Physician Finance

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.

This is the key to financial independence

DocG, MD

Physician Finance

April 5, 2018

The story is almost universal. A guy (or gal) suffers through a horrendous day of work and scours the internet searching for an escape hatch. The magical mix of search words “early” and “retirement” likely leads to Mr. Money Mustache, or Get Rich Slowly, or some other fantastic resource. Hours later, after being fully submerged in the financial independence blogosphere, he resurfaces with haired mussed and rabid eyes. …

So you missed the bull market. What can you do now?

Wall Street Physician, MD

Physician Finance

April 2, 2018

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 …

10 financial lessons from buying a wakeboat

James M. Dahle, MD

Physician Finance

April 1, 2018

Long-term readers know that in late 2014, 8 years out of residency, my wife and I decided to loosen the purse strings a bit. We had lived like a resident for four years, then purchased our dream home six months after we moved to our “big boy” job. But even then it was only a minor increase in our lifestyle. By 2014, I had been a partner in my …

How to become debt free without sacrificing anything

Cory Fawcett, MD

Physician Finance

March 30, 2018

One of the biggest complaints I hear when I discuss becoming debt free is the dread of living on a shoestring. We did enough of that in medical school, and we don’t want to do it again. Let me make something perfectly clear right up front, you absolutely do not need to scrimp and sacrifice to get out of debt and live debt free, but if you choose to, it …

How this doctor teaches his kids about money

DocG, MD

Physician Finance

March 29, 2018

We shop a lot.

Now I didn’t say we buy a lot. But we spend countless hours on the weekend walking through malls and shopping centers. I’m not sure exactly why. It may be that there is enjoyment in the visualizing without actually having. Or, more likely, as a family of four with two growing children, we have many items on our purchase list to check off.

Inevitably, repeatedly, our kid’s eyes …

Physicians: How to find a financial advisor

Cory Fawcett, MD

Physician Finance

March 23, 2018

We all can use advice from time to time. Sometimes that advice is about personal finances, Investing, or borrowing. When choosing this person, stay away from financial advisors who have a conflict of interest. The advisor who makes money on your investment decisions is like the pharmaceutical rep who is telling you all about his new medication and why it is better than what you already use. The advice might …

This physician is financially savvy. This is who he has to thank.

DocG, MD

Physician Finance

March 22, 2018

It’s a miracle that I’m not a financial moron. No one taught me about finances. I never took a course in college. In fact, a few years ago before I found the FIRE community, I was pretty clueless. Well, not exactly. I made reasonable financial decisions. Heck, even good decisions. I didn’t, however, have the vocabulary or knowledge behind what I was doing. So was I lucky? Did I merely …

Physicians: Focus on net time, rather than net income

Passive Income, MD

Physician Finance

March 21, 2018

We all understand the concept of net income or net pay. If you’re an employee, it’s what you see deposited into your bank account after federal and state taxes, Social Security taxes, Medicare taxes, etc. are all withheld. If you’re self-employed, it’s what you’re left with after you set aside the funds for many of those same taxes plus paid off your business expenses.

In real estate, the term is referred …

Enjoy financial freedom by reaching the land of critical mass

Live Free MD

Physician Finance

March 20, 2018

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 …

Physicians: Are you paying attention to your mutual fund fees?

Wall Street Physician, MD

Physician Finance

March 19, 2018

In the past, investors had to pay an actively-managed mutual fund to manage their money. The average actively-managed mutual fund charges about 1% of assets under management. Hedge funds typically charge 2% of assets and 20% of profits. And the worst of the worst mutual funds charge up to 3% or 4% of assets. Now, index funds can give you a diversified portfolio for less than 0.1%.

One of the easiest and high-yield ways …

What to do if you have huge student loan debt

James M. Dahle, MD

Physician Finance

March 18, 2018

Q. Where do I start? I have a huge student loan debt and don’t think I’ll ever be able to pay it off.

I am a physician assistant, and my partner is a physical therapist. We’re about two years out of school. I have only recently started to try and figure out how to be smart with my money. I owe $167K in student loans, and my partner owes $200K. Our combined …

0% financing: It’s not always a good deal

Cory Fawcett, MD

Physician Finance

March 16, 2018

I recently was asked about taking a low or no interest car loan and using the money they had earmarked for a car to instead invest for a higher return. This “I can get a better return” game is very common and can be a dangerous game to play. Often it is used as a disguise to camouflage buying a car you actually can’t afford, while trying to sound like …

5 ways to be financially successful as a physician

Mick Connors, MD

Physician Finance

March 15, 2018

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 …

Incorporate side hustles to your primary care practice

DocG, MD

Physician Finance

March 15, 2018

Hustles are hustles, and side hustles add a little on the side. But if you want to maximize your income. You have to innovate.

When I started as an employed medical physician at the beginning of my career, I was overjoyed to make X. After years of watching money go out the door in medical school, and then making 0.25X in residency, I couldn’t believe that I was earning so much. …

Spend less vs. earn more: a debate for medical professionals

Passive Income, MD

Physician Finance

March 14, 2018

The idea of financial freedom is something everyone dreams of. Many of us are at different stages of that journey, but on some level, it’s something we all work toward. In a previous post, I mentioned that I’m financially free from medicine, and I’m happy to say that still holds true, even a couple months later.

Not only that, but my passive income streams continue to grow without necessarily putting in …

Physicians: Get rid of car debt. Or, how to buy a car with cash.

Live Free MD

Physician Finance

March 13, 2018

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 …

Pay down student loans or invest: What should doctors do?

Wall Street Physician, MD

Physician Finance

March 12, 2018

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 …

Everything physicians should know about REITs

James M. Dahle, MD

Physician Finance

March 11, 2018

Once upon a time I wrote an article about private real estate investment trusts (REITs). These are some of the favorite tools of salesmen masquerading as financial advisors (there’s a reason they’re called “brokers”). They would sell these investments with a promise of high income. 8% yields were not uncommon. The value of these REITs were not marked to market. For years. So although you knew you were getting …

3 steps doctors can take to stop living paycheck to paycheck

Cory Fawcett, MD

Physician Finance

February 23, 2018

Many doctors today find themselves living paycheck to paycheck. They make a good income but just never seem to get caught up. Non-doctors see us as rich. But many of us are just broke on a larger salary. The whole reason I wrote my book stemmed from a conversation with a doctor who was struggling to make ends meet on a $450,000 a year income. That should never happen.

The national …

We are a product of our upbringing: a tale of 2 cities

DocG, MD

Physician Finance

February 22, 2018

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 …

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