That Time I Bought New Pants For A Penny

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It was a decade ago, the day of our annual hospital gala, an event known in our household as Doctor Prom, and I had no pants to wear for the evening’s festivities. I’d recently found a snazzy blazer that screamed Christopher Moltisanti from the Sopranos. I needed a matching tie to fit my budding image as a would-be mafioso. Additionally, …

Strategies For Cutting Back: Group Policy Change

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But we’ve always done it this way! Medicine is a conservative profession, where change is viewed with suspicion and the reason, “But we’ve always done it this way!” is as unquestionable as, “I’m the mommy, that’s why!” was in childhood. (Incidentally, the latter was the bumper sticker on the station wagon that served as my first car, which made meeting …

She Scared The Crap Out Of Me. I’m Grateful.

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Hail to the Chief (Mom Officer) Liz, who blogs at Chief Mom Officer, is an invisible friend I met through the world of blogging about financial independence. She first came to my attention via the Rockstar Finance forum, which is a virtual clubhouse for bloggers who geek out over personal finance. I like Liz because she is thoughtful and considerate …

Docs Who Cut Back #3: Xrayvsn

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Xrayvsn is a radiologist practicing in the Southeastern U.S.  He’s a kindred spirit who factored lifestyle considerations into choosing his optimal job. His posts are notable for their candor and vulnerability; reading his personal account of divorce will leave you raw and grateful. He’s also created terrific series interviewing fellow bloggers (The X-ray Beam), assessing whether physicians can afford items …

This Week In Gratitude

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There’s an Ice Cube song laid over an old sample (the Isley Brothers’ Footsteps In The Dark), perfect for weight lifting back when I was younger: It Was A Good Day. It was playing in my mind as I reflected on the past five days: Spent three mornings bodyboarding at the beach, despite working a night shift. Rode my bike …

Docs Who Cut Back #2: Hatton1

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Hatton1 is an internet famous OB/GYN best known for sharing her investing wisdom over many years on the WCI forum. My finest day as an aspiring physician finance blogger was finding she’d commented on my site – the newbie’s equivalent to becoming a made man in the mafia. She blogs at Doctor Of Finance MD, where her experiences as a …

Teaching My Kids To Prepare For A Bear

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I’ve written previously about my attempts to teach our children about investing in order to demonstrate the value of letting your money work for you. With the raging bull market, it had been an easy lesson, since every time we checked their investments they could see gains. Now comes the greater challenge. How can I teach my kids to stay …

Docs Who Cut Back #1: Vagabond MD

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You don’t have to become a refugee from medicine. Welcome to the first installment in what I hope will become a shared playbook for physicians who seek role models: docs who cut back to improve work-life balance. Mime in a shrinking box, anyone? When burnout strikes, the reflex is to desperately search for an escape hatch from medicine as quickly …