Career and Life Planning Guidebook for Medical Residents

If you follow this plan, then within just a few years of residency graduation, your student loans can be paid off, you can potentially have a portfolio worth several hundred thousand dollars, and you should own at least 20%–30% of your dream home with the remainder financed at a very low rate. At that point, put 20% of your income toward retirement and enjoy the rest of your money. Notice that the priority list doesn’t include luxury cars, brand-new furniture, expensive trips, or other expensive motorized toys. There will be plenty of time and money to buy all these things. However, that time is after the student loans are gone, after you have a good-size nest egg, and after you own a good portion of your dream home. It is perfectly fine to have a fewempty rooms in your dreamhome. You don’t need to finance $50,000 in furniture and upgrades as soon as you move in. Ideally, you should buy them over time, paying cash. The good life is not making payments on a mansion and two luxury cars upon residency graduation. The good life is havinga jobyou lovewhereyou aremaking an important contribution to society. The good life is rebuilding relationships put on the back burner for the last decade. The good life is having thousands of dollars of unneeded income everymonth and getting to decide how you want to use it. You can use it to purchase financial freedom in the form of part-time work or early retirement; to pay for expensive toys, vacations, or a lake house; to send your children to an Ivy League college and grad school; to help your family; or to support your favorite charities. The good life is not only having your dream job but also being able to walk away from it if it stops being your dream job. The best way to do this is to live as much like a resident as you can for as long as you need to after finishing your training. Done properly, within just five years, most physicians can pay off all their loans, catch up to the retirement funds of their college roommates, and save a 20% down payment on their dream house. They can then be appropriately proud of both their professional and financial success. Recommended Tool Creating a Savings and Spending Plan Use this tool to help gauge the feasibility of your student loan repayment with your anticipated future income. http://md.careers/E-29 SECTION III: T MINUS ONE YEAR CAREER AND LIFE PLANNING GUIDEBOOK FOR MEDICAL RESIDENTS 360