Lessons from my parents – Page 2 – Physician In Numbers

Who Pays Your Bills When You Are Sick?

Sitting with my Dad in the hospital this spring, I was reminded of the importance of sharing your account information with your spouse. My Dad was very ill, then improving, but clearly not in any condition to manage his finances. (For several days he was repeating “2019” under his breath, to be ready for his orientation questions.)

This was a bit of a problem, as he pays most of the household bills out of his accounts. Thankfully, my mom has access to her own accounts and could pay the most pressing bills; and Dad got better soon.

5 Money Lessons from Dad

Things are very busy for me right now. My father is very sick with a mystery-illness (isn’t it always the case that nurses and doctors get the weirdest things?), so I am with my parents for now. I thought this was a good time to reflect on some of the many lessons my dad taught me over the years.

The YOLO Chair

In the corner of my parents’ living room sits a large armchair, Louis XV style. It’s my father’s chair, generally speaking no one else sits in it, unless one of the cats sneaks in. It’s quite handsome, and guests frequently remark on it.

My mother tells the story of how they acquired the chair:

One Doctor’s Retirement, 20 years later

In my prior post, I wrote about my father’s career and retirement preparations. He retired just over 20 years ago, and from what I can see, had a pretty good time.

Over the years we have talked about finances, and though I haven’t announced firm plans to retire early, I think he can tell I am thinking about it. He has been giving more advice recently, mostly to keep working.

I thought I would share some of his recent advice, and some of my observations of his two-decades-long retirement, which I hope will go another decade more.

One Doctor’s Retirement

My office mate is just starting out, and seems overwhelmed by finances. When I mentioned my father was a retired physician, and had retired well, she was very interested in how he had managed that.

I asked him this weekend, and got a shorter-than-expected answer. In many ways, the answer is very simple: save money and invest it. I will embellish the answer and see if it might be illuminating.