IM-PCP – Page 17 – Physician In Numbers

Why I Update My Net Worth Every Year

Every year, at the end of the year, I calculate my (liquid) net worth, and review my spending for the year that is finishing up.

I have done this for over two decades, and have come to realize that I don’t do this (only) for the pleasure of seeing an ever-increasing number. Especially for 2022.

There are a few other valuable aspects of this exercise, which have benefited my finances greatly over the years.

I will review my annual spending in another post, but in this one, I will go over my net worth update, and offer some thoughts about why you too might benefit from such a practice.

Fitness Log #231 And Friday Firsts

I have been keeping track of my exercise every Friday for 4 years, and plan to continue doing so.

I started the Friday Firsts sections as a way of keeping track of some of my “firsts” as I dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic. Things seem to be settling down, but I will keep it for now–more as a way to be aware and thankful of what is happening in my life.

Fitness Log #230, Some Fabulousness, And My Monthly Goals Check-In

I have been keeping track of my exercise every Friday for 4 years, and plan to continue doing so.

My Future Me posts have been postponed well past 3-4 months a few times in the recent past, enough that I forgot about some of my goals that I was (supposedly) working on. We will see if a monthly check-in might help me stay focused.

Chasing The First Social Security Bendpoint

A few weeks ago, Mr. PiN surprised me. He announced that he wanted to earn some more money, in order to boost his Social Security paycheck.

I had brought this up a few years ago, when I first read this post from Physician on Fire about the Social Security bend points.

My takeaway at the time was that, for people with a lower earnings history, Social Security is set up to replace more of the income. Because the benefit is calculated on lifetime earnings, if you were in the workforce long enough to qualify for benefits, but didn’t earn tons, you can get a pretty good return on your efforts if you work and earn a bit more.

Fitness Log #229

I have been keeping track of my exercise every Friday for 4 years, and plan to continue doing so.

Money Isn’t The Most Important Thing

I enjoy reading a number of blog posts every day, and like to highlight some of my favorites in a (mostly) monthly post. However, life got busy in December, and I fell behind. Below are some of the posts that resonated most with me over the past five (!) months. Considering all of the upheaval in my personal life, I am not surprised to see that only a few are purely about money.

Fitness Log #228 And Friday Firsts And Fun

I have been keeping track of my exercise every Friday for 4 years, and plan to continue doing so.

Future Me, March 2023

Not long after the start of this blog, I cut my hours very slightly, and wanted to make sure I didn’t waste the extra time I was paying dearly for.

I had started reading about preparing for retirement in non-financial ways, and I realized that it was time to start (re-) building a life that didn’t revolve solely around medicine.

I started this series of posts at the end of October 2018 with lots of big goals, but even at the beginning, knew that I couldn’t follow all those dreams all at once. Every few months, I try to look at what I have accomplished, and see if I can adjust course to focus my free time in the directions I wish I would go: increasing fitness, building (or maintaining) connections with friends, family and community, engaging with the arts, and, lately, keeping up with financial tasks.

My last update was in early October 2022, and I had planned to update more frequently, hopefully a quarterly basis. However, everything was upended with my father’s illness, and eventual passing. Catching COVID in the fall wasn’t so great either.

I suppose now is as good a time as any to look back on the past 3, 4, 5 months, and think about what would be reasonable goals between now and my Summer post.

To make future posts on Future Me easier–and to keep me a little more focused on my goals, and to celebrate my wins–I may start writing about them monthly on my Friday posts (stay tuned).

Fitness Log #227 And Friday Fabulousness

I have been keeping track of my exercise every Friday for 4 years, and plan to continue doing so.

Lessons Learned From My Spending As A New Attending

Match Day has come and gone. It’s time to think about next steps as everyone still in training moves on to the next level.

Fourth year medical students know where they will be going in June.

Residents who are going on to fellowship have known about their next destination for a few months.

Those finishing training in 3 months will (hopefully) be moving on to a practice that excites them. And pays a lot more than a resident salary.

The move from resident to attending salary holds plenty of opportunity: to spend more, to save more, to make plans that can affect your financial life for years to come.

When I graduated residency, I did not have a very clear plan for my finances. There really wasn’t much out there to guide people who were going to see a large increase in income.

I muddled along, making some good moves, and some not-so-good moves. I periodically look back at the choices I made, and I thought I might share some lessons I take away from my spending at that time, in the hopes it helps you make your own plans (or maybe let you know you are not alone if you have made similar choices yourself).