Category: Retirement

My Retirement Outlook is Rainy? The Problem With Assumptions

Just when I’m starting to feel good about my future, Transamerica rains on my future parade with a lousy e-mail. “Your retirement outlook is… Rainy.” They insert a cute little stormy cloud in case I didn’t get their point the first time.       My Retirement Outlook is Rainy? The Problem With Assumptions   Do these downer e-mails leave me in a state of despair? Of course they don’t. I know something that Transamerica doesn’t. Namely, that the money I’ve got stashed in their accounts represents less than 20% of my retirement assets. The rest is in Roth and taxable accounts […]

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Who Are the Physicians Who Retire Early?

  My little FIRE blog is one of many early retirement blogs, but it was the first written by a physician. If you look around, you’ll find quite a few young men and women who have successfully pulled off an early retirement at age 30 to 35, an age at which most physicians will have a negative net worth. For example: Pete & Simi @ Mr. Money Mustache retired at age 30. Justin @ Rootofgood retired at 33. The Frugalwoods family retired at age 32. Anita @ Power of Thrift retired at 33. Brandon @ Mad Fientist retired at 34. Sam @ […]

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Early Retirement and The Likelihood of Regret

likelihood of regret

When this blog was first conceived in 2015, I had a pretty good idea I would be ready and able to retire early at some point. Crunching numbers and considering some family dynamics, I came up with a five to six year plan to retire quite comfortably with a healthy margin of safety. As I write this post a mere seven months into this venture, I have done a lot, lot more number crunching, brainstorming, and talking with my wife about our future. The five or six year plan has essentially been cut in half. I’m thinking more in terms […]

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50 Ways I’d Like to Spend My Time in Early Retirement

Jamaica Beach Runaway Bay

Time flies when you’re having fun. Or, as Kermit tells us, time’s fun when you’re having flies. Time also flies by when you’re busy. The next few years will be exceptionally busy for me. I’ll be working part-time. I’ll be blogging part-time. My boys will be in more after-school activities. We’re learning Spanish together as a family. The remaining time in my career most certainly will fly by. And then I will be retired. As I’ve stated before, I won’t be retiring from clinical medicine to escape a job I dislike. I will retire to free up over 2,000 hours per year to […]

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Top 5 Reasons I Chose Not to Retire at 39

A year and a half ago, at age 39, I was studying for a bogus exam required to maintain my status as a board-certified anesthesiologist. Most of the study materials were only peripherally related to my actual job, and the practice questions were equally inane. I started wondering if I would have to repeat the process in 10 years. A google search between study sessions quickly opened my eyes to the concepts of Financial Independence and Retiring Early. The FIRE blogging community provided me with a great education and welcomed me graciously as one of their own. Living a relatively […]

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Announcing My Retirement

I thought I could do this at least a few more years. In fact, I thought I might be able to handle the abuse another 10 years or more. I trained long and hard to be in this position. I never could have imagined I would be saying this before my 41st birthday. But I have reached The Crossroads. I need to do what’s best for myself and my family. I’ve enjoyed the journey, with all the mud, sweat, and beers, but it’s time to face reality. To quote Danny Glover’s Lethal Weapon character, Roger Murtaugh, “I’m getting too old […]

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The Top 5 Reasons I Want to Retire Early

Personal finance is personal, and personal posts tend to be more interesting than the typical clickbait lists that penetrate our Facebook and Twitter feeds. I’ve written a couple not-so-personal Top 5 lists, including the Reasons to Retire Early, and the Reasons Not to. The writing comes easier when I’ve got something more personal to say, as I did when I wrote the Top 5 Things I’ll Miss When I Retire Early. Today, I’m going to give you my own reasons for wanting to retire early. These aren’t the best reasons to retire early, or reasons you should retire early; these are […]

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Happiness is an Early Retirement

What is happiness? The Beatles said that Happiness is a Warm Gun. Ummm…. next! Linus told Charlie Brown that Happiness is a Warm Blanket… better… Mr. Money Mustache says that Happiness is the Only Logical Pursuit… I like that! The best definition from the Merriam Webster online dictionary is 2a: a state of well-being and contentment. Sounds about right. Happiness is indeed a pursuit or a state of mind that we would all like for ourselves and the people around us. Many books have been written on the topic, and many blog posts, too. As a type of scientist, I like […]

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The Power of One More Year

If you’ve been following the FIRE movement, you’ve got a pretty good idea of what it means to be financially independent, and can appreciate the power that financial independence provides. Chief among the benefits is the ability to retire early; your investments should adequately provide for your spending needs indefinitely at a withdrawal rate less than or equal to four percent. That’s a great thing! But what if, like me, you’re not ready to hang up the stethoscope quite yet. You know you’ll miss your patients and colleagues, and frankly, you’re too young and good looking to be retired!     […]

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Physician on FIRE Guide to Retiring at 45

I have met at least two physicians over the years who told me they planned on retiring at age 45.  We humans seem to like to measure things in multiples of five, and 45 is probably the earliest milestone age that a physician can realistically and comfortably retire.  The first of these two physicians was a pediatric chief resident who worked with me when I was a third year medical student.  He had at least 15 years to go but already had the perfect sailboat chosen to sail the ocean blue.  Another was an anesthesiologist I worked with a few […]

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Top 5 Reasons NOT to Retire Early

In a previous post, I shared with you the Top 5 Reasons to Retire Early. Let’s briefly review those. Retire early: Because You Can For Your Health For Free Time For Your Family To Reduce Your Liability   Next up in the Top 5 series, we have five reasons not to consider it. For every solid reason to retire early, there’s a counterpoint and a good reason not to retire as soon as you can.   The Top 5 Reasons NOT to Retire Early   1. You love your job.   You had a life-altering experience as a teenager. You made […]

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Top 5 Reasons to Retire Early

Have you ever seen the John Cusack film, “High Fidelity“? No? That’s OK, you don’t really have to see the movie to understand and appreciate the concept of a Top 5 list. Cusack’s character, Rob, is a big fan of them; so am I. David Letterman had his Top 10 lists, but half the list was nonsense and the lame answers distracted you from laughing at the 4 or 5 funny ones. So I’m taking Rob’s approach. My top 5 reasons to retire early are:   1. Retire Early Because You Can   If you live below your means, save […]

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