Physician In Numbers – Page 39 – A female primary care physician opines on money, travel, fitness, and other topics to be determined

Future Me, January 2021

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 September 2020, with a number of wins, and several misses.

So how have I done with my new goals? Read on for the latest update, covering the last 4 months of 2020.

Dealing With A Tough Week

I was planning on writing something else altogether for today. However, I spent the entire weekend trying to catch up on work, and I just didn’t have the energy to edit my planned post. Maybe for next week.

As it was, last week I had a difficult return to work. After taking time off for the holiday, I returned to a bursting in-box, all the while dealing with a full schedule and teaching two different courses over video. While one course was brand new, which was stressful, the other was almost as time-consuming, as I had always taught it in-person.

I must confess, coming back to all this, I started thinking about retirement more seriously. The argument that financial independence leads to happier doctors at work seemed highly suspect to me by Tuesday.

Fitness Log #116 And Friday Firsts

I have been keeping track of my exercise every Friday for over a year, 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.

Happy New Year. Now What?

As I have mentioned before, every New Year I update my (our) net worth, decide how to allocate savings over the year, and also review the spending for the year.

This all gets done only around January 1, give or take a few days, which means that getting the final numbers is big deal here in the PiN household. It is how I track the progress we are making in growing our nest egg, and how I keep track of our yearly spending–which dictates how large a nest egg we will need to retire.

When I ran the numbers for 2020, I found some mixed results. I am still chewing over the numbers and what to do going forward. I hope by writing this out, I may help not only myself, but also others who are trying to figure out how to improve their financial situation.

Fitness Log #115 And Friday Firsts

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

A Look Back At 2020

The year is almost over, and as several of my friends have said, good riddance.

However, consigning an entire year to the trash heap seems a little severe.

I spent a little time before Thanksgiving reflecting on what I am grateful for this year; I really do have a lot to be thankful for.

This is a slightly different post, reflecting on 2020, but still focusing on the things that went well for the PiN household.

Fitness Log #114 And Friday Firsts

I have been keeping track of my exercise every Friday for over a year, and plan to continue doing so, even on holidays. (Merry Christmas!)

Wednesday Whimsy For The Holidays

It’s the end of the year, and I thought I’d highlight some articles I loved and have been saving. There isn’t a real theme, like finance or travel, just pieces I found interesting, and hope you will too.

Consider it my present to you, the reader. Happy Holidays!

Questions About A Spousal IRA

I have been talking about setting up an IRA for Mr. PiN forever, without actually getting it done.

For a few years, he didn’t want me to set one up for him. Then he wanted to wait until we had paid off the mortgage. This spring I was thinking about setting one up, and the pandemic hit; we decided it was better to beef up our emergency fund.

Now, though, those barriers are gone.

I thought it might be worth going through some of the questions I have about setting up a spousal IRA. I suspect I am not the only one with these sorts of questions. Except where noted, I found my information from the IRS publication 590-A.

As always, do not rely on what I write to make decisions for yourself. I am not your tax expert, or indeed any tax expert at all. I am just some random person writing on the internet. Do feel free to consult your own tax expert, or to look at the IRS forms yourself.

Fitness Log #113 And Friday Firsts

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