Does anyone have that thread: How much is 200k a year really?

BU Medical Sciences
This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
M

Moosecakes

Full Member
10+ Year Member
Joined
Oct 1, 2009
Messages
161
Reaction score
0
I remember a great thread on here a while ago, I think it was even stickied. Some poster laid out all the math for just how much $200k a year for a doctor was. I would be very appreciative is someone knows where it is!
Members don't see this ad.
 
liveyourdreams2 said:
This is what a $200k salary looks like in general....numbers will vary per state


Bi-weekly Gross Pay $7,692.31
Federal Withholding $1,916.10
Social Security $323.08
Medicare $111.54
Wisconsin $496.25

Net Pay $4,845.34
Click to expand...

omg i thought that was monthly, that's close what i make right now if I was seeing it that way.... *PHEW*
 
Members don't see this ad :)
liveyourdreams2 said:
This is what a $200k salary looks like in general....numbers will vary per state


Bi-weekly Gross Pay $7,692.31
Federal Withholding $1,916.10
Social Security $323.08
Medicare $111.54
Wisconsin $496.25

Net Pay $4,845.34
Click to expand...

Was malpractice insurance included? Or is that paid for by the practice?

In any case, $9500/mo, to me, seems extremely luxurious. I guess living off of $2000/mo will do that to you.
 
liveyourdreams2 said:
No, those are just straight deductions.

$9,500 a month after student loan payments, insurance costs, etc, will give you around $20k to $40k left over for the year after your basic expenses. The way you chose to live will determine if that salary is enough for your desires.
Click to expand...

What monthly payment is assumed on student loans, though? And what about malpractice insurance? Can you break it down a little more if you have the information? I've been trying to figure this out realistically in case I decide after doing an internal medicine residency that I don't feel like doing a fellowship.

In case you can't tell, I love talking about money.
 
tantacles said:
What monthly payment is assumed on student loans, though? And what about malpractice insurance? Can you break it down a little more if you have the information? I've been trying to figure this out realistically in case I decide after doing an internal medicine residency that I don't feel like doing a fellowship.

In case you can't tell, I love talking about money.
Click to expand...

don't you think you should get into med school first? :idea:
 
typicalindian said:
don't you think you should get into med school first? :idea:
Click to expand...

Maybe.

Honestly, I love discussing money and money-related matters. Knowing how much malpractice insurance costs gives me a better idea of how my life will be after medical school and gives me a sense of security. It's nothing more than market research at this point, but again, I actually LIKE talking about money, so I'll stick with it.
 
liveyourdreams2 said:
I would rather leave a person in the "system" go over that.

Student loan payment will be dependent upon how much you have in loans. If you have $100k in loans you will have less expenses than you will if you have $200k in loans.
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure few attendings would actually entertain my question, and I can't blame them. Dishing out that much money each month is awful.

Yeah, I'm trying to figure out what kind of payment plan would let you pay off $200,000 vs. $100,000 in 10 years. I'm the kind of person who would sacrifice lifestyle for several years to pay down loans maximally, so I just need to find a resource that calculates this for me.
 
tantacles said:
What monthly payment is assumed on student loans, though? And what about malpractice insurance? Can you break it down a little more if you have the information? I've been trying to figure this out realistically in case I decide after doing an internal medicine residency that I don't feel like doing a fellowship.

In case you can't tell, I love talking about money.
Click to expand...

Usually these salaries are how much the doc is making after expenses are taken out (ie malpractice fees, overhead if they're in a private practice, etc). You can treat it like it's a true $200k salary. Of course what you repay for loans/mortgage/car payment/etc will be completely dependent upon your situation.
 
liveyourdreams2 said:
It is important to balance out savings vs loan payments. A loan with low rates you are better off paying yourself first. If the loan has a high rate you should try to get the interest payment done and when the principle hits start paying more to yourself.

A $200k loan with a 6.8% interest rate would look similar to:


Monthly Loan Payment: $2,301.61
Number of Payments: 120

Cumulative Payments: $276,192.62
Total Interest Paid: $76,192.62

Now take the roughly $9k monthly income and deduct a mortgage payment and everything else and you are down to whatever savings you want based on your lifestyle.
Click to expand...

oooo, thanks. I'm sure I could have figured it out, but it's always nice to have someone who can help me out a bit.😀

And regarding paying myself first, I'm an extremely conservative investor, and that's unlikely to change. I generally prefer payment of loans over any investment because the way I invest (which most people wouldn't even count as investment), my money would grow at a rate less than that of the loan, meaning that I would ultimately be losing money as the loan grew.

Also, honestly, I'm not even sure that I would want a mortgage right out of residency. I obviously can't envision my life perfectly the way it will be in ten years, but I imagine I'll probably rent a reasonable apartment for a few years unless something really amazing and affordable turns up. Once my loan is paid off, then I'll pursue home ownership in earnest.

But again, who knows? I may be eager to own a home right after residency, especially if I plan to raise kids.
 
xanthomondo said:
Usually these salaries are how much the doc is making after expenses are taken out (ie malpractice fees, overhead if they're in a private practice, etc). You can treat it like it's a true $200k salary. Of course what you repay for loans/mortgage/car payment/etc will be completely dependent upon your situation.
Click to expand...

If it's actually a $200K salary, that seems extremely luxurious to me, even after loan repayment estimated by the other poster. I think this might mean that I'm not a real American. 😛
 
Members don't see this ad :)
tantacles said:
What monthly payment is assumed on student loans, though? And what about malpractice insurance? Can you break it down a little more if you have the information? I've been trying to figure this out realistically in case I decide after doing an internal medicine residency that I don't feel like doing a fellowship.

In case you can't tell, I love talking about money.
Click to expand...


You should check out this thread then:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=817037
 
liveyourdreams2 said:
At the end of the day $200k/year sounds like more when you are 19 than when you are 40. As you get older one realizes what big money actually is and $200k/year salary isn't big money. It is comfortable money.
Click to expand...
Especially when the average college student looks at what is taken out in taxes of their paycheck (if they work) and think the withholding when they are earning more is proportional. Going from 50k a year to 150k a year gross does NOT mean you will be taking HOME 3 times the money. Add in a mortgage on a desirable home, insurances (life, car, home, malpractice if out of pocket, etc.) loan repayments, etc. and you will have a decent lifestyle, but not a rich lifestyle.
 
People always seem to leave out those 50 to 100k bonuses when talking about physician earnings...
 
theseeker4 said:
Especially when the average college student looks at what is taken out in taxes of their paycheck (if they work) and think the withholding when they are earning more is proportional. Going from 50k a year to 150k a year gross does NOT mean you will be taking HOME 3 times the money. Add in a mortgage on a desirable home, insurances (life, car, home, malpractice if out of pocket, etc.) loan repayments, etc. and you will have a decent lifestyle, but not a rich lifestyle.
Click to expand...

That's why these threads are so important; I like to see what physicians actually take home so I can ultimately make good choices about my finances leading up to that point.

Going from $33K to $200K might not mean that I'm taking home 6 times the money, but without actual numbers, how am I to know exactly what I AM taking home?
 
Moosecakes said:
I remember a great thread on here a while ago, I think it was even stickied. Some poster laid out all the math for just how much $200k a year for a doctor was. I would be very appreciative is someone knows where it is!
Click to expand...

I'm getting so tired of the over analysis of physician pay. 200k/year is a very nice sum. It gets taxed just like every single other type of income earned in this country.

Doctors make enough money- end of story. Some would argue they make more than they need.
 
xanthomondo said:
Usually these salaries are how much the doc is making after expenses are taken out (ie malpractice fees, overhead if they're in a private practice, etc). You can treat it like it's a true $200k salary. Of course what you repay for loans/mortgage/car payment/etc will be completely dependent upon your situation.
Click to expand...

+1, and mortgage is tax deductible and part of interest on loan too. Also your medical insurance will be tax deductibe. Further in 8 years time $200K will migrate to $250 to $300. You will be pauing the loan with inflated money. In real money terms you may not pay that much interest. Income tax also may go down since brackets are adjusted to iflation.

If you consider $200K in real constant dollars then it is ok for most part except for the loan part; part of interest rate is to pay for inflation. At this time it's all hypothetical.

$200K will put you in top 5%tile if not 2%tile. Count your blessings!
 
You all are neglecting the elephant in the room. You have to save for retirement. You are starting to accumulate wealth later in life and need to compensate in your monthly contributions. The EM guys were citing 15-20% of their gross.
 
DrBowtie said:
You all are neglecting the elephant in the room. You have to save for retirement. You are starting to accumulate wealth later in life and need to compensate in your monthly contributions. The EM guys were citing 15-20% of their gross.
Click to expand...

That's a good point. Something else that I'd forgotten to consider was the cost of sending a child to college (and possibly graduate school). If tuition keeps rising at its current rate, it will likely cost, at minimum, 2.5 times more to send my child to college than it costs now. So that's about $400,000 more in expenses.
 
To put it in perspective I get ~$5500-$6000 for med student loans living expenses for 6 months or 26 weeks, and have been living fine.

Today is 2/1/2012, since the start of this year somebody making 200K salary has already made more after taxes for this year than I have to live on the entire year. A good portion of doctors make closer to 250 or 300K so we are talking closer to 200K take home.

If you are poor as a doctor you either are living beyond your means or decided to live in a very expensive city.

Think of it this way, from your high school graduating class, how many people do you think are making more than you? I doubt the number is greater than 1%. How about the people making less than you?

Actually, when I finish residency I will likely be the highest paid person in a graduating class of 600 people....and I came from a middle class suburb high school. Doctors aren't Bill Gates rich, but certainly are near the highest paid working class people that exist. I think that puts it in perspective.

Let me compare to some other professions...

salary.png
 
Frazier said:
Man, out of 600 graduates you are the only one that is going to be a physician? What gives? I went to a mediocre high school with only 110 students in my class...

...and 5-6 of us are going to be physicians.
Click to expand...

Yep my high school produced a handful of engineers, a few people going for a PhD, but all the premed people I know changed to education or something else, I did go to a public school though....
 
Your right....Your right....Your right....Your right....Your right.... :smack:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

S
Adcoms, how much to interviews really weigh?
Replies
24
Views
3K
Mr.Smile12
Mr.Smile12
F
How much weight does boyfriend resident at an institution carry
Replies
11
Views
926
throwawayftw
T
2026PreMed
  • Locked
How much of a Big Deal is it to just have clinical volunteer hours instead of Clinical employement hours
Replies
3
Views
440
chilly_md
chilly_md
A
How Much Does the MCAT Actually Matter in the App Review Process?
Replies
11
Views
2K
Mr.Smile12
Mr.Smile12
S
Does a DIY postbacc have to be bio?
Replies
3
Views
282
Goro
Goro
Top