Know Your Numbers

One weekend, I was visiting family when someone mentioned that they were recommended to see a financial advisor because they were getting to “that age”. Upon reviewing their numbers, they were told that they had enough to retire now if they wanted to - so they did!

People were shocked that they pulled the trigger just like that, but I was more shocked that they hadn’t been aware that they were ready to retire - how much earlier could they have done so? Even before I had spent time learning the importance of understanding the ins and outs of your own net worth and having a financial plan, it had made me very uncomfortable how comfortable people were with not knowing their numbers.

My student loans were in deferment while I was in med school, but still I knew how much I owed, the interest rates on each, and how much my payments would be once I graduated (not because I was trying to plan out my finances, but because I was Type A - like most doctors are). My husband (then boyfriend at the time), was paying off his student loans and only knew what his payments were. He didn’t know his total amount, didn’t know how much interest he’d end up paying, didn’t know the interest rates, and didn’t even know how to find this information out... because why? Why would he need to know all that information when, as long as he continued to make his scheduled payments, his student loans would be gone “someday”?

When I started on my financial independence kick, my husband was verbally supportive, but each time I said things like, “I want to have “x amount of money” in 10 years” or “I want to travel for months at a time” or “I think we could both go part time in a few years to do the all the other things we want to do”, I could sense that he thought I was joking. These goals seem lofty and crazy when you’ve just always pictured working full time until 65, and that was his plan. It wasn’t a plan that he especially liked, but there were no other realistic options that he was aware of.

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When I started including finances and budgets in my discussions with patients, I began to see what a huge part it played in everything. Many were resigned to the fact that they’d work forever and never have enough. Many were constantly stressed about money because it was a big unknown, since most people get no financial education at all. These financial stressors kept them awake at night, working longer hours, and feeling more irritable and exhausted. These things kept them from making healthy food choices, finding time to workout or take care of themselves. And it was this horrible cycle that they couldn’t get out of.

I have loved seeing the changes even just a little bit of financial education can do for someone. It gives back such power and makes plans for the future seem real.