This past week I met up with some friends of mine who graduated residency at the same time that I did. Some of us rented while others bought a condo or a single family house during residency. We decided to discuss which choice is most likely the best one for new residents. As you could imagine the argument became one of varying passionate opinions.… Read the rest
Read MoreEmployment agreements, or a contract, is a written document that details many aspects of a physician working for a group. The agreement can have the physician as an independent contractor or as a paid employee. Beyond that, the devil can truly be in the details. Here are the reasons why you should have a lawyer look over this agreement before signing one.… Read the rest
Read More
The phrase has been adopted by several groups since made popular in the early 2000’s. Monk mode is defined as “The state of being completely focused on and only on training.” The purpose of this phase is to rid oneself of distractions and get back to the core of whats important to that persons life. With my previous post as a primer, I have since decided to give monk mode a try to help focus on the important aspects of my life and get rid of distractions.… Read the rest
Read More
Some recent graduates desire buying a home soon after finishing residency. After delaying “real life” for so many years, many are tired of renting or need more room for their growing family. For physicians, there are many lenders that offer doctor mortgages with little to no money down. Most individuals interested in personal finance advocate to spend a maximum of 2 to 3 times gross earnings on the purchase price on their new home (including other debts).… Read the rest
Read More
Lifestyle creep is real and holds up to its name. It wasn’t till I started the moving process till I looked back and realized that it had already happened to me. Some of the changes in spending were necessary, such as moving to a better complex. However, looking back there were areas where money could have been saved and was potentially wasted.… Read the rest
Read More
The budget and life of a resident physician often leave little room for wants and free time. My budget before I started moonlighting and other means of income was only $200 of discretionary income which is a frightening low cushion. I was able to make some extra money in residency by using some of the methods as below. Of course not all of these methods may be an option for you, however, if so they are good ways to increase disposable income.… Read the rest
Read More
I started residency with $110,000 in student debt at 6.8%. Since I knew that I wanted to get out of debt as quickly as possible and was unlikely to work for a hospital in my area that qualified for public service student loan forgiveness, I decided to refinance my loans. I refinanced my loans at an interest rate of 3.3% to save $11,500 over 3 years.… Read the rest
Read More
Retirement is something that, for the average resident, is rarely on their mind unless someone takes a special interest in personal finance and investing. On day one of residency new residents are often more concerned with student loans and preforming well during ones training than saving for retirement. My orientation included a week of lectures, some more interesting than others. One hour of these lecture was filled discussing retirement.… Read the rest
Read More
Meditation can help reduce anxiety, improve happiness, and decrease stress levels. In the past decade, this technique has started to catch on in the United States with an increasing amount of individuals using meditation to achieve various goals. I will argue that meditation can be used to help obtain your financial goals while increasing happiness and decreasing stress along the way.… Read the rest
Read More
There are many different types of student loan repayment plans available to borrowers while in residency and fellowship. This post will explore all the different options, the terms of the repayment plans that are now available and which one may be best suited for you.
Being accepted into medical school is the start of an often times long and fruitful career in many aspects.… Read the rest
Read More