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Each month we share the best resources we’ve found to help you save more, invest better, and retire sooner.

Popular topics are building wealth, DIY investing, creating retirement income, managing risk, and limiting your tax burden to enable you to use your money to build the life you want.

Early retirement frees up the time to ponder topics that tend to get neglected during careers. So while this is first and foremost a personal finance blog, we also share articles about traveling and seeking adventure, finding happiness, enhancing health, improving relationships, and finding meaning and purpose in life.

With that, enjoy May’s Best of the Web. . .

Advanced Investing/Planning Topics

Allan Roth writes Advanced Strategies for Investment Taxation.

Mike Piper provides a framework to incorporate Social Security into your overall retirement plan with Social Security: It Is an Asset, But Not a Bond.

Bud Boland asks Does It Make Sense to Buy Hybrid Long-Term Care Insurance? He makes an interesting case for transferring a permenant life insurance policy that you may not want or need to a potentially more beneficial product.

When I shared my investment portfolio last summer, several readers suggested in the comments that I should be utilizing ETFs because they are more tax efficient than index mutual funds in a taxable account. I argued there is no difference. So who was right? . . . We both were, because I use Vanguard index funds. This article from Bloomberg explains Vanguard Patented a Way to Avoid Taxes on Mutual Funds.

“Real World” Investing

There is a disconnect between DIY investors who follow the principles we regularly write about on this blog and the general public. Ryan Kelly wrote an excellent guest post for the White Coat Investor that illustrates the investing advice that many people using financial advisors receive and the astounding cost they pay for it. He writes 10 Things Form ADV2 Reveals and How it Can Save You Millions.

Looking at The Big Picture

Steve Chen looks at macro-economic trends and asks Could These Two Mega Trends Crush Your Retirement Plan?

Mistakes of Millionaires

ESI Money interviewed over 100 millionaires for his blog. He writes The Top Eight Areas Where Millionaires Make Money Mistakes.

Dave at Accidental Fire wrote about one mistake many millionaires make with Are You Wealthy, Successful, And Miserable?

Audio Gems

Morningstar’s Christine Benz is an excellent writer at Morningstar who we feature frequently in these monthly roundups. This month she and Jeff Ptak launched The Long View Podcast. Check it out, starting with the first episode: an interview with William Bernstein.

The What’s Up Next Podcast continues to add nuance and improve the conversation within the FIRE community. One of their best episodes was a debate that grew out of the question Do We Understand Risk?

Tim Ferriss interviewed wealth manager Peter Mallouk. The interview provides a sneak peak into the investing advice given to ultra-wealthy clients as well as fascinating insights into the biggest and most common mistakes wealthy people make and how Mallouk helps them course correct.

Heading Out for Summer

Mary writes the blog Reflections Around the Campfire, typically focusing on living an RV lifestyle. This month, she shifted her focus to personal finance, and did it well writing Knowledge is Power – and Sometimes it Translates into Cold Hard Cash Too.

When curating these monthly round-up posts, we generally look for valuable insights to help use your finances to improve your life. But there are exceptions to every rule! This last selection will provide you with nothing but a smile. As many of you are preparing for your own summer adventures around the campfire, we’ll close on a light note with a selection from Brendan Leonard who helps you figure out What Tent Is Wrong For You?

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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. After achieving financial independence, Chris began writing about wealth building, DIY investing, financial planning, early retirement, and lifestyle design at Can I Retire Yet? He is also the primary author of the book Choose FI: Your Blueprint to Financial Independence. Chris also does financial planning with individuals and couples at Abundo Wealth, a low-cost, advice-only financial planning firm with the mission of making quality financial advice available to populations for whom it was previously inaccessible. Chris has been featured on MarketWatch, Morningstar, U.S. News & World Report, and Business Insider. He has spoken at events including the Bogleheads and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants annual conferences. Blog inquiries can be sent to chris@caniretireyet.com. Financial planning inquiries can be sent to chris@abundowealth.com]