Best of the Web 7/11/22

A combination of summer travels and meeting demands of my CFP coursework have forced me to make changes to my routine. I’m finding it challenging to stay on a regular writing schedule. Simultaneously, I’m taking in more information than ever.

So I’m going to shift gears. Rather than publishing three weekly blog posts and a curated monthly round-up of what I’m reading, I’m going to start alternating between original articles and “Best of” posts every other week for the foreseeable future. 

I have some great resources to share today. Read to the end for a chance to win a book. Let’s dive in….

Is That What You Really Want?

Jillian Johnsrud provides perspective to help you initiate life changes now while figuring out what you really want for the long-term, writing How to Avoid Early Retirement Failure.

Clipping Chains is a regular in my podcast rotation, marrying my passions of adventure sports and financial independence. A recent interview with climber Peter Beal explores chasing the wrong goals, playing the long game to perform at a high level physically as we age, and balancing competing priorities in life. Peter Beal: Can You Afford to be Sponsored?

Making Fewer and Better Decisions

I recently republished one of my favorite posts on the blog, Darrow’s Financial Simplicity: What Is Your Time Worth?

Meg Bartelt puts a different spin on this important idea, writing Making Decisions is Exhausting. Rules and Automation Help You Make Fewer Decisions in Your Finances.

Many investors are feeling helpless with inflation soaring while virtually all asset classes held in traditional portfolios are falling. Nick Maggiulli reminds us that we still have many financial options, we just need to Think Outside the Portfolio.

Making More Informed Decisions

I retired early in large part due to my disgust working in the broken American health care system. In my 2nd act, I write about early retirement planning where the biggest challenge for many of us is bridging the gap to Medicare under….the broken American health care system. 

I continue to look for points of optimism. There was a positive development for health care consumers this month as health care prices are becoming more transparent. Julie Appleby writes How Much Health Insurers Pay for Almost Everything Is About to Go Public.

Hard Conversations

I’ve recently been studying estate planning and was shocked to learn that less than half of Americans have even a simple will. One commonly cited reason for this omission is our discomfort with thinking about our own mortality.

A recent news story reminds us of that ignoring these issues doesn’t make them go away. Anna Sulkin reports Chadwick Boseman’s Estate Reaches Amicable Agreement.

Thankfully, this one seemed to have a relatively nice outcome. Still, do your loved ones a favor and get your affairs in order now so they don’t have to deal with them while grieving.

Fritz Gilbert shares important lessons learned first hand. The Reality of Caring for Aging Parents.

JL Collins shared a reader case study: Helping Dad With an Inheritance.

Book Giveaway

I recently got to spend an evening with my friend Joe Saul-Sehy, host of the popular Stacking Benjamins Podcast. Joe was in town promoting his new book Stacked: Your Super-Serious Guide to Modern Money Management. I picked up a copy.

Sam Dogen, the author behind the long-running and always interesting blog The Financial Samuai has a book scheduled to release July 19th. It is titled Buy This, Not That: How to Spend Your Way to Wealth and Freedom. He sent me a galley a few months ago, and his publisher sent me a final version recently.

I’d love to pass my extra copies of each of these books on to a couple of readers who would like them. If you are interested, just leave me a comment stating which book you are interested in. This Friday, I’ll randomly choose two winners.

Reminder: you can leave just a first name or pseudonym in the comments, but to be eligible you will need to enter your email (which will not display publicly) so I can reach you and get shipping information.

Good luck and have a great month!

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[Chris Mamula used principles of traditional retirement planning, combined with creative lifestyle design, to retire from a career as a physical therapist at age 41. After poor experiences with the financial industry early in his professional life, he educated himself on investing and tax planning. Now he draws on his experience to write about wealth building, DIY investing, financial planning, early retirement, and lifestyle design at Can I Retire Yet? Chris has been featured on MarketWatch, Morningstar, U.S. News & World Report, and Business Insider. He is also the primary author of the book Choose FI: Your Blueprint to Financial Independence. You can reach him at chris@caniretireyet.com.]

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