133: Retiring Early Doesn't Have to Be All-or-Nothing: "The Art of Subtraction" with Doc G

BiggerPockets Money Podcast

BiggerPockets

Investing, Education, Business

4.6 • 2.9K Ratings

🗓️ 13 July 2020

⏱️ 98 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Doc G wanted to be a doctor since he was eight years old. He went to medical school, started his career and quickly realized he actually didn’t like all the parts about being a doc - and didn’t know how to leave the profession. Something he’d wanted for 20 years suddenly wasn’t so awesome anymore. Cue The White Coat Investor. He’d written a book and asked Doc G to read it and review it for his medical blog - and suddenly Doc G saw a way out! This way out didn’t have the expected results, however. Instead of jubilation, Doc G was thrown into a spiral of anxiety and depression. Something he’d wanted his whole life, this thing he’d identified with so strongly for so long, and the thought of walking away from such an enormous part of his life was terrifying because now he had a way to do it and it was suddenly real. Having always saved at least 50% of his income, Doc G went to his accountant - who was unfamiliar with early retirement and sort of threw out a number he needed to save to retire. His financial advisor was a bit more helpful, asking questions like, "how much do you spend in a year?" Not knowing, Doc G threw out a number, which turned out to be really close to what his accountant said he needed. But he was still unsure. So he did what anyone in the FIRE community would do - he started reading. Everything and anything he could get his hands on. He realized he had enough money to stop doing those things he didn’t like, so he started practicing what he calls "The Art of Subtraction." He removed the things that did not make his heart sing, so that he could focus on those things he DID enjoy. And his plan worked. He now can spend his working hours doing the things he loves to do, and does not have to do the things he doesn’t. He has focused more time on non-doctor side projects like writing and podcasting - where his enjoyment runs sky high even though the paychecks do not. As his side projects bring more joy, walking away from the physician thing gets easier and easier. Making plans for retirement is great, but today Doc G shares how to plan your transition into retirement which can be even more important! In This Episode We Cover: Doc G's specialty as a doctor His journey into the medical field How his life changed from being a doctor to investor How his money journey began The art of subtraction Stepping away from being a physician and leaving a large paycheck behind Questioning what truly makes you happy Doc G's portfolio His rental property business And SO much more! Links from the Show BiggerPockets Money Podcast 99 with Scott, Whitney Hansen, and Doc G BiggerPockets Money Podcast 6 with Sarah Wilson BiggerPockets Money Podcast 11 with Joel What is Hedonic Adaptation and How Can it Turn You Into a Sucka? Hacking Hedonic Adaptation to Get Way More For Your Money Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to the BiggerPockets Money Podcast, show number 133, where we interview
0:04.5	Doc G from the Earn and Invest Podcast and talk about transitioning to a life of
0:08.9	non-traditional employment or even no employment and the struggles that come with leaving a job that
0:14.1	defines you but does not make you happy. So no I don't think everyone can do it
0:20.2	exactly the way I did it.
0:23.2	What I think most of our messages are, who are interested in personal finance is maybe you
0:29.0	can't do exactly what we did, but maybe you can take pieces of what we did to make your life better and
0:35.1	that's the way I look at it.
0:36.1	Hello hello hello my name is Mindy Jensen and with me as always is my always
0:41.4	adaptable co-host Scott Trunch.
0:44.0	I just love the evolution of your introductory adjectives.
0:47.4	Thank you so much.
0:49.4	Scott and I are here to make financial independence less scary, less just for somebody else and show
0:54.8	you that by following the proven path you can put yourself on the road to early financial freedom
0:59.5	and get money out of the way so you can lead your best life.
1:03.0	That's right, whether you want to retire early and travel the world, go on to make big-time investments
1:07.0	and assets like real estate, start your own business, or simply change your identity
1:11.5	and how you think about your profession and your worldview will help
1:15.2	you build a position capable of launching yourself towards those dreams.
1:25.1	Scott I love love Doc G not only is he just a really nice generous person but this episode today is really helpful to people who are thinking about transitioning
1:35.8	into a life of no longer traditional employment. I at my house we joke and I call my
1:40.9	husband unemployed but you know I think some people may not
	...

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