Now that my updated list of physician FI bloggers is complete, I will start highlighting my favorite posts from these and other blogs every month. Here is the June 2026 edition, coming to you from Ko Pha Ngan in Thailand. I hope you’re enjoying your summer as much as I am!
Let’s start with an article from Physician in Numbers published on June 1st, “The Bet You Want to Lose.” PiN discusses insurance and succinctly sums up when you need it and when you don’t. I can’t put my finger on exactly why I like PiN’s blog so much, but I do!
Can I Retire Yet? asks, “What Risks Don’t You See?” I have thought about risk a lot the last few weeks, as I have been driving my kids around on a moped in Thailand, jumping off cliffs into the ocean, and taking them ziplining. Being an ER doctor for over 20 years makes me see the accidents that could happen, but I try hard not to let them paralyze me or prevent my kids from having some fun. Chris Mamula presents some financial risks that I (and you) probably don’t see. It’s a good refresher.
I know I give Physician on Fire a lot of grief, but I also try to give credit where it is due. And, PoF is due this month after writing “A Physician’s Guide to a Financially Healthy Marriage.” I’ve always said that the two most important decisions you make, in order, are with whom you have kids and who you marry.
While the article is long, and kind of wanders off topic at the end, it starts off with a bang: “Your partner’s relationship with money will do more to determine when you retire than every other financial decision you make combined. Most physicians have mapped every variable in their FIRE equation except the most important one.” Now that’s FIRE (in my 12-year-old’s slang)!
A guest post on the White Coat Investors caught my eye: Moving Abroad to Stretch Your Retirement Dollars. While I don’t think there is much new information in this post, it did provide some nice examples, including #4, an ER doctor who spent a year in Thailand. Hmmmm. I’m just visiting, I swear!
There haven’t been any new posts from Wealthy Doc, but I did notice that he uses a stock photo of Rebecca Givens on his blog’s landing page. Who is that, you might ask? Only the most overexposed stock photo model on the planet. Go ahead and look; you’ll probably recognize her. I read something recently about how she started doing stock photo shoots in the early 2010’s and has become the most famous face that no one knows. I couldn’t find the original article, so here is another one. I found it interesting, at least.
The Prudent Plastic Surgeon ended the month with How Doctors Can Use the No Surprises Act to Fight Underpayment. WARNING: This was a sponsored post, so take what you read with a grain of salt. However, this is the first time I can remember a physician finance blog touching on the No Surprises Act (NSA) and the Independent Dispute Resolution (IDR) system, and I’m glad he did, even if it’s just to make a buck.
The fact that the article is sponsored by a company trying to help doctors navigate the IDR process speaks volumes: the IDR process has become so complicated that physicians can’t do it alone, and even traditional billing companies can’t handle it properly. New, specialized companies have popped up to take over this arduous task. I’ve been meaning to write an article about this, so maybe PPS’s effort will inspire me to take it on.