Physician Early Retirement Plans Physician early retirement is not a novel idea, but perhaps one that now has a more developed framework. It is an idea whose time has come: take back the keys to your j.o.b. and work […]
Getting Back to Even With the market down off of all-time highs, I want to know about getting back to even. Serendipitously I came upon a copy of Kramer’s Getting Back to Even and had to see if […]
401a, 403b, and 457b Plans Physicians are high-income professionals who optimally defer income into retirement plans during peak earning years. If you have access to a 401a vs 403b vs 457b then you either work for the government or a […]
My Five-Year Plan for Happiness Will you be happy in five years? If you are happy now, you might also be in five years. If you are not happy now, why not? This blog should be called Happiness […]
How can we meet to support one another? All you love, if you let it go, it will return. That is like friendship when true and honest. What is the value of friendship? And how can we meet to […]
Teaching Children About Hope Hope can and should be taught to our children. While temperaments such as optimism or pessimism may be less malleable, hope is learned. Children will take certain actions as they hope for a good […]
What is worth wanting in life and the Iron Triangle of Trade-offs When we ask what is worth wanting in life, it might be a combination of happy and healthy. The villain in happily ever after are the tradeoffs you […]
Move On – Sondheim in Retirement Steven Sondheim’s song “Move On” speaks to the challenge of creating a new chapter in life. We all must move on at some point, actually at several points, since life is [...
Beyond Instant Gratification – Contentment and Discipline In a world of instant gratification, the alternatives are contentment and discipline. Just beyond instant gratification is choosing to say no. The freedom to say no provides life ba...
Money is Fungible Money is Fungible. Fungible is a funky financial term. Fungible means interchangeable. Or substitutable. A dollar bill in D.C. is the same as a dollar bill anywhere else in the world. Indeed, $10 is worth two five-dollar […]
Cultivating Purpose in Retirement Purpose in life is important, especially during transitions, such as retirement. Languishing, or not feeling engaged in one’s life, is not ideal, especially in retirement when you have more time to focus ...
Qualified Disclaimer Estate Planning Qualified Disclaimer Estate Planning is flexible and tax-efficient. If you have beneficiary forms that control how assets pass to your heirs, pay attention. The most flexible and tax-efficient way to give pre...
How to Optimize Tax Diversification Tax diversification is key in retirement. Optimizing your tax diversification is a yearly decision that depends on what your taxes are this year vs. every other year. This can be the decision: should I use […]
Neurobiological Correlates of “Freedom” in Personal Growth Freedom is the ability to respond rather than react. What this means is that in the mind, you notice your body has detected a stressor. And in the brain: you are conscious ...
Happiness is a Choice Written in 1991, Happiness is a Choice is a book I couldn’t pass up at this stage. After all, I write about getting gobs of books to foment serendipity, and more recently suggested […]
Overconfidence Bias in Investing Overconfidence bias looms large when investing. Among the most common way to shoot yourself in the foot, overconfidence is prevalent and pervasive. What is overconfidence bias, and what are some examples of overc...
What Happens When a Narcissist Hits an Effective Boundary Once you understand you are dealing with a covert narcissist, you must set clear boundaries to protect yourself. A narcissist finds boundaries intolerable because they lose control. So wh...
Reinvention in Retirement If you are getting ready to retire, you need to understand that retirement necessitates reinvention of yourself. When does your re-invention start? When you start to think about retirement. Retirement is reinvent...
Why You Should Consider MYGAs instead of CDs in a CD Ladder MYGAs are good annuities. Annuities have a bad rap. There are, however, good annuities that the advanced investor should consider. A MYGA (Multi-Year Guaranteed Annuity) may have a […]
Direct Indexing or VTSAX? Direct indexing if you are the average DIY investor. The standard of care is VTSAX (or VTI), a 3-fund portfolio, or even 6-10 ETFs in your brokerage account with a smart tax-deferred pairing. When will […]