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!

 

 

 

They can afford to retire now with a “million dollar retirement budget” but the couple behind His Her Money Guide has yet to pull the trigger. The Problem With Retiring Early Now, which is actually 4 problems.

 

Don’t expect early retirement to make your mind right, either, says MedFI. Why FIRE is No Mental Health Panacea.

 

Not much of a reader? Listen to Dr. Jimmy Turner and Ryan Inman discuss the downsides of retiring early on their Money Meets Medicine podcast. MMM 73: How Financial Independence Retire Early Can Burn You.

 

Vanguard has never burned me, but they’ve never hooked me up with free stocks, either. Prakash from Dividend Power shows you how to Invest with These 6 Brokerages and Get Free Stocks at Your Money Geek.

• Bonus: $10 when you sign up with Acorns &  up to $2,500 when transferring investments to M1 Finance.

 

I’ve never gotten free stocks, but I’ve been rewarded with tens of thousands of dollars in free travel. What’s the best way to redeem your credit card rewards points? And why 104,000? 10 Ways to Use 104,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards Points.

 

If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em, says Financial Samurai. Never Sell Assets And Pay Less In Taxes Like Billionaires.

 

The White Coat Investor is no billionaire, but he understands the tax code as well as the best of them. He outlines Two Ways to Use Real Estate “Losses” Against Your Ordinary Income.

 

The KISS principle meets the Pareto Principle in Passive Income MD‘s Get 80% of the Benefits of Real Estate Investing with 20% of the Work.

 

One way is to buy into a fund, automatically diversifying your real estate investment by both project type and geography. Crowdstreet just announced their latest fund, the Build-to-Rent and MultiFamily Fund, one of several funds available to accredited investors, including a medical fund.

 

Build up that passive income and you can easily afford to work less. Financial Success MD cut back at age 50 and he describes 9 Benefits of Working Half-Time.

 

You can travel more! COVID has put a damper on that, though. While the U.S. is opening up, numerous states still have restrictions, particularly against those who have chosen not to be vaccinated, a poor choice IMHO. Current Travel Restrictions by State.

 

Doctor Strange made a poor choice by not insuring his neurosurgical income and becoming destitute after injuring his highly skilled hands. The Prudent Plastic Surgeon ponders What If Doctor Strange Had Disability Insurance?

 

Speaking of mistakes that led to financial ruin, here’s one from the non-fiction realm, as told by Nick Daws of Mouthy Money. How My Father Lost His Life Savings by Making One Fatal Investment Mistake.

 

Sorrow for Surfside

 

It was heartbreaking to see images and video of the unthinkable collapse of a large portion of an oceanside condominium building in Surfside, Florida.

We’ll continue to pray for a miracle for the dozens that are unaccounted for, but time may be running short. My heart goes out to those who were sleeping peacefully in bed one second and in a freefall or worse then next. I cannot imagine.

From what I’ve read, support personnel have all of the volunteer help and goods they could want, but money is needed to help support the ongoing recovery efforts and the survivors, some of whom were made instantly homeless. Donations are being accepted at Support Surfside, a joint venture between several community foundations and the Miami Heat.

 

 

Let Me Make This Clear

 

…is what I said to the thick brush, shrubbery, weeds, and spindly trees that occupied a good chunk of our lakefront.

While much of the nation has been baking under a record heat dome, I took advantage of some cool northern Michigan weather to get some work done outside, taking a break from the indoor house projects this week.

Armed with a bypass lopper, electric hedge trimmer, weed whacker, and small battery-powered chainsaw, I went to battle with years of overgrowth on the neglected property.

I’ve now got a brush pile the size of a semi-truck, the scratched up forearms of an angry-cat owner, and a much improved view of the lake from our house across the street.

Meanwhile, with lumber futures plummeting, we’re progressing towards getting ready to place a house on the lake side of the street. I don’t know whether it will happen this year or next, but the house plan is on order and before long, we’ll have someone with a big boy chainsaw come by to do some more serious clearing where it’s needed.

 

A Recommended Financial Advisor

 

For those of you who would rather not DIY, I maintain a short 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 RFK Capital Management.

 

RFK Capital Management

RFK Capital Management – Application for Financial Advisory Listing

 

RFK Capital Management specializes in one-time, project-based financial planning for DIY investors. The firm’s founder, Ryan Kelly, is a CFP Professional with more than 10 years of experience in investment management.

We believe most investors can manage their own investment portfolios using low-cost index funds if they receive good advice and follow that advice. Our goal is to have our clients fire us after the project is complete. Our clients can rehire us, at their discretion, at our hourly rate if there’s a need for follow-up advice. Our main service offering is our DIY Investing Service which includes a personalized financial plan. We also offer a Financial Review service for long-time DIY investors.

Fees:

DIY Investing Service:       Onetime fee of $1,800

Financial Review:                  Onetime fee of $800

Introductory Call:               15 to 20 minutes, free

Contact Info:

9035 South 1300 East Suite 250-G
Sandy, Utah, 84094
801-372-1446
ryan.kelly@rfkcap.com 

Visit RFK Capital Management

 

 

Have an outstanding week!

-Physician on FIRE