Financial Related Items

Student Loans

There are many resources on the internet for student loans. The big key with loans is again, staying organiztion - knowing where your loans are being services through, did they get transferred to another company, how much you owe, the type of plan that you are in, etc. Some things I found helpful include:
  • PG Presents, LLC - independent student loan consulting firm, run by Paul S. Garrard  

Investing and Retirement

This is one area where all of our education leaves us lacking the proper knowledge to prepare us to dive into this topic. I recommend at the beginning of either podiatry/medical school or definitely by the start of residency (where you will have an income) to meet with a financial adviser. It is preferable to get someone who works with physicians (they may be less familiar with DPMs, but its all the same if they are more accustomed to MD/DO) since they will understand the components of your situations including loan,s low(er) salary that will increase (hopefully) greatly over years then level off,  etc. It is also important to during residency to look at if your program / hospital has any sort of retirement plan / 401 plan to contribute to during that time period (and max it out if possible). As a resident you are use to living cheaply after transitioning from school and this is a good opportunity to get some early money into the retirement system.

A good way to find a financial adviser is to ask past residents what they have done, or the attendings/doctors at your hospital. Most are willing to share the name of their adviser and experience usually without bias. Furthermore, a lot of programs will have adviser groups coming through during hospital or resident meetings and the GME office may be another good place to start to get a few names.

MISC websites I find interesting include:

Financial Related

Setting Up A "Business"
  • Depending on the type of work you want to get into outside of the day/day practice, you may want to set up a personal-business limited liability company (LLC) in your own name. Any extra income you produce can be passed through the LLC. This can be important to keep side activities separate from your personal assets, and having the company has tax benefits. To set one up you can talk to a local accountant or use one of the many online resources (LegalZoom). I personally used my accountant which was more expensive, but I know done correctly. Furthermore, apply for a new business credit card (again to keep finances separate from personal).
  • Make sure in your contract with an employer that any outside ventures you partake in (list below), you are the rightful beneficiary of all income generated from that event. Its often referred to as being allowed to generate 1099-income (1099 being the tax form form "independent contractor").
  • Good reads..
  • Ways to make money include:
​ ​          > Consulting - pharma and hardware companies are the 2 most common.
​ ​          > Lecturing - local, state, and national organizations pay a stipend for lectures given.
​ ​          > Legal Related Activities - Physician Consultations; Narrative Reports; Medical Record Review; Independent Medical Examination (IME); Deposition; Court Appearance/Expert Witness. Each of these should have a pre-determined "fee" as well as noting a cancellation fee. Make sure all payments are received prior to the activity requested.