Money Talk For ER Docs™

Oftentimes the benefits of a vacation are felt prior to even setting flight or hitting the road. It's something to look forward to – and that can carry you through even the toughest of workdays. We know ER docs have a unique job when considering the hours and responsibilities, but it doesn't stop there – PTO and flexibility are also vastly different from not only other job types in America, but even different jobs within emergency medicine itself.

On today's episode, we'll discuss the importance of building in vacation time, talk about the financial opportunity costs of taking vacations, and get into prioritizing the right kind of time off to help sustain a lasting career.

The retirement account landscape can be confusing. But maximizing these savings vehicles is so important for ER doctors seeking financial independence. So when the perfect storm of large savings needs meets tax and retirement planning strategies, the mega backdoor Roth strategy may be the tool to get the job done.

On today's episode, we'll give an overview of tax-preferenced retirement accounts, break down the mega backdoor Roth strategy, and go over the scenarios where it makes the most sense to utilize.

If we polled all ER doctors in America and asked them, "Which do you think would be financially more beneficial to you, being paid as an employee (W-2) or contractor (1099)?" we suspect ~75% or so would respond that they'd rather be classified as an employee. Well, that wish may come true as new regulation is set to go into effect in March that could challenge all independent contractor job statuses held by non-locum ER doctors which would force them to be restructured as employees.

On today's episode, we'll discuss this recent ruling and how EPs could be rallying behind something that could actually be detrimental to their finances.

When we sit back and really analyze the thousands of ER docs we've worked with and spoken to over the past 15 years, we've pinpointed one specific thing the financially successful have in common. Most would think high income, or even savings rate. While those may be great indicators, even those have flaws. No, this specific thing is, without fail, the best litmus test for success and we can make positive inferences without needing to evaluate any other piece of a client's financial puzzle. You'll probably never guess what it is.

On today's episode, we'll discuss this specific indicator of financial success and the nuances of it. Ask yourself, "Is this specific indicator part of my financial plan?"

It's often the case that people are short-sighted with their retirement. The focus is on getting "to retirement" (saving and accumulating), but not necessarily how to get "through retirement." That has its own layers, such as: How will you acquire money in retirement? From what accounts? In what order? Where will you be living in retirement? Spousal income? Social Security? You can quickly see there are dozens of variables at play.

On today's episode, we'll discuss Shohei Ohtani's MLB contract and make parallels with ER doc's deferring income – both in qualified and non-qualified ways.

A new year carries with it the best intentions for ourselves. From eating right and exercising, to relationships and hobbies, and even finances, we get a clean slate at becoming a better version of our past selves. And where many focus on general areas to improve or specific financial to-do's, we wanted to come at things from a different perspective. One that hopefully sparks a moment of clarity and facilitates action.

On today's episode, we'll discuss all the things that will prevent you from achieving a beautiful and lasting financial life not only in 2024, but year-after-year. There's a specific system you need to implement this month to ensure you stop the vicious cycle and begin maximizing wealth building now and moving forward.

For those who haven't heard of Dave Ramsey, he's an American radio personality who gives financial advice to roughly 18M listeners a week. Oddly enough, he isn't actually a financial advisor; he does not have his own clients. Yet he has written several books on finance and his words carry a lot of weight. Mr. Ramsey recently had a pretty controversial statement go viral regarding how much a retirement portfolio earns and how much can safely be withdrawn from said portfolio in retirement.

On today's episode, we want to speak to several of his outrageous comments and talk generally about investment expectations and realities.

Have you heard the notion that investing in the S&P 500 is synonymous with having a financial plan? How about investing in the S&P 500 IS diversifying your portfolio? If either of these thoughts haven't crossed your feed yet, they may be soon as they've gained more and more traction lately given the performance of the index over the past decade or so.

On today's episode, we'll discuss both of these concepts in depth and how they can impact wealth building. Perhaps the rules for diversification have changed and a new strategy is prevailing… or not.

As we've discussed before, ER docs are a special specialty. Beyond the financial uniqueness, so, too, are the personality traits. Whether those personalities are formed as a result of becoming an EP or if they are a prerequisite for going down the path in the first place, that's a topic for debate. In either case, the nature of the job promotes an interest in, ironically, getting out and leaving the profession in many cases. And with this desire, there tends to be a match found in start-ups with a bias toward medicine technology often in AI.

On today's episode, we'll talk more about the personality traits of ER docs and spin the startup element from our financial point-of-view.

It's common to think tax brackets are fixed and only change or adjust when voted on – typically under new legislation. While this is somewhat true, what's overlooked is within that voting there are year-to-year updates that are cooked in based on various factors. And once enacted, these changes can harm or benefit you. Either way, they sneak up similar to the way price changes at the grocery store or the gas pump do. In today's episode, we'll talk about the hard number changes to tax brackets, give examples of hypothetical ER docs and the corresponding tax changes, and even get into an interesting way of using tax brackets as a framework for lifestyle. The takeaway is: knowing the numbers, or leaning on someone who does, can have a massive impact on wealth building.