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

 

 

Have you signed up for the FREE Leverage & Growth Summit for Physicians?

Dr. Peter Kim interviewed over 50 physician entrepreneurs and thought leaders (and also me) and put together an amazing resource to show you how other doctors have created additional streams of income while learning new and valuable skills.

The virtual summit is free to watch as long as you register, and there are paid options for things like lifetime access. If you choose a paid option, you’ll be supporting our charitable mission. Thank you, and look for me Wednesday 5/13 on the virtual Leverage & Growth Summit! Register for free!

 

I also appear for an encore performance on Dr. Carrie Reynolds’ Hippocratic Hustle podcast discussing life after FIRE, our previous travels, and yes, the pandemic situation affecting us all in different ways. Physician on FIRE’s Pandemic Update.

 

My buddy Steve Adcock, author of the newly released Big Money: A Professional’s Guide to Financial Freedom and a Rich Retirement (now 25% off with code 25OFF) wants to help just about everybody. On Your Money Geek, he tells us How Financial Freedom is Possible on Almost Any Income.

• Bonus: Who needs financial freedom? Not Andy. I’m Just A Free Spirit Who Is Entirely Financially Dependent On Others.

 

I can’t help everybody, but with your help, we’ve lent a hand to tens of thousands of people. We donated to charities close to home, throughout the U.S., and we’re doing good as far away as Honduras and Kenya. Here’s where the money went: $25,000 Donated to COVID-19 Relief. Thank you for doing your part!

 

 

They started at a negative $208,000. In a career track that closely mirrors that of fellow anesthesiologist Ether to FI, where are Dr. James Turner and his family at now? Physician Philosopher Net Worth Update: 33 Months Out From Training.

 

John from ESI Money has been retired longer than Dr. Turner’s been a full-fledged Physician. What’s his day-to-day look like now? Retirement Update: 3.75 Years.

 

His life sounds a lot like that of a retired guy, but John and I both know that running successful blogs takes some work. The White Coat Investor knows this, too. Are we retired or not? Does it matter what we call it? After all, Retirement is Squishy.

 

Dr. Cory Fawcett of Prescription for Financial Success has become accustomed to the retired life. Has the recent market downturn (and presumed recession) changed his outlook? He asks and answers a similar question. Will the Market Crash Extinguish My FIRE After Only 6 Years?

 

Channeling Chumbawamba, the Drs. Krygowski get knocked down but get back up again. The hospice physician, her emergency physician husband, and their two kids have moved to a new city and home while dealing with true quarantines and this spreading pandemic. Oh, and all this while writing and promoting a book (currently $5 on Kindle). Let’s help BC Krygowski out with that. Spending Habits for Professionals Who Want to FIRE: I wrote a book just for you.

 

Is spending less one of your financial goals? Should it be? Dollar Break compiled Five Important Financial Goals for Physicians. Check all five boxes and you’ll be in good shape!

 

Checking those boxes has gotten a little tougher for a lot of folks, including Investing Doc. The practice he started has seen COVID sweep through both his patients and his staff. It would be an understatement to say he’s had to make some major adjustments. COVID-19 Effects And The Financial Changes To My Practice.

 

The radiologist with XRAYVSN is part of a large, multi-specialty group. Has that arrangement insulated him from the financial carnage? Hell to the no, it hasn’t. The Furlough of Xrayvsn, and no I don’t know why it’s not in all-caps in the title.

 

 

If Brandon Flowers is Mr. Brightside, then KC, one of the Mothers in Medicine, is Mrs. Brightside. She takes her pandemic sunny side up in The Bright Side of Staying Home. Happy Mothers Day to KC and mothers everywhere!

 

Not everyone is stuck at home. Some are called to action and cannot safely go home to their loved ones. “M” muses on heroism at Reflections of a Millennial Doctor. Do We Really Want to be Heroes?

 

Ready to Do Something Outside of Clinical Medicine?

 

I thought I was being productive with my daily pushups, situps, and some Spanish language lessons. I’ve also gotten back out and running, and I’ve gone about 10 miles a week with my kids for the last few weeks. After every run, I remind my boys just how proud I am of me. And of them. To a lesser extent, but still.

All that self-pride was crushed by my friend Peter Kim, who took productivity to the level beyond the next level. What has he been up to? Oh, just recording interviews with over 50 well-known physician entrepreneurs who have found success leveraging their education, wisdom, and creativity to create businesses outside of clinical medicine.

I’m excited to get to know the stories of these docs, some of whom have become good friends, but most of whom I’m not well acquainted. Some are still practicing full-time. Others have replaced their clinical incomes many times over and no longer practice. Quite a few are wearing multiple hats as they figure out how to best manage both patient care and their growing businesses.

All of these discussions can be viewed by you for just 11 monthly installments of ZERO Dollars. Yes, the Leverage & Growth Summit for Physicians is free to take in as long as you register today or tomorrow morning before the first video airs.

It’s become painfully obvious that income from practicing medicine is anything but a sure thing. Now is an ideal time to find inspiration for an additional income stream or to learn how to take the next step for your business idea from others who have been in your shoes.

Like I said, it won’t cost you anything to view these interviews as they’re rolled out starting tomorrow, 5/11 and running through 5/22. If you’d like lifetime access to the talks, you’ll have that option at extremely affordable prices. I would have expected Peter to charge a lot more, but his mission right now is to give people what they’re looking for in a difficult time. He totally delivered.

Here’s the price breakdown:

• Watch live: FREE to all registrants
• Lifetime access: $77 prior to the event (starts tomorrow 5/11)
• Lifetime access: $99 during the event
• Lifetime access: $249 after the event ends (5/22)

 

I recommend taking one of the first two frugal options. My talk will air on Wednesday 5/13. I hope you can tune in!

 

 

Ready to Do Something Outside?

 

If April showers bring May flowers, what does May snowfall bring? I mean, besides misery?

If we wake up today with no snow on the ground, it will be the first time in three days. Friday and Saturday mornings graced us with an inch or so of accumulated snow. I forgot just how delayed spring can be here in the Northland of northern Michigan. And I don’t like it.

 

 

We still spend a lot of time outdoors, though. Soaking up the Vitamin D helps keep us sane during this lockdown life. Fortunately, this part of the country is sparsely populated (I wonder why?) and social distancing outdoors is the norm even in non-pandemic times.

In addition to the family jogs, we also take bike rides and I’ve introduced my kids to disc golf. There’s a course 1/4 mile from our home, and I bought about 20 discs from Arsenal Discs, a company founded by our FI Show friend Cody Berman. And I’ve walked at least a mile every day for at least a month now. Rain, snow, or shine.

Those of you in more crowded areas will have to be more cautious outdoors, but I’m encouraged to see large cities making it a little easier to maintain a safe distance from others while getting some fresh air. Miles of streets have been largely closed to car traffic in places like Seattle, the San Francisco bay area, and New York City. I hope some of these changes become permanent, like those in Seattle.

• Seattle will permanently close 20 miles of residential streets to most vehicle traffic
• SF follows Oakland’s lead, closes some streets to cars during pandemic
• How NYC will close up to 100 miles of streets to cars

 

Enjoy the great outdoors when you can, and I’ll see you back here next week.

 

 

Have an outstanding week!

-Physician on FIRE