Finance – Page 18 – Physician In Numbers

Retrospective Budgeting: the Live on Half Challenge.

One of my big financial regrets is not having had a good plan for my money when I started my first attending job. My salary increased by about 150%, and I wanted to be sure I made the most of it. Finding the right balance of saving and splurging (or taking care of things I had put off for years because of I couldn’t afford it), was pretty stressful for me.

At the time, personal finance blogs, let alone physician personal finance blogs, weren’t nearly as easy to find as they are now.

I thought it might be interesting to apply a few of the doctor blogger financial rules of thumb to my first attending year, and see how I did. Since I did not have as much student debt as seems to be typical these days, I also will see how these numbers might look a PCP just starting out with 6-figure student debt.

Retrospective Budgeting: the 50/20/30 Rule

One of my big financial regrets is not having a better plan for my money when I started my first attending job and finally started making the big bucks. Which, since I went into primary care, wasn’t all that big an amount compared to what other specialties can make.

At the time, blogs weren’t quite as much a thing, and personal finance blogs weren’t nearly as easy to find as they are now.

I thought it might be interesting to apply a few of the financial rules of thumb to my starting salary, and see how I did. I will also think about running similar numbers of someone starting out in 2019.

Other People and Your Money, or Managing Expectations

During my recent travels, I had the unusual experience of finding myself with an extra, unplanned day in Las Vegas. The weather had turned bad at our next destination, and my spouse and I chose to reroute, rather than driving on icy roads in a rented car.

Once we had new plans, the question became: what to do with ourselves? We had already done what we had planned (see the Strip on New Year’s Eve, which was a blast!), but now we had another 24 hours.

A peculiar thing happened: I started thinking about what I would tell friends and co-workers about this extra day. I could hear them saying: you didn’t go to a show? Eat at a buffet? Gamble?

Stepping onto the hedonic treadmill

My husband and I have been traveling to visit family recently, and with one thing and another, have had the opportunity to go through the TSA Precheck line, and also to use Priority Pass membership (free with our credit card) to get into airport lounges. Benefiting from these programs was very pleasant, but also thought-provoking.

What I Do Every New Year’s For My Finances

Every year for over a decade, I have taken time around the turn of the year to do the following:

Calculate my net worth
Review and categorize my spending
Write down goals for my money, and decide how I will fund them.

I recommend this as a yearly exercise for those who want to keep an eye on their money.

This year, thanks to my travel plans, I got to this a little later than usual. I thought I would go through the process here for you.

Can I Still Afford to Max Out My Retirement Savings?

I recently received an e-mail from work, reminding me that for 2019, the maximum pre-tax contribution to the 403(b) has gone up. For those under 50, it has increased from $18,500 to $19,000; for those 50 or older (including those who turn 50 in 2019), the maximum has gone from $24,500 to $25,000.

I was reminded–yet again–that turning 50 is a special time. As a PCP, I usually have other issues on the brain when thinking about this landmark year.

A Tale of Two New Cars, Part 2

A few years ago, my extended household saw the purchase of two new cars. The two purchases were very different in many ways, and I thought it might be worthwhile reviewing the experiences, with the hopes the comparison might be entertaining, and maybe educational.

Two weeks ago I wrote I about my step-son’s experience buying his first car on his own. He had a few difficulties, mostly related to his youth, lack of savings, and lack of credit history. My car purchasing experience offers a definite contrast.

A Tale of Two New Cars, Part One

A few years ago, my extended household saw the purchase of two new cars. That’s right: two new cars. Shocking to those who read financial blogs!

The two purchases were very different in many ways, and I thought it might be worthwhile reviewing the experiences, with the hopes the comparison might be entertaining, and maybe educational.

In Search of the Two-Fer

In medicine, I love to sell my patients on the “two-fer,” those lovely medications that have more than one benefit: this medication will help your migraines and help with weight loss! This one will lower your sugar and help regulate your periods! This pill can protect you from a heart attack and lower your risk of colon cancer! I can’t always get them to take their meds, but this always feels like I am getting them a deal.

[As a reminder, please do not construe the above as medical advice. Medication choice is something you should discuss with your own physician, who knows you; not something you do based on what a stranger types on the Internet.]

In life, there are other two-fers.

Get Credit For the Work You Do

Any resident who joins me in clinic will hear me talk about billing. It isn’t the most important thing I can teach them–seeing a variety of medical issues, learning nuances of outpatient medicine, practicing efficiency: these are what they want to learn, and what they should learn. However, I had little education on billing as a resident, which really came back to bite me in my first job, and I would like to help them avoid this in their own practice.

If you know how you get paid (which you should!), you need to make sure you get paid appropriately. I think it’s also important for employees to get credit if they are working hard. My first job became quite unpleasant after a few years, mostly due to my ignorance of proper medical billing practice.