Feeling behind financially after dental school and the military — am I actually behind?
Feeling behind financially after dental school and the military — am I actually behind?
I’m looking for some perspective because I’ve been feeling financially behind lately, even though I know I’ve taken a somewhat unusual career path.
I went to dental school and then joined the military as a dentist. Between school and the relatively low income compared with what I expect to earn later in my career, I didn’t really start seriously investing until a few years ago.
I currently have about $80k invested and no debt. I’m investing around $5k/month right now.
Next year, I’ll be leaving the military and starting a 2-year endodontics residency. Obviously, that means delaying my higher earning years even further. By the time I finish residency, I’ll be around 34.
The upside is that once I finish, I expect our household income to be somewhere around $600k/year, potentially higher as my career progresses. My plan is to avoid immediately inflating our lifestyle and aggressively build our investments. I’d like to eventually invest around $15k/month, while still enjoying life and potentially pursuing endodontic practice ownership down the road.
I think what gets to me is seeing people my age who already have several hundred thousand dollars invested and have had 10+ years for their money to compound. Meanwhile, a huge portion of my 20s and early 30s has gone toward dental school, military service, and then specialty training.
I know comparison isn’t particularly useful, but I sometimes feel like I’m starting the wealth-building process extremely late.
For those of you who were in a similar high-income-but-late-start situation: how would you think about my position?
Would you prioritize aggressively catching up once the income increases, or is there a point where I’m putting too much emphasis on investing at the expense of enjoying the higher income we’ve worked so long to reach?
My long-term goal isn’t necessarily FIRE. I actually expect to enjoy working as an endodontist. I mainly want to build substantial financial independence and wealth while still enjoying my 30s and 40s.