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    3 Tips for Handling Your Finances Post-Training

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    Finishing medical training comes with some major life changes, especially in terms of your finances. You have to manage your compensation, your entrepreneurial opportunities, your debt, your investment opportunities — the list goes on and on! How do you make the best decisions for yourself?

    A Nov. 12 Learning Lounge event during AAO 2017 gave attendees a behind-the-scenes look at a topic that isn’t normally covered in training.

    The panel covered everything from job selection to buying into a practice to financing interests outside of your career. These experts also offered helpful tips on what they wish they knew when they were first starting their careers. Three key tips:

    1. Don’t sit at the negotiating table without prep. You don’t sit for an exam without studying — why do that with your finances? Discuss the contract terms with a lawyer or accountant before you sit down for a negotiation with a potential employer.
    2. Automate your savings! Don’t miss a savings goal because you forgot to press a button a few months out of the year. Have a retirement fund or savings account automatically fund itself.
    3. Lean on the expertise of trained professionals. Just as you would in medicine, be sure to get expert help. Recruit the best financial experts in disability insurance and retirement savings.

    A Call to Action

    This event really lit a fire under the audience’s collective butt to get a move on and get organized. We learned how to leverage tax-sheltered earnings for our retirement — beyond 401Ks, 403Bs, IRAs, life insurance policies and health savings accounts. We also learned how to fund our interests sustainably and successfully while leaving enough of a nest egg for later in life. 

    Empowered with this information, I’ll definitely sleep a little more stress-free at night!

    What is the most important part of your financial plan as a young ophthalmologist? In the video below from AAO 2017, Mark R. Melson, MD, an ophthalmologist and one-time financial consultant, shares his pearls for what you should consider when starting to think about your future.