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
How are you? Life is back to slightly less abnormal for me. My 2-week quarantine ended last weekend, and I was able rejoin my family without feeling I might be putting anyone at risk.
Thus far, I’ve either dodged a bullet or had a case so mild I didn’t notice it. I’m guessing it’s the former, but until antibody testing becomes widely available, I won’t know. Not everyone has fared so well. I’ve read about a few medical residents who have died from COVID-19 in New York and Michigan. Heartbreaking.
I’ll continue to donate profits from PoF this month to COVID-19 relief. In addition to the $5,000 granted mid-March, an additional $1,000 has gone to the #GetUsPPE campaign at AFFIRM. At my request, they’ve made it easy for people with Donor Advised Funds to make grants on their donation page.
I’m not asking for any money, but there are easy ways each and every one of you can help, and those are detailed on my COVID-19 Relief Page. Thank you for all the support — the $50,000 goal looks like a long shot at this point, but I’m telling you there’s a chance (and I’ll need your help!).
If it’s not painfully obvious, financial independence is as important than it’s ever been. If you haven’t identified your Why yet, see what about four dozen of us have to say. As collected by Krizelle of The Minted Latte, Why FI? – Why Everyone Needs Financial Independence: 49 Experts Talk About Their Why FI.
I won’t be getting a stimulus check in the mail or via direct deposit, and I’m OK with that; we are not in need. If you’re not in the same boat but will be getting a check, anyway, Steve Adcock from The Money Mix has some ideas for you. Don’t Need Your Stimulus Check? Here Are 4 Ways To Use It For Good.
The stimulus bill contained a whole lot more than $1,200+ tax credits for individuals. What’s in it for physicians? The White Coat Investor tells us What the CARES Act Means for Doctors.
Passive Income MD also looked at this legislative prize package, bringing a lawyer in to help make sense of it all. What Doctors Should Care About in the CARES Act (the Coronavirus Relief Package).
I’ve been a fan of emergency plans in lieu of true emergency funds, as long as the plan gives you easy access to cash when it’s needed. This pandemic is highlighting the benefits of beefed-up emergency funds, though, as Dr. Cory S. Fawcett points out on Financial Success MD. COVID-19 Reminds Us of the Need for an Emergency Fund.
How do the recently FIREd navigate these difficult waters? Retire by 45 talks about FIRE in the Age of COVID-19 (Part I: Surviving the Storm).
The FI Physician continues his COVID-19 series from the perspective of an infectious disease doc near the mountains of Montana.
- Anchoring to 100,000 Deaths
- Small City: Surviving COVID-19 (The Value of Time)
- How Do Pandemics End? The End of COVID-19
This pandemic has affected our personal lives, professional lives, and our portfolios. Ether to FI, a 3rd-year attending anesthesiologist, shows us his portfolio balances before and after the carnage. Ether to FI: Embrace the Dip & 2 Net Worth Updates.
E.T.F. also advised us to embrace the dip, and Ben Carlson demonstrates why at a Wealth of Common Sense by looking at Great Recession investment outcomes. When Dollar Cost Averaging Matters the Most.
Physicians and pharmacists, Register with Incrowd for the opportunity to earn easy money with quick "microsurveys" tailored to your specialty.
With smaller paychecks coming in, it might be time to pay more attention to how you’re spending money. The Physician Philosopher makes such a move as painless as possible. Budgeting That You Won’t Hate: The Backwards Budget.
As scary as the market volatility can be, especially if you’re watching it like a hawk watches mice, Mr. Money Mustache is here to remind you that No, You Didn’t Just Lose Half of Your Retirement Savings.
Did you know that Mr. Money Mustache wrote the foreword to JL Collins’ The Simple Path to Wealth? It’s true. The Debt Free Dr. gives an overview and review of the highly regarded personal finance book. The Simple Path to Wealth: Is It Really That Simple?
Have you ever attended a retirement seminar? I imagine they’ll be pitching a more convoluted path to wealth, and it might not be your wealth they have in mind. ESI Money saved me 6+ hours by attending one of these, and he writes up his experience in detail.
- Our Trip to a Retirement Workshop, Part 1
- Our Trip to a Retirement Workshop, Part 2
- Our Trip to a Retirement Workshop, Part 3
Splash Makes a Splash With Crazy Low Rates
Things were looking good for student loan refinancing as 2020 kicked off, as our student loan refinancing partners dropped their rates in lockstep with the decreasing Fed rates. Then the pandemic struck, and several companies increased rates, sometimes doubling their minimum interest rate!
It seems the loan markets have stabilized somewhat now, and Splash is making a figurative splash by offering the lowest advertised rate on a variable student loan refi that I’ve ever seen: 1.58% . That’s the low end of a range that can go as high as 8.28%, depending on creditworthiness.
A number of our partners are now offering rates starting at or below 2%.
If you have federal loans that qualify for six months of interest-free forbearance or you’re pursuing PSLF, you should keep doing what you’re doing. If you have private loans or you’ve refinanced to a higher rate more than six months ago, I’d look to how much you can lower your payments with an improved variable or fixed rate.
Don’t forget to get your cash back bonus ($500 with a six-figure refinance) and let me know once your refinanced loan is funded. I’ll donate $50 to a charity of your choice. There are many ways we can support COVID-19 relief or help those in need in your local communities.
Thousands of Books Summarized
Don’t have the time to read hundreds of books, let alone thousands? Yeah, me neither. But I have found a couple of resources that distill hundreds of pages into easily digestible tidbits.
The first is The Rabbit Hole known as blas.com. The author, Blas Moros, invites you to jump in to well over 500 books that he’s read and summarized in a format that can be read in a few minutes apiece. The site is completely free.
The second is Blinkist. While they also have written summaries, Blinkist offers up 15-minute audio summaries, and the focus is on top non-fiction books. They’ve got over 3,000 books available in 27 categories. While it is a subscription service, this link gets you a free 7-day trial.
If you’ve got extra time on your hands, both of these resources can help you use that time wisely. Enjoy!
A Featured Financial Advisor
For those of you who would rather not DIY, I maintain a list of recommended financial advisors. Among the good guys and gals who work frequently with physicians, only the lowest cost, fee-only fiduciary advisors were invited to be on this short list. Among them is Integrity Wealth Solutions.
Integrity Wealth Solutions
Integrity Wealth Solutions Financial Advisor Vetting Application
Integrity Wealth Solutions approaches wealth management and financial planning differently. We’ve created a unique, tiered flat fee, asset management compensation structure designed with our client’s interests and success in mind. Our firm’s investment philosophy is centered on cost and tax efficient portfolio management, aimed to help the client retain more of their investment growth.
A cornerstone in Integrity Wealth Solutions’ financial planning process is the alignment of financial goals with insightful strategies that fit individual circumstances. We develop a holistic, customized, integrated financial plan that can evolve as the client’s needs grow and help clients maintain focus through the inevitable ups and downs of the market.
Fees:
Fee Structure:
Integrity Wealth Solutions flat quarterly fee for investment management typically ranges from $1,250 to $2,500, depending on assets under management. This flat fee also includes active comprehensive financial planning on an on-going basis.
Financial Plan Only:
For clients not engaging us for investment management, may decide to work with us for a financial plan only.
A one-time financial plan fee ranges between $1,000 – $5,000, depending on complexity.
Contact Info:
5211 S. Quebec St. Greenwood Village, CO 80111
303-716-5777
info@integrity-wealth.com
Have an outstanding week!
-Physician on FIRE
5 thoughts on “The Sunday Best (4/05/2020)”
Great Sunday Best as usual PoF! While I don’t have the time that I used to (before the virus) for reading blog posts, I still enjoy your weekly curated Sunday Best posts!
Thanks as always!
Thanks for the good reads! Many interesting perspective in these unusual times. For the private practitioners among your readers, I broke down the two loan programs of the CARES Act here, if it helps.
Stay safe and healthy!
-PFB
Thanks for including us as well! Certainly didn’t think our first post back from our 10-week trip would be about a global pandemic, but here we are. It is somewhat cathartic to put thoughts to writing during tough times (we’re working on Part II right now, which will be interesting).
Stay safe and healthy!
-Dylin @ RetireBy45
POF thanks for including me and thanks for your support of physicians battling the COVID-19 Crisis. Hope your legs have recovered and are ready to go but I doubt you have a race available to use them.
Thank you, Cory! And yes, that’s another thing that is back to less abnormal.
I just started running with my wife and kids this week — going at an easy pace as I ease back into it, but any pain from the stress fracture or whatever I had has finally faded. Took about 5 weeks to heal.
Cheers!
-PoF