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 Sunday Best

 

The Finance Buff flexes his philosophical muscles, explaining his new goal to make life easier and better. Make Fewer Things Matter: My Epiphany From Cutting A Pineapple.

 

Even Steven was quite the gambler before he became an investor. His philosophy, like mine, still includes some element of gambling. Why he chooses to Invest in Index Funds and Gamble a Little.

 

Thousands of dollars in dividends from my index funds landed in my Vanguard brokerage account this week. Yawn. Why Getting a Dividend Should Not Be Exciting, as explained by The White Coat Investor.

 

I’m definitely not excited about the $1,000+ I’ll pay in taxes on those dividends I received a few days ago. Understanding the tax code will make you a better and wealthier investor. The FI Physician is here to educate you on Tax Bracket Arbitrage and a Comparison of Marginal vs Effective Tax Rates.

• Bonus: One Incredible Tax Planning Tool (and So Much More)

 

Real estate investors are well aware of the numerous tax advantages offered by this asset class. As Dr. Cory S. Fawcett of Financial Success MD, whose grandmother invests in real estate, says You’re Never Too Old to Become a Real Estate Investor.

• Related: Learn how this dual-physician couple pays Zero income tax (also see below for bonus offers) with Zero to Freedom Through Cashflowing Rentals.

 

On what does this early retired former CEO like to splurge? And how does he do so relatively affordably? From Accidentally Retired, Don’t forget to indulge and enjoy life along the way to FI.

 

Just be careful not to over-indulge. That’s the lesson from Scott and Krista, who have transformed their bodies and bank accounts. FIRE & Real Food: Losing 90 Pounds While Adding a Net Worth Comma.

 

Allan Roth, a bestselling author and financial planner who describes himself as “frugal to the core” describes 5 of his biggest financial blunders in a column at AARP. A Money Man’s Biggest Financial Mistakes.

 

Financial journalists make mistakes, too. Learn From This Financial Journalist’s 5 Money Mistakes.

 

It can work out very well for a select few, but it’s usually a mistake to partake in multilevel marketing. Darcy with We Want Guac (doesn’t everyone?) shows you what to do When the Women in Your Life Join MLMs.

• Bonus: A Letter to Old Acquaintances Selling Me Lash Booster and Patterned Leggings from the Dumpster Dog Blog.

 

M can only do so much for those who fail to take COVID seriously. She responds affirmatively to “You’re a doctor! You’re just going to let people suffer?!”

 

This pandemic has undoubtedly increased burnout for many a physician. The Physician Philosopher fought back against his. There is Hope on The Road to Burnout.

 

B.C. Krygowski thought she might be done with medicine, but she felt compelled by compassion to resume her role as a palliative care physician. How COVID Made Me Not Go Gently into My FIRE Goodnight.

 

Locum tenens work can be a great way to transition into (as I did) or out of a career in medicine or simply a way to earn some extra spending money. A look at the many Locum Tenens Pros & Cons.

 

Zero to Freedom

 

The pre-sale for SemiRetired MD’s Zero to Freedom Through Cashflowing Real Estate ends tonight! You’ll get $300 off with code ZTFEBS.

Plus, if you’re referred by me and credited as such (using any link from this site), I’ll reimburse you for any of Coach Carson’s Grad Level Real Estate Courses (up to $199) as long as you choose to remain enrolled in Zero to Freedom beyond the 12-day money-back-guarantee refund timeframe. No one else is offering this exclusive deal.

This action-based real estate investing course led by Drs. Letizia Alto & Kenji Asakura, has helped nearly 2,000 individuals become skilled real estate investors. Enroll today and browse your options for a bonus course. I look forward to hooking you up!

 

 

 

$300 a Day for a Rental Car in Orlando???

 

We’re not the only family that decided to escape the winter doldrums with a getaway to sunny Florida. With international travel riskier if not outright forbidden in some cases, it’s no surprise that domestic travel is seeing a major upswing in the spring break timeframe.

The glut of travelers has led to shortages of rental cars, and the rules of supply and demand have led to skyrocketing prices for rental cars, including a $300-a-day Kia Rio. We’ve got a 31-day rental, and based on that figure, we got about a 90% discount on our Kia!

Avis actually hooked us up with a Mustang initially, but I didn’t think a 2-door car made a lot of sense with kids in the backseat and a lot of parking in crowded lots and garages, so we asked for more doors and ended up with a Kia Forte. It’s a definite downgrade, but at least the thing gets good gas mileage.

That fuel economy proved fruitful as we headed north to spend a couple of days in Savannah, Georgia the week before last. It was my 3rd St. Patrick’s Day in the lovely city, and my wife and I took our 2nd tour of the Mercer-Williams house after watching Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (and she reading the book) once again. We were also able to tour a friend’s historic home right in the same historic neighborhood.

We’ve returned to sweaty Orlando for a couple of weeks and plan to continue taking advantage of our Universal Orlando annual passes. Today, we’re off to Volcano Bay!

 

 

Need CME?

 

I was the guy who made sure he spent every cent of his CME fund annually. It was a use-it-or-lose-it situation with my last employer.

If you’re looking for a way to spend yours, I’ve compiled some resources to help you out. Please head on over to our CME Resources Page for a handful of options.

Of note, Board Vitals, which was co-founded by Dr. Andrea Paul (who spoke about this in the Leverage & Growth Summit this past week — you can still register and catch almost half of the talks for free), has put together a couple of offers in honor of Doctors’ Day through this Wednesday, March 31st.

The code DOCTOR provides 20% off board review products and the code DOCTORCME provides $100 off their CME bundles.

 

 

BIGGER Welome Bonuses

 

I haven’t seen welcome bonuses this good on the Chase Sapphire cards in years. It’s great timing, too, with the ongoing progress in vaccinations and the promise of free travel in the not-too-distant future.

When I saw “free travel,” I mean that in two ways. One, I believe you can expect to be more free to travel with fewer restrictions a year from now, and likely sooner. Two, these welcome bonuses are worth $1,000 or $900 in travel respectively for the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase Sapphire Reserve respectively when booking travel through the Chase portal.

Transfer points to popular travel partners, and you could get significantly more value in free airfare or hotel stays.

Both require a total of $4,000 to be spent on the card in the first three months, which shouldn’t be difficult to do.

You can also get your body beach-ready with the new Peloton subscription credits of $60 and $120 on the Preferred and Reserve cards.

 

 

Have an outstanding week!

-Physician on FIRE