Month: September 2016

Common Expenses Incurred by non-Financially Independent Doctors

lifestyle inflation methodsThrough observation of myself, my colleagues, and reports from other physicians through the grapevine, I’ve compiled a list of examples of lifestyle inflation that occurs among professionals who ultimately grow into their incomes. Some are modest. Others, not so much. What large expenditures have you witnessed or are actually guilty of in your growing lifestyle?

  • Purchase of a large television. This is not uncommon, especially with “curved” TVs, super-hi def LEDs, surround sound systems, and home theater systems. Costs can range from $4999 for a “modest” flat LED set to $20,000 for a home theater with reclining movie theater seats and surround sound projector system.
  • Fancy car. This is also not uncommon. It seems like every other new residency/fellowship grad springs for a new set of wheels. I actually have a tough time assessing whether this lifestyle inflation is simply due to a sudden increase in income or longstanding family money that they were hesitant to flaunt during training. I was shocked to see one of my cardiology friends spring for an $125,000 Mercedes AMG within a month out of fellowship, but I suppose that his income can still support the car through a lease. Cars I’ve seen out of training include an $80,000 Tesla Model S and a used Lambo (no idea how much that would cost).
  • Increased restaurant tabs. Again, a common finding among everyone I know. Weekly $20 beer tabs (alcohol only) grow to $50 a week, along with eating out for lunch every day, and Michelin star restaurants on a regular basis. There is probably some satisfaction in building a refined taste in food, but that easily can grow your waist as well.
  • Fancier grocery purchases. It starts from eating store-brand yogurt in medical school to Fage in residency, to Noosa as an attending. Waist inflation will come with eating Whole Foods $24.99/lb salmon and $49.99/lb special grocery store porterhouses.
  • Fancy furniture for a fancy home. You can really go crazy in this category. Think interior designer mandated custom dining rooms with marble-top formal dining tables with chairs starting at $2000 apiece. Lawn design with feng shui elements that cost $60,000.
  • Upgraded work and formal attire. Add in a couple pairs of Loubutin’s, several sets of $300 work outfits, fine jewelry, custom dress shirts and suits, and you’ve got a money pit in your wardrobe. Worst yet, these costs are easily recurring as you cycle through new outfits.
  • Upgraded outfits for your kids. Children’s clothing is big business, especially at the age where kids will easily outgrow their clothing. A hip outfit including a baseball cap, t-shirt, shorts, socks, and shoes from Under Armour for your 5-year old can easily run you $200! Don’t worry, he’ll outgrow it after a year or even sooner when he gets new clothing a few weeks later.

These expenses actually aren’t morally reprehensible if you actually have a self-propagating bankroll to fund it, but I find it hard to imagine that any of these expenses translate into true happiness.

What other lifestyle inflation examples have you experienced?

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(Photo courtesy of Flickr)

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Are LED bulbs worth the cost?

are led bulbs worth costAs part of my cost saving habits, I started looking into changing out my lightbulbs to LEDs, since I’ve read that they are more akin to incandescent bulbs in tones yet are as energy efficient (or more) than CFLs. Many of the local hardware stores also have rebates subsidized by the local utility companies (maybe they have governmental subsidies as well?).

Many of my fixtures are already using old CFLs from years ago—they take about 30 seconds before becoming sufficiently useful. I’ve found that with my short amount of patience even thirty seconds can irritate me. Moreover, none of my CFLs support dimmer switches. I still have a few residual incandescent bulbs for those fixtures.

Let’s look at the energy consumption of the three bulbs:

Incandescent CFL LED
Power consumption 60W 14W 10W
Initial cost free (already using) free (already using) or $2 $4
Energy cost $0.12/kwh $0.12/kwh $0.12/kwh
Extra hours of use needed to equate cost of Incandescent 4.3x + $2 (cost of new bulb) 6x + $4 (cost of new bulb)

If you look at the extra number of hours of use needed to justify the cost savings, there is no way that any energy-saving bulb is worth the cost. Sure, incandescent bulbs blow out and you have to replace them yearly, but most of us have boxes of them in storage.

CFL vs LED Bulbs

I do see the merit of having LED over CFL bulbs if you are choosing between the two. In my experience, LED bulbs only cost marginally more than CFL bulbs. However, CFL bulbs have two major downsides:

(1) Most of them do not work with dimmer switches.

(2) It takes much longer for a CFL to “warm” up and become bright. Usage for short periods of time actually decrease longevity of the bulb.

If you already are using CFLs, the energy savings difference seen in switching to an LED is negligible. The cost LEDs, while much lower than they were several years ago, still lags behind that of CFLs. It would take several years of extended use to replace a CFL in use with an LED.

What bulbs did I switch?

My pre-existing fixtures with incandescent bulbs on dimmer switches were all switched to LEDs. Costco was selling 60W equivalent LED flood bulbs for $2.49 apiece. I use these lights approximately 3-4 hours a day in the kitchen, and more on the weekends. The rest of my CFLs remained CFLs. I saw no need to replace them since they were already energy saving.

How much of your home is powered using LED bulbs?

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(Photo courtesy of Flickr)