Cory Fawcett, MD

Articles, page 2

October 15, 2019Oct 15, 201912

An excerpt from The Doctors Guide to Real Estate Investing for Busy Professionals. I left my 20-year general surgical practice at age 51, only 12 years after buying my first apartment complex. By then, my real estate investments were producing…

An excerpt from The Doctors Guide to Real Estate Investing for Busy Professionals.

I left my 20-year general surgical practice at age 51, only 12 years after buying my first apartment complex. By then, my real estate investments were producing more passive income than I was spending. I no longer needed to work. During those 12 years of real estate investing, utilizing about 10-15 hours a month of my …

Physician finance

Physicians: Did you ever play the zero percent interest game?

Cory Fawcett, MD

October 13, 2019Oct 13, 20192

Back in 2001, we paid off our last personal loan, our home mortgage. At that time, we decided to begin investing in real estate with the money that used to go towards digging us out of our personal debt. Our real estate was held in an LLC, and we acquired loans to purchase these properties. In fact, most of our real estate was purchased with 100% financing.

In 2002, the credit …

Physician finance

Should physicians pay down debt or invest? Here’s a Star Trek explanation.

Cory Fawcett, MD

October 8, 2019Oct 8, 20193

I am often asked the question, “Is it better to pay down debt or invest?” It is uncanny how often this question comes up. This question is asked as if those were the only two options to choose from. I never hear, “Should I go on a three week trip to Paris or invest?” “Should I buy a new car or pay off my debt?” “Should I buy disability insurance …

Physician finance

Are you using this benchmark for physician personal finance?

Cory Fawcett, MD

September 7, 2019Sep 7, 2019

Many physicians have a poor understanding of personal finance. Since personal finance isn’t a required course in high school, college or medical school, physicians are often unprepared to handle their high income when they become an attending. Sometimes the results of this lack of education are not pretty. Other times it’s a downright disaster. Yet some of us are able to figure out this thing called money.

I was thinking about …

Physician finance

How a surgeon taught his kids the value of money

Cory Fawcett, MD

August 7, 2019Aug 7, 2019

When our kids were in the 5 to 9 age range, we used to buy each of them a souvenir on our vacations. They always wanted the most expensive item in the store, a great big teddy bear that cost…

When our kids were in the 5 to 9 age range, we used to buy each of them a souvenir on our vacations. They always wanted the most expensive item in the store, a great big teddy bear that cost $400. We would tell them no, they needed to pick something less expensive. They weren’t happy about not getting their first choice. It was then that we decided that we …

Physician finance

Considering locum tenens? Think about these factors first.

Cory Fawcett, MD

July 16, 2019Jul 16, 2019

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 …

Physician finance

8 incredible side effects of being debt free

Cory Fawcett, MD

July 5, 2019Jul 5, 2019

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. …

Physician finance

It’s time for physicians to stop thinking like dogs

Cory Fawcett, MD

July 3, 2019Jul 3, 2019

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,…

Dogs will do tricks if you give them a treat immediately after their successful performance. Dogs will not do tricks if you promise …

Physician voices

Your home life is what you make it. Don’t let your specialty control you.

Cory Fawcett, MD

July 1, 2019Jul 1, 2019

The Match is complete, and now the fourth-year medical students are preparing to make their move to residency and chief residents are preparing to start their new career as an attending. The next phase of their lives is about to…

The Match got me thinking about a comment I read recently from a doctor who decided to not become a general surgeon, which she had always wanted to be, and …

Physician voices

6 lessons this physician learned from his father

Cory Fawcett, MD

June 23, 2019Jun 23, 2019

I would like to share six lessons that I learned from my dad. Parents have a big responsibility in bringing up the next generation. Our kids learn from watching what we do more than hearing what we say. So doing what’s right pays dividends with our kids. As physicians, we miss a lot of time with our family due to our schedules. When we do have time with our family, …

Physician finance

You just finished residency. It’s time to consider life insurance.

Cory Fawcett, MD

June 3, 2019Jun 3, 2019

Here we are, coming down the home stretch and about to finish residency. With an increased income comes some new financial decisions. The need for life insurance is one of those decisions. If you don’t have any, now would be…

The purpose of life insurance is to support the people who are dependent on your income if you die and aren’t there to provide …

Physician voices

How music changed this physician’s life

Cory Fawcett, MD

May 16, 2019May 16, 2019

We have all received many gifts throughout our lifetime. Most are long gone and forgotten, but a few gifts stand out as favorites. As kids, we are given so many toys that we don’t even remember most of them. As we get older, practical gifts like ties and socks are given. Sometimes people don’t know what to give us, so we get gifts we don’t even want or need. There …

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How music changed this physician’s life

Physician finance

Your 401(k) is not a piggy bank

Cory Fawcett, MD

April 12, 2019Apr 12, 2019

Many people look at their 401(k) like it is a piggy bank. Since they often don’t have any other savings, when they need a lump sum of money for a large purchase, the only account they have with a decent…

Since most people are not saving outside of their retirement plan, many people end up with an empty checking account, an empty savings account, no emergency …

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Your 401(k) is not a piggy bank

Physician finance

These are the only 3 reasons to file a tax extension

Cory Fawcett, MD

April 12, 2019Apr 12, 2019

There are only three valid reasons to file an extension on your taxes, which changes your required filing date from April 15th to October 15th. Unfortunately, I see many people who have filed an extension incorrectly or for the wrong reason that end up getting billed by the IRS for interest and penalties. There is no reason anyone should have to pay penalties for late tax filing since correctly filing for …

Physician finance

Why many doctors live paycheck to paycheck

Cory Fawcett, MD

March 18, 2019Mar 18, 201912

Wealth seems to be an elusive dream for many people. They desire to become wealthy, but feel they don’t earn enough money to reach that goal, as if earning more would make the difference. A study of 10,000 millionaires presented in Chris Hogan’s new book, Everyday Millionaires, showed that 69% of these millionaires reached that level of affluence on a household income of less than $100,000 a year. If all …

Physician finance

Government shutdowns show the importance of an emergency fund

Cory Fawcett, MD

February 24, 2019Feb 24, 2019

It’s interesting, but not surprising, to hear that numerous government employees are crippled by the delay of a single paycheck. This is precisely the reason everyone needs an emergency fund. When an unexpected financial catastrophe pops up, we need to…

Many people consider a car breakdown, a sick pet, or a roof leak to be an emergency. These are not emergencies. These are things …

Physician finance

Most physicians don’t realize how easy it is to become debt free

Cory Fawcett, MD

February 18, 2019Feb 18, 2019

Most don’t realize how easy it is to become debt free. Instead, they envision a horrible drop in lifestyle and great sacrifices that include turning back the clock to medical school days where they were living on peanut butter and ramen. When in fact, no sacrifice is required to become debt free. All it takes is to decide that becoming debt free is what you want and then stop borrowing …

Physician finance

Physician income shouldn’t be what determines your level of success

Cory Fawcett, MD

January 15, 2019Jan 15, 2019

Too many doctors today believe that their income is what determines their level of success. This is a fallacy that is hurting way too many doctors. We hear things like, “Become a specialist so you can make the big bucks,” or “Now that I’m an attending, I can afford the payments on a new Tesla,” or “I’ve lived in an apartment too long, now is the time to get my …

Physician voices

8 tips to help you conquer your toughest obstacle

Cory Fawcett, MD

December 15, 2018Dec 15, 20182

How often do we face a physical or mental feat that we’ve always wanted to do, but never seemed to be able to complete successfully? I had a physical feat that I wanted to do my entire life, and this year, at age 56, I finally succeeded. I can still picture my junior high gym class. Lots of other people could do it. Why couldn’t I? They didn’t seem to …

Physician finance

What a physician would tell his younger self about the use of debt

Cory Fawcett, MD

December 5, 2018Dec 5, 2018

As Christmas approaches, I have begun seeing ads for things our family "must" have this Christmas. Overspending in December is a common problem I often find when I do a financial makeover for doctors. There is a huge push to…

As Christmas approaches, I have begun seeing ads for things our family “must” have this Christmas. Overspending in December is a common problem I often find when I do a financial makeover for doctors. There is a huge push to buy things during the Christmas season, whether they can afford it or not. Those who choose to overspend, end up with a big headache when their January’s Visa bill arrives.

Overspending …