187 Are Other Doctors Really Ahead of You?

A house cannot tell you how the people inside it are doing financially. It just shows you what somebody built. It says nothing about their down payment, what they owe on it every month, what goes into their retirement plan, or what is set aside for a nine-year-old's tuition. For years we drove down to California to see my wife's side of the family, and I spent most of those trips feeling like I was doing something wrong. Every driveway on the street had a brand new car in it while we pulled up in a used car we had paid cash for. Five years into these trips, I finally said something to my wife about it. How is everybody driving a new car when half of them are living with their parents? She looked at me like I had asked why the sky was blue. She said, “They all have payments. They all say it is because they are in traffic two hours a day, but really it's just LA's version of keeping up with the Joneses” I was doing what you are doing now. I looked at the nicest thing I could see and decided everyone was ahead of me. You are picturing your partners putting twenty percent down and still funding everything they are supposed to fund. In my experience, the bigger the house, the smaller the college accounts. Building your dream home is still possible. I see families do it responsibly every year, usually about five years after the people who financed theirs, and with the college accounts still full. We also answer your colleagues' questions. An anesthesiologist in Pennsylvania says, “My group offers disability insurance, and I also have a policy I bought in residency. Do I still need both?” A hematologist oncologist in Florida wonders, “I bought Apple stock many years ago, and I want to sell it now that it's at an all-time high. How do I avoid paying so much in taxes on the sale?” A hospitalist in Indiana asks, “Our bank keeps offering a physician loan with nothing down. We have enough for 20%. Is the physician loan still the better deal?” Are you ready to turn worries about taxes and investing into a plan for college and retirement? If you’re evaluating your options and want to learn more, visit physicianfamily.com and click 'Get Started' or you can ask a question of your own by emailing podcast@physicianfamily.com. See marketing disclosures at physicianfamily.com/disclosures