Starting a new job can be nerve-wracking and exciting. Along with negotiating salary and benefits, you should also ask about a few other factors to know what you are getting into. Here are eight questions to ask before you join a new medical practice.
1. Why are you hiring? Some practices are hiring because they are growing. Other practices are hiring because people are quitting. What is the case at this …
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Whether we are considering a new job or up for review at our current place of employment, there are several things we should negotiate. Many of us focus solely on salary, but there are other things we should be sure to negotiate as well:
1. Benefits and insurance. One of the first things to consider besides salary is benefits. For physicians and other young professionals with college degrees, student loan forgiveness …
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It’s 2022, and many of us want this year to be better than last year. Instead of just hoping this happens, let’s make some realistic goals and put steps in place to achieve them. Here are some of my 2022 goals:
1. Continue to invest at least 10 percent of my salary in retirement accounts. Investing money gives me the opportunity to allow my money to grow. Because of inflation (the …
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Trying to match into residency or fellowship can be stressful. I’ve gone through the match once for residency, and I’m currently going through it a second time for fellowship, so I understand your plight if you are going through it too. There are many variables that are out of our control. As much as we may desire to match our desired specialty at our desired location, this uncertainty can lead …
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As resident physicians, many of us are overworked, underpaid, and trying our best to make it through. While this time has its ups and downs, we can’t lose sight of the bigger picture. One of the best things we can do during residency is laying the foundation for the life and career we desire. This means doing a few things during our time in training to set ourselves up well …
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July 1st is here, which means it’s the start of a new residency year. For interns, things can be nerve-wracking and scary. You may wonder if you remember enough information from medical school and hope you arrive at the right place at the right time this week. For the senior residents like me, we are elated to be almost done with training, but we are also starting to focus on …
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1. Setting up automatic investments. The vast majority of young millionaires achieved their financial status by investing money. Unless they are a celebrity or were born into a wealthy family, they had to be diligent about investing money either in the stock market, a business venture, or real estate. You must do the same. One way to do this is by making your investments automatic. Have a certain amount of …
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As a young professional who is trying to build wealth, I invest money. Although there is a myriad of different investment accounts and strategies, I invest in index mutual funds through my employer-sponsored retirement plan and my own Roth IRA. Yes, I have both types of accounts. Let me tell you why.
I invest in my employer-sponsored retirement plan (which is a 403(b), which is very similar to a 401(k) because:
1. …
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Many young professionals are quite busy and don’t want to spend what little free time they do have learning the ins and outs of investing. If you, or someone you know, plan to hire a financial advisor to handle your money, there are 5 questions you should ask before you entrust that advisor to your hard-earned cash.
1. How are you paid? Believe it or not, many financial advisors have incentives …
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As someone who graduated from medical school with six-figure student loan debt, I’ve looked into several different loan forgiveness programs that will help repay what I owe. One of the most popular loan forgiveness programs is Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF). Through PSLF doctors can get hundreds of thousands of dollars in student loans forgiven, tax-free. Although this seems great, when I attempted to …
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While the coronavirus pandemic has created financial strain for a lot of low-income and middle-class Americans, many wealthy people don’t seem to be as affected. The stock market is doing relatively well, and many of the world’s richest people are getting even richer. How is that even possible, you may ask? Here are three main reasons the rich are getting richer.
1. They create their own business. Instead of having a …
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When I graduated from medical school, one of the best decisions I made was to set up automatic savings. I made a budget that had about 25 percent taken away in taxes, decided to live on 50 percent of my income, and made the bold move to have the remaining 25 percent placed in an entirely separate account. This account was reserved for building wealth through saving, investing, and paying …
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With the coronavirus pandemic, many cities across the country have shut down. While some people are working from home, many others have been furloughed or lost their jobs altogether. With this rapid decrease in economic activity, the stock market has taken a huge hit. Many people who had a big chunk of their network in stocks, have seen a sharp decline in the overall value of their investments. In the …
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As COVID-19 continues to spread throughout the country and leave lasting impacts on our economy, many of us are trying our best to cope with the changes. While this can take a huge toll on our mental health and leave us unsure of our next move, there’s one thing we need to do in the midst of the chaos: Buy long-term disability insurance. Here are six things you …
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1. Stay up to date on recommendations. Information on the coronavirus changes daily. Last week we were only screening patients with travel history. This week, we’ve realized travel history no longer matters. At first, we assumed those infected would have fever, cough, and shortness of breath. Now we know that younger people could present with a mild cold. In the midst of ever-changing recommendations, it’s imperative that we stay up …
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It’s 2020, and many of us are more motivated than ever. We want to get fit, eat healthier, and continue to survive residency. While these are noteworthy goals, consider one more thing: making money doing something you love … outside of medicine. A.k.a., start a side hustle. If you’re unsure of where to start, here are a few side gigs to pursue as a resident.
Start a blog
For those who love …
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As we embark upon this new decade, many of us are committed to improving our finances. We may have vowed to stick to a budget or have a general goal to live below our means. While these are noble goals, let’s challenge ourselves to do even more. Here’s my six step-money challenge for 2020:
1. Buy 1 or 2 finance books to read. There are many different ways to …
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1. Increase retirement investments. As young professionals who will eventually retire or cut back on work at some point, we need to start investing in our future. While many of us may already have started setting aside money for retirement, others of us may not have begun that process. In 2020, let’s strive to do even more. Let’s commit to increasing our retirement savings, even if it’s by a small …
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This is one of my favorite times of the year. Thanksgiving dinner with my family, cool air that calls for cute winter clothes, and holiday festivities that invoke the spirit of love and positivity. As we embark on this season, inevitable holiday sales may tempt us more than we can imagine. In order to deal with this temptation and stay within our budgets, we may need a little motivation to …
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As a young college student or post-grad, you may have accumulated credit card debt. I certainly did. However, somewhere in the process of “adulting,” you may have realized that having lots of debt isn’t a good thing. You may have even heard investment gurus like Dave Ramsey preach that all debt is bad and insist that people do any and everything to rid themselves of the terrible “D-word” as fast …
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