The secret to a happier, healthier life: Just retire

[GA8314]

Personally I am aiming for having the financial ability to retire at age 50 with $5-7M in retirement assets (excluding property). Does that mean I will? Probably not. I like what I do and I will probably try to dial it back down to half time or so at that point depending on how things go. I could see enjoying part time work for another 10 or 15 years at that point to continue to allow my savings to compound while not drawing them down, but also having plenty of time for travel and leisure.

My goal is $3.5 million using a yearly compound rate of 5% by retirement. I too enjoy my job and hope to work part time through my late 60's if health holds up. You never know though.

Making that number means, for me, living like a mid-level engineering manager. Comfortable, but not extravagant. And saving pretty aggressively......

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[abolt18]

Goal is financial independence before 50 so I can decrease work and make it more enjoyable (part time, less or no call, work on my terms). As was previously mentioned my biggest method for arriving there is just not spending much. Plan to have all debt, including home paid off within ten years of finishing residency. Looking forward to what my future brings me.

 

[68PGunner]

I plan to work about 3-4 days after the age of 55. Life is too short. By that time, I'm expected to have at least two sources of income that will give me about 50K/yr. By the time that I hit 60, I will probably have about 4 sources of income that will total 80K/yr assuming that I don't do jack. That hasn't factored into investment returns on my Roth accounts and trading account yet. For this year, SP500 is 10% down. I'm up 30% on my trading account, and 1% on my ROTH accounts.

 

[Postictal Raiden]

The next generation of physicians are going to have a really tough uphill battle achieving the same milestones. One reason is the increasing indebtedness. Unless you have a generous scholarship, family financial support, or attend a medical school in Tx, you are looking at graduating with 250k+ of loans. Another reason is the potential decrease in incomes, especially that of anesthesiologists. During the past two decades, anesthesiologists enjoyed very high salaries compared to other medical specialities. Unfortunately, as more anesthesiologists are becoming employees, the average salary will drop significantly. Finally, the average age of medical school graduates has increased over the past few years. This would mean that future physicians have less career longitivtiy than there predecessors.

Therefore, a person like me graduating med school at age of 32 with a debt load of ~500k and a potential annual income of ~250k, I'd be lucky to have a my school debt and mortgage paid off by the age of 50, let alone be financially independent.

 

[ERRES2288]

500k in student loans! Yikes. I plan on graduating residency at 32 with about 300k. If I work hard in an undesirable area I figure I can pull in around 400k/yr. I will easily be able to be financially independent at 50 if I save hard.

 

[Postictal Raiden]

500k in student loans! Yikes. I plan on graduating residency at 32 with about 300k. If I work hard in an undesirable area I figure I can pull in around 400k/yr. I will easily be able to be financially independent at 50 if I save hard.

Yeah I was unfortunate to attend a very expensive medical school and already had some debt from undergrad.

Being 4 years younger than me, this will potentially put you ~1M ahead of me. Besides, with a 400k projected income, you can easily payoff your debt in 2 years. After that if you can live off 100k a year and throw the remaining of your take home income towards retirement investments, you'll easily have a 3M nest egg at the age of 50.

 

[PhysicianOnFIRE]

My goal is $3.5 million using a yearly compound rate of 5% by retirement. I too enjoy my job and hope to work part time through my late 60's if health holds up. You never know though.

Making that number means, for me, living like a mid-level engineering manager. Comfortable, but not extravagant. And saving pretty aggressively......

Big numbers like these lie ahead of me too. I make projections and see numbers like 3 million or 5 million on the horizon, depending on how long I continue practicing. I think either is far more than I actually need to live happily and comfortably for the rest of my life. I need to figure out if I will be happy if I were to leave the profession entirely. My guy says yes, but I don't think I'll know until the time comes. Financially, I could walk away today, but I'm not prepared to do that anytime soon. #firstworldproblems

 

[pjl]

Yeah I was unfortunate to attend a very expensive medical school and already had some debt from undergrad.

Being 4 years younger than me, this will potentially put you ~1M ahead of me. Besides, with a 400k projected income, you can easily payoff your debt in 2 years. After that if you can live off 100k a year and throw the remaining of your take home income towards retirement investments, you'll easily have a 3M nest egg at the age of 50.

*You made a choice to attend a very expensive medical school.

 

[Postictal Raiden]

*You made a choice to attend a very expensive medical school.

You are right. It was my choice. However, I didn't have the option to attend a much cheaper school. I made bad choices early on in my undergrad that made it impossible for me to get a scholarship or attend a very cheap medical school.

Besides, having a 250k more debt than the average grad is not the main reason why I won't have a 5M nest egg by age of 50. In fact, even if I were to graduate debt free, and continue to live like a resident (~60k/year) until I'm 50, the most I'll save is 2M.

 

[Random Anesthesiologist]

Haha as a nearly 42-year-young resident, probably never. Or not before 70 lol. Good thing I love my work.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk

I will be 41 going on 42 when I start practicing in the big leagues (if I match to CCM fellowship). My first big-girl purchase will be consultation and retainer of a very good financial planner to see how/if I can be in a retirement spot by age 60.

Big hurdles are student loan debt and kids' college futures (which will hit in my 50s). Student loan is fairly easy, I can live poor a few years and pay it off.

I also have dreams of owning some nice property in the country with a house in the city and country and retire to the country. Would like to travel too. I don't care much for gadgets, new cars, etc except having snowmobiles would be nice.

I've also thought about owning some non-medical businesses someday too. We'll see. But definitely starting with the financial planner.

 

[ERRES2288]

You are right. It was my choice. However, I didn't have the option to attend a much cheaper school. I made bad choices early on in my undergrad that made it impossible for me to get a scholarship or attend a very cheap medical school.

Besides, having a 250k more debt than the average grad is not the main reason why I won't have a 5M nest egg by age of 50. In fact, even if I were to graduate debt free, and continue to live like a resident (~60k/year) until I'm 50, the most I'll save is 2M.

What specialty are you going into?

 

[Mman]

I will be 41 going on 42 when I start practicing in the big leagues (if I match to CCM fellowship). My first big-girl purchase will be consultation and retainer of a very good financial planner to see how/if I can be in a retirement spot by age 60.

Big hurdles are student loan debt and kids' college futures (which will hit in my 50s). Student loan is fairly easy, I can live poor a few years and pay it off.

I also have dreams of owning some nice property in the country with a house in the city and country and retire to the country. Would like to travel too. I don't care much for gadgets, new cars, etc except having snowmobiles would be nice.

I've also thought about owning some non-medical businesses someday too. We'll see. But definitely starting with the financial planner.

As long as the financial planner is paid on an hourly basis, and not AUM, then that is OK. Unfortunately too many people waste more money with a financial planner than they save compared to what they could do by themselves using low cost index funds.

 

[Postictal Raiden]

What specialty are you going into?

Not sure yet. However, I'm assuming I'll be making 250k/year (inflation adjusted, of course).

 

[Random Anesthesiologist]

As long as the financial planner is paid on an hourly basis, and not AUM, then that is OK. Unfortunately too many people waste more money with a financial planner than they save compared to what they could do by themselves using low cost index funds.

That is a whole other ball of wax. When the time comes I'm sure I will ask around about what is best. But I am not a financial expert by any means, and there are some things I admit to needing help with.

 

[Mman]

That is a whole other ball of wax. When the time comes I'm sure I will ask around about what is best. But I am not a financial expert by any means, and there are some things I admit to needing help with.

don't do that.

Ask around? Ask who? Your colleagues? Terrible idea. You colleagues probably aren't any more financially savvy than you. Having a bigger bank account doesn't make you smarter. Your best bet is to educate yourself. It costs very little. Go visit the White Coat Investor site. Check out the Bogleheads forum.

The problem with financial advisors is that most work for a percentage of the assets they manage for you. There is loads of evidence that paying those fees costs you money long term because they add up to massive amounts. Let's say you pay 1% fee per year. After 10 years you've got $1M. At that point you are paying $10,000 a year for personal advice of which the advisor probably spends no more than 3-6 hours per year for you. Another 10 years and you might have $3M and be paying $30,000 a year for that same advice. That's why if you must get their advice, just pay an hourly rate. It'll end up being far, far, far cheaper for you in the end and you'll get the same advice.

If you want the simplest great advice possible, educate yourself enough to determine a desired asset allocation and use maybe 2-3 low cost funds to achieve it and simply add money every paycheck towards it. Don't check the stock market, don't watch CNBC, don't ask for stock tips from your buddy. If you do it consistently it's hard to not end up rich in the end as a physician.

 

[GA8314]

don't do that.

Ask around? Ask who? Your colleagues? Terrible idea. You colleagues probably aren't any more financially savvy than you. Having a bigger bank account doesn't make you smarter. Your best bet is to educate yourself. It costs very little. Go visit the White Coat Investor site. Check out the Bogleheads forum.

The problem with financial advisors is that most work for a percentage of the assets they manage for you. There is loads of evidence that paying those fees costs you money long term because they add up to massive amounts. Let's say you pay 1% fee per year. After 10 years you've got $1M. At that point you are paying $10,000 a year for personal advice of which the advisor probably spends no more than 3-6 hours per year for you. Another 10 years and you might have $3M and be paying $30,000 a year for that same advice. That's why if you must get their advice, just pay an hourly rate. It'll end up being far, far, far cheaper for you in the end and you'll get the same advice.

If you want the simplest great advice possible, educate yourself enough to determine a desired asset allocation and use maybe 2-3 low cost funds to achieve it and simply add money every paycheck towards it. Don't check the stock market, don't watch CNBC, don't ask for stock tips from your buddy. If you do it consistently it's hard to not end up rich in the end as a physician.

This is some of the best advice I've heard. I've heard that from other very successful "investors". Really, just guys that put money into index-like funds, with a balanced portfolio, and put steady money away into their funds over years and years. They didn't knee jerk, they didn't try to trade, and they ended up with a large pile of money in the end. This is contrasted to what one of my former attendings (who did just THAT) describes as the guys that tried to trade throughout their careers and ended up losing 100's of thousands if not millions of dollars over their careers......

 

[Mman]

This is some of the best advice I've heard. I've heard that from other very successful "investors". Really, just guys that put money into index-like funds, with a balanced portfolio, and put steady money away into their funds over years and years. They didn't knee jerk, they didn't try to trade, and they ended up with a large pile of money in the end. This is contrasted to what one of my former attendings (who did just THAT) describes as the guys that tried to trade throughout their careers and ended up losing 100's of thousands if not millions of dollars over their careers......

Really the safest way to invest long term is to essentially do nothing except save as much as you comfortably can in an asset allocation you are comfortable with. There have been numerous studies showing the "average" investor is terrible at making decisions and costs themselves money when they really should have done nothing. For example, if a mutual fund returns 10% CAGR over 20 years the median return for each investor in the fund might only be 4% because of how they timed it. It's interesting psychology that when someone looks at a fund that is up 20% over the last 3 months they think wow I want to start buying it, but if it's down 20% they want to sell it. Buy hi, sell low is what people emotionally do instead of buy low, sell high to make money. That's why just dollar cost averaging into low cost funds works...you take out the emotional decisions and prevent yourself from making costly mistakes.

Ben Graham and Warren Buffett have talked/written quite a bit about how the stock market is basically a nonstop stream of information which makes us feel like we need to act on it. Oil futures dropped today? Oh man, maybe I should sell that one asset and buy some other. Unemployment dropped? OK, what should I change now? And on and on and on. Really we'd be better off if we didn't have any of that information since we wouldn't feel forced to make a decision when the actual decision should be to do nothing. Either Graham or Buffett would said (I can't remember which) that you shouldn't buy a stock (or really applies to a fund or bond or whatever) if you wouldn't be comfortable owning it for 5 years without ever being able to see it's quoted price during that time. Whether the quote goes up or down, you shouldn't feel compelled to do anything other than sit there and hold it.

 

[pgg]

The two biggest determinants of wealth in the end are savings rate and spending rate, and both are 98% within one's control.

So many of the details of this fund and that stock and the endless TV barrage of know-nothing's who need to say something so they get invited back next week occupy so much of our time and matter so little in the end. Maybe we should think of investing like Shem taught us to think of medicine, and try to obey Law #13 there too.

 

[Random Anesthesiologist]

Thanks for the input. So my concern is this - ending up knowing just enough about finance to get me into trouble with self-investing. That was why I wanted to consult with an advisor initially.

I haven't really had time to look at the white coat investor in-depth (residency demands) but I am a fairly quick learner with basic economic understanding so I don't mind giving it a shot.

Any other sources for the newbie for investing? Is there a sticky for this? Teach me, wise ones.

 

[pjl]

Where the advisor may be able to help is sorting out where you have advantages from a tax perspective. That can get more complicated, but really if you spend as much time learning about it as you did studying for a biochem test you should be able to figure it out.
Right now would be a great time to start looking at a few things, one of which would be funding whatever roth accounts you can manage, since your income will be higher later. That said, I think there is something to be said for just using your limited funds to enjoy your life right now instead of delaying gratification.
One attending paycheck is likely to be the same as all those sacrifices you can handle making during residency.

 

[Wiscoblue]

If you save 100k a year for 25 years and it grows at the rate of inflation then you will have 100k a year (equivalent) for 25 years of retirement.

Now if you are able to save 4-5 million then you might able to just live off the dividends in retirement and pass the capital on to your kids after giving a percentage to Uncle Sam.

 

[Random Anesthesiologist]

Where the advisor may be able to help is sorting out where you have advantages from a tax perspective. That can get more complicated, but really if you spend as much time learning about it as you did studying for a biochem test you should be able to figure it out.
Right now would be a great time to start looking at a few things, one of which would be funding whatever roth accounts you can manage, since your income will be higher later. That said, I think there is something to be said for just using your limited funds to enjoy your life right now instead of delaying gratification.
One attending paycheck is likely to be the same as all those sacrifices you can handle making during residency.

I have an Amex card that puts 2% into an IRA. We use it for almost everything but also pay it off every month. Most years I'm able to put up to $1000-$1200 in the IRA.

 

[k12balla]

Thanks for the input. So my concern is this - ending up knowing just enough about finance to get me into trouble with self-investing. That was why I wanted to consult with an advisor initially.

I haven't really had time to look at the white coat investor in-depth (residency demands) but I am a fairly quick learner with basic economic understanding so I don't mind giving it a shot.

Any other sources for the newbie for investing? Is there a sticky for this? Teach me, wise ones.

Purchasing the white coat investor's 100 pg handbook for all of $10 might be one of the top investment choices you will ever make. Passive investing through dollar cost averaging in index funds with low expense ratios(fees). It really doesn't get any simpler than that.

 

[Random Anesthesiologist]

Sold. I bought the paperback version though because I like real books

 

[GA8314]

Sold. I bought the paperback version though because I like real books

Ditto and done.

 

[deleted171991]

Sold. I bought the paperback version though because I like real books

That's almost double price, $9 more than the Kindle edition. That means $40 over 30 years, at even only 5% annual return. Do you see how expensive that paperback was, besides killing trees?

I bet you feel better now about that $5 coffee.

 

[Random Anesthesiologist]

Some things are worth the extra money. I'll forgo the next $9 box of miss Clairol. I don't buy $5 coffee anyway

 

[GA8314]

You are right. It was my choice. However, I didn't have the option to attend a much cheaper school. I made bad choices early on in my undergrad that made it impossible for me to get a scholarship or attend a very cheap medical school.

Besides, having a 250k more debt than the average grad is not the main reason why I won't have a 5M nest egg by age of 50. In fact, even if I were to graduate debt free, and continue to live like a resident (~60k/year) until I'm 50, the most I'll save is 2M.

Get the highest paying job you can right out of the gate. Preferably one that has some flexibility (buying call, doing extra shifts etc. etc.) to make some EXTRA money. OR, Locums on your some of your vacation weeks. Kill that debt. The best part of our career (for now) is the ability to live comfortably AND kill the debt, AND put some money away. But, do it right away. Kill that debt. Also, take advantage of any pre-tax savings you have access to (401K etc). You can do it. And, you can still live comfortably while doing so, in a rewarding career.

Good luck, but get a little pissed. Soon, you'll feel gratification because you CAN do something about it.

 

[ERRES2288]

What's interesting is the debt does not compound past 10% of the ending principle balance on government loans. From there it is just simple interest. I haven't run the numbers but I think investing with a compounded 6% return comes out ahead of a 7-8% simple interest on the loan.

That is assuming you actually invest the money however and don't spend it on a new boat!

 

[Postictal Raiden]

Get the highest paying job you can right out of the gate. Preferably one that has some flexibility (buying call, doing extra shifts etc. etc.) to make some EXTRA money. OR, Locums on your some of your vacation weeks. Kill that debt. The best part of our career (for now) is the ability to live comfortably AND kill the debt, AND put some money away. But, do it right away. Kill that debt. Also, take advantage of any pre-tax savings you have access to (401K etc). You can do it. And, you can still live comfortably while doing so, in a rewarding career.

Good luck, but get a little pissed. Soon, you'll feel gratification because you CAN do something about it.

Yeah, that's the plan. Finish training, refinance with SoFi or other banks at ~4%, work my @ss off while continue living on 70k or less and put every remaining penny towards the loans. I hoping 400k+ jobs still exist in 6 years. I don't mind the location; heck, I'd go to Mars if that means I can payoff the debt in few years.

 

[pjl]

Yeah, that's the plan. Finish training, refinance with SoFi or other banks at ~4%, work my @ss off while continue living on 70k or less and put every remaining penny towards the loans. I hoping 400k+ jobs still exist in 6 years. I don't mind the location; heck, I'd go to Mars if that means I can payoff the debt in few years.

You just gave yourself a raise of 10k/year in 2 days. Careful

 

[Random Anesthesiologist]

I'm planning on CCM/OR Anes jobs. Probably academic but not averse to PP if the gig is right. When should I start looking? Right after the match?

 

[Doctor4Life1769]

I'm planning on CCM/OR Anes jobs. Probably academic but not averse to PP if the gig is right. When should I start looking? Right after the match?

May be too early unless the practice is willing to wait 1.5 or so years.

I'd say wait until you're settled into your fellowship, right around 3-4 months in.

 

[kazuma]

I'm planning on CCM/OR Anes jobs. Probably academic but not averse to PP if the gig is right. When should I start looking? Right after the match?

It's usually a matter of timing and connections and it's virtually never too early to start networking and testing the water out. I had coresidents that signed contracts as early as CA2 year or early CA3 year. Private practice CCM is pretty rare especially on the west coast so I would recommend looking for prospective jobs earlier than later. You might not sign a contract this early, but it usually doesn't hurt and is often helpful to start making connections and networking early if you haven't already.

 

[OTCAwesome]

Do any of you CCM guys do the one week on one week off gig and then work locums a couple days on your weeks off? I'm a CA2 interviewing for CCM right now, a couple docs I've talked to have been private, but have an affiliation with the University so they interact with residents and fellows (mostly Midwest and southern programs), have you guys heard of this before?

 

[Shimmy8]

3 fund plan.

50% Vanguard total stock market

30% Vanguard total international

20% Vanguard total bond.

Not planning on touching it anytime soon.

 

[OneFellSwoop]

Similar to shimmy8, but 65%, 15% and 20% for the exact same funds. Planning on touching once a year to rebalance

 

[e30ftw]

visiting from EM. I hope to be semi-retired in 20 years (51). New attending, just starting to significantly reduce med school debt.

Have a 30-year mortgage but effective fixed interest rate including deduction is ~2.6% so am only going to make minimum payments until student loan debt (4.5%) is paid off, hopefully about 7 years, then pay off the mortgage.

I max 401k and invest ~3k a month in Vanguard ETFs (VTI, VONG, BND) in a similar ratio as the above posters. All ETF trades are commission free and I really don't see the need to pay a financial advisor or fund manager when it's just as likely they'll end up screwing something up. Maybe it's a millennial outlook but I trust computers more than investment bankers.

Assuming conservative growth should have ~3.5 mil in 20 years, combined with wife's 401k. Might not be enough to completely retire but at least cut down to 3-4 days/mo. Guess it all depends on how you want to live in retirement.

 

[Mman]

All ETF trades are commission free and I really don't see the need to pay a financial advisor or fund manager when it's just as likely they'll end up screwing something up. Maybe it's a millennial outlook but I trust computers more than investment bankers.

You don't need to trust computers more than investment bankers (or in this case financial advisors). You can probably trust the right financial advisor even more than a computer. The issue is cost. The reason to use the advisor is they cost way, way, way more than you probably need. Paying 1% of Assets Under Management (AUM) is insanely expensive when all you need is a low cost diverse portfolio.

 

[e30ftw]

The reason to use the advisor is they cost way, way, way more than you probably need. Paying 1% of Assets Under Management (AUM) is insanely expensive when all you need is a low cost diverse portfolio.

Did you mean, "The reason not to use the advisor"?

That's basically what I've heard, the good financial advisers around here charge something like ~$500 a year then 1% of AUM after your portfolio reaches $250k or so, which seems like a significant waste of money.

 

[PhysicianOnFIRE]

Did you mean, "The reason not to use the advisor"?

That's basically what I've heard, the good financial advisers around here charge something like ~$500 a year then 1% of AUM after your portfolio reaches $250k or so, which seems like a significant waste of money.

Sounds like a good argument against the advisor. You'll pay the AUM and there's a decent chance you'll be in funds with expenses 10 times higher than the admiral funds at Vanguard or other similar low cost fund companies.

I trust myself far more than either a computer or human advisor. I've got a lot more skin in the game when the money and future at stake are mine. 1% may not sound like much, but combine that with another 0.5% to 1% in higher fees, you'll be spending 1.5 to 2% on the advisor / more expensive mutual funds. Let's say you want to retire on a $3 to 4 million dollar portfolio, you're spending around $60,000 every year on the advisor & funds with that level of net worth.

It is well worth your time to educate yourself and it's not that difficult. If you can practice medicine, you can do this. The 3 fund portfolio mentioned above is a good place to start. You will find a wealth of information on Bogleheads and The White Coat Investor.

 

[aneftp]

Love or hate Obama. The ACA has made it more attractive for semi affluent people to retire. Keep ur income below 400% of poverty (family of four $100k or less). Couples $65k or less. That's adjusted gross income after deductions.

ACA basically will give u $5000-10000 extra in subsidies being "poor".

Before many people worked cause they couldn't qualify for Medicare until age 65. Now the ACA is an option for many semi affluent people like many physicians in their late 50s and 60s to retire early.

No more denial for pre existing conditions

 

[Monty Python]

3 fund plan.

50% Vanguard total stock market

30% Vanguard total international

20% Vanguard total bond.

Not planning on touching it anytime soon.

What do others think about the proper timing, and new percentages of the above portfolio, for age-related reallocations?

 

[Shimmy8]

What do others think about the proper timing, and new percentages of the above portfolio, for age-related reallocations?

FWIW, I'm currently at 50/23/27 in my wife's old 401k via work using Vanguard.

Closer to 50/25/25 in Fidelity Spartan Stock/Intl/ Vanguard Total Bond for both of our current 401k employer. I'm a 30 yo CA-2, wife is a 30 yo RN.

 

[Mman]

Did you mean, "The reason not to use the advisor"?

That's basically what I've heard, the good financial advisers around here charge something like ~$500 a year then 1% of AUM after your portfolio reaches $250k or so, which seems like a significant waste of money.

sorry, obviously meant the reason not to use the advisor. Advisors can be very good. They are almost always at least as good as a robo-advisor in terms of what they can tell you, but the cost being so high is what makes it a deal breaker most of the time. Why pay $10,000 a year or $50,000 a year for an advisor when you can pay something like $25 or $50 a year for similar advice from a website?

Now if you can find a good advisor that will simply bill you an hourly rate, well that could be a very good thing. It's the percentages where it sounds like nothing and ends up being a massive amount (either now or down the road).

 

[caligas]

FWIW, I'm currently at 50/23/27 in my wife's old 401k via work using Vanguard.

Closer to 50/25/25 in Fidelity Spartan Stock/Intl/ Vanguard Total Bond for both of our current 401k employer. I'm a 30 yo CA-2, wife is a 30 yo RN.

Personally I think a 30 year old should be in 100% equities, (beyond emergence fund) but not everyone agrees. You are right on the money using the old 100 minus age rule for stock %.

 

[okayplayer]

100 minus age = % sti


Personally I think a 30 year old should be in 100% equities, (beyond emergence fund) but not everyone agrees. You are right on the money using the old 100 minus age rule for stock %.

My wife and I are 31 and 33. We are in 100% equities and about 30% international (1/3 of which is emerging markets). Even though it will clearly be more volatile, we chose to do this based on the fact that historically (obvious caveat) a 100% equity portfolio has outperformed a blended stock/bond portfolio and we have a lot of time ahead of us to weather the volatility that is ahead.

We just dump the money in (110k/yr pretax) and adjust our allocation annually to maintain the 70/30 ratio. I try not to follow things too closely so I'm not tempted to mess around with things and deviate from our plan.

 

[Random Anesthesiologist]

OMG. So much to learn. How long did it take you guys before you felt you had a good working knowledge of investing for yourself?

 

[Shimmy8]

With this big downturn I'm probably going to rebalance very soon. Considering going 90-100% equity with 70/30 us/intl as above.

I read pretty much every article on White Coat Investor during 4th year when I realized I didn't know a damn thing.

Bought the Bogleheads book and read their forum too. Very helpful.

 

[okayplayer]

OMG. So much to learn. How long did it take you guys before you felt you had a good working knowledge of investing for yourself?

Keep it simple. Browse White Coat Investor when you have specific questions (i.e. disability insurance, etc).

I got the e-version of the Personal Finance For Dummies, Investing For Dummies, and Mutual Funds For Dummies set which was recommended by WCI. Cost $30 or so. I read them all at my leisure/between cases etc.

If you are interested in a common sense, easy to read perspective I recommend William Bernstein (former physician).