Savings Projection as a Pharmacist

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blueclassring

Senior Member
15+ Year Member
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I find it so fascinating that people think they will be rich after becoming pharmacists, dentist, lawyers, or doctors after graduation. Wealth is built up through businesses, practices, or long term investing and not by being an employee. Here's a financial breakdown I did for myself. I plan on living in California after graduation, and this is the projected picture for myself. I am a single male, and have no kids/wife to take care of.

Annual Gross Pay
$120,000.00

Federal Withholding
$26,052.25
Social Security
$6,324.00
Medicare
$1,740.00
California
$8,638.38
CA SDI
$693.58

Net Pay
$76,551.79


-Apartment living(1100/month)*12= $13200
-Student Loan repayments(1300/month) * 12=$15,600
-Utilities($200/mth) * 12=$2400
-Groceries($400/mth)*12=$4800
-Car Insurance=$1000/yr
-Cell Phone Service($60) * 12=$720
-Fun money(Eating out, movies, dates)=$200 *12=$2400


Total Expenses=$40,120

After expenses, I end up with $36,431/yr. I haven't invested any money in the stock market, nor I any investment. If I purchase a house in California and my mortgage payment is $3000, my net savings for the year will be $13,461. I don't feel so rich anymore, and in fact this is way to stay in the rat race forever.

Note to self, don't buy a house next year and no reason to sport an Audi right now. :laugh::laugh:
I don't have kids right now, and if I did my savings would probably go to zero. On the bright side, many of us will be better off than the general population!!!

Additionally, I haven't decreased my tax liability by investing in my company's 401K program so I can save some money there. I'd love to hear your comments!

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lower your taxes and housing by moving out of commiefornia
 
Yeah, California is so expensive and moving could alleviate so much of these expenses. Certainly, many areas in the US are affected by this(Florida, New York, Seattle, Washington, San Diego, San Francisco, Phoenix)! So I know I'm not alone...
 
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Financial independence means different things for different people. However, there are fundamental financial rules people never learn. Typical extent of our financial education falls under the common wisdom of 'go to school, get a good job, save, and hopefully you can retire at 65." Then people throw around follwing terms, stocks, real estate, business, 401K, etc etc. Why? Because, people teaching finance aren't usually financially independent. Over 95% of people usually don't know any better.

Let me give you a different perspective. True financial freedom can only be attained once you posess the following three. All three.

Money, Time, and Youth.

What good is a lot of money if you have no time or youth to enjoy it.
What good is a lot of time if you have no money or no youth to enjoy it.
What good is a lot of youth if you have no money or time to enjoy it.

Show me a high income erning professional, I will show you a burned out, exhausted, and overworked person.

Then what?

Here is a fundamental truth you may not like. Regardless of being a professional or not, having a job is the most primitive way of erning income.

JOB stands for Just Over Broke because without a job, I don't care if you're a brain surgeon, you'll be broke.

What am I getting at? Having a job means you're selling your time for money. The problem is you only have 24 hours a day which caps your income potential. You can't make any more money than your ability to sell your time. And it's 24 hours. It's only when you start to buy other people's time to duplicate your effort, your income is no longer limited by your time.

Financially speaking, retirement has nothing to do with age. If it takes $5,000 per month to live and if you had a cashflow of $5,000 per month while you didn't have to work, then you can retire today, as long as the cashflow doesn't stop.

So, how do you buy other people's time and how do you set up a cashflow system? People do it all the time. I've done it once but need to do it again.

Remember, money, time, and youth. Then buy other people's time to duplicate your effort. Once you understand this concept and put it into prarctice, then you can truly enjoy and appreciate what it means to be free.

Happy holidays!

Yours truly,

Z

:smuggrin:
 
At least if you buy a house, and buy wisely, you're not "throwing away" rental payments. Renting = no equity. Aside from issues with the current economy, the cost of living in California, or anywhere for that matter, is not going to significantly decrease. May as well buy if you can afford it and build equity.
 
Musicians are smarter than you think. They've figured out the "system."

Residual Income.

Everytime somewhere in the world when their song is played, they get paid...
 
Financial independence means different things for different people. However, there are fundamental financial rules people never learn. Typical extent of our financial education falls under the common wisdom of 'go to school, get a good job, save, and hopefully you can retire at 65." Then people throw around follwing terms, stocks, real estate, business, 401K, etc etc. Why? Because, people teaching finance aren't usually financially independent. Over 95% of people usually don't know any better.

Let me give you a different perspective. True financial freedom can only be attained once you posess the following three. All three.

Money, Time, and Youth.

What good is a lot of money if you have no time or youth to enjoy it.
What good is a lot of time if you have no money or no youth to enjoy it.
What good is a lot of youth if you have no money or time to enjoy it.

Show me a high income erning professional, I will show you a burned out, exhausted, and overworked person.

Then what?

Here is a fundamental truth you may not like. Regardless of being a professional or not, having a job is the most primitive way of erning income.

JOB stands for Just Over Broke because without a job, I don't care if you're a brain surgeon, you'll be broke.

What am I getting at? Having a job means you're selling your time for money. The problem is you only have 24 hours a day which caps your income potential. You can't make any more money than your ability to sell your time. And it's 24 hours. It's only when you start to buy other people's time to duplicate your effort, your income is no longer limited by your time.

Financially speaking, retirement has nothing to do with age. If it takes $5,000 per month to live and if you had a cashflow of $5,000 per month while you didn't have to work, then you can retire today, as long as the cashflow doesn't stop.

So, how do you buy other people's time and how do you set up a cashflow system? People do it all the time. I've done it once but need to do it again.

Remember, money, time, and youth. Then buy other people's time to duplicate your effort. Once you understand this concept and put it into prarctice, then you can truly enjoy and appreciate what it means to be free.

Happy holidays!

Yours truly,

Z

:smuggrin:

is that from robert kiyosaki author of "rich dad poor dad"?
 
At least if you buy a house, and buy wisely, you're not "throwing away" rental payments. Renting = no equity. Aside from issues with the current economy, the cost of living in California, or anywhere for that matter, is not going to significantly decrease. May as well buy if you can afford it and build equity.

However, interest payment is in a way throwing money away if your real estate isn't appreciating. Ok, lil bit of tax deduction can help some.

Move in with your mommy and daddy! :smuggrin:
 
is that from robert kiyosaki author of "rich dad poor dad"?

No, I was writing and preaching this stuff before kioysaki came on board. I was learning this stuff in the early 90's.
And the shear amount of typos, run-ons, and bad sentences ought to tell you it's my own writing...:smuggrin:
 
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OK HGTV expert... pick out a paint for me for our theater/media room/photo studio. I feel the need to get dirty and do some work tomorrow.
 
OK HGTV expert... pick out a paint for me for our theater/media room/photo studio. I feel the need to get dirty and do some work tomorrow.

How big is the room? If it is small, don't want to go too dark in color.

ETA: Make sure the finish isn't glossy. I'd probably go with a gray or a taupe/brown.
 
See what you get to look forward to...
 
See what you get to look forward to...

Nah, that's not a priority for me. I want a nice Craftsman with a modest fenced backyard with an area for me to have a garden. In my kitchen I must have a garbage disposal, a dishwasher, and at least one portion of the countertops should be butcher block. Oh, and no carpet. Nice hard wood floors. Other than that, I can paint and accessorize as I like. Eventually I'ma have to replace all of my furniture except my dining room table.
 
Nah, that's not a priority for me. I want a nice Craftsman with a modest fenced backyard with an area for me to have a garden. In my kitchen I must have a garbage disposal, a dishwasher, and at least one portion of the countertops should be butcher block. Oh, and no carpet. Nice hard wood floors. Other than that, I can paint and accessorize as I like. Eventually I'ma have to replace all of my furniture except my dining room table.

That's what I mean...not necessarily a media room but "home improvement" silly.
 
My media/theater room is going to be deep red with mahogany accents, lots of recessed lighting, and plush velvet chairs.

That won't work for photo studio though...


Posted via Mobile BlackBerry Device


It could... as long as you have enough room for lights and a backdrop.
 
I want to buy an already fixed up bungalow. I grew up with parents who always bought "fixer uppers" and I want to live somewhere that doesn't need years of work!
 
Buying now may be a good idea in California particularly if you can purchase a home through a short sale. There are bargains to be had right now.
 
Buying now may be a good idea in California particularly if you can purchase a home through a short sale. There are bargains to be had right now.


No way. California Real Estate run up started around 2001 to 2002 and peaked in 2006. To give you an example, 1300 sq ft townhome in Irvine was around $250,000 in 2001. At the peak in 2006, it could have been sold for $650,000. Today, you can buy one for $500,000. Has it bottomed out? No... only when the price of real estate nears the pre run up figure, will I consider it a fair buy. It will happen in 2 to 3 years.

Bookmark this.
 
My dad is trying to get me to buy a place but I have no idea where I want to end up. Hopefully the market continues this way until I have a clue
 
No way. California Real Estate run up started around 2001 to 2002 and peaked in 2006. To give you an example, 1300 sq ft townhome in Irvine was around $250,000 in 2001. At the peak in 2006, it could have been sold for $650,000. Today, you can buy one for $500,000.
The Midwest, FTW!

After expenses, I end up with $36,431/yr. I haven't invested any money in the stock market, nor I any investment. If I purchase a house in California and my mortgage payment is $3000, my net savings for the year will be $13,461. I don't feel so rich anymore, and in fact this is way to stay in the rat race forever.
Ummm...Seriously? The way I see it, you've ended up with almost $36,500 of discretionary income. Where I come from, you could comfortably retire on that amount. It may not look like much, but don't forget that wonderful thing known as compound interest.
 
Again, we are talking short sale here. I'm talking about buying at market prices. 500K is still too much. The key is to look for desperate banks looking to unload their properties.

Compound interest is fantastic I agree(i've seen the charts), but ask the retirees that just lost tons of their money in the Roth IRAs, and 401Ks.
 
My dad is trying to get me to buy a place but I have no idea where I want to end up. Hopefully the market continues this way until I have a clue
NM real estate is dirt cheap compared to the rest of the country:D.
 
Yes, but it requires living in new mexico!
 
No way. California Real Estate run up started around 2001 to 2002 and peaked in 2006. To give you an example, 1300 sq ft townhome in Irvine was around $250,000 in 2001. At the peak in 2006, it could have been sold for $650,000. Today, you can buy one for $500,000. Has it bottomed out? No... only when the price of real estate nears the pre run up figure, will I consider it a fair buy. It will happen in 2 to 3 years.

Bookmark this.

Jesus. What ****** actually wants to live there? For $500k, I could buy a 4000 SF mansion out here in satellite suburban Pittsburgh. :laugh:
 
Jesus. What ****** actually wants to live there? For $500k, I could buy a 4000 SF mansion out here in satellite suburban Pittsburgh. :laugh:

That's expensive. I can get a 5,000 sqft mansion for $400K! :p
 
That's expensive. I can get a 5,000 sqft mansion for $400K! :p
And in my neck of the woods, you can get a 5300 sqft mansion on 7.5 acres for the same amount. :p

There are also 5,000 sqft homes listed for $230,000.
 
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Financial independence means different things for different people. However, there are fundamental financial rules people never learn. Typical extent of our financial education falls under the common wisdom of 'go to school, get a good job, save, and hopefully you can retire at 65." Then people throw around follwing terms, stocks, real estate, business, 401K, etc etc. Why? Because, people teaching finance aren't usually financially independent. Over 95% of people usually don't know any better.

Let me give you a different perspective. True financial freedom can only be attained once you posess the following three. All three.

Money, Time, and Youth.

What good is a lot of money if you have no time or youth to enjoy it.
What good is a lot of time if you have no money or no youth to enjoy it.
What good is a lot of youth if you have no money or time to enjoy it.

Show me a high income erning professional, I will show you a burned out, exhausted, and overworked person.

Then what?

Here is a fundamental truth you may not like. Regardless of being a professional or not, having a job is the most primitive way of erning income.

JOB stands for Just Over Broke because without a job, I don't care if you're a brain surgeon, you'll be broke.

What am I getting at? Having a job means you're selling your time for money. The problem is you only have 24 hours a day which caps your income potential. You can't make any more money than your ability to sell your time. And it's 24 hours. It's only when you start to buy other people's time to duplicate your effort, your income is no longer limited by your time.

Financially speaking, retirement has nothing to do with age. If it takes $5,000 per month to live and if you had a cashflow of $5,000 per month while you didn't have to work, then you can retire today, as long as the cashflow doesn't stop.

So, how do you buy other people's time and how do you set up a cashflow system? People do it all the time. I've done it once but need to do it again.

Remember, money, time, and youth. Then buy other people's time to duplicate your effort. Once you understand this concept and put it into prarctice, then you can truly enjoy and appreciate what it means to be free.

Happy holidays!

Yours truly,

Z

:smuggrin:

Well written Z. I agree with you. This is exactly why one can only start making some serious money when you own your own business and hire others to do some of your work.

On that note, I strongly believe people and their businesses create more jobs than the government can on its own. (Being a proponent of Capitalism, perhaps, the government shouldn't have bailed out so many companies?)

Ultimately, I believe our country will need to reach an all time low economically to reorganize and become more efficient again. (The recent bail outs and by printing more U.S. dollars (since we already borrowed 1 trillion from China), we are only delaying the inevitable) :cool:
 
How does one go about Starting there own Pharmacy?
 
Can pharmacist work 1 week in retail, and another week in hospital or teaching? That will make double income and you will not have any problem any more.
 
Can pharmacist work 1 week in retail, and another week in hospital or teaching? That will make double income and you will not have any problem any more.

A night pharmacist I know works 7-on-7-off and then does temp work a couple days during her off week. So, yeah, sure you could.
 
I love this thread.

Zvox -- 1300 sq ft condos in Irvine can be had for < 400k now (short sales, desperate sellers, etc...). My "quick and dirty" (ie GRM, yah yah i know) bottom price tells me $350k for the above property is the bottom (but, eh, who knows now). Now that only people with good credit and money can buy houses (wow, what a concept!)...no more people to drive up the prices.

As for living in Mexifornia...it's like serving in the armed forces, you don't do it because it's financially the greatest idea in the world, you do it for the intangibles and other perks (ie not having humidity over 80%, not having to shovel snow out of your driveway).

Sometimes I wonder why people want to move out here (cost, dysfunctional state gov't, traffic, etc...), but then I leave for a while and that question answers itself.


blueclassring--thanks for starting this thread, made me think the dumb ****s are the rule, not the exception. don't forget getting married will add $$ to that bottom line as kids come along and mortgages pop up. If you're doing a 401k match at 6% of your income, that'll lob $7200 off your taxable income and at a 1:1 match, that's close to $15k into the stock market.

As for getting married/having a domestic partner...that'll at least free one of you up to pursue other things that can get you closer to zyvox's "money/time/youth" ideal.
 
Can pharmacist work 1 week in retail, and another week in hospital or teaching? That will make double income and you will not have any problem any more.

Good luck trying to double your income. Idealistically, your plan sounds great, but realistically, it wouldn't work for me in the long run.

You will have no time for a family. Even if you get close to doubling your salary, the government could tax you up to 40%. Besides, you'll have little time to spent your own money since you're too busy working and resting so you can return to work the next day.

Most importantly, being over worked like that can potentially cause more errors and compromise patients' safety.

If I ever became a pharmacist, I would look into working at a hospital for 10 hours a day for 4 days with health benefits (like WVU does) and then work per diem/part time at another hospital or retail store for a day or two on the weekend. I think a lot of pharmacists have this kind of schedule...(the 7 on 7off is common too)

(I imagine I would only want to do this for first 2 to 3 years to pay back a big chunk of student loans since the economy isn't great right now) I'll cut back to 40 hour per week if I ever start a family.
 
Sometimes I wonder why people want to move out here (cost, dysfunctional state gov't, traffic, etc...), but then I leave for a while and that question answers itself.

There were 4 of us close friends out of RX school. I moved straight out of school. Friend 2 moved a few years after. Friend 3 moved to CO in 1999. Friend 4 was quite upset about it and asked "why the hell are y'all moving and what's wrong with LA?" Well, friend 4 moved out of LA 4 years ago.

My parents still own a house in OC even though they no longer live there. I visit OC at least twice a year and everytime I lament "this is uncalled for."
I'm glad I no longer live there.
 
Zvox -- 1300 sq ft condos in Irvine can be had for < 400k now (short sales, desperate sellers, etc...). My "quick and dirty" (ie GRM, yah yah i know) bottom price tells me $350k for the above property is the bottom (but, eh, who knows now).


Still, $300 per sq/ft is uncalled for. I don't care how great the weather is.
 
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