IM-PCP – Page 46 – Physician In Numbers

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.

Fitness Log #93 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.

Monday Melange: Travel Points

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.

I love, love, love stories about travel hacking. Not the low stakes stories of: I had to rush home for an emergency and saved a few hundred dollars on a last minute ticket using miles. No, I like the big shebang: look at this crazy thing I did for free (or nearly free).

Fitness Log #92 And Friday Firsts

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

There’s No Place Like Home

I must confess, I have been enjoying spending more time at home.

Between stay-at-home orders, then having to care for Mr. PiN after surgery, I have spent more time in the house this year than I ever have. No problems with boredom: I love bustling around the house, rereading old favorites, and enjoying our small yard.

What Are My Best Uses Of Credit Card Rewards?

At the beginning of the year, I was really thinking about how to get more from my credit cards. I opened up a card or two, worked to get the welcome bonus, and was plotting how best to use credit card bonuses to reduce the cost of our multiple planned trips in the coming year.

I have some large medical bills coming up, the question becomes a little more pressing. If I have to pay out lots on money on my credit card(s), I would like to get the most out of it that I can.

Fitness Log #91 And Friday Firsts

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

Wednesday Woolgathering

A few thoughts from the past week.

Fitness Log #90 And Friday Firsts

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

Is There A Secret Handshake? When Your Spouse Is A Patient Where You Work.

Since the pathology on my husband’s tumor was benign (hooray!), I feel okay writing a bit about the experience at the hospital. Specifically, your spouse having a surgery done at the same hospital where you work as a physician.

People can have some odd ideas about doctors. Like, that we don’t get sick, or never have to deal with the same run-around they do when they try to call an office.

I had one patient tell me “well, since you’re a doctor, you don’t have to worry about high blood pressure.” Which, since he didn’t know anything about my family history, salt intake, or blood pressure readings, was clearly not a particularly informed statement.