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?
It took me a little time to sort through my options:
- I don’t want to gamble. Even if I did, the casinos were too smoky for someone coming down with a cold.
- A show? Maybe I’d like to see a spectacular Las Vegas show, but we were jet lagged in the wrong direction, and feeling sick, and would likely be falling asleep before the show was over.
- A buffet? I’m not sure I need to go–my waistline would say not–but my husband is looking hungry, and very interested in this option. I’m interested too.
In the end, we walked to a lovely and extravagant buffet (at Paris), had a nice time trying things we would never get at home, and walked back to our own hotel. By then, my cold had caught up with me, and that was the end of our adventures.
As it happens, I was sick enough on my return, that few friends or co-workers wanted to hang out with me long enough to hear about the trip anyway!
I bring up this story not only to talk about that tasty buffet, but to ponder the power of other peoples’ expectations–aka peer pressure, highly related to keeping up with the Jones.
When so many people can offer an opinion on what you should do, it can be very hard to decide what you would like to do. I think that might be part of leads people–especially doctors–astray when it comes to financial decisions. Managing the leap from trainee to attending is a key juncture. If you can temper your lifestyle inflation for a few years, you can come out far ahead of others.
You will hear things like: you have a good job now. You should buy a house! A new car! Go on a fancy vacation! Live it up a little!
One of my patients was shocked (truly shocked) that I didn’t have a cleaning lady.
It’s true, when you do have a good job, you should allow yourself a somewhat nicer lifestyle after residency. But make sure it’s what you want and something you can afford.
Car’s falling apart and you don’t trust it on a trip over 20 miles? Get a better one, no question. If you like the Honda Civic just fine, there’s no need to get a BMW.
Tired of living in a dark basement studio apartment? Spring for a nice 1-bedroom if you want one, maybe even one with a view. No need to buy a 4 bedroom townhome with a 2 car garage right now if you are single.
Excited to see friends and relatives you haven’t seen for years because of school schedules and rotations? Go visit. It’s usually a cheap vacation, and it builds relationships. Exotic vacations in 5-star hotels can wait a bit longer.
Listen to your heart–you may find you are happier in that 1-bedroom apartment with your 3 year old car, with paid-off student loans, rather than worrying about maintaining your big house with its big mortgage.
Are you attending? What was your big splurge when you started getting your bigger paycheck? And was it worth it? Not yet at that stage? What are you dreaming about?