Monitoring Financial Health: Liquid Term
What is Liquid Term?
Liquid Term indicates the number of years you could live on your current liquid assets. "Liquid assets" refers to money that is not in a retirement account. This includes cash accounts (checking and savings) and nonretirement investment accounts (also called taxable accountsor brokerage accounts). It does not include retirement accounts like 401(k)s and Roth IRAs.
Total Liquid Assets / Annual Living Expenses = Liquid Term
Example: If you have $50,000 in cash and $300,000 in a nonretirement investment account, and you spend $100,000 per year, your Liquid Term is 3.5. $350K liquid assets / $100K spending = 3.5.
Liquid Term (Lt) is one of four Elements that make up your Total Term.
Why is Liquid Term Important?
With adequate liquidity (a healthy Lt), you feel less anxious about finances in turbulent times, and you can pursue opportunities. For ER docs:
If volume drops and so does your income, you can still meet all your obligations for an extended period of time.
You can give away a few shifts on short notice for a spontaneous family trip.
Liquid Term measures your preparedness for emergencies and early retirement.
Emergencies
Liquid Term is a good proxy to measure emergency expense preparedness. For example, an Lt of 0.5 indicates 6 months of expenses covered. If the underlying mix of that score is mostly cash, you have a good buffer for unexpected expenses without needing to sell any investments.
Early Retirement
In most cases, you can't withdraw from your retirement accounts without a penalty until you're over age 59 1/2. If you want to retire before age 59 1/2, it's important that you have a high enough Liquid Term.
For example, let's say you want to retire at 55. At a minimum, you should have an Lt of 4.5. This means you can live on your liquid assets for 4.5 years, from 55 to 59 1/2, so you don't have to withdraw from retirement accounts and pay early withdrawal penalties.
Improving Your Liquid Term
One way to improve your Liquid Term is to increase your Savings Rate. Save more, and put the increased savings into cash or a nonretirement investment account.
If you don't want to change your Savings Rate, but still want a higher Lt, change where your current savings go. For example, save less in your 401(k) and more in a nonretirement investment account.
The last way to improve your Lt is to reduce your spending (or Burn Rate). Annual living expenses is the denominator in the Liquid Term calculation. Even a small reduction in spending has a big impact.
Example #1:
Liquid Assets = $300K
Annual Living Expenses = $120K
Lt = 2.5 ($300K/$120K)
Example #2:
Liquid Assets = $300K
Annual Living Expenses = $100K
Lt = 3 ($300K/$100K)
Ready to put this into practice? If you're an ER physician or high-income professional looking for straightforward, evidence-based financial guidance, we'd love to connect. Schedule a free intro call with Yahara Wealth Management — no pressure, no sales pitch, just a conversation.
This content is for educational purposes only and does not constitute personalized tax, legal, or investment advice. Please consult a qualified professional regarding your individual situation before making financial decisions.