Top 5 Reasons to Retire Early

PIMD welcomes Physician on fire As our guest post. POF is a personal finance website created to inform and inspire both physicians and our patients with insightful writing from a physician who has achieved financial independence and the ability to retire early.

Cusack’s character, Rob, is a big fan of them; so am i David Letterman had his top 10 list, but half the list was bullshit, and the lame answers distracted you from laughing at 4 or 5 funny things. So I’m taking Rob’s approach.

my Top 5 Reasons to Retire Early either:

1. Retire early because you can

If you live below your means, save and invest along the way, and avoid financial disaster, you’ll be able to retire early. It is because it sounds simple. Don’t be a big spender; Avoid huge debts. Stay married (or single if you prefer), avoid high-risk investments, and don’t try to keep up with Dr. Jones.

A doctor’s salary is 10 to 20 years You should be nicely positioned for early retirement. Of course, you can continue to work even after you achieve financial independence. It’s your life. I tend to enjoy my vacation weeks more than my work weeks, but that’s just me. So retire early, because you can!

2. Retire early for your health

I love to exercise, or at least I do like to say That I like to exercise. I would train for a race and run for months. I will start to feel softer and go back to some strength training. My friends sign up for another Crazy muddy obstacle course On the ski hill – OK, I am (reluctantly).

But when life gets busy, and my life gets busy, exercise is usually the first thing to go. If I didn’t have a day job (and sometimes a night job) I would have a lot more while exercising. I’m not promising I’ll do it, but I’ll be fine with excuses not to.

Speaking of fresh, there will be more time to prepare healthy meals with fresh ingredients. And while enjoying the fresh air, riding a bike And walking instead of driving everywhere. A healthy lifestyle can extend your life span and your healthy years.

Retiring early will give you more time to enjoy them before you get too much arthritis or a dreaded disease. If your job is the biggest stressor in your life (it is for me), eliminating that stress can do wonders for your mental health. Retire early, for your health!

3. Early retirement for free time

I have 2 sons, ages 6 and 8 (in 2017). Every night at dinner (when I’m home for dinner), we talk about our favorite part of the day. Without fail, boys will point to a part of the day where they got to do what they wanted to do. Vacation! Lego time after school! Some days, it might even be reading! But it is reading books of their own choice.

I don’t think my answers were very different when I was their age, and I don’t think I’ve matured that much since then. My favorite part of the day almost always happens outside of work. It’s pushing guys on rope swings, jogging on bike paths, riding bikes on jogging paths, drinking beer in hot tubs, that sort of thing.

Take a few minutes and imagine what you could do if you had more time. Learn a language? Volunteer? Traveling in less of a hurry? Read more? There are many ways to improve your life and improve yourself, but they all require free time.

I heard that when you retire, every day is a Saturday. That sounds fantastic. Early retirement, free time!

4. Early retirement for your family

Doctors work fewer hours. Not all of them, but in most situations, it is unavoidable. Personally, I am an anesthesiologist. The work day begins around 0600, when the boys sleep. When I’m on call (about 73 days a year, but who’s counting), I don’t expect to get home for dinner. I’m happy when I’m home to sleep – and that’s my bedtime, forget the kids’ bedtimes.

In summer, my wife likes to spend a lot of time Our second home*, a cozy little cabin on a lake. Our second home was 9 miles from our primary home, but now it’s 500 miles away. So… not exactly a weekend drive. I can only hope to not see family for at least a few weeks each summer. Because I am working. 500 miles away.

When the boys become teenagers, I hope they will be involved in some extracurricular activities. Athletics, music, maybe a debating or chess club. Regardless, it happens in the evenings and on weekends, and I want to be there. Coordinating schedules with my partner and their obligations, working around 2 of my sons’ schedules sounds like a nightmare. I came up with a solution. You’d never guess… oh wait, you did. That’s right. Retire early, for your family!

5. Retire early to reduce your liability

[knocks on walnut desk] I’ve never been involved in a libel suit.** I really, really want to put it that way. I treat patients and their families with respect. I use evidence-based practices. I stay current with literature. I’m willing to say “I’m sorry” if the situation calls for it.

The fact remains that bad things can happen to our patients despite our best efforts. I don’t approach every patient as if they are a potential case, because that would be a terrible way to live. Work is stressful enough without that dark lightning overhead.

Still, it is a fact that any surgical patient can have a complication, and a complication can result in a lawsuit. It’s also true that when you stop treating patients, you stop adding encounters that could eventually lead to malpractice lawsuits. I’ve heard that this crap can drag on for years and be downright miserable. I want nothing to do with it [knocks desk one more time]. For your sanity, reduce your liability by retiring early!

*Yes, yes, I know second home ownership is completely inconsistent with the normal way of thinking among the frugal early retiree crowd. The Bogleheads Politely ask me to reconsider the extravagance, when Mr. Money Mustache Will punch me in the face and ask questions later.

Well, if he had asked, I would have told him I bought it at an auction. It cost me less than the Chrysler minivan I bought later in the summer. I ended up spending more to fix the place up, but the total cost of my now renovated second home And My primary home is a little less than a year’s gross salary. So off!

**I have not been sued for misconduct, but I have been A physician willing to volunteer on a hospital board resulted in a lawsuit. That drama dragged on for three and a half years, and was a driving force behind the trend of leaving medicine behind.

Do any of these reasons speak to you? Have a #6 you’d like to share? Find the comment box below!