A physician's defense of active income
#1 It’s called opportunity
#2 Work is good for you
It turns out that working is a good thing, despite its reputation — “It’s called work because they have to pay you in order to get you to do it.” Work builds muscle, builds brain power, teaches new skills, slows dementia, and provides a sense of self-worth. Without work, there is no recreation. Without recreation, enjoyment is decreased.
#3 Unemployment decreases happiness
So while most of us want to work less, not working at all is unlikely to be nearly as great as we imagine it will be. Even retirement is a mixed bag. Recent retirees are nearly as likely to say their life is worse than before retirement (28 percent) as better (35 percent.) There are a lot more benefits to earning an income than the income itself.
#4 Higher rates of income
#5 You get social security credit
#6 Far more likely to work
#7 Passive income can also be passive work
A lot of people who go out looking for passive income discover that it usually isn’t passive at all, especially in the beginning, and it isn’t even guaranteed to provide income. It wasn’t until the fourth year of this website that it started providing any kind of significant income justifying the amount of time I was putting into it, and there was no guarantee that it ever would. 95%+ of for-profit blogs never make any sort of livable wage. It’s same with most types of passive income — a ton of work must be put in up front, and there is risk that the income will never be there. Earned income is initially higher, more consistent, and far less risky.
Is it possible for physicians to oversave? And what can you do about it?