ground on our next “forever home” across the street. We went from a big old hole in late spring to a standing structure with doors, windows, and much of the rough plumbing and electric work done at the end of the year. We expect to move in sometime next summer.
Homeschooling / worldschooling has served us well, and it’s a bit sad to know that these adventures are coming to an end, but I believe our boys will benefit socially from spending more time with kids their age and less time with Mom and Dad. Academically, they’re in great shape. My 8th grader took the actual SAT and scored higher than I did the first time I took it as a junior or senior. I’ve seen no reason to believe that his younger brother won’t do just as well.
Financially, my portfolio has taken a hit much like everyone else’s, but with a diversified portfolio that includes index funds, passive real estate, and only a small smattering of individual stocks, it wasn’t so bad. My investments in space startups Axiom and Firefly Aerospace are looking up (pun intended) after successful launches and ventures in 2022. Kraken, not so much.
I hope 2022 was kind enough to you and that 2023 is even better. If you haven’t yet, do yourself a favor and resolve to do at least one of these 14 financial tasks in the New Year. There’s no time like the present to start improving your financial situation!
Have an outstanding week!
-Physician on FIRE
