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!

 

 

Over the last 80 years in the U.S., when inflation spikes above 5%, a recession has followed shortly thereafter, making Ben Carlson’s question sound almost rhetorical. At A Wealth of Common Sense, he asks Are We Heading for a Recession?

 

Is ESI Money heading for a retirement home? While certain aspects sound somewhat appealing and we have (much) older friends who enjoy their time in this place, I think I’d rather live in M. Night Shyamalan’s The Village than this bland-sounding, homogenous version. Thoughts on The Villages, Florida, and Snowbirding, Part 1 / Thoughts on The Villages, Florida, and Snowbirding, Part 2.

 

I see all sorts of crazy assumptions about taxes in retirement that have no basis in reality or the tax code. So does Chris Mamula from Can I Retire Yet. What Will Your Tax Rate Be In Retirement?

 

With two academic physicians saving aggressively for retirement, they could land in the higher tax brackets without some thoughtful tax planning. FIRE Crossroads 024: Coasting to fatFIRE.

 

After a lifetime of diligent saving, many well-off retirees struggle to give themselves permission to spend. Fritz Gilbert with Retirement Manifesto saves the day. 5 Steps To Learn To Spend In Retirement.

 

Many spend more by traveling more, but you don’t have to retire to spend more time away from home, as The Fioneers point out. How to Travel as Much as You Want Without Retiring Early.

 

The Financial Mechanic learned to spend more and travel more in one big move. Every Dollar I Spent in 2021 As An Expat In Amsterdam, calculated in Euros and converted to U.S. Dollars for your reading pleasure.

 

The Prudent Plastic Surgeon drives a 2011 Toyota Avalon that he bought used for $4,000. Sounds prudent enough. Debunking the Myth of the Doctor Car.

 

Dr. Cory S. Fawcett draws parallels between his path to wealth and that of the wealthy TV repairman. From Financial Success MD, It Doesn’t Take Special Financial Knowledge to Become Wealthy.

 

Obtaining wealth doesn’t require getting in on each and every “next big thing,” either. There are no called strikes, as Kenyon Sayler with Humble Dollar reminds us. Let go of your fear of Missing Out.

 

If you live in Ukraine, you may be missing out on some of life’s basic necessities. Wealth of Geeks shares 6 Stories of Everyday Ukrainian Bloggers.

 

Last week, I shared how you can help (and how we are helping) Ukraine. This week, I highlighted a lower-fee DAF that is completely waiving fees for new customers through 2022 or 2023. A Better Donor Advised Fund.

• Related: More Ways to Support Ukraine from YCombinator.

 

Continuing Financial Education 2022 offers up to 17 CME or dental CE credits, and you have one more day to get the introductory price in the course launch sale. If you weren’t able to join us in Phoenix, this gives you lifetime access to every virtual talk and every in-person talk, all of which were recorded with professional audio and video.

 

 

Capital One Venture X

 

The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card is a strong one-card solution that could potentially replace more expensive cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve (CSR) and other premium credit cards. The welcome bonus is now 75,000 points good for $750 in travel after a $4,000 spend in your first 3 months.

 

What makes this particular card so great?

You get at least 2 points per dollar spent, a value of 2% of each dollar spent. Compare that to the 1.5% back on most categories for the CSR.

The CSR carries a $550 annual fee, significantly higher than that of the Venture X card. After the CSR’s $300 travel credit, its effective fee is $250. Every 4 years, you can bring that down to $150 with a Global Entry credit of $100 if you use that service (which I highly recommend).

On the other hand, the Venture X carries a $395 annual fee. Capital One also gives you a $300 credit on travel booked via the Capital One Travel search engine, and they give you an annual point bonus of 10,000 points  — a $100 value. That makes the effective fee -$5 ($5 in your favor) after your first year.

 

$750 Value Bonus

As mentioned above, in the first year, you can earn a 75,000 point welcome bonus ($750 value) when spending $4,000 in the first three months with the Venture X. And, like the CSR, they also offer reimbursement of up to $100 for Global Entry or TSA Pre✓.

The best perk of the Chase Sapphire Reserve and other premium cards is the unlimited airport lounge access. The Venture X offers that, too, via the Priority Pass lounges and new Capital One lounges that are in the works (the first recently opened at DFW). All of this for an annual fee that can be more than offset with some easy-to-redeem perks for anyone who travels at least once a year.

Chase still has the best travel perks and there are some random perks with the Sapphire Reserve and Sapphire Preferred cards like Peloton credits and Doordash discounts, but those are benefits that I could live without.

I think the Venture X could be an excellent, simple, one-card solution for excellent travel rewards, including valuable Priority Pass lounge access.

 

 

Real Estate Fund Closing Soon

 

If you’re looking for a passive real estate investment that diversifies geographically and among asset classes and does not require a six-figure investment, Cadre’s Direct Access Fund is a solid solution.

Cadre Direct Access Fund’s final close takes place in two days on March 15, 2022. This will be your last opportunity to invest in the Direct Access Fund. If you want a refresher on recent performance, check out our Portfolio Update webinar replay here.

• Strategy: Diversification with Growth
• Investment Minimum: $50k
• Seeded Portfolio Outperforming Original Underwriting ⁽¹⁾
  • Key West (Life Science): 100% Leased
  • 10 W Commerce (Industrial): 100% Leased
  • Gateway Lakes, Alvista Galleria, and The Bella (Multifamily): NOI to date +40%, +19% and +14% ahead of original underwriting life-to-date¹

 

Cadre Direct Access Fund Info

 

 

Another Week, Another Nation!

 

This week has been our fifth week of 2022 spent in an overseas location that we’ve never visited before. It’s been wonderful, and I can’t wait to tell you more about it.

At times, I’ll regularly post pictures and social media updates, most often on Instagram, when we’re traveling. Know that when you see me or anyone else posting on “the socials,” we’re taking time, if only a few minutes, out of our vacation and family time to do so. While the pics may be spontaneous and fun, there’s nothing spontaneous about social media, so I try to post during downtime like when we’re waiting for a meal, letting our kids run around at a park or playground, or we’re on public transportation for a little while.

Other times, I just wait until we’re back safely to post about the trip. For security reasons, it may not be ideal to let the entire world know your precise location at all times. I’m a nobody compared to someone like Tim Ferriss, but reading his post on the issues he’s had as a public persona reminds me that life doesn’t need an Insta update at every instance.

Stay tuned for more pics and a post on our latest adventures, though. We’ll be back in the States tomorrow night, hanging out with the snakes and gators.

 

 

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A Recommended Financial Advisor

 

WealthKeel

WealthKeel Financial Advisors Application

 

Chad Chubb is a CFP and fiduciary for physicians, dentists, and their families across the United States. He founded WealthKeel LLC to simplify and organize the financial lives of medical professionals by custom-crafting financial plans centered around their goals and values.

WealthKeel crafts simple, actionable financial plans for busy doctors and dentists, like you, who feel overwhelmed by the increasing complexity of the decisions you have to make with your money so you can free up time and energy to focus on your family, your work, and what you love most. Services include financial planning, investment management, and student loan management.

Fees:

One-Time Plan Creation Fee:

• Delegators (Plan Creation + Ongoing Financial Planning and Investment Management): $1,500
• Do-It-Yourselfers (Plan Creation Only): $3,000

Ongoing Flat-Fee Financial Planning & Investment Management:

• Residents & Fellows: $300 per month
• Attendings: $400 to $1,200 per month

Diagram for WealthKeel’s Flat-Fee Structure. No AUM fees.

 

Contact Info:

111 South Independence Mall East, Suite 500,
Philadelphia, PA 19106
267-590-9533
chadchubb@wealthkeel.com

Visit WealthKeel

 

 

Have an outstanding week!

-Physician on FIRE