Debt Free DDS’ Friday Favorites are a collection of this past week’s (or month’s or year’s if still relevant) financial blog posts, articles, or other resources. These are resources I have found very helpful for me on my journey to becoming debt free, financially literate, and financially independent. I believe they will help you too.
If you need help with financial education resources, please see my Financial Eduction Resources tab. If you are drowning in student loan like I once was, start by refinancing them to get a lower interest rate. See my Student Loan refinancing tab for great options. And if you don’t feel like you know enough to manage your own finances and you need help, see my Financial Planning Services tab for help.
Debt Free DDS’ Friday Favorites
1)It’s a new year and you might be looking to do a Backdoor Roth IRA again. If you think you can’t contribute to a Roth IRA, you likely can via the back door. Investopedia had an article this week that will help you know how to do it. I recommend anyone looking for more tax and asset protected accounts to invest in, look into a Backdoor Roth IRA.
2) I generally recommend passive index funds for investing in stocks and bonds. So naturally this article on Bloomberg piqued my interest. Are there problems if everyone only uses passive indexed funds? Probably. But there are enough people who love to trade stocks and still think they can beat the market. The article is very informative, but I’m still not worried.
3)Retiring early is the second part of the FIRE movement. Is that the only treatment for your stress or burnout at work? Probably not. Read here on ThinkSaveRetire for other insights into treating your burnout besides just retiring early.
4)Did you buy too much house. Or do you want to buy a “doctor” home right out of school? You probably should rethink that. Being house poor is one of the best ways to not achieve financial independence early or possibly ever. Get Rich Slowly had a great blog post by someone who made the decision to sell their dream home to get control of their debt. The better thing to do is to never make that purchase in the first place until you can afford it. Being able to make the monthly payments doesn’t mean you can afford it. Are your student loans and other consumer debts paid off? Is saving at least 20% towards retirement financial independence (30-40% if you want to retire early) happening? Are you maxing out your retirement accounts? Can you pay at least 20% down? These are things to consider before buying your “doctor” home.
5)Do you have a financial advisor? Are you planning on hiring one? As you know, I don’t use one. I don’t think it is a bad thing to have one. That is, if you are careful who you hire. The Physician on Fire had a great guest post called “Confessions of an EX-AUM Financial Advisor”. You should read it if you have a financial advisor or ever plan on hiring one.
This week’s recommendation
Every dentist, physician, high income professional, or anyone really should read “The Millionaire Next Door”. It made me realize that most people really can become millionaires and become financially independent through hard work, frugality, and being smart with your money. We as high income professionals even have it easier to do this because of our income. Sadly, there are far too many dentists and other professionals that make a lot of money but also spend a lot. They build a collection of stuff, but not wealth. This book also helped give me ideas on how to teach my kids about money. It is a great read that will help you have a good mind set about what to do with your money. I highly recommend it.
You don’t have to be a slave to debt. Together we can become debt free (and financially literate, and financially independent).
-Debt Free DDS
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