There is a taboo in medicine. It is becoming less prominent, but it still exists. You’re not supposed to talk about money. Not how much something costs a patient, not how much you get paid, not how you invest, and certainly not about the freedom from medicine that financial independence can bring.
This first shows up as you are applying to medical school. You don’t want anyone writing a …
Stop the money-shaming in medicine
I just spent two days at the Florida Medical Association Annual Meeting. We were there to help educate the physicians on real asset investing. I met many interesting people and likely started some new and exciting relationships. Many of the physicians stopped to talk to us about real estate investing and the benefits of passive cash flow, but there was a troubling undertone that permeated many of the conversations. A …
A physician’s strategy to conquer burnout
A budget is a guide that helps you increase your awareness of where your money is going and how much you are saving. It’s important to develop a budget early on as part of a strong financial foundation. It’s a common misconception that budgeting gets easier when you have more money. As the rapper Notorious B.I.G. famously said, “Mo’ money, mo’ problems.” Why is it important to develop a budget …
4 tips for starting a budget in residency
Recently, a male physician made public a common, inaccurate, and appalling opinion: Women are paid less, because they don’t want to work hard.
The comment, in the September issue of the Dallas Medical Journal, asserts that women are paid less, because they see fewer patients. This is because women physicians “choose to or they simply don’t want to be rushed.” He writes that “most of the time, their priority is something …
Maybe men should have their salary reduced to the lowest paid female physician in their practice
“Yes, there is a pay gap. Female physicians do not work as hard and do not see as many patients as male physicians. This is because they choose to, or simply don’t want to be rushed, or they don’t want to work long hours. Most of the time, their priority is something else … family, social, whatever. Nothing needs to be “done” about this unless female physicians actually want to …
Pay women physicians equal pay for equal work
I have a few hundred thousand dollars in 529 plans. We have been growing them for years. Although not everyone’s cup of tea, this lump of money invested in this manner suggests that not only am I prepared to drop a boatload on college education, but also feel that it is cash well spent. Although this type of thinking was self-evident a decade ago, there is a growing chorus of …
A college education is money well spent
First of all, I am far from a financial genius. I am also not a natural saver. Thanks to scholarships and jobs, I made it out of college without loans. But, I took out a $191K for medical school. In the middle of med school, I took a year off to teach. During that year, I didn’t put anything towards student loans and lived it up. Unfortunately, in forbearance, those …
How this physician paid off $100,000 in debt in 6 months
I usually simplify things here on the blog. Sometimes it is easier to glaze over a part of the story instead of pulling out all the details. Others, the point is clearer when not bogged down by tangentially related details. What’s lost in nuance, however, often adds shades of complexity to the picture. Occasionally another viewpoint is suppressed on purpose. I have frequently referred to the fact that I Read more…
A physician’s first financial advisor
One common question that doctors face in estate planning is whether to establish a trust. This topic gets brought up in the doctors’ lounges, especially after someone gets a pitch from their financial planner. Most doctors who bring up the topic are quite enthusiastic, and cite that doctors need a trust because “we make a lot of money.”
Fair enough.
Medical students and residents probably do not need a trust
I’ll get this …
What physicians need to know about living trusts
Vanguard, Fidelity, and Schwab have been engaging in a fierce competition to claim the mantle as the leading provider of low-cost index funds. As a result, each has aggressively lowered their fees for their index fund offerings over the past few years and advertised their low-cost offerings to investors.
After the latest round of fee reductions in mid-2017, I wrote a post speculating whether it was inevitable that Vanguard, Fidelity, …
What do the Fidelity ZERO mutual funds mean for physician investors?
If money is the root of all evil, what does that make debt? Evil’s ugly big brother.
A report by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) revealed that over 86 percent of medical graduates carry an educational debt principal of over $160,000, with a significant number of graduates reporting debt totaling over $350,000. In addition to massive student debt, personal financial challenges include the loss of nearly a decade of …
Live like a medical student, invest like a professional
The most common hurdle that doctors have is overspending. The notion that good income guarantees great buying power not only delays building financial worth but also confines doctors to lengthier careers than needed. The solution, in a nutshell, is to make sure that we make prudent financial and career choices to complement our financial velocity. Easy, right?
The reality is not so simple. Psychology is fascinating. Human behavior can function, at …
The biggest financial weakness of physicians
Although I would never describe the business of primary care medicine as cutting edge, there are a number of innovations that have come and gone during my short tenure running a medical practice. The business of medicine is fascinating and leaves much room for personalization and creativity. I have been lucky to operate at the forefront of practice management and learned quickly how to leverage two bleeding edge philosophies to multiply profits. …
Do you run a financially independent business?
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“My group has been approached by a private equity company. It sounds like a great deal! Any questions I should ask?”
Whether it be through one on one discussions or through the Physician Side gigs group, I’ve found myself having this conversation with increasing frequency. Part of the reason for that is because I find it fascinating, albeit also sometimes terrifying. As the trend towards consolidation …
A private equity primer for physicians
An interesting phenomena recurs when I work with physicians to makeover their finances. They almost never believe that overspending is the problem. They believe the reason their credit card balance is growing, and their large monthly income isn’t enough to pay their expenses can’t be due to their own choice to overspend. They always have a reason for the lack money:
They have huge student loans.
They have eight kids.
They are in …
How perception can affect your financial situation
We have all heard of the one more year phenomena. Financially independent people, such as myself, hit the wall of fear. Although we have enough, we persist in our W-2 day job for no reason. There are many explanations for our persistence. Yet none of them adequately account for why it is so hard to shake our indentured servitude once it becomes unnecessary. While I personally …
The momentum effect is causing you to stay in your job
Many residents and fellows will contribute to a 401(k) or 403(b) over the course of their medical training. They should be commended for saving for retirement on just a resident’s income.
Often, newly-minted attendings wonder what to do with these 401(k)s or 403(b)s from their training hospitals. In particular, they wonder whether they should convert their 401(k) to a Roth IRA.
4 options: some better than others
In general, there are four things …
Converting your 401(k) to a Roth IRA after residency or fellowship
Financial planning may not be what you think
Financial planning means different things to different people. To some, it may simply mean investments; to others, insurance; to others, a Swiss bank account, and a private jet. We believe that, at its roots, financial planning is simply making smart decisions about your money with your goals in mind. We’ve broken it down into six decisions you need to make about your finances that apply …
6 money decisions for physicians
Education can be expensive. Higher education can be even more costly. Even partial scholarships can be deceptive as one might opt for a more expensive school for the sake of redeeming “free money.”
As a student, I had no financial understanding of return on investment when I was considering higher education. All in, I plowed through more than a quarter million dollars in my college and medical school after substantial scholarships …
Is debt-free medical school a financial blunder for doctors?
My daughter had her first track meet this weekend. We showed up to a field house at the local high school and watched as dozens of kids and hundreds of parents took their places. The competitions spanned from high jump to mile run. Fifty-yard dash to shot put. Watching these fourth and fifth graders compete was pure joy. We marveled at the speed and agility as the winners sprinted towards …
Persistence is the secret sauce of success
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