Part 2 of a 3 part Series
Your Gifts
Now, pick yourself up off the floor and forget about those Minor Hiccups from Part 1. As a physician, you also have Gifts when it comes to finances. AKA Money Superpowers. They really are fantastic.
- You are a high earner. I don’t care if you’re a pediatrician or a spine surgeon, you make bank compared to the rest of the population. You make 6-figures. Most people don’t make 6-figures. Around 9% of all earners in the US make at least six figures (Source: credit.com). So, 6-figures is a high income, no matter where on the scale you are.
2. High income equals leverage.
Because most people don’t make 6-figures, you can have a very nice lifestyle on income way below that level. You know, like most people. The wider the gap between your living expenses and your income, the more you have left over to use for student loans and for investing. You can pay down debt and invest VERY aggressively with this leverage, without even having to try very hard. I’m not talking about living in a tent in your mom’s back yard to save rent. I’m not even talking about foregoing lattes and avocado toast. I’m mainly talking about avoiding wild lambo level purchases or Mc Mansions right out of the gate, so that you can kill your debt and start building some wealth.
As you get more solid, you can begin to have nicer stuff. (But just make sure that’s really what you want.)
3. You’re smart AF.
You got into med school, graduated, have taken loads of unpleasant hell-tests along the way, (lest we forget the MCAT, USMLE, not 1, not 2, not 3 but FOUR of them, annual in-service exams, written and oral board exams, & +/-COMLEX). You went to school for 4 years to learn a skill which then required 3-10 years of apprenticeship training to actually be able to use. And you’re telling me you can’t learn a little bit of money info that’s limited in scope and easy to implement? Like, immediately implementable? Pa-uh-leessse. No. Just no.
4. You are a Jedi Master of Delayed Gratification.
I don’t need to tell you not to go buy a Lambo. Because you can hold off. You’re a master at that by now. You’re so used to putting off your own wants and needs, you can go without sleep, showering, urination, oral intake, or sunlight all while working, for at least 40 hours or more. There could not be a better trained type of individual for tolerating delayed gratification for a bigger payoff. You got this.
In Part 3, You’ll learn how to harness these Money Superpowers to achieve Financial Wellness!