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

ESI Money‘s series has come a long way since I filled out Millionaire Interview #5.  There have been 195 more, and now there’s an online community where a number of us are gathering for fruitful discussion. More on that in a second, but first, here are five more millionaires:

• Millionaire Interview #196
• Millionaire Interview #197
• Millionaire Interview #198
• Millionaire Interview #199
• Millionaire Interview #200

Millionaire Money Mentors is a new premium online membership community where aspiring millionaires can be mentored by those who have found success. I’ve been a part of this growing group from its recent inception, and there are some great conversations going on.

John from ESI Money is a regular, along with a bunch of former interviewees like me for a current total of 62 millionaires and growing. It does cost money to participate, but there is an introductory discount offer for the next week, and a 7-day money-back guarantee if you just want to try it on for a few days.

Do you remember the RESET button from the original Nintendo Entertainment System? It got me out of a few jams. If only real life had one of those. Justin, a.k.a. Reset MD of the Reset Button Blog may be onto something, though. Confession From My Childhood: The Reset Button.

The Darwinian Doctor isn’t reflecting on his past; he’s glimpsing forward into the future to a time where he’ll feel no need for a reset button. Why I’m home for breakfast these days | Letters to my sons.

Keeping it all in the family, we jump to The White Coat Investor who answers a common question. Can I Employ My Spouse? Well, of course, you can. The better question to ask is “Should I Employ My Spouse?” Dr. Dahle answers that question, too.

The play here is usually to lower your tax burden. I managed to lower mine by more than 50% when you compare my 2019 total income to the taxable income. How’d we manage to do that? Our 2019 Tax Return Revealed: Total Income $522,662, Taxable Income $253,906.

People invest in municipal bonds to avoid taxes, as well. It doesn’t always work out as planned. James Enriquez of Adaptive Tax Planning explains Muni Bond Tax: 3 Situations Where “Tax-Free” Bonds Are Not.

Carl from 1500 Days peers into the near future when neither he nor his wife has paid employment. They’re also looking to make the taxman leaveth. Money Withdrawal Strategies (Keeping The Tax Man Away).

• Bonus: As more information was presented (by people like me in the comments section), they reconsidered and modified the plan a bit. Withdrawal Strategies Part 2: Roth Conversions, Health Care, And College.

“No lifestyle creep. I’m a frugal weirdo-o-oh. What the hell am I doing here? I don’t belong here.” -If Thom Yorke was a personal finance blogger. But hey, if you’re making more and more money, is a little lifestyle inflation OK [Computer]? Nick Magguilli from Of Dollars and Data dissects the details. How Much Lifestyle Creep is Okay?

The personal finance blogger behind Retire Before Dad had a 60-year old colleague keel over in his cubicle. That’s no way to go. Retiring before Dad is an aspiration. To Retire Before Dead should be an imperative.

What will your investment plan look like when you’re no longer working? The 1500s took a shot at it above. It’s Dr. Mitra Sadhu’s turn. My Retirement Asset Allocation at Physician Finance Basics.

Dr. Cory S. Fawcett of Financial Success MD has enough cash flow from rentals to fund his retirement, and he built that empire while practicing full-time as a small town general surgeon. He stresses The Importance of Automating Your Real Estate Investments.

• Bonus: He goes into great detail as to how one can accomplish this in The Doctors Course to Automating Your Real Estate Investments. If you choose to enroll before September is over, he’ll also give you a one-on-one hour-long coaching call and an autographed copy of one of his books!

If you don’t want dozens of doors but just one that you can enjoy from time to time while letting others pay the mortgage, Holly Johnson has written a guide for you at Good Financial Cents. How to Buy a Second Home that Pays for Itself.

If you’re looking at real estate simply as a hands-off investment and source of income, Crowdstreet may be more up your alley. A pandemic era update on one of the more popular classes of investment real estate.  What You Need to Know About Ground-Up Multifamily Development.

Passive Income MD came up with a different plan based on advice from a successful mentor. Buy One Property a Year and Retire Early.

Passive Income MD a.k.a. Dr. Peter Kim has also come up with a way to lower the cost of his annual Real Estate investing conference by 100%. Last year, you had to pay about $800 to register and find your way to Los Angeles. This year, you can see the entirety of PIMDCON 2020: The 2nd Annual Financial Freedom through Real Estate Conference in your pajamas and it won’t cost you a penny.

He’s got 20+ excellent speakers lined up for the virtual event, and there will be something for everyone no matter what style of real estate investing you’re interested in or what level of sophistication you’re after. Every talk will be available to registrants for 48 hours once released. Again, you have the option to watch them all for free. There will be an option to upgrade to a lifetime all-access pass if you’ve got other plans from October 9th to 11th.

To see the lineup of esteemed speakers (some familiar faces, no doubt), get an overview of the topics covered, and register so you won’t miss the event, click here.

The RV Was a Success!

Is your fall off to a good start? There’s a chill in the air, football on TV, and it’s starting to feel like a semi-normal fall, even though it’s not. We pulled our boat out of the water yesterday, an act which represents an even more official end to summer compared to the fall solstice.

Our first outing in the new-to-us travel trailer last weekend went very well. It’s really nice to have an apartment that you can take with you. After decades of tent camping, it’s a massive upgrade to have a refrigerator, oven, stovetop, toilet, and queen-sized memory foam bed to sleep in every night.

We had campfires every evening to stay warm outdoors and a space heater (with a propane furnace as backup) to keep us cozy every night. Without water hookups on-site, we had to fill the water tank when we arrived, but that gave us more than enough water for a few days as we used the camp showers rather than our own.

This feels like one of those lifestyle inflation deals where once you upgrade it’s really tough to go back. I can see us tent camping on some backpacking trips with the kids at some point, though. It’s tough to drag a travel trailer along on one of those.

How To Utilize Your Professional Skills as a Retiree

Divorce Checklist: Essential Steps to Plan for A Divorce

Medical Practice Valuation: Understanding the Process and Importance for Practice Owners

Have an outstanding week!

-Physician on FIRE