Parking Spaces
Parking Spaces
I should have known by the shear number of open parking spaces. Our lot, usually full to the gills in the middle of the day, was half empty. I scanned my memory to try to call up some national conference or offsite meeting that would explain what my eyes were beholding.
Nothing came to mind. By the time I reached the front door to the office building, I had come up with just about every possibility but the the truth.
And the truth was Armageddon.
Pink Slips
In one fell swoop, a significant swath of the office had been given pink slips the day before. Our once thriving hospice business had crumbled over a period of weeks. The main reasons were two fold. A recent self funded purchase of a home health company and (in my opinion) and uncalled for spanking from Medicare with a huge penalty price tag.
All the sudden an extremely large and successful business brimming with employees and good fortune was being pushed to the brink. Overnight, abundance had become scarcity.
Open parking spaces. Littering our parking lot. Once a grumbling point, now a sweet memory. An annoying sign of prosperity now suddenly lost. I couldn’t help but feel a sense of mourning for the previous inconvenience.
Financial Security
As a contractor and a physician, I am lucky that my role is fairly mission critical. Physicians will likely be the last to be let go if that point is ever reached. But, I can’t help but feeling incredibly thankful as I see our office go through this turmoil.
Thankful for this job that has paid me fairly all these years. Thankful for having a sought after skill. And most of all, thankful for financial independence.
Because if the world crashes down around me, as it just might in the near future with my employment, I will be just fine. I will survive. I will thrive. My bank accounts will remain full, and my retirement money is safe.
There are no lagging debts that handcuff me to a paycheck.
There are just empty parking spaces.
White Swan Events
No one expected our proud company (standing for over twenty years) would be hit so hard so fast. No one would expect that a beloved institution brimming with new patients would suffer so.
Yet, it was foreseeable. The winds of change can be swift and heartless. Medicare can destroy anything or anyone it chooses. Executive boards can make poor choices and steer companies in the wrong direction.
Parking spaces in the lot can remain unfilled.
These are white swan events. Events that can have tragic economic consequences and yet not be all that rare (Unlike black swan events which are rare). Stock market downturns, unexpected health costs, a child who needs support into adulthood.
A Sturdy Financial Plan
White swan events can be planned for. Financial independence is our super power. Will I lose my job or not? I have no idea. One thing, however, I know for certain.
I will be just fine.
I planned for it.
But oh how I will miss the grumbling about the dearth of empty parking spaces.
It was glorious while it lasted.
“The winds of change can be swift and heartless.” That says it all. It’s good to be FI….
Yes. Those who have achieved FI are in the minority. It’s a difficult world that we live in when most people face the prospect of abrupt job loss. This unfortunate reality creates an undercurrent of instability that undermines those with long-term goals for the future that involve raising children and caring for the environment. Corporations, which employ large numbers of people, no longer struggle with their conscience when layoffs are needed. Clinics and hospitals are no different. I remember when I was in private practice and we agonized over terminating an employee because of how it would affect their personal lives. These days, people are just a number and cannot expect any personal consideration from an employer. it’s a harsh reality that serves as fuel to my own pursuit of FI.