Finance – Page 16 – Physician In Numbers

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).

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.

Future Me, June 2020

I started this series of posts at the end of October 2018. I had just cut back my hours from full time to 90%, and wanted to use my new free time wisely. Some of that time was to relax, but I also wanted to improve my fitness, make my home a more pleasant place to stay, and work on becoming a more well-rounded human being.

My last update was in March of this year, with a few wins, and a bunch of misses. I set new goals, based on my predictions of what life might look like with a pandemic sweeping through.

I had planned to follow up at the end of May. I’m a little late, but rounding things up after 13 weeks of dealing with COVID-19.

What Should You Budget For Intern Year?

It’s June! Many medical students have graduated already, and the rest will be getting their diplomas very soon. Possibly via Zoom this year. What this means is that for the vast majority of new MDs, internship year will start in the next 30 days.

If you are one of those lucky new doctors, you have a lot on your plate: licensure, ACLS, orientation, possibly moving to a new town. Figuring out a reasonable budget should also be on your list of to-dos.

If you are a traditional student who went straight through high school, college, and medical school, this may be the first time you have earned a decent salary that you had to live on.

Though many people pay attention to the big jump in salary that comes with the end of residency and the start of the attending paycheck, you are also enjoying a huge income increase this summer. You are going from no income, or negative income (borrowed money), to a positive income. How you handle this change in fortune can lay the foundation for a financially successful future, or make your finances more difficult once you finally reach the attending stage.

Victory! Or, On Completing A Huge Challenge

After writing about clearing my bookshelf for nearly a year and a half, last week I emptied it! The thrill is starting to fade, as I deal with the downstream effects, but let me tell you, I mentioned it once an hour the day I accomplished it.

To some of you, this may not seem like a huge accomplishment. I myself thought I could get it done in just 4 months–how deluded I was! I had no idea it would take me another year beyond that to accomplish my goals.

In many ways, achieving this goal was like achieving any other intimidating goal, like paying off a mortgage or student loans. And in other ways, it is very different.

Interview After Another Money Date

When my father became very ill last spring, I realized that my mom didn’t really know everything she needed to in order to manage the household finances. I couldn’t believe that she didn’t know how to get to all the accounts.

Then I realized that my husband was in the dark about much of our household finances. We had our first money date while on vacation, visiting family, this February.

Now that COVID-19 is going around, I feel a little more urgency to make sure he can really manage if I am unavailable for some reason. We took care of the bills together at the beginning of April and May.

I asked if he would be willing to be interviewed about the process again. We will see if third time is the charm, as far as feeling ready to tackle things on his own. This time I have added my commentary to his answers, the editor’s prerogative.

4 Market Crashes, 5 Lessons On Risk Tolerance. And 1 On Life.

I have had the dubious pleasure of investing through a number of market crashes over the years. Each one has taught me something about my risk tolerance, and I hope that the lessons I have learned may be helpful to you. If only to show you what not to do.

I decided not to present each past market drop chronologically, but rather to discuss each drop in terms of my personal risk tolerance, from least to most. Please keep in mind that, of course, your risk tolerance will change depending on your age and life circumstances.

9 Things I Am Grateful For During The Pandemic

I was talking to a colleague at work today (how exciting to talk to someone new!) about some of the things we are grateful for in these challenging times. I thought I might share a few (with a slant towards personal finance).

I still have a job…
… which is still paying me my full paycheck.
I didn’t give away my scrubs from residency
…and they still fit.
We usually eat at home, and our evening entertainment is usually watching DVDs (I got a bunch from the library before it closed) or listening to music. So that hasn’t changed much.
If I get bored, I already have lots of books to read.
My gym automatically suspended billing while it is closed by order of the state.
My auto insurance is supposed to be giving blanket discounts, giving that many fewer miles are being driven during this time of social distancing.
And, most importantly, my loved ones and I are currently enjoying good health!

I hope you have plenty to be grateful for as well. Feel free to share, if you wish.

Monday Melange

My mind is still tremendously distracted as I try to adapt to life in a pandemic. Instead of writing a full post for today, which would require a bit more concentration than I have right now, instead I would like to highlight a few pieces I found on line and have been referring to frequently.

Future Me, COVID-19 Follow Up

My last update was in January of this year, with a few wins, and a bunch of misses. I set new goals, many of which are not going to be possible to hit given the new recommendations around social distancing (#flattenthecurve).

I had planned to follow up at the end of May, but I would like to review my progress so far, and offer some course correction to my goals for the next few months.