August 2020 – Physician In Numbers

Monday Melange: Medicine

I have been saving links to posts by other people for over a year. Some of these posts just struck my fancy at the time, others I find myself thinking about for weeks or months afterwards. I would like to share them with others, rather than hoarding them on my list of saved posts. I hope some of them speak to you as well.

It’s almost September, and another year has started at the medical school. In honor of those eager, earnest students I see (and in memory of the eager, earnest student I once was), here are some articles I have saved about…Medicine. With some segues into health, finance, the business of medicine, and the meaning of life.

Fitness Log #97 And Friday Firsts

I have been keeping track of my exercise every Friday for over a year, and plan to continue doing so.

During this pandemic, though, things change so rapidly, I want to acknowledge some of the ways we are coping with it. I am keeping track of some of my “firsts” as I deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.

How To Retire Earlier

When I worked through my retirement numbers earlier this month, I was pretty excited to see how things worked out as far as retiring before age 65. I thought that 5 years from now, I might not have quite enough money, but should be in a position to start making firmer plans. I.e. retirement would be affordable just a few years after that.

After a few days, though, I realized that I would like the freedom to leave work sooner. Working another 5 years and then recalculating how much more I’d need to save–this started to sound like an interminable process.

Surely, I thought, I can make things go faster.

Fitness Log #96 And Friday Firsts

I have been keeping track of my exercise every Friday for over a year, and plan to continue doing so.

How Much Finances Can Improve In 5 Years

I wrote this on Mother’s Day, or, in my household, Step-Mother’s Day. My husband was kind enough to give me a card, and we spent a little time reminiscing, especially about the 5 years since our son graduated from college. Talking about his life doesn’t seem appropriate for this blog; but looking back to his graduation, we were amazed at how much more stressful our finances were then, compared with the life we have arranged for ourselves now.

Fitness Log #95 And Friday Firsts

I have been keeping track of my exercise every Friday for over a year, and plan to continue doing so.

Are We There Yet?

I stayed home from work for nearly a month this summer. It took a while to adjust to the slower pace, to find meaning and accomplishment in my day, but I did. I very much enjoyed waking up without an alarm, spending time with my husband, and getting chores done around the house. On the eve of returning to my regular, full-time work week, I found myself asking: can I retire yet?

Fitness Log #94 And Friday Firsts

I have been keeping track of my exercise every Friday for over a year, and plan to continue doing so.

Summer Memories

Today I went out for what was supposed to be a short walk. It ended up going much longer than I expected–both distance walked and years traversed.

I live far enough away from where I grew up that the flora and fauna aren’t quite the same, nor is the weather. Today, however, it was similar enough that memories of summers decades past came back to visit me as I walked.

One Year Without Mortgage Payments

In some ways I can’t quite believe it has been a year since I paid off the mortgage. Something that was the focus of so much of my attention, scheming, and calculating, is now just history.

On the other hand, the downstream consequences of paying off the mortgage kept showing up months after the actual event.

I thought it might be worthwhile to go over the past year without mortgage payments, and review the different ways my life has changed because of it. I break this down into three different categories: new bills from the loss of the escrow account, increased cash flow without the monthly mortgage payments, and changes in attitude.

In case anyone reading plans to pay off their mortgage soon, I have a few recommendations at the end.