LBYMers, Could You Spend $300k A Year?

[Major Tom]

That's not a guffaw!

ROFL (Rolling On Floor Laughing) doesn't = Guffaw?

 

[Zero]

ROFL (Rolling On Floor Laughing) doesn't = Guffaw?

No, not even close.

 

[Major Tom]

No, not even close.

Care to explain?

 

[Zero]

Care to explain?

OK. Your quote was nearly exactly (as best I recall) the same sentence used by Johnny Carson to describe Leona Helmsley in about 1990 just after she was sent to jail. He was doing the routine where he would bring up current news and when he said it, he kept a very straight face and Ed literally cried himself dry trying to stiffle his laugh.

I was just laughing about the memory of that. Not guffawing, just laughing at the memory.

 

[Major Tom]

OK. Your quote was nearly exactly (as best I recall) the same sentence used by Johnny Carson to describe Leona Helmsley in about 1990 just after she was sent to jail. He was doing the routine where he would bring up current news and when he said it, he kept a very straight face and Ed literally cried himself dry trying to stiffle his laugh.

I was just laughing about the memory of that. Not guffawing, just laughing at the memory.

My lack of TV viewing has caused me to miss out on many a popular culture reference. Thanks for the explanation

 

[Martha]

Someone has to attend the pricey schools.

Well, not really.

 

[RetiredGypsy]

Getting back on topic for a second, the author of Richistan has figured out a way to cover more than two years of that spending:

Chinese Millionaire Smashes His $700,000 Lamborghini - The Wealth Report - WSJ

This Texan has that beat:

$1.6 Million Bugatti Veyron Crashes Into Texas Lake

I'm up to $30k/year in fixed expenses beyond what I have now if I wanted to keep two apartments, plus the trips to get to each one twice a year.

Then maybe $3,600/year in vehicle insurance, from having a sportier motorcycle and a higher class of car than I'd usually drive (say, a Lexus instead of a Toyota).

And $1,200/year for a phone with unlimited Internet.

But all that puts me at less than I was putting in my pocket the Navy, so I must try harder!

 

[brewer12345]

Where is our porcine peacemaker these days?

 

[REWahoo]

Where is our porcine peacemaker these days?

At the tailor getting fitted for a new suit...

 

[Loop Lawyer]

That is one thing I like about medicine, you don't have to "play a part" to be successful. Sure, lots of docs spend most (or all) of their money on a high end lifestyle, but it isn't "required". In private practice there aren't any rungs to climb like in a corporation. While there are a few predatory groups out there, in general when you join a group you can expect to be a full partner in a couple years or less...it is a given. As long as you take good care of your patients, nobody cares if you get all your clothes from Target and drive a 20 year old beater.

Agreed! And it's a very positive attribute of your chosen profession. I couldn't tell you anything about my radiologist, for example -- not even his or her name. And my radiologist need not "court me" at a club or over dinner: That doctor has my business without trying in the least. Just do the job, and do it well, and it's an annuity. How satisfying that must be!

The challenge for physicians, I have found, is making the right investments. Generally, this is not a field that they know well, so they need good advice. The smart ones realize their knowledge gap in finance and line up solid advisors.

 

[REWahoo]

The challenge for physicians, I have found, is making the right investments. Generally, this is not a field that they know well, so they need good advice. The smart ones realize their knowledge gap in finance and line up solid advisors.

Rich, Meadbh, DoubleDoc and friends will be along shortly to point out the error of your stereotyping.

 

[brewer12345]

Rich, Meadbh, DoubleDoc and friends will be along shortly to point out the error of your stereotyping.

And hopefully make some disparaging generalizations about lawyers.

 

[Zero]

How much do those white coats that doctors wear cost?

 

[Loop Lawyer]

Someone has to attend the pricey schools.

Well, not really.

I suppose that's true. Harvard and Yale and Stanford and UC and the other elite institutions could all shut down because all the world came to believe that there are superior alternatives.

Wouldn't bet on that, though. What we have found instead is that demand for seats in the top schools is skyrocketing, with no limit on the price that they can charge. Asian families especially are willing to scrimp and save to send their children to our leading institutions. The only thing keeping the best from charging more than they do is self-restraint.

 

[Moemg]

How much do those white coats that doctors wear cost?

Usually around $35 but most Doctors are so cheap they try to get them from the hospitals for free !

 

[Loop Lawyer]

How much do those white coats that doctors wear cost?

That's a really good question, Mr. Zero. I don't know the answer. My hunch is that they cost less than hand-made suits but more than the rags that proles wear while sweating up our national parks.

I've had quite enough fun here and will now leave you to yourselves. Ta ta!

 

[HFWR]

Envy or disdain will not make such people feel very welcome. If you want a diverse set of ideas presented on this forum I would recommend a civilized and tolerant approach.

Though the door swings both ways...

 

[Westernskies]

That's a really good question, Mr. Zero. I don't know the answer. My hunch is that they cost less than hand-made suits but more than the rags that proles wear while sweating up our national parks.

I've had quite enough fun here and will now leave you to yourselves. Ta ta!

Yep, shure looks like that rascally ole perfesser iz back, reintar-nated as sum fancy-pants lawyer to diss on us po' unworshed lumpen proletariat folks.

Dontcha love that hand-sewed suit?...

 

[audreyh1]

Yes - I certainly thought I was hearing echos of "lumpen slums of cyberspace"!

Audrey

Still ROTFLOL over the "Someone has to attend the pricey schools" line.

 

[Zero]

That's a really good question, Mr. Zero. I don't know the answer. My hunch is that they cost less than hand-made suits but more than the rags that proles wear while sweating up our national parks.

I've had quite enough fun here and will now leave you to yourselves. Ta ta!

Guess I'll never make the Inner Party now, shucks. Where's my Speedstick?

 

[REWahoo]

I've had quite enough fun here and will now leave you to yourselves. Ta ta!

I'm betting you're still peeking in the window to see how the riff-raff behave when [-]they[/-] we think you're gone....

 

[Zero]

I'm betting you're still peeking in the window to see how the riff-raff behave when [-]they[/-] we think you're gone....

I'll start.

Pretty thin skin for a hardened Loop Lawyer, you'd expect them to be a bit tougher.

 

[Major Tom]

And to think I originally came on here merely to find out if I had enough money to retire......

 

[Radiohead]

Agreed! And it's a very positive attribute of your chosen profession. I couldn't tell you anything about my radiologist, for example -- not even his or her name. And my radiologist need not "court me" at a club or over dinner: That doctor has my business without trying in the least. Just do the job, and do it well, and it's an annuity. How satisfying that must be!

The challenge for physicians, I have found, is making the right investments. Generally, this is not a field that they know well, so they need good advice. The smart ones realize their knowledge gap in finance and line up solid advisors.

Funny you mention it...my field is radiology. Believe it or not, there are a few sub-specializations in radiology that have more than minimal patient contact (most radiologist do at least some minor procedures/biopsies/fluoroscopy). Mammography and Interventional radiology come to mind. I actually plan on doing interventional neuroradiology. That said, a nerdy looking guy in scrubs is kind of what my patients will expect!

Medicine is probably the best way a "normal" person can safely make decent amount of money. If you are smart enough and (more importantly) willing to put up with 11-15 years of training after high school, you are guaranteed a solid lower upper class income and a job you can feel really good about at the end of the day. The thing is, your realistic earning ceiling is in the 800k-1 million range and only that if you work crazy hours and do something like spinal or mohs surgery (BTW, most docs make a 1/4 or less of the ceiling). The ceiling is higher in law and non-existent in business.

You are right about the poor investment choices. I cringe in the reading room all the time when I overhear staff give each other advice on investments/trading. The thing is, when they do seek professional advice, they waaaaay overpay. In fact, I have spent the last year trying to talk one guy into dropping his 3% per year advisor!

 

[RetiredGypsy]

That said, a nerdy looking guy in scrubs is kind of what my patients will expect!

I got one heck of a surprise when the nerdy looking guy in glasses I expected as my doctor turned out to be a bodybuilding ex-SEAL.