The Sunday Best (9/23/2018)

The Sunday Best is a collection of articles I’ve curated for your reading pleasure.

Expect most of the writing to be from recent weeks and consistent with the themes presented on this website: investing & taxes, financial independence, early retirement, and physician issues.

Presenting, this week’s Sunday Best:

I had a great conversation with Deacon Hayes of Well Kept Wallet the other day that led to me registering pofire.com among other things. Listen in to our convo in Episode 116: How to Become Financially Independent at Age 39.

I don’t often kick the Sunday Best off with two podcasts, but it would be a crime not to share the recent chat between two of the best in the business. Dr. Nii Darko appears on The White Coat Investor show: An Interview with Dr. Nii Darko from Docs Outside the Box – Podcast #71.

• Bonus: Dr. Darko interviews Dr. Dahle in DocsOTB Episode 006 – Get a Fair Shake on Wall Street with The White Coat Investor

Physicians are human. We make mistakes, and we learn from them. Half a dozen physician bloggers, including me, share some of ours so that you can learn from us. From Physician Sense, These Finance-Savvy Doctors Made These Big Mistakes so You Don’t Have To.

Misconceptions are mistakes of assumption and there are a lot of them surrounding the FIRE movement. Joel at FI180 does some serious myth-busting in Misconceptions of FI.

One of the misconceptions about early retirees is that they stop being productive when leaving a normal job behind. Mr. Money Mustache certainly didn’t, and neither have Garrett or Claudia of Two Cup House, which is why she says, “I am Mr. Money Mustache.”

For an in-depth overview of what the FIRE movement without the misconceptions, check out fatFIRE fan Michael’s massive post at Financially Alert. The Ultimate FIRE Guide: Unlocking the Secrets of the Modern Financial Independence, Retire Early Movement.

Mr. & Mrs. PIE from Plan Invest Escape are learning about the RE part of FIRE, having moved to the mountains with their children. Channeling Adele, she belts out 100 Days of Early Retirement: Hello from the Other Side.

Some physicians think it’s never OK to retire. Or work less. Or sleep well. Crispy Doc struggles to understand where this perception of mandatory Martyrdom in Medicine comes from. So do I.

Dr. Cory S. Fawcett put himself through a different kind of suffering. Like him, I failed the first time I attempted this feat, but I returned to ring the bell triumphantly. Finally Reaching the Top.

The Physician Philosopher has been interviewing everyday doctors for his physician finance series. Get your money voyeurism on in the first five posts in the series:

• Physician Finance Interview #1
• Physician Finance Interview #2
• Physician Finance Interview #3
• Physician Finance Interview #4
• Physician Finance Interview #5

Rice and Beans

Misconceptions were highlighted in an article above, and one of the biggest that I frequently see is that early retirees are exiting the workforce to live a deprived life. That couldn’t be further from the truth for the vast majority of retirees I know.

They are living rich lives with well-rounded diets that may or may not include rice and beans, but if they opt for that dish, it’s generally not out of necessity, but personal preference. I’m more of a steak and potatoes guy, but I eat a lot of seafood, and often pair shrimp or salmon with rice, but I’ve never been a bean guy.

It isn’t about the food, though. It’s about living life on your own terms at a level of spending that makes you happy with ample time to spend with friends and family while pursuing interests that may involve leisure, work or a happy combination of both.

I’m not a rice and beans guy in either the literal sense of eating the dish or in the figurative sense of retiring on an especially light budget. I encourage people who aren’t quite sure to go ahead and work one more year. Our retirement will more closely resemble a fatFIRE existence.

That being said, I have no qualms with people who crave the staple of rice and beans or who plan to go the leanFIRE route where more expensive groceries are prioritized lower than the freedom to spend more time with family friends and pursuing various passions.

Life is a choose-your-own adventure game. We all get to turn to the page of our choosing. I’ll choose my pages, and you can choose yours. Live and let live.

Thank you, Krygowskis and Friends!

The other night, B.C. Krygowski and her gracious husband invited us into their home for an evening for a potluck dinner with friends and neighbors, several of whom were at least aware of this website, if not true fans.

It was delightful to chat with folks of a similar mindset who are also pursuing this path towards financial independence without making major sacrifices today. It was also splendid to partake in a few of the delicious Cigar City ales that are ubiquitous down here in Tampa.

The Krygowskis also put us up for the night, and our two boys got along great with their two boys, which is very reassuring as we are now all aboard a cruise ship together for the next few days. In addition to the Krygowski clan (it’s fun to say — Krygowski), we’re also joined by:

• Mr. & Mrs. WOW from Waffles on Wednesday
• Dr. & Mrs. Cory S. Fawcett, published author and blogger.
• Nomads with a Vision
• Frugally Reckless
• Wall Street is Waiting
• The man behind FIRE Up the Couch, which will likely be launched after FinCon.

We’ll be in Key West today, and Havana, Cuba tomorrow. When we return, FinCon will be kicking off when we return. Our week at Disney World was awesome, and I’ll write much more about that later. Life remains busy, but as fun as ever.

Have an outstanding week!

-Physician on FIRE