Financial Residency

This episode is sponsored by Eckard Enterprises. To start empowering your financial future, visit www.EckardEnterprises.com In this brief message, Jon from Contract Diagnostics advises physicians to reach out to their firm early in the job search or contract negotiation process. He stresses the importance of early engagement, mentioning instances where physicians have sought assistance for contracts as far out as 2026. Jon suggests contacting Contract Diagnostics three months before site visits or upon receiving a letter of intent or contract. He highlights the benefits of obtaining compensation data and leveraging the firm's resources during the job search, including free inquiry calls, interview guides, and educational webinars. Jon emphasizes that reaching out early is preferable to avoid potential pitfalls and optimize negotiation strategies. Jon invites individuals to contact Contract Diagnostics through phone, chat, or email for personalized assistance, visit www.ContractDiagnostics.com

This episode is sponsored by Eckard Enterprises. To start empowering your financial future, visit www.EckardEnterprises.com In this brief message, Jon from Contract Diagnostics discusses the current trend of people looking for jobs well in advance, with some contracts extending into 2026. He emphasizes the importance of understanding how to assess job postings, pointing out key factors like salary, benefits, role details, and potential partnerships. Jon acknowledges that recruiters may not always provide clear information about job locations to secure their commissions. He encourages individuals to consider multiple options, gather information from various sources, and maintain due diligence throughout the job search process. Additionally, Jon invites individuals to contact Contract Diagnostics through phone, chat, or email for personalized assistance, visit www.ContractDiagnostics.com

This episode is sponsored by Eckard Enterprises. To start empowering your financial future, visit www.EckardEnterprises.com Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are raising their lending limits for conforming loans in 2024. This may affect borrowers in different ways depending on the lender they are using for their loan. Find out if this may affect you. To learn more about Doug Crouse or to get a free copy of his book, go to www.DougCrouse.com.

This episode is sponsored by Eckard Enterprises. To start empowering your financial future, visit www.EckardEnterprises.com Veena Jetti has been very successful in investing in multifamily properties for more than a decade. Her company Vive Funds has transacted over $1 billion in real estate. She shares how she got started, finds investors and chooses properties. She also talks about surviving in the real estate market despite higher acquisition costs and interest rates that have doubled. She offers sound advice for choosing a real estate syndication for those looking to invest. To learn more about Veena, go to www.ViveFunds.com or you can join her FaceBook group Mastering Multifamily with Veena Jetti.

This episode is sponsored by Eckard Enterprises. To start empowering your financial future, visit www.EckardEnterprises.com Physicians feel the pressure to be perfect, and sometimes hide or fail to address their own mental wellness. Medicine’s intense focus on the quality of patient care is generally a good thing, but in some cases has unintended negative consequences. It takes courage for a physician to be vulnerable. In this episode of the Finance For Physicians Podcast, Daniel Wrenne talks to Dr. John Budin, an accomplished physician, speaker, and blogger. John discusses why he chose to practice medicine and what he describes as the mental health closet. Topics Discussed: • John’s Case: Pressure to hide mental health flaws that make physicians human • Mental Health Closet: Why John finally publicly shared bipolar disorder diagnosis • Culture of Medicine: Vulnerability is opposite of professionalism and success • Caregivers vs. Receivers: Difficult for doctors to acknowledge need, ask for help • License at Risk: Career consequences, repercussions for revealing mental health • Stigma Solution: Support and care for colleagues struggling with mental health • Community: Increased mental health awareness with doctors, residents, students • Physician’s Financial Path: Scary, uncertain aspects of being destabilized in life • First Step: Get treatment publicly or behind closed doors to remain confidential • Accept Humanness: Ways to become who you are, authentic, and vulnerable Links: Physician Living with Bipolar Disorder Poll: Workplace Stigma, Fear of Professional Consequences Prevent Emergency Physicians from Seeking Mental Health Care International Society for Bipolar Disorders American Psychological Association (APA) Contact Finance for Physicians Finance for Physicians

This episode is sponsored by Eckard Enterprises. To start empowering your financial future, visit www.EckardEnterprises.com Why are so many female physicians dropping out of the profession? It’s extremely challenging to achieve balance as a physician mom. Not only are you a mom who is raising your own children, but a physician taking care of patients—besides having to deal with gender discrimination issues and the global pandemic. In this episode of the Finance For Physicians Podcast, Daniel Wrenne talks to Dr. Bonnie Koo, founder of Wealthy Mom MD. Her business is dedicated to helping physician moms have it all without giving it all. Bonnie empowers physician moms by providing financial literacy through her podcast, coaching, and courses. Also, Bonnie is a board-certified dermatologist, certified life coach, mother, step-mother, and fiancée. Topics Discussed: • Wealthy Mom MD: Teaches female physicians financial strategies to overcome • Taboos: Don’t talk about money to handle and deal with anxiety, stress, and guilt • Perfectionism and Money: Female physicians are afraid to fail and lose • Promise Land? Money doesn’t mean physicians live happily ever after • Purpose of Money: Helps you live the life you want and do good in the world • Compensation: Females navigating and negotiating in patriarchal society • COVID and Corporate Medicine: Magnified cracks to figure out money, stability • Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE): Money is resource to buy back time • Coaching: Download new software updates to your brain when behind financially • Thought Loops: You are what you think—being on auto-pilot vs. becoming aware Links: Wealthy Mom MD Weathy Mom MD’s Podcast on Negotiation Guest Post on Miss Bonnie MD: A Woman’s Guide to Becoming Financially Independent How Perfectionism In Medicine Spills Over Into Your Personal Finances Finance For Physicians

This episode is sponsored by Eckard Enterprises. To start empowering your financial future, visit www.EckardEnterprises.com Many people wonder if it is a good thing to pay a lump sum to pay down their loan. If you do that, your bank may allow you to do two things. You can simply continue to make the previously determined monthly payments, which will allow you to pay off your loan early. Or you can ask the bank to recalculate based on the new owed balance and give you a lower monthly payment for the duration of your loan. To request a free copy of Doug's book Hippocratic House: Do No Harm When Purchasing Your Physician Home, go to www.HippocraticHouse.com.

This episode is sponsored by Eckard Enterprises. To start empowering your financial future, visit www.EckardEnterprises.com In this podcast segment, Jon discusses the recent announcements from CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) regarding new guidelines for 2024. He highlights a global reduction of 1.25 in overall payment rates, affecting various medical specialties. Despite the decrease, there are significant increases for primary care and direct patient care services. Jon emphasizes the importance of staying informed about CMS changes, as they can impact compensation structures and contract terms for healthcare professionals. He encourages listeners to reach out to Contract Diagnostics for assistance in understanding and navigating these shifts, ensuring that physicians have a voice in negotiations and are fully aware of the implications for their practice. Jon invites individuals to contact Contract Diagnostics through phone, chat, or email for personalized assistance, visit www.ContractDiagnostics.com

This episode is sponsored by Eckard Enterprises. To start empowering your financial future, visit www.EckardEnterprises.com Today, Jon from Contract Diagnostics discusses the shortage of primary care physicians in the United States and attributes it to lower compensation compared to specialists. He emphasizes the need to pay primary care physicians more to attract and retain talent. Jon mentions the recent CMS rule for 2024, noting a decrease in the Medicare reimbursement rate for some services. He also encourages primary care physicians to negotiate with their employers and offers assistance in compensation analysis and contract reviews at Contract Diagnostics. Ultimately, the goal is to address the shortage in primary care physicians, improve access to care, and ensure fair compensation. Jon invites individuals to contact Contract Diagnostics through phone, chat, or email for personalized assistance, visit www.ContractDiagnostics.com

This episode is sponsored by Eckard Enterprises. To start empowering your financial future, visit www.EckardEnterprises.com Daniel Wrenne talks about planning for retirement and how your mindset and goals for retirement can affect your investments and depletion of assets. The main takeaway from today's episode is: Make a plan, make a plan, make a plan! If you are in need of a financial advisor, you can learn more about Daniel Wrenne at www.WrenneFinancial.com or email him at Daniel@WrenneFinancial.com You can also listen to his podcast Financial Vitals on the Financial Residency network.

This episode is sponsored by Eckard Enterprises. To start empowering your financial future, visit www.EckardEnterprises.com Life Insurance: How does it work and do you really need it? Are you worth more or less alive or dead? What you need to know to protect yourself and your loved ones. In this episode of the Finance For Physicians Podcast, Daniel Wrenne talks about what type of life insurance you should own. When you are young and healthy, cover your life or earning potential because the risk of untimely death happening is extremely low, but the costs of income loss are extremely high. Topics Discussed: • Life Insurance Recommendations: Understand conflicts, know what to look for • Why get it? Tomorrow isn’t guaranteed, avoid leaving family in a financial pinch • When to get it? Before you urgently need it, when everything is good • How much does it cost? Depends on health and age • How much will you need? Enough, but always told to buy more • How long will you need it? Longer the lock-in period, the more expensive • Insurance Industry: Agents receive a high percentage of premiums for policies • Advisor vs. Agent: What are the differences? Incentives? Disincentives? • Coverage Calculations: Identify the correct amount of death benefits based on goals • Types of Life Insurance Coverage: ◦ Human Life Value: Wrongful death determines lost earnings ◦ Financial Need Analysis: Maintain specific lifestyle, goals, assets, liabilities ◦ Term Life: Temporary death benefits for a set time period ◦ Permanent: Combines cost of term plus investment component ◦ Conditional: Secure coverage immediately before underwriting Links: Contact Finance For Physicians Finance For Physicians

This episode is sponsored by Eckard Enterprises. To start empowering your financial future, visit www.EckardEnterprises.com Money isn’t always the key to happiness. What are the key financial planning processes for using your money to live a better life? In this episode of the Finance for Physicians Podcast, Daniel Wrenne talks with his colleague, Jennifer Quire, a fellow Certified Financial Planner CFP®. As financial planners, Daniel and Jennifer’s goal is to help physicians use their money to live better lives. This starts with working through the financial planning process. Listen in to find out what this looks like. Topics Discussed: • What is a financial plan? Roadmap of where you are and want to be • How to create a financial plan? ◦ Organize financial affairs ◦ Clarify values and goals ◦ Analyze options ◦ Decide best path forward ◦ Execute next steps • What’s most important to you? Money isn’t always the answer • Life Planning Questions: If financially independent… ◦ I want you to imagine that you are financially secure, that you have enough money to take care of your needs, now and in the future. The question is, how would you live your life? What would you do with the money? Would you change anything? Let yourself go. Don’t hold back your dreams. Describe a life that is complete, that is richly yours. ◦ This time, you visit your doctor who tells you that you have five to ten years left to live. The good part is that you won’t ever feel sick. The bad news is that you will have no notice of the moment of your death. What will you do in the time you have remaining to live? Will you change your life, and how will you do it? ◦ This time, your doctor shocks you with the news that you have only one day left to live. Notice what feelings arise as you confront your very real mortality. Ask yourself: What dreams will be left unfulfilled? What do I wish I had finished or had been? What do I wish I had done? [Did I miss anything]? • Analysis Paralysis: Focus on one thing at a time to make progress • Deadlines: Time gets in the way and people don’t like change, ask for help • A financial plan becomes worthless if you never execute on it LINKS: www.WrenneFinancial.com

This episode is sponsored by Eckard Enterprises. To start empowering your financial future, visit www.EckardEnterprises.com In the 2024 Medicare payment rule, the CMS has announced a 1.25 percent reduction in overall payment rates. However, there are notable increases in payment rates for primary care and direct patient care services. The changes aim to balance healthcare quantity and access, and further analysis of the impact on various specialties will be provided by Contract Diagnostics in upcoming content. Jon invites individuals to contact Contract Diagnostics through phone, chat, or email for personalized assistance, visit www.ContractDiagnostics.com

This episode is sponsored by Eckard Enterprises. To start empowering your financial future, visit www.EckardEnterprises.com Jon from Contract Diagnostics discusses the increasing role of artificial intelligence (AI) in the workplace, particularly in the context of contract reviews and healthcare. He highlights the challenges employers face in establishing policies for AI usage and the concerns surrounding trust and accuracy. Jon expresses excitement about the potential benefits of AI, such as improving efficiency in tasks like analyzing patient charts. He encourages listeners to share how their organizations are navigating AI integration and underscores the importance of staying informed about evolving policies. Despite acknowledging the uncertainties and potential drawbacks, Jon emphasizes the inevitability of AI's presence and the need for embracing its advancements. Jon invites individuals to contact Contract Diagnostics through phone, chat, or email for personalized assistance, visit www.ContractDiagnostics.com

This episode is sponsored by Eckard Enterprises. To start empowering your financial future, visit www.EckardEnterprises.com Confused on when you can or should lock your rate for a new mortgage? When you turn in a contract for a home purchase, you can lock the rate at that point or you may choose to "float the rate" if you think rates might go down before your loan closes. Also, should you spend points to get a lower rate? Maybe. You need to understand how long it would take to "break even" for the money you spend up front to get the lower rate. If rates go down and you modify or refinance your loan, then you may never break even. Doug explains how to calculate this and reasons you may or may not choose to pay points. To get a free copy of Doug's free book on physician mortgages, go to www.DougCrouse.com.

This episode is sponsored by Eckard Enterprises. To start empowering your financial future, visit www.EckardEnterprises.com Physicians tend to be Type A personalities who need everything to be "just so." We are often people-pleasers who have a hard time saying no. Now throw in the propensity to undervalue our training and knowledge when coding and you end up with an underpaid, burned out doctor. Dr. Megan Melo works with physicians to help them recognize these habits that contribute to exhaustion and dissatisfaction so they can find that healthy work-life balance we all crave. You can learn more about Dr. Melo at www.HealthierForGood.com or listen to her podcast "Ending Physician Overwhelm."

This episode is sponsored by Eckard Enterprises. To start empowering your financial future, visit www.EckardEnterprises.com If you drive a car and/or rent or own a home, do you know how to purchase and save money on home and auto insurance while maintaining adequate coverage? In this episode of the Finance For Physicians Podcast, Daniel Wrenne talks to Andrew Wethall, an independent home and auto insurance agent for Energy Insurance Company. Andrew lives in Louisville, Kentucky, but works with customers all over the country. He makes clients’ insurance experiences easier all while maintaining adequate coverage at a fair price. Topics Discussed: • Most Common Pitfalls: Re-evaluate insurance every 3 years after residency • Cheapest Option: Understanding the bones policy with state minimum coverage • Basic Auto Policy: Physical damage, comprehensive and collision, liability limits • Agent/Client Relationship: Pay attention to policy and continue to grow • Risks: Insurance works great for high cost and very unlikely risks • Umbrella Policy: Additional liability insurance to cover your assets • No-Fault States: Who's at fault for the accident or damage? • Car Rentals: What should you do when they’re pushing the insurance add on? • Insurance Pricing: Depends on credit, driving record, claims history, act of God • Structure: Differences between homeowner’s and renter’s insurance? • Out-of-Control Catastrophes: Earthquakes and floods are not usually covered • Attractive Nuisance: Umbrella policy for fun things—from pools to trampolines • Denied! Seek multiple opinions and work with an agent to get claims paid Links: Energy Insurance Company Andrew Wethall’s Phone: 859-797-4384 Andrew Wethall on LinkedIn Finance For Physicians

This episode is sponsored by Eckard Enterprises. To start empowering your financial future, visit www.EckardEnterprises.com In this episode of "Coffee and Contracts," Jon from Contract Diagnostics discusses various aspects of signing bonuses, relocation amounts, and other upfront cash offered by employers to physicians. He highlights the wide variation in these amounts and emphasizes the importance of understanding the repayment provisions associated with such bonuses. Jon explains that most contracts include clauses requiring repayment if the physician doesn't fulfill the agreed-upon employment term. He details considerations such as the timing of bonus payments, repayment terms, interest, and forgiveness conditions. Jon encourages physicians to thoroughly understand the terms of such incentives to avoid potential complications and discusses how Contract Diagnostics can assist in contract review. The episode is made possible by Financial Residency, and Jon invites viewers to reach out for further assistance. Jon invites individuals to contact Contract Diagnostics through phone, chat, or email for personalized assistance, visit www.ContractDiagnostics.com

This episode is sponsored by Eckard Enterprises. To start empowering your financial future, visit www.EckardEnterprises.com If you avoid talking about money with your children, then who pays for it later in life? Whether you know it or not, you’re teaching your children about money every day. Teach them what works and what doesn’t when it comes to finances. In this episode of the Finance for Physicians Podcast, Daniel Wrenne talks to Dr. David Weisenhorn about money and parenting. David is a Senior Extension Specialist for Parenting and Child Adolescence Education at the University of Kentucky. Topics Discussed: • What is a family scientist? Mixes psychology and sociology focused on families • Taboo Topic: Money isn’t up for conversation; vulnerabilities around values • Lack of Education: Discussing finances in not covered in traditional curriculum • Effects: Educate children to avoid risk of not using and handling money properly • Mistakes: Avoiding subject of money doesn’t mean kids won’t use/experience it • Proactive Parenting: Daily practice of teaching children how to deal with money • Financial Literacy: Learn jargon and teach simple concepts via currency games • Money Personalities: Habits and attitudes toward spending and saving • Sink or Swim? Worth it to learn value of dollar early on to gain knowledge • Allowances/Chores: Required versus going above and beyond to earn money • Intrinsic/Extrinsic Motivators: Monetary incentives and sustainability of actions • Zone of Proximal Development: Allow children to make and learn from mistakes • Goals and Expectations: Smart small, don’t overpay, earn money from hard work LINKS: www.WrenneFinancial.com

This episode is sponsored by Eckard Enterprises. To start empowering your financial future, visit www.EckardEnterprises.com Today, Jon from Contract Diagnostics discusses the delicate issue of whether physicians should share information about their compensation with colleagues. He emphasizes the importance of understanding the confidentiality clauses in employment contracts, which often prohibit discussions about compensation terms with colleagues. The speaker acknowledges that despite these restrictions, physicians tend to share such information anyway. The discussion explores the potential benefits of asking colleagues about compensation when considering a job but highlights the legal constraints. Jon concludes with an invitation for physicians to contact Contract Diagnostics for assistance in negotiating compensation and understanding industry benchmarks through their CompensationRx tool. Jon invites individuals to contact Contract Diagnostics through phone, chat, or email for personalized assistance, visit www.ContractDiagnostics.com