Here are eight things to do as a new attending that I didn’t learn as a resident (and wish I had).
Establish a budget
There are two times when a budget is a very important tool: when you are struggling financially and when you have a large income or expense change. Now that you have graduated to your new attending income, it’s important to intentionally decide how you will invest, save, pay …
This is one of my favorite times of the year. Thanksgiving dinner with my family, cool air that calls for cute winter clothes, and holiday festivities that invoke the spirit of love and positivity. As we embark on this season, inevitable holiday sales may tempt us more than we can imagine. In order to deal with this temptation and stay within our budgets, we may need a little motivation to …
Health care is big business, with medical practices vying for contracts, hospitals undergoing facelifts in order to cater to patient experiences, and insurance companies making deals with pharmacies. Some of these arrangements are negotiated in the name of reducing health care spending, but there has to be some skepticism when for-profit entities are implicated. Physician salaries aren’t exactly growing with inflation—some fields have had massive cuts in spending over the …
I recently read an article called “Inefficiency and luxury” in which the author stated that he has never tried to get any frequent flyer rewards, and in fact doesn’t even have a frequent flyer number. This statement left me a bit confused when I first read it. I’m not one who likes to leave money lying on the table. Then he …
Burnout in medicine has reached epidemic proportions. A recent systematic analysis found that the prevalence of burnout was as high as 80.5%. All medical specialties are affected, although prevalence rates of burnout vary widely between specialties.
Classically, burnout is defined as a triad of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and inefficacy. Recently, moral distress or moral injury has also been recognized as a potential component of Read more…
An excerpt from The Doctors Guide to Real Estate Investing for Busy Professionals.
Cash flow is the only method I use to determine the value of the property to me and is my decision-making tool.
This is how I determine the price I’m willing to pay. This is the only way …
I’m a big proponent of do-it-yourself investing. In the age of index funds, many investors can manage their own investments at very low cost.
And fees you pay to a financial advisor could be used to invest and grow your nest egg.
But that’s not to say that I believe that no one should have a financial advisor. There are many situations where it can be beneficial to hire a financial …
One of my coworkers who grew up in India told me that their teachers in grade school would post everyone’s scores in the hallway after every exam. This comparison of grades and objective testing further extended to cities and even regions in the country. There are people going through the hierarchical ranks with “gold medals” in science or engineering. Throughout this process, it was relatively transparent who the smartest or …
Back in 2006, I settled into my career as an emergency room physician. It was then when I started working in multiple hospital groups in several cities in Arizona and Texas to maximize my earning potential.
The strategy worked. I was able to make enough money to service my medical school debt as well as dabble in commercial real estate, buying some duplexes in Central Texas then single-family homes and larger …
Here are some specific ways for medical trainees to save on their move.
Timing is everything
When is the exact timing of your move? Are you flexible? Think about your situation: you graduate medical school, pack up, and then move for residency. Right?
Most moving companies are busiest (read: most expensive) between May and September when they know you are likely to move. With Match Day in mid-to-late March, getting an early start …
Each spring, thousands of students and residents will relocate for their next career stages facing the same question: How am I supposed to move my stuff? The answer is varied and can be surprisingly complex.
Relocation is part of any industry, but medical trainees, in particular, relocate during a narrow time frame often without any employer reimbursement.
How does your move fit in with other major life events such as a wedding …
When I first started working on this blog post, the working title was “Different Ways to Make $1 Million in Real Estate.”
However, I realized that if you’re reading this, you’re likely looking for a similar type of life that I’m interested in: a life of financial freedom where I’m also able to make huge contributions to society as well.
Unfortunately, $1 million may not be enough these days to make that …
Something I’ve been thinking about lately is the path that we’ve all been somewhat conditioned to take. And that is working really hard now so we can reap the rewards later. If you don’t work really hard now, you risk not being able to enjoy life when “later” finally comes.
Does that sound familiar to you? Well, it should, because that’s the exact path we took to become successful in our careers. …
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Whether you are starting a new job, like me, or extending the contract at your current one, part of the process may involve signing up for retirement accounts. Most people have heard of a 401(k), but you may have other options available to you such as a 403(b) and Roth IRA. Let me breakdown the pros and cons of each account, so you can better determine which one is best …
Locum tenens is a great way to make a living or earn some extra income. But frankly, there are some groups of physicians who should not even consider doing locums work. When you pair the right person with the right job, you can get employment bliss. But when the wrong person takes a job, both the employer and the employee are often unhappy.
I believe everyone should enjoy the work they …
“Burnout” has been a buzzword circulating in the medical community quite a bit lately. The World Health Organization has just recognized the term as an official medical diagnosis as part of ICD-11.
One moment you’re graduating medical school, full of hope and excitement for residency. The next moment, you’re overly stressed and working insane hours every week. Honestly, it isn’t a huge surprise that nearly half of all physicians …
Two incomes are better than one, right? As we all know, the answer isn’t clear cut. If we have to actively “work” to generate income, we have to balance exchanging time for money. Nothing comes for free. When you throw in a tax system to convolute matters, certain households are actually punished for going into the workforce. There is a delicate balance between each income-earning member and what each profession …
A large percentage of doctors end up switching jobs within the first five years of practice. This really isn’t surprising given that the medical training experience doesn’t necessarily correlate with the medical practice experience. Many doctors work hard throughout their entire training only to realize that their expectations do not necessarily align with reality. Is it our fault that we don’t really know what we got ourselves into?
Perhaps taking q3 …
Most Americans live their lives on borrowed money, constantly spending a little more than they make, leaving them with a growing debt. These debt payments, and the added interest they must pay on their debt, decreases the amount of money that they have available to spend on future needs. Paradoxically, borrowing to buy depreciating items, decreases one’s net worth.
Stop the madness this year. No more spending more than you make. …
I recently graduated from medical school and will soon start residency. Yay! Although I’m happy with my decision to become a doctor, I can’t help but notice that there are several ways that going to medical school and becoming a physician helped — and hurt — my ability to build wealth.
Ways it helped me build wealth:
1. I will have a high income. Most of us doctors will make at least …
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