Finance – Page 8 – Physician In Numbers

What I Learned From Reviewing Our Yearly Spending

Every year, for almost 20 years, I have completed the same financial tasks: reviewing the spending for the year that has just ended, updating my (our) new worth, and reviewing my (our) spending goals for the coming year.

I reviewed the net worth and spending goals 2 weeks ago in my yearly financial check-up. Today I go through our yearly spending.

Inquiring minds may wonder: why in the world have been you going through your yearly spending for 2 decades? What you can you possibly get out of this exercise by this point?

Monday Melange, January 2022

I’m still thinking about what my spending numbers for 2021 mean, so instead of publishing a half-baked post, I thought I would rather highlight some great posts by others. Many on financial topics, many not.

I plan to be back next week with my thoughts on 2021 and the money that left the PiN household.

The Yearly Financial Check Up

Every year, around January 1, I do two exercises related to my finances: calculate my net worth, and review the prior year’s spending. I have been doing this for years–long before I met Mr. PiN–so I talk about my finances, though it has really been our finances for some time.

While it is certainly pleasant to see totals moving in the right direction, I find the most helpful aspect of the exercise is to reflect on where we are as a household, and consider next steps (not resolutions!).

This year, going through the finances is taking a bit longer than usual. I finished the net worth calculation early, but the spending review is taking much longer.

Instead of going through both topics at once, I will be splitting them up: this week, the net worth discussion; soon (hopefully next week) a review of our spending in 2021.

I won’t be giving exact numbers, per Mr. PiN’s request, but I hope that going through this exercise with me may be informative for you.

Don’t Wish Your Life Away

This is a phrase I have been repeating recently, as my current situation has not been so awesome.

Working long hours with no days off for several weeks: I can’t wait until I get some time off at the end of the year!

Faced with obscure tournaments or–gasp!–reruns on the Tennis Channel in December: I can’t wait until the Australian Open in mid-January!

Closing a book by a favorite author (especially if a cliff-hanger is involved): I can’t wait until the next book comes out!

Despite the fact that I am very much looking forward to these events, I try to remind myself that living in these difficult, or boring, or tedious days is a privilege that many of my patients wished they could have more of. That, at my age, accelerating time isn’t necessarily a great thing.

So I keep reminding myself that I shouldn’t wish my life away.

Leafless trees overlook a frozen lake while birds fly overhead. — Winter is not my favorite season, but still has a beauty I should learn to appreciate.

Mr. PiN notes that I had used to say this a lot several years ago.

Revisiting Grocery Delivery

This week winter hit our area, with bad roads and cold temperatures.

I also saw a huge uptick of COVID cases (likely Omicron spread by gatherings at Christmas and New Years).

Between one thing and another, when Mr. PiN announced we were out of eggs, I asked him if he would please arrange a grocery delivery instead of spending time battling traffic and tons of shoppers (who aren’t necessarily masking).

Winter Scene in Moonlight. Henry Farrer. Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. — Not a true representation of our local roads, if only because the painter didn’t add all 120 cars that would be there now.

Since we haven’t really done this since the end of 2020, it was a somewhat different experience for us.

Future Me, January 2022

I started this series of posts at the end of October 2018. I had just cut back my hours, 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 August 2021, with a number of wins, and several misses.

I had plenty of non-hospital months since then, which should have meant that I could hit most of my goals; however, between parental hospitalizations and a death in the family, my time was definitely not my own.

With all that, how did I do with my goals over the past 5 months?

2021 Is In The Rearview Mirror

Early January is when people about their resolutions for the next 11 to 12 months. Usually there is talk of losing weight, saving more money, getting ahead at work.

Before I consider resolutions (or plans) for 2022, I would like to review some of the highlights of 2021. I find it is healthier for me to pay attention to things that have gone well, rather than always pointing out what needs to improve.

Low Clutter Gift Giving

It’s that time of year: Giving Tuesday, Hanukkah, Christmas, family birthdays. A girl’s mind turns to giving.

I’ve already written about giving to charity in various ways, including–most recently–via donor advised fund.

In this post I am thinking more about the gifts we give to family and friends.

This year, I was more interested in more ephemeral gifts: what with inflation, supply chain issues, and more discussion about decluttering, I thought it might be a good year to think about gifts that won’t linger in a closet for years.

Monday Melange December 2021. Giving, Saving, Preparing, Traveling.

Every day I read a lot (a lot) of blog posts in the personal finance space. I have also been known to read in other subjects. Sometimes I even remember to save some of my favorites. Today I want to share a number of posts that tickled my fancy.

A woman holding a bouquet and reading a letter. — She looks like she is enjoying her day’s reading

Doing Well By Doing Good: Setting Up a Donor Advised Fund at Fidelity

For the past 2 years, I have written about giving money to charity (see here, here, and here).

After several years of thinking about setting up a donor advised fund (DAF), possibly with a little trepidation, I finally started mine this month. It was pretty darned easy, though a few details were a bit tricky for me.

I thought I might go over my reasons for finally opening a DAF, and then go through the steps. Of course, I can’t help commenting on some of the small print that I found interesting or amusing.