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I reconnected with two docs friends from my past over the weekend, one from college and med school and the other from residency. Both were good friends from the past, but I have not seen the former in 25+ years and the latter maybe a dozen or so times since fellowship, but not in the last 5+ years.
I found it very interesting to observe how they were financially positioned, just from casual conversations with wives/kids present. Ostensibly, both would appear to be financially successful: one heads a growing orthopedic practice in a an affluent suburban area and the other is leading a group of 35+ rads in a big city multiple hospital/imaging center practice. Both are in their early 50's (like me), and both drove fancy, late model Mercedes (unlike me). If I had to guess, I would expect that both have significantly outearned me in their careers.
Both were surprised to hear that I would be punching out by the age of 55, maybe a bit sooner and that if circumstances turned south, I could walk away tomorrow. Both said that there was no way they could retire at 55. The orthopod, who owns a house in Florida and did not finish paying off his 1980's school loans until the late 00's, said that maybe by 60 but more likely 65+. He even volunteered that perhaps he went a little nuts spending coming out of training.
The radiologist said that because of his four kids, all approaching college age (11-17) he was looking at working until 70. He did not attribute this at all to doubling the size of his house, most recently installing a wine cellar to accommodate his 500 bottles.
Fortunately, both friends currently like their jobs and roles and do not see this as a problem. We had no specific discussion of money and finances, and I gave no advice or counsel.
They are both great guys and earn a lot of money, but it would appear that their lifestyles have kept them from accumulating enough wealth to call their shots. By 55, no matter how a doc became a doc (barring health or family catastrophe), most docs should be able to retire (or scale back) if they wish or if circumstances change. This should be a lesson for younger, financially savvy docs on how not to make it to your 50's!
I found it very interesting to observe how they were financially positioned, just from casual conversations with wives/kids present. Ostensibly, both would appear to be financially successful: one heads a growing orthopedic practice in a an affluent suburban area and the other is leading a group of 35+ rads in a big city multiple hospital/imaging center practice. Both are in their early 50's (like me), and both drove fancy, late model Mercedes (unlike me). If I had to guess, I would expect that both have significantly outearned me in their careers.
Both were surprised to hear that I would be punching out by the age of 55, maybe a bit sooner and that if circumstances turned south, I could walk away tomorrow. Both said that there was no way they could retire at 55. The orthopod, who owns a house in Florida and did not finish paying off his 1980's school loans until the late 00's, said that maybe by 60 but more likely 65+. He even volunteered that perhaps he went a little nuts spending coming out of training.
The radiologist said that because of his four kids, all approaching college age (11-17) he was looking at working until 70. He did not attribute this at all to doubling the size of his house, most recently installing a wine cellar to accommodate his 500 bottles.
Fortunately, both friends currently like their jobs and roles and do not see this as a problem. We had no specific discussion of money and finances, and I gave no advice or counsel.
They are both great guys and earn a lot of money, but it would appear that their lifestyles have kept them from accumulating enough wealth to call their shots. By 55, no matter how a doc became a doc (barring health or family catastrophe), most docs should be able to retire (or scale back) if they wish or if circumstances change. This should be a lesson for younger, financially savvy docs on how not to make it to your 50's!
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