Every day, we’re presented with choices. Some are larger than others, and though some make little difference in the grand scheme of things, some choices can be life-altering. In life and in business, when we have a big decision to make, it’s all too easy to err on the side of caution–sometimes to our personal or financial detriment. It’s human nature.
But what is it that keeps us from making tough …
In February 2017, I saw my last patient and left clinical medicine. Most people would say I retired. I have chosen to say I have repurposed. I no longer see patients, but I still work. I am writing the Doctors Guide series of books, keeping up a blog and working with physicians who need help with a financial makeover, usually to eliminate their debt, set themselves up for retirement or …
How do I start a side hustle?
I have heard this plea so often, It is no wonder there are many how to blog posts trying to answer this exact question. As helpful as they may be, most of the ideas espoused are both time and energy-consuming. For instance, starting a blog is great! But if you want to truly make money, be prepared to put in full-time hours. Or Read more…
I love movies. Not the artsy types that win awards; I most enjoy the big, expensive popcorn blockbusters that take you away to a different time and place. However, as our income and wealth has grown, we’ve maintained a few of our “cheapskate” habits from when we were poor. One of these is we see almost all of our movies at the “dollar theater,” a second-run theater where the entire …
Recently I had three important events happen during a three day period that reminded me of the brevity of our life and the need to live life to the fullest every day.
On July 4th, having planned celebratory events that day with friends and family, a CRNA in my home town awoke feeling poorly just before sun up. He was in great health the day before and lived a very active …
There was once three brothers who set off on the journey of a lifetime by embarking on three separate roads. Each brother was uniquely different, and quickly these roads diverged.
It was believed that the eldest brother was most wise because his path was clear and straight.
The middle brother was a strong walker but easily distracted. It was hard to keep him concentrated on the task at hand.
And finally, the youngest …
We are now nine years into the current bull market, and the S&P 500 has risen over 300% from its March 2009 low.
Unfortunately, there are some investors that have been left behind. They sold their stock in 2007-2008 and never got fully back into the stock market. For example, a reader on the Bogleheads forum recently posted this question:
“I have had about $450k sitting in cash for too …
If you’re doing investing right, you’re saving a large percentage of your income every month (like 25-50%) and stuffing it into stocks, bonds, and real estate investments.
At first, even with a high savings rate, your net worth will be low, and the money made by your investments will also be low, like maybe a few hundred dollars a month. However, as your net worth increases, your investments will make more …
I was doing a procedure on a child last night, and the mother said to her son: “I want you to be a doctor, make lots of money and buy me a house.”
Of course, it was 11 p.m. on a Friday night, and I was making my riches doing a procedure on an anxious four-year-old in the emergency department.
Doctors make a good income after they finish 25 years of education …
Cars are incredible inventions. They allow you to transport yourself hundreds of miles, whenever you want, in a relatively short time period. Cars allow you to arrive at your desk job without any sweat or dirt on your face. They also allow you to take amazing road trips and might even act as a camper on a rainy night.
Cars are a depreciating asset
However, don’t forget that cars are a luxury …
There are a lot of competing goals when you first get out of residency.
You have hundreds of thousands of student loans to pay off.
You need to build up your investment accounts, which lag far behind your college classmates who have been working for the past decade.
You need to save up for a down payment for your dream home.
If you have kids, you need to begin saving for their college educations.
And of course, you’ve been living like …
We are a product of our upbringing. For many of us, this means we develop values and beliefs about money and work from our parents. Our communities, however, also play a role. It is in these communities that we learn a joint value system, a blueprint for how to approach and interact with the world. It’s easy to underestimate the profundity of this effect.
I grew up in vastly different cities. One …
Many physicians don’t want to think too hard about investing. There are a lot more fun things to do in life than worry about the minutiae of index funds.
One of the best investments for beginner investors are target-date funds. It’s a great way to get started with investing, while you learn more about the principles of asset allocation.
But there are literally hundreds of target-date funds available. How do you pick …
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We all know that life is unpredictable. In fact, the only thing that’s certain is that things will be uncertain. Despite this, or perhaps because of it, I think the majority of people are risk-averse. We’re concerned about future and its potential for unfortunate circumstances. If we weren’t, there would be no such thing as insurance–and there’s insurance for just about everything.
While it’s important to think optimistically, knowing you have …
Money is great. It provides security, options, and freedom. If you work hard, practice relative deprivation, and save enough money to become financially independent, you will have reached a commendable milestone.
However, financial independence means nothing if you don’t have your health. It doesn’t matter that you have $5 million if you aren’t around to enjoy it, or if your health is so poor you can’t travel, start a business, teach a class …
We’re going to address the most common question I see. Should you pay off debt or use your money to invest? Over and over again it is asked, always with slightly different details. 95% of the time, the answer is a simple “It depends.” So today, we’re going to talk about what it depends on. I’ve written about this topic before, but it has been six years. I …
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Life insurance is one of the key foundations of a good financial plan. In this article, we will discuss the basics of life insurance.
Why life insurance?
While you might feel invincible and 100% healthy, as physicians we all know patients or colleagues who were diagnosed with terminal cancer or died suddenly because of an accident or health condition.
If someone is dependent on your income (usually your spouse or children), then life …
College
I went to a fairly expensive college, George Washington University. I think at the time (1998) it actually was one of the, if not the most expensive schools. Why did I decide to go there? Well, my brother was attending the school and living in Washington, DC seemed amazing to a suburban boy from Tennessee. Sure, I had gotten into University of Tennessee with a scholarship, but adventure won over …
In my last post, I told my story of how I got out of medical school with only $18,000 of debt. By the time I left residency, I had that whittled down to $6,000 at 3% interest. Then during the next three years after starting my practice, I had accumulated almost $500,000 of new debt.
Initially, I didn’t think anything of this new large debt, after all, I …
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The decision to retire is a difficult one for anyone, including physicians.
However, with everyone’s investment accounts so flush with money because of the bull market, a lot of physicians younger than the traditional retirement age of 65 have enough money to retire early. Some have chosen to do so; others have chosen to continue to work even though they are financially ready for retirement.
So what …
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