Physician Finance Minute

The idea that you could be out of work for a period of time may not cross your mind too often. But the reality is, disability insurance should be a part of your financial life plan. Think about how many patients you have had to give life-changing diagnoses to. You’ve probably advised them to alter their work schedules in order to take care of themselves first and foremost.

If you had to diagnose your own retirement portfolio- how would you categorize what state it’s in? Does it fall in the healthy, robust category? Or is it on life support, with barely anything in it and needing immediate attention? Maybe, like most of us, it’s somewhere in between. Not exactly dead but hardly thriving either. While retirement may be the last thing on your mind as you’re beginning your medical career, I encourage you to take a few moments to review what plan your employer offers.

Let’s face it, being a resident is hardly glamorous work. Your paycheck probably reflects that same attitude as well. Even if you’re already out of your residency and well into your medical career, you probably find that money is still tight. What are some things you can do to help stretch your budget even further?

One of the biggest changes you should be aware of is you can now contribute up to nineteen thousand dollars annually. Setting aside funds to your retirement account, no matter how big or small, will have a big impact to both your current tax bracket and it will grow over time and provide for you in later years. Doing this small step will insure your retirement fund doesn’t continue to suffer from neglect.

You might have assumed your dream of home ownership would have to wait until you have saved up 20% for a conventional mortgage. The good news is, there are opportunities available to physicians that might not be an option to people in a different line of work, especially when it comes to mortgages. One of the perks you may not be familiar with is what’s referred to as a Physician Mortgage Loan.

Take a look at your current spending. Where do you opportunities to improve? Do you have a budget you’re working within? If not, now’s the time to set one up. Most importantly, when going through your financial checkup, take a very close look at your debts. This includes both student loans and credit cards. You should have a plan in place to pay these down. While checkups aren’t always comfortable, they are vital to your short term and long-term success financially speaking.

Disability insurance can help cover costs of expenses such as mortgage, car payments, utilities, and even your student loan payments and it’s available for both short-term and long-term needs. I strongly encourage you to look into whether or not your employer offers this option as well as contact an independent insurance broker so they can help you compare the best rates. While you’re busy helping others tend to their physical needs, don’t be caught off guard by an unexpected injury.

As a busy physician, you may think you don’t have time for budgeting your finances but I promise if you take some time to set one up, you will quickly understand why a budget is critical. One of the first steps in setting up a budget is to track your spending for a month.

As a physician or part of a physician family, you’re probably all too familiar with making a sacrifice. All those years in medical school, the shoestring salary you made as a resident, all the late nights and early mornings making rounds. Maybe you thought that once you began your life as an attending that you wouldn’t have to forfeit quite so much.

If you have researched your options and determined that refinancing your private student loans is the way to go, you should compare rates between multiple banks or credit unions. It’s your money so it’s in your best interest to shop several companies before deciding to refinance your private student loans. And don’t worry, it doesn’t affect your credit by shopping around.