What do doctors' do with their money?

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Mastashake

Mastashake

Dr. John Zoidberg, M.D.
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Okay, so money is kinda a touchy subject, but bear with me...

What do the doctors who don't want a Bimmer or a huge house do with their money? I'll be the first to admit that I don't know the first thing about how far a dollar goes, even after being dependant from my family for 1 1/2 years, but I can't think of what someone would do with all the money after paying off their loans.

I don't want you to think I'm above and beyond these things either, but I can also say I don't think I'd know what to do with a big house of fancy car if I had one. 🙂

So what do doctor's do with the money they make?

Mastashake
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This must be a joke.
Do you know how much a DO family practitioner makes? Something between
100G-150G depending on where they live. My family DO drives a 4 thousand dollar piece of crap car and works from dawn until dusk and then some.
Those doctors who do make money have to keep up a certain status. Country or yacht clubs, nice cars, nice houses (got to live where the other doctors live) are things that they have to be part of. Some have kids in IVY leagues schools and yet other have expensive hobbies like flying planes or racing cars.
Besides, the malpractice insurance is a killer. The surgeons that I work with pay 150G every year for malpractice insurance.
One particular doctor (MD not DO) cannot afford to retire because of his lifestyle spendings. A lot of them are in debt that they are trying to pay off.
 
Wow, I didn't realize there was that much keeping up with the Joneses.

I lived in a town of 500 people, and there was only like 2 doctors. And one drank cheap beer, drove an older car, and didn't do any of the stuff you said. The other was an entrepreneur, and ended up practicing DO once a week or so (if that), and became a millionaire managing properties.

Why do you have to do all of that stuff, though, if you are a Doctor? I mean why would you HAVE to be friends with another physician if you don't rely on them for recommendations or if you work by yourself. Idealistic me thinks if someone won't befriend you if you don't have certain stuff, then there's no reason to be their friend anyway.

But feel free to correct me where I'm wrong.

Mastashake
 
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As a future doctor, my plan is to pay off the 200K in loans I'm going to have. Plus interest. Hmph...
 
There are no shortages of ways to spend money. The DO in my family spent the first ten years getting out of debt and building her income. In the last seven years she has bought a large house and has 2 vacation homes, has 2 luxury cars, and buys enough clothes for 30 women.

My plan is to get out of debt, buy a resonable house for my family, own resonable and responsible cars (will somebody PLEASE sell a diesel hybrid in the US?!?!). I plan to save enough money to be able to travel the world, provide opportunities to my kids and my nephew, and ultimately quit practice to join doctors without borders (or whatever international relief agency exists at the time).
 
My mom is a doctor. She was in private practice as a pediatric neurologist in private practice for many years and now works for a hospital. We lived in a very small home, thought it was at the beach. When the house was bought it cost 1/10 of what it would sell for now. She drove a cadillac and drove it until the wheels fell off. We took two vacations when I was a kid. Both to the caribbean. We rarely ate out.

I went to Catholic school my whole life (tuition less than $3,000/year) and never had designer clothes. JC Penny and Old Navy was fine for me.

Where did she spend it? She didn't. She lived modestly and saved her money. Now I will be able to have completed college, grad school and finally medical school debt free. Money was saved for education.
 
I wish my dad saved money like that. I have had to pay every cent of college myself. To add insult to injury I paid out of state tuition throughout since I came here as a foreign student. Needles to say it was hard. I hope I can provide the money for my kids.




EMTLizzy said:
My mom is a doctor. She was in private practice as a pediatric neurologist in private practice for many years and now works for a hospital. We lived in a very small home, thought it was at the beach. When the house was bought it cost 1/10 of what it would sell for now. She drove a cadillac and drove it until the wheels fell off. We took two vacations when I was a kid. Both to the caribbean. We rarely ate out.

I went to Catholic school my whole life (tuition less than $3,000/year) and never had designer clothes. JC Penny and Old Navy was fine for me.

Where did she spend it? She didn't. She lived modestly and saved her money. Now I will be able to have completed college, grad school and finally medical school debt free. Money was saved for education.
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onmywayRN said:
The surgeons that I work with pay 150G every year for malpractice insurance.
One particular doctor (MD not DO) cannot afford to retire because of his lifestyle spendings.
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Curious, does this MD work for a group or private practice? It was my understanding that if you work for a big group or hospital, then you dont have to worry as much about this.

...but then again Im an "ignorant" pre-med. 😉
 
If you don't like fancy crap, there's still lots to spend money on:

Investments (leave behind money to children, give to charity, endow scholarships)
Travel
Collect art or something else
Buy land
Fund hobbies
 
Taxes - remember as you make more money you pay a lot more in taxes. 401(k)s help reduce gross income but you will be in the upper tax brackets.

I plan on paying off my debts - I like my modest house and paid for cars. I will save and invest even more of my income so I can travel and help my 2 kids through college.
 
I personally won’t have money for a while... By the time i get out of residency my daughter will be in high school... So i will be paying for her college and my student loans...

So i may never move out of my 1300 sq ft house or get a fancy new car... But i will be very happy to go to work everyday, and make a difference in others lives...

As well as give my daughter the things i never had... 🙄


Yep... sounds pretty good to me...

The other guys can keep their Million dollar "Cribs" and cars...

But my happiness will be "Priceless"
😀
 
I'm with ya, Diamond Ice... My plans are exactly like yours right now. I will hold on to my home (1100 sq ft) and my sensible car.

Once I start making Dr. money, I'm going to pay off my loans, and be there to help my kids with as much education as they want to pursue. I currently have a sophomore in college, a junior in high school and a 6th grader, so I'm sure there will be plenty of need for help as they move through their post-high school years...

I want to help them get into reliable, sensible cars, too.

Once I feel satisfied that I've covered them in those two areas, I think I'll buy myself a nicer home and a nicer car (thinking a Passat would be cool). I'll never sell our first home though. It's here for the kids as long as they want to use it... and once they're done with it, I can rent it out.

That's the plan, anyway...
 
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I obviously will pay off my loans...i want a really nice house though; i'm not really into cars so much but a house i want. i mean not crazy, but a pretty decent house. i hope to marry another doc to make this more feasible 🙂

after that just a decent car...i've been driving this same 91 oldsmobile 98 since i was 16; now i'm 21...it hasn't had working a/c in 3 years...🙂

i'd like money to have a couple nice things...🙂...i'd like to take 2 little vacations a year or so; i'd like to have a housekeeper come once or twice a week for a couple hours to do the cleaning stuff i hate; i'd like a nanny for the baby when there's one and i am working too...🙂

i just want to not have to worry about money again. i've hated being in undergrad and having that constant worry. also i didnt come from a whole lot, but it wasnt horrible or anything...
 
im definitely with you. sensibility and responsibility is everything. there's nothing wrong with living within your means. you don't have to keep living the same way you did as a student, nor do you have to keep up with anyone.

you can be sensible and well grounded and still get what you want. if you are handling your student loan debt, or you've paid it off, and you're taking care of your family, contributing to your IRA, saving up some, and you're on top of it all, then definitely, go ahead and buy whatever you want, live however you want. just handle it. for some people a car that is 50k is sensible compared to the one that is 100k. its all about being reasonable within yourself. also, check it out, a lot of these really expensive cars, or status cars, people only drive them for like 3-4 years tops before they get a new one. after only 3 years some of these cars still have really high re-sale values, your 50k car may not have depreciated that much, and you trade it in for something new, your actual usage cost and may not be all that much higher than someone driving a much cheaper car for 4-5 years.

then when you consider leasing options, think about the car you could be driving today if you could pay 200 or so more per month, 2400 per year, you might be able to drive a car thats 2 or 3 times as expensive. just something to think about.

the thing with nice houses, real estate is a great place to put your money. even if you're looking to just save, buying a nice house or multiple properties can be worth it because its investing in a reasonably safe venture, you're building equity, its wealth management, and there are all kinds of tax incentives for doing so.
 
I live for bitches and blunts.
 
EPA7X1 said:
I live for bitches and blunts.
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Right on. But seriously, it's just not that much money. Once you have an average american house (between $250k-600k), normal life expenses like basic car loan, revolving accounts, basic retirement and investment funds, insurances, and most of all kids and their daycare/school, a household income of say $200,000 will disappear!

If you become a cardiothoracic guru or a reputable plastics expert where you are easily above $500k/year, then you can start thinking that you're a step above the fray. But many, many households make more than $200k yr combined and we wouldn't be considered rich.

Just for giggles try these numbers:
-daycare or nanny for two toddlers in Boston - $2000/mo min
-private elementary tuition - $12,000 per child (grades 7-12 - $24,000/ea)
-average boston mortgage - $2500/mo + taxes $5000/yr
-average insurances (car+home) - $4000/yr

Either marry another doc or don't get married at all if you want easy street. The best thing you can do is make smart investments once you are liquid. That is in fact smarter than paying off your loans...do the math.
 
onmywayRN said:
This must be a joke.
Do you know how much a DO family practitioner makes? Something between
100G-150G depending on where they live. My family DO drives a 4 thousand dollar piece of crap car and works from dawn until dusk and then some.
Those doctors who do make money have to keep up a certain status. Country or yacht clubs, nice cars, nice houses (got to live where the other doctors live) are things that they have to be part of. Some have kids in IVY leagues schools and yet other have expensive hobbies like flying planes or racing cars.
Besides, the malpractice insurance is a killer. The surgeons that I work with pay 150G every year for malpractice insurance.
One particular doctor (MD not DO) cannot afford to retire because of his lifestyle spendings. A lot of them are in debt that they are trying to pay off.
Click to expand...

A lot of docs in Florida invest in their primary homes - becasue the one thing that can't be taken from you in the case of a huge malpractice suit is your home - its the law. Thats why there are several single or married docs with no kids who keep 6000 sq ft homes - lock up the money where the lawyers can't get at it. Of course, showing off is another thing, but there's method to the madness.
 
I think I would want to AT LEAST buy a house when I start making money. I would hate to keep wasting $$$ in rent. I drive a 94...do u think it will make it to see the day I'm a doctor and making money? We'll see...but I do not plan on buying a new car anytime soon...it'll just be a house, or maybe a small condo(something to call my own!) and paying off my loans




diamondice79 said:
I personally won’t have money for a while... By the time i get out of residency my daughter will be in high school... So i will be paying for her college and my student loans...

So i may never move out of my 1300 sq ft house or get a fancy new car... But i will be very happy to go to work everyday, and make a difference in others lives...

As well as give my daughter the things i never had... 🙄


Yep... sounds pretty good to me...

The other guys can keep their Million dollar "Cribs" and cars...

But my happiness will be "Priceless"
😀
Click to expand...
 
Well, well...

like most people, I plan on spending ten or so years paying off educational loans. Some people could handle 4 years of active duty (plus 4 of inactive ready reserve), but not me. I'd rather take a hit in educational loans myself. Of course, I could probably pay off the med school loans in 3-5 years, depending on my specialty (Rads/Gas/etc. - probably about 3 years; FP/IM/etc. more like 4-5 years). I can live frugally, as I've been doing in the past 3 years.

Moving on...

I used to have a silly materialistic view on things (one of the primary reasons that thrust me into medicine in the first place, and you all must admit, it's a primary reason for you as well if you're on a thread discussing this topic), but now I don't really need much. I used to think about BMW's and Ferraris, about enormous homes, multiple houses, goin' to fancy parties, etc.

I plan on buying a house, yes, but it won't be some fancy McMansion because I don't need big fancy rooms to feel at home. As for cars, mine will be one with a diesel engine running on biodiesel. I'll make my own fuel for the thing costing about 65 cents a gallon (to produce, not to sell) 😀 Best of all, biodiesel is a renewable energy source. If fossil fuels are completely depleted, I can still drive around.

I think that I'll probably have some extra money over, in which case I would invest some (retirement savings, college fund for the kids, etc.) and donate the rest to charity. It's possible. I'm very tight-fisted in my savings and expenditures, probably better than a lot of people at handling finances and staying within a budget.

After all, I did manage to make it through three years already in keeping an active credit card going. Always paid off everything in full whenever the bills came in.

Furthermore, I hope that I could join an organization like Doctors without Borders and practice medicine internationally. Maybe a lot of my work in the U.S. will be composed of locum tenens, bouncing from state to state, city to city in temp jobs to fill in a physician need for a month in each area. I've always wanted to travel a lot.
 
Karina said:
I think I would want to AT LEAST buy a house when I start making money. I would hate to keep wasting $$$ in rent. I drive a 94...do u think it will make it to see the day I'm a doctor and making money? We'll see...but I do not plan on buying a new car anytime soon...it'll just be a house, or maybe a small condo(something to call my own!) and paying off my loans
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I'll probably be driving my 2002 'til it wears out into nothing in 2012 (being optimistic here) :laugh:

Most of my patients will probably think I'm poor because I don't wear brand name clothes or have any fashion sense. 😛
 
samdwi said:
A lot of docs in Florida invest in their primary homes - becasue the one thing that can't be taken from you in the case of a huge malpractice suit is your home - its the law. Thats why there are several single or married docs with no kids who keep 6000 sq ft homes - lock up the money where the lawyers can't get at it. Of course, showing off is another thing, but there's method to the madness.
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I'll keep that in mind. Invest in your home so that the bloodsucking lawyers don't get it 👍
 
This is a little off the original subject but my fiance is a loan broaker and I can't tell you how many times he has come home from work and said, " when you are a doctor, we are not going to spend our money like this doctor who came in for a loan today..." Apparently, huge income = huge debt!

Seriously.

It seems that many of the supposedly wealthier members of our society (i.e docs) have gotten used to always having a nice income and have also gotten used to SPENDING that nice income.

We all say that we won't do it but it will be hard to control when you live poor (like me, for instance 😉 ) and then all of a sudden your income increases by 4 or 5x. At first you are cautiously optimistic but soon you get used to having the cash (and credit) and you start buying "things".

Luckily for me, I am marrying the cash-nazi of the century, he'll still be making clip coupons while we are living off our multi-million dollar retirement fund! :laugh:
 
Hey, I'm a "cash-Nazi" myself. I'm probably the most miserly person I know. My loans ought to be paid off faster than the average doc's.
 
I still don't see where the money goes. Then again I make 7 dollars an hour, and drive a car that's 20 years old, rusted and has a quarter of a million miles on it (yay Hondas!). I've never had extra money to know how it would change me.

I guess I'll keep rocking on till I get the opportunity to find out, I'd much rather have it that way than not have enough to pay for my utilities...

And where is a house "average" 250-600k? Other than Caliefornia or Hawaii, I can't think of anywhere that is the mean. 500k where I am will get you like 4000-5000 square feet in the NICE part of town. 250k will get you 3000 square feet...

Mastashake
 
samdwi said:
A lot of docs in Florida invest in their primary homes - becasue the one thing that can't be taken from you in the case of a huge malpractice suit is your home - its the law. Thats why there are several single or married docs with no kids who keep 6000 sq ft homes - lock up the money where the lawyers can't get at it. Of course, showing off is another thing, but there's method to the madness.
Click to expand...

Thanks to new federal legislation you better make sure you don't get your a$$ sued off within the first 3 years (after that you are in the clear) that you own your home because it CAN be taken from you. State homestead laws are great but newer federal laws trump this, unfortunately.
 
Mastashake said:
And where is a house "average" 250-600k? Other than Caliefornia or Hawaii, I can't think of anywhere that is the mean. 500k where I am will get you like 4000-5000 square feet in the NICE part of town. 250k will get you 3000 square feet...
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Houses around DC are about that much. I have a couple friends who've recently bought townhouses in Fairfax for ~$350k.
 
Mastashake said:
I still don't see where the money goes. Then again I make 7 dollars an hour, and drive a car that's 20 years old, rusted and has a quarter of a million miles on it (yay Hondas!). I've never had extra money to know how it would change me.

I guess I'll keep rocking on till I get the opportunity to find out, I'd much rather have it that way than not have enough to pay for my utilities...

And where is a house "average" 250-600k? Other than Caliefornia or Hawaii, I can't think of anywhere that is the mean. 500k where I am will get you like 4000-5000 square feet in the NICE part of town. 250k will get you 3000 square feet...

Mastashake
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Boca Raton (although you get bang for your buck), Manhattan 600k can get you an 600 sq. foot studio apartment if you are lucky, and lets not forget about Boston. I agree that saying the average american house is 250-600k is very laughable to me, although I am sure that for many people on this board this sounds about right (not where I'm from).

PublicEnemy made some goods points Real Estate is a very good investment so it is pointless to be penny wise and pound foolish here. If you are worried about depreciation on a car buy a BMW sedan, they have the lowest depreciation of any car (other luxury cars hold there value nicely as well). Hell some Exotic cars actually appreciate (a little food for thought).

I would love to have a couple of nice whips, a nice crib (for what I'm used to you could say it would be a mansion), a nice bike (either Jesse James or Orange County), and the rest to investments and family.
 
Kazema said:
Houses around DC are about that much. I have a couple friends who've recently bought townhouses in Fairfax for ~$350k.
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I never thought I'd say this, but YAAAAAAAAAAY midwest!!!

Mastashake
 
Mastashake said:
Okay, so money is kinda a touchy subject, but bear with me...

What do the doctors who don't want a Bimmer or a huge house do with their money? I'll be the first to admit that I don't know the first thing about how far a dollar goes, even after being dependant from my family for 1 1/2 years, but I can't think of what someone would do with all the money after paying off their loans.

I don't want you to think I'm above and beyond these things either, but I can also say I don't think I'd know what to do with a big house of fancy car if I had one. 🙂

So what do doctor's do with the money they make?

Mastashake
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i plan on working a ton and in a way i actually enjoy. that is a big thing to me.

the money i plan to actually use in church and other ways to help people. ive seen how far just a little money and sincere jesture can go. i want to further that. i REALLY enjoy helping ppl, and not just in medical ways.

house? ill have a steel and concrete structure built under the earth to be the safest and most effiecient possible. further, a defense that ppl do not realize is there, is a defense that will not be beat.

car? im building my own car, and plan to be able to use alternate fuel supplies. gas is old hat and inefficient, not to mention extreme polluter.

joness? if you want to look fancy go ahead, im quite happy in my $10 jeans.
 
Give back to those in need, less opporunity, or just need a leg up to have, in the least, a chance to be more....
David
 
Spend the money on the hoes man! THE HOES!!! they love money haha j/p this is a ridiculous thread.....What do you do with money?..HOw about you just give it to me since you have no idea what to use it on. 😛
 
Send it overseas where nobody can touch it if you get sued!!!!!
 
Everyone is speaking as if 200K a year is chump change. Lemme tell you all something. I live in the real world have a house with mortgage, cars and I buy my own food. Me and my wife have a combined income of 80,000 dollars and are pretty comfortable. 200k is upper-class money and Is alot more than 80% of american citizens make. Bottom line if you are sensible and don't go out buying porshes(which you can still affor), you will be extrememly comfortable. As for student loans, those wont even make a dent in your monthly income, if so pay them off in the first few years instead of buying that house. Go get married and live off the spouses income while you pay off the darned things. I mean c'mon 200K. I mean it isn't just here I have heard doctors complain about only making 170K one year because of insurance premiums. It is time for people to come back down to earth.
 
I don't think it is a matter of coming back down to earth. It is a matter of receiving a reasonable salary for the amount of time and effort put into the practice of medicine. Let's take your 170K complainer. She's makin about $3300 a week that sounds nice dont it? But how many hours did she have to work that week? How many years did it take her to get to the place where she could afford the real lucky charms brand and not that always save crap? She is workin at least 80-100 hours a week, so that makes her pay right about $33-41/hr. Enough to live well on, sure. Is it just? Nope….don’t get me started on teachers.
 
Thunderlips said:
I don't think it is a matter of coming back down to earth. It is a matter of receiving a reasonable salary for the amount of time and effort put into the practice of medicine. Let's take your 170K complainer. She's makin about $3300 a week that sounds nice dont it? But how many hours did she have to work that week? How many years did it take her to get to the place where she could afford the real lucky charms brand and not that always save crap? She is workin at least 80-100 hours a week, so that makes her pay right about $33-41/hr. Enough to live well on, sure. Is it just? Nope….don’t get me started on teachers.
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Most physicians DO NOT work 80-100 hrs/week, unless they are residents (and residents, as we know, usually don't make more than $45k a year). My mother is a physician and many of our family friends are also doctors. The one who had the longest residency is the one who earns the most, though that doesn't mean he works more hours than any other physician - he's an anesthesiologist who rakes in close to $400,000 a year. My mom's a pediatrician and she works about 35 hrs/week, plus weekend call once a month (meaning she has to be in the office from 9-12 Saturday and Sunday, go see newborns in the hospital, and be on her pager all weekend) and night call (being on her pager for the night and then going to the hospital before work the next morning) I think once every two weeks. Want to know how much she makes? A healthy $180-200,000 a year, depending on incentives and such.

No, life isn't fair. Teachers deserve a lot more than they make, some physicians still aren't getting paid what they deserve while others make more than their fair share. Everyone chooses to do something different with his or her income.

Anyway, I don't know what the point of this thread is. Just wanted to throw that in there.
 
I will likely have a house somewhere in the midwest, preferably on a lake, so I don't have to have 2 houses.

For 350K, you can usually get a VERY sweet place around here...Already lived in 2 2500+ Sq. footers...and that seems about the right size...I just want a 3 car garage..

I hope that I still have time to mow my own yard, etc...when the time comes....
 
All I plan on getting is a helicopter... screw houses and cars.... I just plan on having the hospital geting another helipads for this guy right here. I will live in the chopper if i have to.
 
MJB said:
I will likely have a house somewhere in the midwest, preferably on a lake, so I don't have to have 2 houses.

For 350K, you can usually get a VERY sweet place around here...Already lived in 2 2500+ Sq. footers...and that seems about the right size...I just want a 3 car garage..

I hope that I still have time to mow my own yard, etc...when the time comes....
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That is chill that the midwest housing is cheap... but for 350k around my area I think you can buy a tool shed.... it sucks. (I am exageratting alittle bit)
 
fullefect1 said:
All I plan on getting is a helicopter... screw houses and cars.... I just plan on having the hospital geting another helipads for this guy right here. I will live in the chopper if i have to.
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yeah my helicopter comes in very handy. i can't fly it yet, but my pilot is always on call. its a good thing i work in a level 3 trauma center though, otherwise getting dropped off at work would have been a problem. but sometimes i think the money would have been better spent on girls. it does turn heads though.
 
PublicEnemy said:
yeah my helicopter comes in very handy. i can't fly it yet, but my pilot is always on call. its a good thing i work in a level 3 trauma center though, otherwise getting dropped off at work would have been a problem. but sometimes i think the money would have been better spent on girls. it does turn heads though.
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😱
 
fullefect1 said:
That is chill that the midwest housing is cheap... but for 350k around my area I think you can buy a tool shed.... it sucks. (I am exageratting alittle bit)
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Looking at real estate Her in Southern Cali I noticed a house for sale 1br 1ba 450 sq foot a little over $500,000. Not on the beach, not in an exclusive area.

You statement isnt really an exaggeration here!
 
EricH said:
Looking at real estate Her in Southern Cali I noticed a house for sale 1br 1ba 450 sq foot a little over $500,000. Not on the beach, not in an exclusive area.

You statement isnt really an exaggeration here!
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is a place like that run down looking or nice? here in kcmo, a place like that would likely be very run down, and cheaply made. the price for a place like that would probablly be under 50k.
 
Houses, Cars, Helicopters, the real fun is in boats. Gonna get me a posh house boat on Lake Powell, a nice boat for boarding maybe some seadoos for the kids. Oh yeah and I'll get a moped to take to the office.

Seriously I agree this is a stupid thread, but its not like I've got anything better to be doing at the moment.
 
I'm hoping to own a SeaRay 280 WHILE going to Med school! (and going to look at some Honda Aquatrax this afternoon!)


350K will get you a very nice house here, and I wouldn't have much desire to live somewhere that you have to pay 500K just to have a run of the mill 3BR, 2BA.
 
MJB said:
I'm hoping to own a SeaRay 280 WHILE going to Med school! (and going to look at some Honda Aquatrax this afternoon!)


350K will get you a very nice house here, and I wouldn't have much desire to live somewhere that you have to pay 500K just to have a run of the mill 3BR, 2BA.
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not run of the mill 3br, 2ba....

but run down shack 1br, 1ba.... 😱
 
ockhamsRzr said:
Right on. But seriously, it's just not that much money. Once you have an average american house (between $250k-600k), normal life expenses like basic car loan, revolving accounts, basic retirement and investment funds, insurances, and most of all kids and their daycare/school, a household income of say $200,000 will disappear!

If you become a cardiothoracic guru or a reputable plastics expert where you are easily above $500k/year, then you can start thinking that you're a step above the fray. But many, many households make more than $200k yr combined and we wouldn't be considered rich.

Just for giggles try these numbers:
-daycare or nanny for two toddlers in Boston - $2000/mo min
-private elementary tuition - $12,000 per child (grades 7-12 - $24,000/ea)
-average boston mortgage - $2500/mo + taxes $5000/yr
-average insurances (car+home) - $4000/yr

Either marry another doc or don't get married at all if you want easy street. The best thing you can do is make smart investments once you are liquid. That is in fact smarter than paying off your loans...do the math.
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What the crap is this? You must be out of your mind! Maybe I seem a little old fasioned but my dad made around $35,000 a year, while my mom stayed home and took care of me and my little brother. Keep in mind I am talking about a small town in Louisiana. However, it was not hard for them to build a new 3 bedroom 2 bathroom house. We always lived comfortably and were never deprived of anything. I mean we didn't exactly live like the Hiltons or anything like that but we always had a fairly new vehicle in the yard. I'm not saying they never stressed out over bills, but they certainly made it out ok and still do. You would probally be discusted by the fact that I had to buy my own vehicle and earn a scolarship in order to pay for school. Since when did being a doctor mean you had to send you kids to private schools and be a member of the country club?

I don't understand how some of you guys could ever stress out over ways to spend $200,000. It's not like you're obligated to live in Beverly Hills or anything. If you live in a semi-large town, by that I mean one with 5 to 10 thousand people, you will never have to worry about buying a $250,000 to $600,000 house. That's rediculous! It's not like your going to have 8 kids or anything. I never thought I would see the day that hard working Americans could not make it off so much money. No wonder everyone around the world hates us. We truly do not know what it's like to be deprived. I am an American so please spare yourselves notion of thinking I'm some bitter immigrant.

Yours
 
clc8503 said:
If you live in a semi-large town, by that I mean one with 5 to 10 thousand people, you will never have to worry about buying a $250,000 to $600,000 house. That's rediculous! It's not like your going to have 8 kids or anything. I never thought I would see the day that hard working Americans could not make it off so much money. No wonder everyone around the world hates us. We truly do not know what it's like to be deprived. I am an American so please spare yourselves notion of thinking I'm some bitter immigrant.

Yours
Click to expand...


Um, I think you need a reality check. This will totally depend on the area of the country you are in.

In the aree of Jersey where I live, $250,000 will get you a 1 bedroom bungalow or possibly a 2 bedroom small house. Property taxes are absurdly high. Cost of living is different everywhere. And the decision to go to private school may be because of 1) a bad local school system 2) religious reasons 3) opportunities offered at the private school not offered at the public school or 4)a thousand other reasons not really anyone's business. I plan on settling back on Jersey despite the high cost of living, though. Why? Because it's my home and where my family is.

Someone else mentioned income taxes. What your salary is and what you actually take home are two different things. And if you are in a private practice, you have to consider the expense of an office, electricity, rent, housekeeping, maintenance, a secretary, supplies, etc.
 
The point is, you choose to live in those areas...

I have to laugh when I see people wondering "how in the world they will live on 200K?"...and talking about residency money like it's minimum wage.
 
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