Why many doctors and dentists are on financial life support
I am not sure how to put it any other way. Many doctors and dentists are on life support when it comes to their finances.
We see evidence of this every day, with prospective clients:
– being stressed and worried about the state of their finances all, or most of, the time;
– having little or no idea about what is going on financially (What is my mortgage balance? What insurances do I have? How many super funds?);
– making minimum repayments on their mortgage;
– not paying off their credit cards (on time).
Maybe you find yourself in that same position? Maybe you wonder how it ever came to this?
Why do doctors and dentists find themselves in this position?
There are a variety of reasons as to why medical professionals slowly slip into this regretful state with their finances:
– Lack of time: between work, professional development, family and personal leisure …where do you find the time to manage your money?
– Lack of knowledge/education: we have said this a few times, but at what stage of your career do you learn about business and money?
– Lack of planning/structure: many medical professionals tell me they function better when they have a plan, but yet very few actually have one…
– Lack of advice: many medical professionals still try and manage everything themselves, maybe because of their lack of trust or a sense of shame (it is not easy to admit you find yourself in a particular financial position)
How can doctors and dentists come off financial life support?
The 3 steps to better financial management and health are:
– Devise a plan, implement, monitor and review, both for your practice and your personal financial life – there is no substitute for planning and taking deliberate action
– Outsource – find a trusted adviser/team of professionals, people who are specialists themselves and understand your profession – you need to focus on your core strengths and delegate what is non-essential
– Take responsibility: whilst you should delegate, no one is going to care as much as you, so you need to be engaged and involved with your financial decision-making, but trust your advisers to guide you in that process
If this article resonated with you, then now would be a good time to start planning for 2018. There is nothing like the beginning of a new year to start with a clean slate.
We would love to go on that journey with you, and we encourage you to contact us for a 100% confidential and no-obligation consultation. We are happy to wear the cost of that first session, to facilitate that first step for you.
Call us on 08 9381 2704 or email me directly at Yves@affluenceprivate.com.au
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