Doctoring Your Finances: Financial Tips for Residents
Doctoring Your Finances
March 1, 2021
So you've got a handle on the medicine, but have you got a handle on your personal finances? Take a deep dive into financial education and learn about the most common mistakes, questions, and fears young physicians encounter with physicians/personal finance gurus Sotirios Keros and Dalton Haslam.
Host
Shreyans Sanghvi, DO
Fellow, medical education
UTHealth Houston McGovern Medical School
EMRA*Cast Episodes
Guests
Dalton Haslam, MD
Co-founder, Doctored Money
Pediatric hospitalist, Children's National Medical Center
@DaltonHaslam
Sotirios Keros, MD, PhD
Co-founder, Doctored Money
Assistant Professor, Pediatric Neurology at Weill Cornell
@KerosSotirious
EMRA*Cast Host Shreyans Sanghvi, DO, takes a deep dive into the hot topic of personal finances alongside Dalton Haslam, MD, and Sotirios Keros, MD, PhD. Dr. Haslam and Dr. Keros, co-founders of Doctored Money, address some of the most important questions, fears, and mistakes residents encounter with Public Service Loan Forgiveness, retirement accounts, and savings practices.
Overview
Each year the cost of attending medical school continues to rise, leaving thousands of graduates to face six-figure loans, steep interest rates, and lengthy training periods, all in the hopes of one day attaining a stable job in a secure field.
But with these financial barriers ever increasing, how can young physicians improve our financial education to more quickly and effectively obtain financial freedom?
On this episode of EMRA*Cast, Drs. Sotirios Keros and Dalton Haslam discuss the lessons they've learned along the way dedicating their lives to help physicians improve their financial literacy and better manage their personal finances.
Key Points
- Physicians have compressed earnings careers because of their lengthy training careers.
- Debt in and of itself is neither inherently good nor bad. Trouble starts when you are unable to responsibly manage that debt within the arc of your life.
- Aim to save at least 20% of your annual earnings as a young physician in preparation for future retirement.
- Contribute to a retirement account. Depending on the type, these accounts can reduce your annual taxable income (which will lower your payments on an income-driven repayment plan for PSLF) and may even be matched by your employer (which is free money).
- Committing to either the PSLF track or private refinancing is an objective decision that does not have to be made during residency. You can choose to pursue PSLF and opt out at a later date for refinancing if your employment status precludes you from forgiveness.
Resources
- Laurel Road: Specialists in providing low-rate student loan refinancing, mortgages, and other financial services, with discounts for EMRA members.
- Integrated WealthCare: Multi-specialty wealth management firm serving the unique needs of physicians and medical professionals, with discounts for EMRA members.
- Doctors Without Quarters: Student loan advisory firm dedicated to early-career physicians, with discounts for EMRA members.
- Doctored Money: Nonprofit organization run by Dr. Haslam and Dr. Keros ("No ads, no affiliate links, no profit motives. Because medical school tuition already emptied your wallet.")
