Are you a dentist suffering from financial stress?
Want learn how to handle it better?
As a dentist, everyone around you will know that you earn pretty well. What they might not know is that dentists, despite the notion that they have one of the best paying jobs, are also susceptible to financial stress. Here are some tips that will help you in alleviating that stress so that you can solely focus on your practice without worrying much about managing the financial aspect.
Hire a Financial Advisor
You don’t want to get bombarded by your work, patients and the tasks that come along with money management. More often than not, if you try to handle everything on your own you might slip up on the tricky financial roads. Hiring a financial advisor is a great idea as they help in managing your financial portfolio and free you from doing the same. They can make you money, steer you away from bad investment decisions, bring your attention to good investment options that you otherwise wouldn’t have known about, devise saving strategies and also plan your retirement.
Use a Budgeting App
Apart from dental expenses, you will have a number of bills to pay, set aside money for your child’s education, your retirement, household expenses, etc. It is crucial to track these expenses, and handling all this can get quite stressful. Make your job a little easier by installing a budgeting app. Once you set it up, the app will be in sync with your bank account and automate your budgeting process. This will help you understand how much money is being spent, where it is spent and where the money is coming from. You can also categorize your spending efficiently.
Learn about “Doctor Mortgage Loans”
Buying a house of your own can be stressful as it is dictated by several factors such as high debt-to-income ratio, high mortgage rate, etc. Something as simple as educating yourself and learning more about mortgage options will be helpful and relieve you from financial stress. The good news is that most mortgage lenders readily take on the risky debt profiles of dentists, all thanks to their high earning potential. They know that your job is stable and you will have a steady flow of money that will enable you to pay your student debt as well as a mortgage. When a bank offers home loans to dentists, it usually falls under the bank’s “doctor mortgage loan” product. It is important that you learn more about it.
Start Saving
It is a good idea to set up a savings or investment account. Every month, transfer some money from the checking account to the savings account. Additionally, check if your employer allows you to split your direct deposits among different accounts. If you set up an automatic savings account, some portion of your paycheck will automatically gets transferred to the savings account. It doesn’t matter if you save even a little each month. Eventually, you will have enough savings that will take away the worry of living paycheck to paycheck.
Refinance Your Dental Student Loans
Being a dental student isn’t easy on your pockets. Most dental schools cost north of $50,000 and dental loans account for a major portion of debt for most new, just-out-of-school dentists. If you are one of them, now would be a good time to consider refinancing your dental school loans at a lower interest rate. By doing so, you can reduce your monthly payments and pay off your loans faster. This will undoubtedly reduce some financial stress and further improve the eligibility for future loans.
To be financially successful in dentistry, you must remember three important things. Make a decision of what exactly you want and then commit 100 percent to it. Whatever you decide, no matter how big your dreams are, believe that you can achieve them. Lastly, remember that you don’t have to do it alone. Consider building a dental care team who can help you take successful strides in this field.
Author Bio
Shen Chao is part of Dr. Joshua Hong’s Smile Clinic. While working at the Smile Clinic, he has witnessed how dental implants can improve people’s smile and boost their self confidence. If you are interested in improving your smile or need a dental procedure contact Shen Chao to learn more by emailing him at contact@joshuahongdds.com or get more information at www.joshuahongdds.com.
