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!

I’m no stranger to road trips, but I’ve never attempted anything like the one that Allison & Dylin of Retire by 45 took on this summer. 9 Takeaways from our 41-State 12,500-Mile Road Trip. One was that Minnesota and Wisconsin had some of the best beer; I won’t argue with that.

When you’re FIREd, you can take a months-long road trip, and that’s just the beginning of what’s possible. Jim Wang of Wallet Hacks gets it. Do you? If You Don’t Understand the FIRE Movement, Read This.

Some people who retire early can feel a little lost and unfulfilled. I’m not convinced that Grant Sabatier from Millennial Money ever really slowed down, but he feels he could be doing something more. Are you selling yourself short? I think I am.

Are you on track for an early retirement? Live like a milllionaire and you just might be. Linda Vaughn of Boomer Money and More sounds the alarm. Warning! Failure to Live Like a Millionaire Will Derail Your Retirement.

OK, Boomer. [Sorry, couldn’t resist.]

While thinking twice about your spending habits, you should also Think Twice About Your Advisor according to an anonymous investment professional who wrote in to the White Coat Investor.

You might not need a financial advisor, says Mark Seed of My Own Advisor. Should You Become a DIY Investor?

If the answer is yes, this step-by-step guide will get you well on your way. 20 Steps to Becoming a DIY Investor.

Should you become a DIY realtor? I’ve sold 4 homes by owner, but I’ve never held a real estate license. Passive Income MD weighs the pros and cons of obtaining one. Should Doctors Get A Real Estate License?

She’s a professor and attorney with an MBA, and she lost most of her life savings, nearly a million dollars at the time. Linda Meltzer of the cents of money pens Why This Professor Quit Real Estate Investing.

A 35-year old psychiatrist lost almost a million dollars — his life savings — trading options on a single SPAC. He’s not the loser in this game. From Institutional Investor, How Millennial Investors Lost Millions on Bill Ackman’s SPAC.

You’re not likely going to make a million-dollar mistake, but there are plenty of ways to screw up disability insurance according to the White Coat Investor. He lays out 17 Physician Disability Insurance Mistakes to Avoid.

Michael Kitces thinks advisors should think twice about their clients. Are you a maximizer or a satisficer, and what does that mean for your money? The power of Developing A “Good Enough” Mindset To Increase Financial Contentment.

• Bonus: He and Carl Richards discuss associated topics on the Kitces and Carl podcast. Helping Clients To Stop Maximizing Their Wealth And Set Goals To Enjoy It Instead.

I’ll be maximizing someone’s earnings this week when a winner is chosen for my $1,500 Giveaway. One lucky winner gets $500 to spend at Amazon, craft beer delivered to their doorstep for 6 months, and free enrollment in WCI’s Fire Your Financial Advisor course. You’ve got 4 more days to earn entries in the drawing!

Here, Have Some Bitcoin

If you’ve got Crypto FOMO, there’s a super simple way to start accumulating the worlds’ most popular cryptocurrency. You don’t have to worry about hot wallets, cold wallets, encrypted keys, or lost passwords. You just need to use a particular credit card and your Bitcoin will start piling up.

The Upgrade Bitcoin Rewards Visa is a simple, no-annual-fee card that rewards each and every purchase with Bitcoin at a rate of 1.5% equivalent cash value. It works much like the Chase Freedom Unlimited card except that it pays out in Bitcoin.

You can either hold your Bitcoin or redeem for cash with a 1.5% transaction fee. Most Americans are eligible, but if you live in DC, HI, IN, IA, NE, NV, NH,NC, WV, or WI, you can’t get this card yet.

Learn More

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$1,328.80

That’s the size of the distribution I’ve received every month since investing in the IncomePlus Fund from Origin Investments. Unlike dividends from my taxable brokerage account, which are taxed at 20% to 30% or more for most physicians,  these payments from the evergreen real estate fund are engineerd to be tax-neutral. That is, depreciation is passed through, and some can be classified as return of principal, so that no income taxes are owed.

Additionally, the net asset value of my investment has grown from a unit value of $9.41 to $10.02 in the 11 months since I invested. Combining the roughyl 6% annual distributions with a nearly 7% gain in under a year, I’ve seen a 12.9% IRR after fees.

This exceeds the projected 9% to 11% from the IncomePlus Fund, but I’m not complaining. Investors who got in before I did at a $10 valuation pre-COVID have not fared as well on the capital appreciation side, but we’ve all gotten the same passive income stream.

As is typical with real estate funds and projects, this investment is open only to accredited investors with adequate income and/or net worth. There is risk in any investment like this, but I do take comfort in the fact that the company’s founders have much more of their own money invested in this than I do.

Learn how to better manage your student loan debt, and explore refinancing to a lower rate with cash back offers up to $1,000! Student Loan Resource Page

Peak Summer

This is why we moved to northern Michigan.

The humidity is gone, as is the haze from distant wildfires. We’ve got highs in the upper 70s, lows in the upper 50s, and abundant sunshine. Peak summer.

I’ll be spending a good amount of time on the lake this weekend. We’ve got to enjoy this while it lasts. A month from now, it will be early fall!

Wherever you are, I hope you are finding a way to enjoy what we’ve got left of summer. If you’re dealing with stifling heat, humidity, or the smoke from a distant fire, bring on the fall!

It would also be great if this Delta variant weren’t spreading like wildfire. Thank you for being vaccinated, treating sick patients, or whatever it is that you’re doing to be part of the solution to help end this pandemic.

Cheers to summer, your efforts, and good beer!

 

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Have an outstanding week!

-Physician on FIRE