Last week, I posted about how my wife and I are challenging ourselves to buy nothing for one year (with exceptions, of course). Upon hearing this, a few of my coworkers were understandably skeptical. They tell me "You make a decent amount of money. Why challenge yourself to buy nothing?" I respond with a simple "I don't have to buy anything to make me happy." To an outsider who … [Read more...] about Conscious Consumerism: How a Frugal Minimalist Justifies Buying Things
Challenge Accepted: Buy Nothing for 1 Year
The Challenge Yup, you read correctly. The challenge is to buy NOTHING for a year. While it might sound ridiculous, I think it's a great way to practice mindfulness, frugality, and minimalism. The originator of this "experiment" was The Happy Philosopher, who then inspired others to join in on this challenge, including EJ from Dads, Dollars, Debts. Initially, The Happy … [Read more...] about Challenge Accepted: Buy Nothing for 1 Year
Making Easy Money and Manufacturing Points
Background In addition to paying your taxes online, purchasing gift cards using credit cards is perfect for manufacturing points and racking up travel rewards. This especially makes sense if you have a credit card that maximizes spending bonuses and you have an immediate use for the gift cards. For instance, if I need to buy a ladder, I could purchase a Home Depot gift card … [Read more...] about Making Easy Money and Manufacturing Points
Make an Easy Profit by Paying your Taxes
Tax time... Some time last quarter, I became a partner of our anesthesia group (hooray!). All of a sudden, I was no longer a W-2 employee who had taxes withheld by my employer. So now as a partner (and not an employee), I have to pay my own estimated taxes every quarter through Form 1040-ES. At first, I had mixed feelings. It feels fantastic to have a lot more money … [Read more...] about Make an Easy Profit by Paying your Taxes
The First Rule of Travel Hacking Club is…
...You tell everybody about the Travel Hacking club by posting your best picture of yourself on instagram with the hashtag #takemeback so that everybody and their mom can see how cool you are :). In all seriousness, it is a cool and sexy club. And despite the terminology, it's not illegal and it doesn't involve any kind of wrongdoing whatsoever. Essentially, … [Read more...] about The First Rule of Travel Hacking Club is…
Financial Independence New Year’s Resolutions
Happy New Year everyone! 2018 is finally here and it's that time again to set goals for the year. I know, I know... most people give up on their new year's resolutions by mid-February, so why do it anyway? The simple answer is... it's hard to accomplish anything if you don't set goals. The key to successfully achieving your goals is to set SMARTer goals that are Specific … [Read more...] about Financial Independence New Year’s Resolutions
Home: There’s no place I’d rather be
Life on the west coast, lounging by the beach, looking at the sunset, living the dream. My wife and I live in Southern California and we love it! But isn't California expensive? Yes, it is. And as a physician, I am well aware that living in California doesn't make financial sense. Through geographic arbitrage, physicians can both increase income and reduce living costs by … [Read more...] about Home: There’s no place I’d rather be