I started this blog in 2016 to document and share my journey toward financial literacy, to maintain a writing practice, and to hold myself accountable to my publicly stated goals.
Early on, I was thrilled to nerd out over cool strategies like front-loading my retirement contributions each year, backdoor Roth IRAs, and conceiving of creative ways to fund a child's Roth IRA.
As time went on, the financial piece became second nature, and posts focused on how to achieve balance in medicine, efforts to change the culture of medicine from within, and how to strategically cultivate an outsider mentality as a means of inoculating myself against comparison to the expectations and judgments of others.
Lately, my finances hum silently behind the scenes like gears in a finely crafted analog wristwatch (rest assured, it's more Timex than Patek Phillippe). A few minutes of winding a month are required, after which I don't think about money until the following month.
With two teens at home, my thoughts these days are a mix between trying to enjoy the remaining window with the kids under our roof before they leave the nest and trying to envision what a future without on-site parenting duties might look like.
I remain married out of my league, so there is more intentional time to enjoy the company of the attractive and brilliant woman I married. We've both agreed on the need to protect date nights from being cannibalized by the kids' needs.
My dad used to say that when your children are young, you can offer organizations your money. When your kids grow up, you can offer those organizations your time. I'm trying to find the best outlet for that windfall of time. I also want to have community once the kids are gone, so these serve as exploratory feelers sent in search of my tribe.
What I've been poorly attempting to convey is that once you nail the financial piece of your life, that stress recedes into the background. You have the bandwidth to focus intently on deepening connections to those you care for, giving your time to those causes that resonate, and (for those of us with more years behind us than ahead) creating a legacy that you feel good leaving behind.