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

 

You’re here because you want to be better with money, right? Jonathan Clements, former WSJ columnist, author of How to Think About Money, and blogger at Humble Dollar, put together an outline to help you become better with money throughout life. 45 Steps to Success.

 

The term “dividend” does not appear in a single one of Jonathan’s 45 steps. Vitaliy Katsenelson of Advisor Perspectives warns you to Beware of the Dividend Cult.

 

If you like fun stats and amazing statistics, you’ll enjoy this relevant compilation from The Irrelevant Investor. The Twenty Craziest Investing Facts Ever.

 

It may sound crazy, but buying isn’t always superior to renting. I found out the hard way, as did the Frugal Physician, whose story includes rats. Renting Versus Buying.

 

I’m no longer the only FIRE blogger named Leif! Get to know Leif Kristjansen from Five Year FIRE Escape. He recently shared some investing wisdom in Can you beat the market? 6 reasons to not bother trying.

 

Can you find time for lunch? The Happy Philosopher stepped away from the PACS system to grab a bite and share his views on lunch and how this meal or lack thereof contributes to the physician burnout epidemic. From the man who brought us Alligators and Kittens, here’s Water and Fish.

 

Can you find every deduction you should be taking? Look for Zebras outlines the many Tax Deductions for Physicians with Side Gigs, and the info translates to any profession.

 

 

Why are physicians starting side gigs? Why do thousands of doctors flock to Passive Income Docs on Facebook? Because they crave financial freedom. From Passive Income MD, The 5 Benefits of Financial Freedom.

 

Financial Freedom gives you the opportunity to cut back, like these docs featured by Crispy Doc have:

• Docs Who Cut Back #13: Family Medicine Doc
• Docs Who Cut Back #14: Dr. K
• Docs Who Cut Back #15: Dr. Mo
• Docs Who Cut Back #16: GasFIRE

 

Teaching your children about money is vitally important. A friend of the blog who happens to be an educator, father, and blogger himself has created a course to help you give your children a head start on money and life. Check out Family Money School (I’ve applied a $20 discount code for you in the link).

 

If you teach your children well, they ought to make responsible choices when it comes to higher education. You can help them financially by being among the 2.5% of U.S. households to utilize a 529 plan. That sad statistic and many tips in 529 Plans: What You Need to Know About College Savings Plans.

 

He spent a decade in prison and is well on the path to financial independence at a surprisingly young age. Learn how Bill transformed his life in the latest CGP. Christopher Guest Post: Wealth Well Done.

 

Ever heard the term “all hat and no cattle”? If not, you may want to read The Millionaire Next Door and this post from WCI. Living Rich Can Keep You Poor.

 

The FI Community

 

I’ve been a part of this FI community for over three years. At first, it was simply an online community for me, consisting mainly of anonymous or semi-anonymous bloggers with cool names like Mr. 1500 and Mr. Money Mustache.

Before long, these online personalities became real-life friends. I had only been blogging for about six months when I was invited to my first meetup. Carl (Mr. 1500) and his wife Mindy (of the Bigger Pockets Money Show) invited me out to JL Collins‘ cabin. Jim didn’t seem to mind, and he and his wife were gracious hosts as we talked late into the night before I crashed in my tent on the shores of Lake Michigan.

Since that fortuitous evening, I’ve gone out of my way to attend other events to meet up with others that are either in this space, writing or blogging about personal finance, or interested in it enough to attend events for like-minded people.

This year, I’ll be going to my third Camp FI, third FinCon, and my first Chautauqua in Ecuador.

I also enjoy the less formal and sometimes impromptu meetups organized by local groups. I was able to attend two such functions in the last two days, and it was a lot of fun to meet up with readers and FI enthusiasts in varying stages of their financial journeys.

 

 

 

 

Yesterday, the ChooseFI Denver group got together, giving me an excellent opportunity to try the highly-regarded Outer Range Steep IPA, hand out my logo beer koozies, and chat with new and old friends.

I was one of four physicians at the meetup, and all of us are working unique schedules that afford us plenty of time for our young families. All three of the Denver docs were mothers who work out-of-state for stints in order to have more home time when actually home in Colorado. It’s great to see docs thinking outside the box to create their best lives.

 

MMM HQ Coworking Space

 

Coworking spaces are a fairly new concept, at least to me, but they’re popping up all over the place. I saw one in Guanajuato when I was there in 2017, and you can find them in just about any medium-to-large city throughout the United States.

One of the more unique spots is here in Longmont, Colorado. It was started by Pete a.k.a. Mr. Money Mustache, and has been recently expanded with an investment from his friend Carl a.k.a. Mr. 1500 and another friend they call The Wolf.

The place has a great outdoor space with a fire pit and workout area. There’s a tool library, a kitchen space, several bathrooms, and of course places to sit or stand and get some work done. Oh, and there’s a kegerator with a stout and a cider on tap in case you want to get nothing done.

A steal at just over $50 a month, it’s cheaper than hanging out at coffee shops when you factor in the price of the coffee.

I spent a good chunk of the day there Friday working on this post, and the entire evening at the joint for a “happy hour” that stretched into five hours. I met several readers including a physician who has found that life is pretty good with a predictable 4-day-a-week schedule.

My thanks to Pete and the rest of the MMM HQ crew for welcoming me with open arms, and especially to Carl & Mindy for putting up with me and putting me up for three days in their guest bedroom that I share with toy dinosaurs.

 

 

 

 

 

Have an outstanding week!

-Physician on FIRE