6 Money Tips I Would Tell Dear Older Me

After I wrote about "6 Money Tips I Would Tell Dear Younger Me," I thought I should write to my future self too. If it's true that we learned everything we need to learn in life as kindergartners, then I would thank myself for writing this when I'm older.

1. Remember enough.

Remember how content you are living on 50k and saving 24k? Remember all the things that make you happy had nothing to do with money once you’ve got your basic needs like food and shelter met?

2. Stay minimalist. Remember how you love space more than clutter. You love people more than stuff. You taught Mini that the only things that matter in life are in kept in 2 places, in your brain and in your heart. Don’t fill your life with belongings.

3. Feed someone hungry; don’t develop your own hunger.

Remember how you wanted to sponsor more kids in developing countries? Remember how you wanted to pay for Mariela (the child you started sponsoring in 2014) to fly and unite with her sponsor family?

Feed the truly hungry people. Don’t feed into the insatiable hungry monster within you.

4. Give yourself the permission to work less.

Remember how simple and comfortable life was when you made 50k? Give yourself a pay cut, work half time and make 125k. You should still feel like money is flowing out of every one of your orifices, you have too much money to know what to do with!

If you don’t feel that way, it’s time to cut back even more and living like a resident again, to remind you how wonderful life is when there’s not much money and possessions to worry about.

5. Work to learn, not to earn. The epiphany you had at age 32 about time being the most precious resource any one has is still true. Don’t exchange your precious time for money. No matter how high the price is, it’s never really worth your time.

Invest your money passively; invest your time actively. Never cease to learn and improve yourself, as a doctor, a mother, a partner, a human being. Most people on their death bed never wished they had worked more because most people associate work with earning money rather than learning new things.

I’m sure you won’t regret learning more, staying curious and adventurous into old age. Trust me one this, your younger self.

6. Don’t follow money. Follow your heart.

Who has your heart right now? If it’s something inanimate, without a soul, then you are way off the mark, dear older me! Read the Bible and find that true treasures are stored in heavens again.

Turn off all your electronics and stop checking your billion dollar portfolio, it’s an obsession. You’ve always had a bit of an obsessive personality, but you got to choose the right thing to obsess over.

How about all the big dreams you had when you were young? World health? Financial justice? Patient doctor relationship? Physician wellness? If you have yet accomplished your dreams of making the world a better place, it’s time to get to it!