Semi-retired at 40? It was not always like this. I used to be at the mercy of the hospital or clinic roster. I not only wanted to be a medical doctor but I wanted to a neurosurgeon. In high school my classmates knew of my wish to be a doctor. I remember friends calling me Doc when I was fifteen. In primary school there was a period I wanted to be an air hostess but medicine took over. This explains my sense of wanderlust. In TheMotherland if you excelled in science and mathematics you become a doctor. I was dux of my class. No-one in my immediate family had a university degree. My maternal grandfather was a certified nurse he would talk about medicine with me. My maternal grandmother was a social worker she was active in the community advocating for the vulnerable. In a way their work would have strengthened my wish to make a difference in medicine. I was going to be the first doctor and neurosurgeon to be precise.
I read books written by a famous African-American neurosurgeon. In one of their books they talked about the journey from poverty. This neurosurgeon’s mother would often encourage them by saying, “You can do anything. Anyone can do, but you can do it better.” These words were profound to me. Some years later, I was a medical student from Australia. I was doing an elective at one of the leading trauma centre’s in Southern Africa. I was shadowing neurosurgeons and I was the only female in the pack. A well-meaning surgeon made the comment “you should reconsider being a neurosurgeon.” He said that medicine is for women but neurosurgery is for men. In that moment I was more than determined to prove him wrong. Who was he to tell me to reconsider my childhood dream?
When I completed my internship, I was still set on Neurosurgery. This was going to be a challenge because I had obtained employment in a rural hospital. At that time Australia was experiencing an influx of medical graduates. There were not enough internship positions for the number of medical graduates. Priority was given to Australian born students over international students. Post-internship I managed to move to a surgical medical officer role in a metropolitan hospital. As I progressed through the surgical rotations what I wanted to be changed. Neurosurgery became to look unattractive. Maybe I could be a vascular surgeon, urologist, general surgeon or forget about surgery all together. I would be an Obstetrician and Gynaecologist. Who would not want to be bringing life into this world?
Obstetrics and Gynaecology was both medical and surgical. Best of both worlds. As the years progressed I came to realise that the good days were good but the bad days were bad. How do you tell parents-to-be that the baby they have been waiting for 9 months did not survive? How do you break this heart-wrenching news after delivery? Babies can be born anytime, how do you manage the long working hours, and on call work? I enjoyed the work but did not love it enough to make the sacrifices needed to excel in that career. At that time a close friend faced a cancer diagnosis in their 30s. Their 5-year survival rate from this cancer was about 30%. This was a wake up call for me. In medicine we are surrounded by life and death. Sometimes we “detach” from experiences as a way if coping. But if anything doctors see a lot of death.
Cancer or death can come my way. How do I live an intentional life? We celebrated my friend getting through, surgery and chemotherapy. I took 3 months off work and traveled to South America. When I returned back to Australia I knew I was going to become a General Practitioner. Why not embark on a sea-change? Live and work in a quaint sea-side town. I would live and work where the retirees live and sail towards retirement. Gradually I would scale back from work and live more. My priority would be to have balance. Work would always be work but I have to be intentional in not letting work be everything. I am a type A personality. I am a perfectionist. This makes me a good doctor. However, this can see me becoming a workaholic.
I choose not to keep up with the lifestyle of some of my doctor colleagues. I have owned the same car for 11 years (Toyota), this is the only car I have ever owned. I bought a house below the median house price in the coastal town I call home. This house did need some work but it had potential. I live well well below my means. I save and invest. I choose to spend on things that I value. I pay myself first. My savings rate is presently 50%. I can now decrease this to 25% if I want to. I would still be capable of fully retiring by 50. I prioritise investing consistently through automated payments. The budget takes care of itself, though I do track expenses. I have what a call a Freedom Fund (you can call it an emergency fund). I like the word Freedom. Freedom opens my world to whole new possibilities. Emergency means I am waiting for something bad to happen. As the invested assets have grown I feel I have a cushion to land on. I was able to walkaway.
I work three days a work in a less busy practice. The work I choose to do now is meaningful. It makes a difference to some of the most disadvantaged in the local community. I have build up skills in my career and have made myself invaluable. Just the other week, I got an offer for work. I happily turned it down. Good general practitioners will always be in demand. TheHandsomeSurfer and I are planning a mini-retirement for at least 4 months in 2025. In 2027 we will have another one mini-retirement (4-6 months). When I found out about FIRE (financial independence retire early), I was obsessed with the numbers. Now my focus is on enough. The numbers are trending in the right direction. In a short 3.5 years index investments have increased by 12X, Superannuation has increased by X3. The mortgage is presently 100% offset.
So I would like to think I am living life on my own terms. Semi-retired. I can say no work. I can say yes to work that is meaningful to me. During my 4 days off I have time to run, surf, scuba, read, write and live an intentional life. I can enjoy sunrises, sunsets and simple pleasures in the seaside town I call home. There will be many mini-retirements on the horizon. TheHandsomeSurfer & I can continue to build memory dividends. I am not disappointed that I did not become a Neurosurgeon. I am not disappointed I am not fully retired at 40. Being a doctor does not define who I am. This life is to be lived, it’s a journey. I do not know how long it will be. I choose to live intentionally. I embrace gratitude.