[Today’s post is from Smart Money MD, who runs one of the longest-running physician finance blogs (he’s been blogging since 2015). In this article, he highlights that for high-income professionals, penny-pinching on every splurge in your life isn’t necessary. This article previously ran on Smart Money MD’s blog in March 2017. -WSP]
Back when I was a resident, I lived in a high cost of living area. About one and a half of my paychecks went towards my monthly rent. I know this sounds crazy as a resident earning about $50,000 a year, but that was my situation. I probably paid more than what most of my readers pay for their mortgages on an entire house! This wasn’t a nice pad either with a Sub-Zero fridge or Toto toilet either—I lived in a roach-infested studio where the amount of heat I got in the winter was controlled by the building’s superintendent. But, the trade-off for such an expensive unit was that I felt safe living there…most of the time.
With a skewed budget like that, I did pay close attention to my budget even though I wasn’t attuned to the finer aspects of finance. Cheap cellphone providers weren’t in style yet, so I shopped around frequently if my phone company decided to jack up their rates. Likewise, I spent a few hours every year on the phone with my Internet provider, threatening to leave their company if they wouldn’t keep my bill the same.
I sweat the small stuff.
Most doctors have some sort of compulsive behavior in their blood. All financial bloggers DEFINITELY have compulsivity in their fabric too (Yes, if you like spending your weekends plotting out your dividends from your stock market funds, you have compulsive behavior!). As a busy resident, the time I spent sweating the small stuff could have been probably better allocated to sleeping, studying, or even socializing. But, I was very aware that my budget had a narrow range before I needed to break out the awesome balance transfer checks that tempted me.
So lowering my Internet bill from $80 a month to $29.99 a month was worth negotiating for an hour or two each year with the frustrating service representatives. So was fighting through extra crowds of customers at the cheaper ethnic supermarket.
Total savings of getting your feet stepped on at the supermarket: probably $15 a week.
The savings do add up. And for most families, the $50,000 a year resident stipend could easily feed a family of four. Saving a few thousand dollars of post-tax dollars a year could help fuel your Roth IRA, 529, or emergency fund. That is a practical use of time and money for that budget.
Once your life gets busier and you begin to command a higher price for your services, the small stuff might actually become too small for your time. You might not want to drive an extra two miles and wait in line for gas at Costco to save ten cents a gallon. Do you risk your child’s well-being by using the babysitter who is $1 an hour cheaper? What about $5 cheaper? Or $10?
The decisions become more complicated as more variables come into play. If you are justifying a minuscule cost savings in exchange for time already in your limited schedule, then it’s probably not worth it. For instance, if you have to round for 4 hours on Saturday and Sunday morning, then you probably would not want to raise your blood pressure on the phone with a Comcast agent trying to lower your Internet/TV bill.
On the other hand, if you typically spend your weekends building furniture or at the local park with your kids, you could probably spare an hour a year to save $1000 on your Internet bill. It wouldn’t really matter if you otherwise had a salary of $50,000 or $500,000. I would venture a guess that even some people I know with a $5,000,000 net worth would still be willing to argue with a phone rep to save a grand.
Some people will sweat the small stuff no matter what situation they are in.
Another consideration on savings depends on how much your job allows you to earn more for working more. If you are an ER doctor, you could probably fill in a few extra shifts and earn a few extra thousand bucks. You might end up deciding that it’s easier for you to just go to work to earn more rather than going out of your way to save on gas or groceries. If you really like money and are willing to sacrifice time your time, you could do BOTH.
Whatever your threshold for pinching pennies, make sure you actually have a threshold. At some point, you have to decide what makes you happy. Sure, that high sugar, high calorie Starbucks latte might cost $6, but you could swing it a few times a year if it can help you get you through your clinic.
You might also like: Money Does Buy Happiness
What do you think? What is your threshold for saving a buck?
[Photo courtesy of Flickr]
Great points and I have fallen trap to some things that when you really break it down was just a waste of my time (although some I still do).
Our grocery store (Kroger) offers a free item every Friday and sometimes some additional freebies. I have sometimes found myself wandering the aisles 10 min+ or more trying to find that particular item, which may have cost $1-3 to begin with. Do I still do it? Yes. Have no idea why but I can’t help myself.
I have a Tesla and have unlimited lifetime supercharging. In the beginning sometimes I would drive to the charger if it is within the vicinity to charge up the car fully even though I had enough battery to get home and charge there. I fortunately snapped out of this when I realized I was sitting maybe 20-30 min in the supercharger and likely saved only $4 at most of electricity. Not worth my time and mileage to drive to a supercharger for that.
Great article on how you think about and approach spending! I like to approach it as I do investing in stocks. You’re constantly on the lookout for quality and value, while supporting enterprises that improve the world. Occasionally you find quality at a great price, mostly because the masses have missed it – and that gives you a thrill. For example, I eschew $6 lattes from Starbucks and support a migrant cafe owner who offers them for $3. Arguably I get better coffee and certainly a chance to chat about the day, Italy or the markets.
This is a nice reminder that our time is extremely valuable.
For me, it is by far my most valuable and my most scarce resource. If I can spend money but save myself some time in the process, then it is worth it.
We all have our blind spots and quirks, but I try to negotiate the hardest on the big-ticket items like taxes, cars, houses, salary, etc. and not worry about the rest.
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