This month marks nine years since I retired from practicing medicine.At age 54, even though my wife, an accountant, assured me we were financially ready for retirement, I wondered if we had enough passive income and retirement savings to meet our needs for the rest of our lives. I also wondered if I would miss … 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
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
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
Everyone has an idea of what they want their retirement years to be like. But when we finally pull the trigger and retire, we are traversing a new path for the first time. With no prior experience, we are likely to hit some snags. It’s best to learn about these snags from others and not … Read more
(The photo with this article is the view I have as I write this from a timeshare resort in Escondido, California. I couldn’t travel as much if I was still working.) I’m a physician who retired from medicine early, based on most people’s thinking. But at what age is retirement early? The Social Security department … Read more
(Keep an eye out for my upcoming book The Doctors Guide to Finding Joy in Your Work. We can all use a little more joy in our lives and this book, which will be available March 11th on Amazon, will help you attain it.) This month marks eight years since I left the hospital as … 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
Why do so many physicians complain about not having enough money? Almost every physician’s earnings are in the top 10% of income earners in the country. Yet we feel broke, even those who make $600k a year. The median household income in the United States is about $75k. The average physician’s income is more than … Read more
There are times in life when we stand at a fork in the road where our future can be greatly altered. Once we choose which tine of the fork to take, it sets in motion many changes that can lead to very different outcomes. When I was recently asked to perform in a musical, I … Read more