Physicians writing on KevinMD about their own money and the business of practice: student loans and forgiveness, disability and life insurance, index funds and retirement accounts, whether to hire an advisor, financial independence and retiring early, side income and real estate, contracts and negotiation, selling a practice to private equity, and leaving insurance for direct primary care. Three maintained records draw on this archive: Physician personal finance: what physicians say about their own money, in their own words, Private equity and corporate medicine: what physicians say, in their own words, and Direct primary care: what physicians say, in their own words.
If my medical training taught me one thing, it was how to recognize the destructive nature of fads. They pervade our health care system. Most center around medicine, vitamins, and herbals. Though there also is no shortage of treatments and procedures that become popular very quickly and flame out over decades. Although one would think these spurious “advancements” would be pushed by a fringe agenda, it is actually commonplace for …
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Fads in medicine and in personal finance
Much of the personal finance blogosphere directed at physicians spend time discussing spending money. And for good reason. Physicians have a spending problem. While I am all about educating people about their personal finance shortcomings, it is also important to find balance in life. Some things in life are worth the money because they provide happiness despite not building your wealth. One might even argue that these non-monetary …
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These are the best investments physicians can make
“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 …
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The pros and cons of being a part-time physician
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 …
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The conundrum of dual physician households
The solution to most of my work related problems was half retirement. By leaving clinical practice and taking a less arduous administrative role, I was able to divorce myself from the worst part of doctoring. Being financially independent helped, but wouldn’t have been the complete solution. I am not ready to retire. I would be remiss, however, if I didn’t also point out the downsides. The part-time blues …
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The physician part-time blues
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 …
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Thinking about changing jobs? Here’s what physicians should consider.
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. …
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8 incredible side effects of being debt free
There seems to be one question that drives the financial independence community. Not for everybody, but a large percentage of the group are chomping at the bit. The question is simple yet infinitely complex. It drives at the heart of what it means to be financially independent and evokes our greatest hopes and fears. It is often the reason we stumbled across the idea of financial freedom in the first …
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Should doctors quit or retire?
When I sat on the management committee of our surgery center, I was wondering why owners didn’t bring all their cases to the facility. They would clearly benefit financially if they increased their caseload. So why didn’t they? I realized, it was because we all think like dogs.
Dogs will do tricks if you give them a treat immediately after their successful performance. Dogs will not do tricks if you promise …
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It’s time for physicians to stop thinking like dogs
The Hippocratic Oath says nothing about taking out a bank loan to outfit your own office to start your practice, nor does it include investing in real estate to diversify your income. Of course, most doctors didn’t opt to enter medicine with the intention of building an empire of medical care (although some end up doing so anyway). Large hospitals, insurance-run medical groups, and entities that operate with high revenue …
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Why doctors shy away from business
It’s no secret that society has encountered a student loan crisis. Politicians from both sides of the aisle share similar concerns but promote widely disparate solutions. With over $1.5 trillion of student debt outstanding and default rates skyrocketing, it’s clear that student loan debt management is important for all student borrowers, particularly medical professionals.
Some 75% of medical school graduates start their careers with student …
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The quest to cure medical professionals’ student loan debt
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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How becoming a doctor can help and hurt the ability to build wealth
Whenever I tell people outside of medicine how bad doctors are with money, they are always shocked. Almost universally, they wonder why we don’t save enough money. They understand that – to become a doctor – you must be hardworking, intelligent, and dedicated to the cause. These are the same attributes – when they are applied correctly – that result in financial success. How in the world can …
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4 reasons why doctors are bad with money
Recently, Forbes named Jay-Z the first rap music artist billionaire. There are a number of reasons that he is classified in this exclusive category. However, his humble beginnings from the Marcy housing projects in Brooklyn did not hold him back. He found ways along his journey, and received some good advice, that made him successful beyond his career as a musician.
Taking the time to practice your trade …
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What doctors can learn from Jay-Z
Physicians leave training with expectations of earning a generous income and dreams of an extravagant lifestyle. They go from years as a struggling resident to a working individual with a stable income. Once they become attendings, their salaries skyrocket, in some cases from $55,000 annually to $550,000 annually.
A $550,000 income requires extensive financial planning, of which the average physician has no experience or exposure. They are building a practice or …
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Are you a physician living paycheck to paycheck?
As an incoming resident physician, I need disability insurance. Although a group policy is offered through my employer, it doesn’t provide enough coverage to adequately cover my monthly expenses or insure my future income. Thus, I purchased an individual long-term disability insurance policy. This is what I discovered:
1. Disability insurance is expensive. A substantial number of people use disability insurance, so companies raise the price to cover the payouts and ensure …
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9 things I learned when purchasing disability insurance
