Financial Planning for Physicians: Patience is a Virtue

June 13th, 2016 2 Min read Financial Planning for Physicians: Patience is a Virtue Blog
[caption id="attachment_8513" align="alignright" width="299"]Dr. Jim Dahle is the founder of the site whitecoatinvestor.com Dr. Jim Dahle is the founder of the site whitecoatinvestor.com[/caption] Financial planning is all about patience according to Dr. Jim Dahle, The White Coat Investor. Dahle breaks it down like this:

Life Is the Climb, Not the Summit

I have been climbing for a long time. Non-climbers often think people ascend mountains in order to reach the summit. But the truth is that the best part of a climb is almost never the summit. I don’t go climbing to stand on the summit. Neither do I manage my finances just to reach my goals. I also enjoy the feeling of moving toward the accomplishment of those goals.

Distract Yourself

Have you ever lost yourself in a monotonous task by thinking of something else? I often do this while on a long run. I actually hate running, but I do like that it keeps me in shape to do the things I really enjoy. If you’re frustrated that you haven’t reached financial goals that you are on track to eventually reach, then feel free to distract yourself. Personal finance and investing isn’t so time-consuming that you even have to think about it every month, much less every day.

Break It Up Into Smaller Chunks

If you wait until you reach your huge massive financial goal to celebrate, you only get to celebrate once. Why not celebrate once for every $10K in student loans you pay off or every $100K in net worth you achieve?

Focus On Other Financial Issues

If you’re getting impatient with one financial goal, switch your focus to another. Leave your investments or insurance on autopilot, and go work on your estate plan or asset protection or budget or whatever. Mix it up and when you come back, things will be fresher.

Live Your Ideal Life Now

This is probably my most important tip, and also the one I need to pay the most attention to. The reason you get impatient is that you aren’t doing exactly what you want to be doing. Why not examine your life, figure out why it isn’t your ideal life, and then take steps to make it closer to your ideal life. Read the full post on whitecoatinvestor.com   

Author

Chad Saley

Chad Saley

Chad Saley is a public relations manager at CHG Healthcare, the parent company of CompHealth.

See all articles from this author