As I noted in my post about my net worth at the end of 2023, said net worth went up quite a bit since the beginning of 2023. Actually, it went up by a lot. I’m still thinking about my annual spending for 2023, but it’s clear that my net worth is more than 25 times that amount. My net worth is even more than 25 times my expected spending, i.e. my current spending, plus extra spending to cover health insurance costs, increased travel, anticipated large costs in the future (a new car, a new roof, etc.) According to guidelines suggested by the Trinity study, if I have assets (liquid assets, no les ..read more

I have just returned from WCICON24 (The White Coat Investor Physician Wellness and Financial Literacy Conference) in Orlando. I have been wanting to go to this conference since the first one was announced in 2018, and was super-excited to finally go this year. It didn’t hurt that I was worn out and looking forward to some time away from all the craziness at home. I tried writing down a pearl from each lecture. It wasn’t always the point of the talk, and towards the end of the meeting, I skipped a few. I thought I might share them with you. I added a few other thoughts about the meeting as well ..read more

Every year, for over 20 years, I take time at the end of the year to look at my finances. (Now “our finances,” but considering who does most of the number crunching, I will continue in the first person for this post.) I calculate my liquid worth, I review my spending in the year just past, and then take a look at my savings goals for the coming year. I think these exercises have been helpful over the years, and not just because they tend to keep me off the roads around a dangerous holiday. They keep me honest about my debts and spending, and force me to prioritize financial goals over the comi ..read more

Not long after the start of this blog, I cut my hours very slightly, and wanted to make sure I didn’t waste the extra time I was paying dearly for. I had started reading about preparing for retirement in non-financial ways, and I realized that it was time to start (re-) building a life that didn’t revolve solely around medicine. I started this series of posts at the end of October 2018 with lots of big goals, but even at the beginning, knew that I couldn’t follow all those dreams all at once. Every few months, I try to look at what I have accomplished, and see if I can adjust course to focus m ..read more

Not long after the start of this blog, I cut my hours very slightly, and wanted to make sure I didn’t waste the extra time I was paying dearly for. I had started reading about preparing for retirement in non-financial ways, and I realized that it was time to start (re-) building a life that didn’t revolve solely around medicine. I started this series of posts at the end of October 2018 with lots of big goals, but even at the beginning, I knew that I couldn’t follow all those dreams all at once. Every few months, I try to look at what I have accomplished, and see if I need to adjust course: inc ..read more

It has been a long week. In fact, it has been a long few months, with not enough vacation time to break it up. While on a walk home, I started thinking about what my schedule might look like if I cut back to very part time, just working enough to qualify for health coverage. In my mind, it sounded very pleasant. My friend, who has decided to work One More Year, will actually be doing this in a few weeks. She is suddenly a good deal more interested in having me cut back as well, so we can have more time to socialize together. She asked if I could afford to do so. Can I afford to keep up my ward ..read more

Not long after the start of this blog, I cut my hours very slightly, and wanted to make sure I didn’t waste the extra time I was paying dearly for. I had started reading about preparing for retirement in non-financial ways, and I realized that it was time to start (re-) building a life that didn’t revolve solely around medicine. I started this series of posts at the end of October 2018 with lots of big goals, but even at the beginning, knew that I couldn’t follow all those dreams all at once. Every few months, I try to look at what I have accomplished, and see if I can adjust course to focus m ..read more

As seems to happen at least once a year, Mr. PiN and I are reconsidering our decision to run our household with just one car. Once again, Mr. PiN had to be out of town for a family medical emergency. This time, he left the car here (he flew), but the situation was still pretty inconvenient for me. Even better, the “check engine” light came on right before he left. Is it time, we wonder, to get a second car? I’ve written before about the financial advantages we enjoy by owning just one car: We only have to pay for one car at a time. Ownership costs are lower. Think: insurance, registration, in ..read more

Going through old mail on my first day of vacation, I realized that I had not deposited any money into my niece and nephews’ 529 plans this year. I dug out the quarterly account updates, with attached contribution forms. The plan helpfully shows the current totals in each account, and, on another page, the contributions to date. Reviewing these numbers, I thought it might be worthwhile going over why I think putting money in a 529 plan is worthwhile, even if my strategy isn’t perfect. As a side note, they also show why investing over time is a great idea. What is a 529 plan? First, a recap of ..read more

It’s that time of year, when people seem to be asking more questions about how to manage their money. I suppose it has to do with the turning of the (academic) year, as medical students graduate, and start earning an income; as residents and fellows graduate and look forward to earning a much larger income; and as new attendings finish their first 1-2 years, and wonder where all their money went. I thought I would share the best financial advice I’ve ever read, and talk about why I think it makes the biggest impact on someone’s financial health. To be fair, there are many excellent books on pe ..read more