About Me
With respect to financial matters, much of my understanding comes not from any special gifts, but instead was fed to me from childhood as a member of a family deeply immersed in business for at least five generations as we struggled to escape from a marginal farming existence. Agriculture can be a very rewarding endeavor, but we were Irish immigrants trying to make a go of it in the early 1820s in cold barren northern New Brunswick with soil not suitable for much beyond potatoes.
Even business in that part of the world is a hardscrabble affair and ours started with basic farm tools, then sawmills, hardware and eventually building supplies which was no easy road through two World Wars and the Great Depression. Later years were not that much better; as an example, my childhood home built in the 50s was sold six decades later for approximately the cost of original construction. This represents a real economic decline factoring even low rates of inflation in stark contrast to the steady growth of real estate in major urban areas elsewhere in Canada.
My father was one of eleven children most of whom stayed locally working for various branches of the business. They all talked endlessly about how to manage for success as did most of the more than 40 baby boomer cousins arising from this large family. I worked in billing and accounting as a young teen and read widely about investing strategies such that I had strong opinions about investing opportunities long before I left high school. The obvious plan was to study business and law to become a Wall Street investment banker as soon as possible.
Instead, I took another path into Medicine which puzzled many family members; my father asked if I fully understood that Medicine involved “piece work” where you only get paid for doing something as opposed to financial services where you can brush off ever larger “golden crumbs” from each elegant transaction you skillfully engineer for the wealthy who lack your special knowledge and talents. However, Medicine has turned out to be a mostly satisfying practice and remains a deeply interesting career for which I am very grateful.
Along the way, I did stay involved in business with both regrettable failures and some successes often due to a fortunate combination of good luck and timing. I continue to read extensively and have provided advice to family, friends and colleagues from the earliest days of Medical School through residencies in Internal Medicine and Radiology as well as all the years of clinical practice. At present, I frequently speak with residents trying to manage debt and initial investments, young colleagues at the start of clinical work buying housing, some in mid-career and those nearing or well into retirement.
I hasten to add that I am not a certified financial planner, but I do understand debt, expenses and the world of business and investing. I have enjoyed enough success and made sufficient errors, that I can usually outline a safe path appropriate for the circumstances, skills and interests of a wide range of professionals with varying levels of experience with financial management.