The year seems to fly by faster every time I write this letter. I hope you all had a good year. Keith: Our youngest son is working for the power company, trimming the trees back from the power lines. He has always liked heights much more than the rest of us. In his climbing class, … Read more
As another year ends, there are a few tasks we should all consider completing. Some of the tasks have penalties assessed if they are not completed on time and others just lead to a lost opportunity if the deadline is missed. I missed a big opportunity the year I retired when I didn’t realize my … Read more
Could Someone Use a Thank You? Can you remember the last time someone told you thanks? How did it make you feel? I can remember a particularly low time in my career when I felt I was not making an impact. I realized one of the reasons I felt that way was because no one … Read more
I just returned from a nine-day mission trip to Mexico with eight other adults. This happens to be the same trip my son made with our church’s youth group 18 years ago. My contribution for his trip was to write a check. When I heard about this opportunity, my first thought was to write another … Read more
Do you have difficulty spending money you’ve saved? The title of this article was a recent comment from someone who just inherited a lot of money and was afraid to spend any of it. For a lot of people who have been aggressively saving money, spending the money is a hard thing to do. “Never … Read more
When I discuss living on half of one’s income, I’m almost always met with, “that would be impossible for me.” They say it as if it were a fact, that some outside source is preventing them from living on significantly less than they make. This outside source is somehow keeping them from saving a good … Read more
We have become very attached to being instantly available to our friends, relatives and coworkers. We have also become accustomed to having the internet at our fingertips. So, last week while I was on vacation, I was forced off the grid. Some things about this experience were good and others not so much. When my … Read more
When was the last time you asked yourself, “What is most important to me right now?” The most important thing in our live changes frequently. But if we don’t ask the question, we might not be putting our effort where it counts. A big component of burnout is realizing that we have filled our day … Read more
Most people do not like to make a budget. Thus, excuses for why they don’t budget abound. Medical students don’t have an earned income, so they think they don’t need a budget. Residents believe they don’t have time to make a budget. Attendings say they make so much money they don’t need a budget. Each … Read more
When I was 25 years old and in my third year of medical school, I laid out a plan to make me financially secure and able to retire by age 50. I began by calculating an estimate of the monthly income I would need during my retirement years. I then converted that to how big … Read more