January 2019 – Physician In Numbers

Book Decluttering Challenge

I love to read. I love to re-read my favorite books. My goal as a kid was to read every book in my local library. I didn’t know about their practice of deaccessioning to make room for new books; that would have been a Sisyphean task had I taken it seriously.

I’ve spent a good part of my adult life accumulating quite a library: favorite books, hard-to-replace books, just-in-case-guests-need-something-to-read books.

However, I am starting to feel a bit overwhelmed by all my possessions. Last autumn, I started to think about getting rid of a particular bookshelf, but I knew I’d have to deal with all the books it holds.

Retrospective Budgeting: the 50/20/30 Rule

One of my big financial regrets is not having a better plan for my money when I started my first attending job and finally started making the big bucks. Which, since I went into primary care, wasn’t all that big an amount compared to what other specialties can make.

At the time, blogs weren’t quite as much a thing, and personal finance blogs weren’t nearly as easy to find as they are now.

I thought it might be interesting to apply a few of the financial rules of thumb to my starting salary, and see how I did. I will also think about running similar numbers of someone starting out in 2019.

Fitness Log #16

One of the favorite things I have heard from a patient is: you’re a doctor, you don’t have to worry about blood pressure. Implying, of course, that doctor’s don’t struggle with their health.

I most certainly do struggle with fitness and health, like many other Americans with sedentary jobs and a proclivity to eat treats. One of my goals is to make sure that I get my 150 minutes a week of moderate exercise (or 75 minutes of high intensity exercise, which probably won’t happen). I will see for how long I am willing to document my progress Saturday to Friday.

This week, I was feeling better, but my Fitbit went on the fritz (it needed a new battery). I have lots of guesstimates of how long I walked this week. Luckily, or unluckily, I still wasn’t back to my usual state of health, so the numbers (and errors) are small.

Other People and Your Money, or Managing Expectations

During my recent travels, I had the unusual experience of finding myself with an extra, unplanned day in Las Vegas. The weather had turned bad at our next destination, and my spouse and I chose to reroute, rather than driving on icy roads in a rented car.

Once we had new plans, the question became: what to do with ourselves? We had already done what we had planned (see the Strip on New Year’s Eve, which was a blast!), but now we had another 24 hours.

A peculiar thing happened: I started thinking about what I would tell friends and co-workers about this extra day. I could hear them saying: you didn’t go to a show? Eat at a buffet? Gamble?

Stepping onto the hedonic treadmill

My husband and I have been traveling to visit family recently, and with one thing and another, have had the opportunity to go through the TSA Precheck line, and also to use Priority Pass membership (free with our credit card) to get into airport lounges. Benefiting from these programs was very pleasant, but also thought-provoking.

Fitness Log #15

One of the favorite things I have heard from a patient is: you’re a doctor, you don’t have to worry about blood pressure. Implying, of course, that doctor’s don’t struggle with their health.

This week I certainly struggled with my health, all thanks to that viral illness that started last week. I had hoped to increase my exercise regimen for the new year, and instead had to work on rest and recuperation.

In retrospect, I wonder what exactly I picked up while traveling.

Shop Your Closet or Clear the Clutter?

It seems minimalism is all the rage these days on the Internet. Or Netflix, with Marie Kondo’s series. I see the appeal: it’s easier to find what you have, it’s easier to clean a house with less stuff, owning less saves you money and is good for the environment. I myself find that a cluttered–or just full–room makes me cranky and/or anxious. My friends keep posting links to this NY Times article, which makes me think I’m not the only one with this issue.

However, I also grew up in a house that contained many things–some useful, some clutter, some beautiful decorations and mementos. My parents have been able to provide a number of very helpful hand me downs to their children, such as lamps, tables, dishes, and towels only by saving their old items until we needed them.

Living as I do now–in an older home without a ton of storage–I find myself torn between two schools of thought. Keep things I might need, or clear out unused items. Shop my closet, or clear the clutter.

What I Do Every New Year’s For My Finances

Every year for over a decade, I have taken time around the turn of the year to do the following:

Calculate my net worth
Review and categorize my spending
Write down goals for my money, and decide how I will fund them.

I recommend this as a yearly exercise for those who want to keep an eye on their money.

This year, thanks to my travel plans, I got to this a little later than usual. I thought I would go through the process here for you.

Fitness Log #14

One of the favorite things I have heard from a patient is: you’re a doctor, you don’t have to worry about blood pressure. Implying, of course, that doctor’s don’t struggle with their health.

This week I was traveling for family visits, and struggling with viral illness (mine, and my husband’s). Despite that, I still exercised much more than during my usual work week.

Can I Still Afford to Max Out My Retirement Savings?

I recently received an e-mail from work, reminding me that for 2019, the maximum pre-tax contribution to the 403(b) has gone up. For those under 50, it has increased from $18,500 to $19,000; for those 50 or older (including those who turn 50 in 2019), the maximum has gone from $24,500 to $25,000.

I was reminded–yet again–that turning 50 is a special time. As a PCP, I usually have other issues on the brain when thinking about this landmark year.