ideas to spend my professional funds..

[coffeebythelake]

i have a few thousand in professional funds to spend this year
any ideas how to spend this money?
not planning to do any conferences
my CME stuff is up to date
i have a bunch of stethoscopes and textbooks already and not really looking for more
use it or lose it kind of deal

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[DocVapor]

Hookers and cocaine

 

[thinkorswim]

Cash it out. Buy a laptop or something else that qualifies, submit the expense for reimbursement, then return it.

 

[narcotics999]

buy a mcgrath and sell it on ebay

 

[anesussy]

Donate to PPP 😎

 

[nimbus]

CSA 2022 Fall Anesthesia Seminar

 

[abolt18]

i have a few thousand in professional funds to spend this year
any ideas how to spend this money?
not planning to do any conferences
my CME stuff is up to date
i have a bunch of stethoscopes and textbooks already and not really looking for more
use it or lose it kind of deal

My employer gives us 10K/yr and I didn't do any meetings this year, so I got a butterfly IQ+ ultrasound, a nice MacBook pro, and some Bluetooth noise cancelling Bose headphones. Also had difficulty deciding what to spend it on.

 

[GassYous]

find a conference in hawaii

 

[DrZzZz]

find a conference in hawaii

Pro move: create your own conference in Hawaii.
escapecme.com

 

[dabears505]

Agree with buy large ticket items and return.

 

[okayplayer]

Agree with buy large ticket items and return.

Not to be a narc, but that is illegal. Sometimes the employer asks for proof you still have said computer 2 years later as well.

 

[kidthor]

My employer gives us 10K/yr

I’m perpetually irritated that my employer gives us no professional fund.

 

[anesussy]

I’m perpetually irritated that my employer gives us no professional fund.

You should be. Sounds unprofessional.

 

[NITRAS]

I’m perpetually irritated that my employer gives us no professional fund.

Or you could have funds, but can’t spend them on fun stuff like the above. . . Despite the fact we use our phones, home computers all the time.

 

[kidthor]

Or you could have funds, but can’t spend them on fun stuff like the above. . . Despite the fact we use our phones, home computers all the time.

To be clear we have no professional/cme fund for licensing, conferences, CME, acls, and so forth.

 

[dabears505]

Not to be a narc, but that is illegal. Sometimes the employer asks for proof you still have said computer 2 years later as well.

Bro, no employer is going to ask you to show a picture of the laptop 2 years later. Stop it.

 

[okayplayer]

Bro, no employer is going to ask you to show a picture of the laptop 2 years later. Stop it.

My group’s accountant asks me every year if I still have the office chair I submitted receipts for 2 years ago for a deduction. Maybe furniture is different than computers?

 

[coffeebythelake]

Close tabs kept on computers and other electronic devices. Explanation that hospital or patient sensitive data might be on it

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

My group’s accountant asks me every year if I still have the office chair I submitted receipts for 2 years ago for a deduction. Maybe furniture is different than computers?

It sounds like he is depreciating it over time. For one chair it probably doesn’t matter, but for 2000+ across an organization, this would add up.

Probably has more to do with that and less to do with keeping tabs

 

[nimbus]

Bro, no employer is going to ask you to show a picture of the laptop 2 years later. Stop it.

Also, it’s not difficult to get a picture of a laptop or a chair or to tell them it caught on fire😉

 

[hiyaman]

My employer gives us 10K/yr and I didn't do any meetings this year, so I got a butterfly IQ+ ultrasound, a nice MacBook pro, and some Bluetooth noise cancelling Bose headphones. Also had difficulty deciding what to spend it on.

Damn 10k / yr?

That's a lot right? I thought my 3k/yr was average

 

[chocomorsel]

My group’s accountant asks me every year if I still have the office chair I submitted receipts for 2 years ago for a deduction. Maybe furniture is different than computers?

So what? Does he or she invite themselves to Sunday dinner to come take inventory?
Seriously.
I get like 15k. I guess I am going to Dubai end of June. First Class on Emirates I hear is Fantastico!! Found a conference there.

 

[gasresident1]

Even in residency I would buy Miller with my book funds and return it. Why would one do anything different in practice lol

 

[anesussy]

Even in residency I would buy Miller with my book funds and return it. Why would one do anything different in practice lol

Heard about a resident who did that and got fired for it. Actually, they were fired for other reasons, but apparently that one was easiest to prove.

 

[chessknt]

Not to be a narc, but that is illegal. Sometimes the employer asks for proof you still have said computer 2 years later as well.

Lol no they dont.

My cme fund is a whopping 2k I'm poor as **** compared to all you ballers in here. I don't even use it most of the time because it is too small to accomplish anything.

 

[kidthor]

Yeah it’s technically defrauding the IRS. So, not a good idea.

 

[Simba1711]

I spent mine on an iPad with magic pen. I use it way more than my laptop

 

[IMGASMD]

We can use it on computer, but every two years. We can use it for phone, iPad, other toys, with “no limits.” Don’t be buying 10 or 100 selling on eBay, then probably okay.

 

[Gern Blansten]

Lol no they dont.

My cme fund is a whopping 2k I'm poor as **** compared to all you ballers in here. I don't even use it most of the time because it is too small to accomplish anything.

I don't doubt that there are some places out there that may do something like this. Different places take this with different levels of seriousness. Some are very very strict and do a lot of checking.
I would definitely not do the buy then return because there are legal ramifications to that outside of your employer. There is a 99% chance you get away with it, but why risk it? Just spend the money on something that you will use and call it a day. If you are in a training program, you can buy texts and then donate them to the residency program. Now that fewer read texts, that is not as popular, but some may still appreciate it. Like a nice regional atlas or a hard copy of Miller's. I may be old-fashioned, but I still some some value in having a few texts around.

 

[nimbus]

I’m in PP so my “CME fund” is unlimited but it just comes out of my own share of collections pretax. It’s just a way to pay for stuff pretax but ultimately I’m still paying for it. I have taken CME in Hawaii and paid for electronics with it.

 

[zizzer]

Go all out on some OR shoes: Ultraboosts, Yeezy's, Golden Goose. Whatever. See if watches are covered. You may be able to justify a mechanical watch with chronometer function, but probably just smart watches. Support Physicians for Patient Protection with an annual membership. Laptop, phone, iPad, Butterfly ultrasound, cool bag for medical supplies. Nice stethoscope if you need one.

 

[pgg]

use it or lose it kind of deal

That's unfortunate.

Many groups just roll unused pretax CME or business expense funds into ordinary taxable income.

Simple, no tax fraud required, and the individuals get the benefit they earned.

 

[chocomorsel]

Lol no they dont.

My cme fund is a whopping 2k I'm poor as **** compared to all you ballers in here. I don't even use it most of the time because it is too small to accomplish anything.

Get a new job. Negotiate a better fund. You got options. Especially in this market.

 

[Gern Blansten]

Get a new job. Negotiate a better fund. You got options. Especially in this market.

I would never change jobs over something as meaningless as a couple thousand dollars of education dollars if it was a job I otherwise liked.