I don’t feel that rich.

[ObgynMD]

Being rich includes not having to worry about shelter, healthy food, being able to save for ones future as well as having extra fun money on the side to do whatever you reasonably want on a whim. This is most of us on this forum.

But, to me, that is only part of it. It also includes having a tight-knit, loving family who supports you and who you support. Having a community of friends to share life with. It includes having meaningful work and getting to contribute to society.

I think FEELING rich is being able to reflect on what you have, and practice gratitude for it, rather than longing for what you don’t have. It’s a discipline and part of maturity. It’s hard for me to feel satisfied when I see others work less and ‘have more’. Definitely still maturing, myself.

[Tim]

That’s why you don’t knock. You just bust in. Element of surprise.

I had a similar situation. Showed a cop the location. He advised not to move in, but he wasn’t authorized to call in a Swat team and he wasn’t going in alone. I told him I would cover his back. Tried to talk him into it. Think he was pretty smart. From his chuckle, I think he took it as a joke.

[Turf Doc]

This is even weirder, but I almost already feel rich even as a med student. I feel so ahead of the game knowing about investments and I'll have 10+ years of investing as a personal finance hobbyist under my belt before I even get that first attending paycheck. Anything can happen to derail that for sure, but right now it feels like I'm on autopilot to being pretty darn wealthy without any unreasonable assumptions. That's pretty cool and definitely provides a level of mental peace right now even though I have a negative net worth.

[ObgynMD]

This is even weirder, but I almost already feel rich even as a med student. I feel so ahead of the game knowing about investments and I'll have 10+ years of investing as a personal finance hobbyist under my belt before I even get that first attending paycheck. Anything can happen to derail that for sure, but right now it feels like I'm on autopilot to being pretty darn wealthy without any unreasonable assumptions. That's pretty cool and definitely provides a level of mental peace right now even though I have a negative net worth.

When I was a med student, I didn’t even know what a Roth IRA was. You are totally ahead of the game! Like WBD’s son who is making $250k a year at 24yo and paying off his debts… that’s pretty amazing. At 24yo I was taking out loans upon loans and diving headfirst into the negative net worth world. When my now-husband and I were doing pre-marital counseling one of the questions was about our respective budgets. I sheepishly, and honestly, told him I didn’t have a budget but always had enough. He looked at me like I had two heads. I’m glad he married me anyways. Was probably a good thing we married at the end of med school and I was too busy in residency to spend much money. I’m very grateful for WCI and this forum for waking me up.

Like JR Collins said to his daughter in his book ‘Simple Path to Wealth”- your future is so bright it hurts my eyes.

[wideopenspaces]

Oh yes. And he begged some off his dad, too. Gold star parenting right there 🤩. We were joking that if only we all could do the age = scoops situation…

That's impressive! My kids eat half a scoop and then I eat the rest. I don't know where I went wrong with them;-)

[bean25]

Being rich includes not having to worry about shelter, healthy food, being able to save for ones future as well as having extra fun money on the side to do whatever you reasonably want on a whim. This is most of us on this forum.

But, to me, that is only part of it. It also includes having a tight-knit, loving family who supports you and who you support. Having a community of friends to share life with. It includes having meaningful work and getting to contribute to society.

I think FEELING rich is being able to reflect on what you have, and practice gratitude for it, rather than longing for what you don’t have. It’s a discipline and part of maturity. It’s hard for me to feel satisfied when I see others work less and ‘have more’. Definitely still maturing, myself.

I think the family and friends part is so true. I’m one year out of residency and have a long way to go to get to financial independence but feel rich in many ways now. I have time to spend with family and friends that I haven’t had for years. I have tried to get in the habit of practicing gratitude and mindfulness on my drive to work in the mornings. Just pausing to think about how good I have it- a job I like, a family I love, and a beautiful home. It helps me have a better worried abo it the many annoyances we all face in medicine

I also feel rich by having significant free cash flow every month since we are saving around 40% gross. just this week had some car issues and didn’t blink when found out repair cost would be close to $1000. I can remember having car issues in med school and it causing some stress, or making me spending money different for the next month (not going out to eat or cutting back more). Now it’s just a blip on the radar since we are living well beneath our means.

[Turf Doc]

When I was a med student, I didn’t even know what a Roth IRA was. You are totally ahead of the game! Like WBD’s son who is making $250k a year at 24yo and paying off his debts… that’s pretty amazing. At 24yo I was taking out loans upon loans and diving headfirst into the negative net worth world. When my now-husband and I were doing pre-marital counseling one of the questions was about our respective budgets. I sheepishly, and honestly, told him I didn’t have a budget but always had enough. He looked at me like I had two heads. I’m glad he married me anyways. Was probably a good thing we married at the end of med school and I was too busy in residency to spend much money. I’m very grateful for WCI and this forum for waking me up.

Like JR Collins said to his daughter in his book ‘Simple Path to Wealth”- your future is so bright it hurts my eyes.

Thanks for the kind words!

This is also unrelated to the fact that, like most med students, I've never had to worry about food or shelter. Sure, right now buying a car might be tough, but in the grand scheme of things I do have access to loans and/or parental help if I was really in dire straits.

Just finally looking over my spending for the last year since I didn't like not really knowing what was going on and I decided to try YNAB for the next year at least; looking forward to getting a more granular understanding of things.

[Lithium]

Ever since I realized that even billionaires get fat if they eat cheeseburgers and ice cream every day I stopped being very envious of them.

[ObgynMD]

That's impressive! My kids eat half a scoop and then I eat the rest. I don't know where I went wrong with them;-)

I’m guessing they eat their vegetables, too? Epic fail. 🤪

[White.Beard.Doc]

how do you report the IMIE to permanently lock it?

We reported it to Apple as a stolen phone and they permanently disabled the IMIE.

[wideopenspaces]

I’m guessing they eat their vegetables, too? Epic fail. 🤪

Do canned green beans count? No?

[VentAlarm]

Yea agree it's the small things which you may not recognize are a bigger deal to most folks, that make you realize if you've made it.

For me, that's constantly purchasing and losing Apple Airpods. At first, I would order a new one when I lost the current one, but now I've been ordering them 2 at a time. Maybe one day, I will find a big stash of lost ones under my couch or bed, who knows?

Edit: meant Airpods not Apple Watch, haven't had my coffee yet.

We could afford that, but I’m too cheap. I was eying AirPods for like 18 months and wouldn’t pull the trigger. My wife got a pair as a gift from her folks and we now share them (although I use them more than she does). I realize this is an illogical decision as I greatly prefer them to regular headphones with a cord, and it’s cheap not frugal, but I can’t do it.

[STATscans]

I get what many if you are saying. I am able to buy many things without thinking too hard about it. But that is only bc I am working full time and have a paycheck that is decent. If I was to not have that anymore (quit , fired), and tap into the “million”, I would have to be a lot more frugal to make it last.

[Lordosis]

I get what many if you are saying. I am able to buy many things without thinking too hard about it. But that is only bc I am working full time and have a paycheck that is decent. If I was to not have that anymore (quit , fired), and tap into the “million”, I would have to be a lot more frugal to make it last.

Could you live on 40k a year? I couldn't. Not without moving and a major lifestyle change.

After the next million and it is 80k we will be in striking range. I could probably make that work if forced to but why would I. Just play it a little safe and have more room for luxury and margin for error.

[TheDangerZone]

I get what many if you are saying. I am able to buy many things without thinking too hard about it. But that is only bc I am working full time and have a paycheck that is decent. If I was to not have that anymore (quit , fired), and tap into the “million”, I would have to be a lot more frugal to make it last.

Well the term millionaire originated something like two to three hundred years ago. A millionaire in 1925 (Great Gatsby times) would be worth 15 million in today's dollars. Historically, being a millionaire was a big deal. Now, they're a dime a dozen -- especially on this board. It's still an accomplishment, just nowhere near the "set for life" status it used to represent.

https://www.physicianonfire.com/millionaire-definition/