The Sunday Best is a collection of articles I’ve curated for your reading pleasure.
Expect most of the writing to be from recent weeks and consistent with the themes presented on this website: investing & taxes, financial independence, early retirement, and physician issues.
Presenting, this week’s Sunday Best:
I recently sat down with Side Hustle Scrubs to talk about one of my side hustles. No, not the blog. The breweries. Belly up to the bar for the Side Hustle Sit Down: Physician on FIRE.
Have you subscribed to Dr. Carrie Reynolds’ Hippocratic Hustle? If not you missed her chat with Jim Dahle, MD: The White Coat Investor and the Friends Talk Finance: FinCon18 Recap.
The stock market had a rocky October. Why. The White Coat Investor jinxed it, that’s why. It all went downhill after he answered the question Should I Invest at All Time Highs?
The stoics didn’t notice the S&P 500 enter correction territory; if they did, they didn’t care. It’s beyond their control. Mr. Waffles on Wednesday explains the philosophy in Goals, Stoicism, and Net Worth.
Speaking of goals, it’s incredible what can be accomplished when one focuses on a particular goal. For Adam Thielen, an undrafted nobody who was almost a dental supply salesman, it was getting noticed by the NFL. In his own words at The Players Tribune, Made in Minnesota.
Spoiler alert: Thielen did make it into the league, and can now afford a few splurges. Visit Personal Finance for Beginners to learn how some of your favorite bloggers spend big. 31 Bloggers Share Their Favorite Financial Splurges.
When you save as much as you spend, you can afford to make unconventional choices. Lee Huffman, the follicularly challenged man behind Bald Thoughts, shares Why I Quit My $200K Job and Moved to Nashville.
The good news is you’re well on your way to becoming a millionaire if you’re not there already. I’m a millionaire, ESI Money is a millionaire, and so are these five folks. Check them out and learn from their stories.
- Millionaire Interview #81
- Millionaire Interview #82
- Millionaire Interview #83
- Millionaire Interview #84
- Millionaire Interview #85
Car Shopping or One of Two Reasons We’re in Chicago Right Now
A few weeks ago, we sold our family van to neighbors of ours. We weren’t planning to sell just yet, but they seemed very interested in finding a similar make and model. We were able to hook them up at a price they wouldn’t have found on the open market, and we got at least as much as we would have eventually if we were to try trading our van in.
We looked in town first, and we were hoping to purchase locally. It would be the simplest thing to do and there is value in keeping money close to home.
Having done some research into vehicles capable of pulling a decent sized travel trailer, I was pretty sure we wanted a Ford Expedition. The towing capacity is advertised as 9,200 pounds, which is pretty much tops for large SUVs.
When I started looking for Expeditions in our area, I learned that most only towed about 6,600. Only the models with the factory installed upgraded towing package were rated for 9,200 pounds, and it’s a whole package with a larger radiator, oil cooling system, etc… no simple aftermarket add-on.
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We found an Expedition with the towing package a little above our price range and the dealer also had a couple of Nissan Armadas, a model that was redone in 2017 and all models have a towing capacity of 8,500 pounds. We test drove both models and preferred the smoother ride and standard features of the Armada.
We found some comparables and were hoping to get a 2017 Nissan Armada with under 50,000 miles for under $30,000. The dealership was willing to budge a little, but not a lot, and didn’t care much about the comps we had found.
And so, we’re in Chicago.
We actually have an even better reason to be in Chicago this weekend. We were invited to a couples shower for a wedding of a close relative that both my wife and I will be very much involved in. With a lot of other travel coming up (mostly for the wedding and football games), we weren’t sure we could swing this one.
But it just so happens that the best deal I’ve seen on the vehicle we want, which also happens to be in my favorite color, is about 10 miles from the wedding shower venue.
It’s a try-before-you-buy situation, and if all goes well, we’ll be the proud owners of a beastly SUV before the week is over. Please don’t tell Mr. Money Mustache.
Have an outstanding week!
-Physician on FIRE
So on your main webpage (?homepage) the image for the post says, “Saturday Best” but here on the post it is back to Sunday Best. Am I missing another post somewhere?
Good catch! I put that image together once when The Sunday Best accidentally got posted on Saturday. And now I accidentally used it on Sunday.
These things will happen when I work more than full time at my regular job and travel most weekends. Now… to fix it.
Thanks for the heads up!
-PoF
Re : your SUV and consumption of fossil fuels–
‘Those who know, but do not act, do not know.’
One thing I know is that my Chevy HHR will not tow a travel trailer.
Wow, that’s a lot of pounds to tow! Good luck with the car search. 🙂
What about a pickup?
I considered them. That would open up the possibility of a 5th wheel, too. But we’re replacing a minivan, and for our family’s needs, with kids and their friends a 3-row SUV makes more sense than a truck.
The only honor greater than being featured on the Sunday Best is getting to interview you for the Side Hustle Sit Down. Thanks for sharing your sudsy side hustle with us. I owe you a Dogfish Head 120.
Good luck POF! We looked at getting a beastly SUV to tow a trailer also. It would have had to be the “biggest and baddest” like you describe to pull something big enough for our pampered glamping needs. In the end we kept our smaller daily driver and tow it behind the used motorhome we bought instead.
When we travel, it is driving really long distances. So, the space/washroom/kitchen of the motorhome is great while on the road. It is also easier with our smaller vehicle the rest of the time. Combined cost for the motorhome route was a bit more, but we don’t regret it.
If we were travelling shorter distances and staying longer periods at each location we may have gone the truck/trailer route instead.
-LD
Land Cruiser…look at the Land Cruiser. Might be the last vehicle you ever own
Great recap as always!