In this episode, I walk through a practical 6-step path for physicians who are starting their careers with significant student debt and want to build toward a 7-figure net worth. This stage can feel slow, frustrating, and uncertain, but with the right structure, discipline, and priorities, the transition from negative net worth to financial momentum is absolutely achievable. You’ll learn:

• How to choose a repayment approach that actually fits your life
• Why protecting yourself with cash reserves and insurance comes first
• How lifestyle guardrails help prevent overspending as income rises
• Why investing early matters, even while paying off debt

In this episode, I talk through the reality of choosing a post-training career path and why the decision between academics and private practice is rarely as simple as it sounds. There are meaningful pros and cons on both sides, and the real story lives in the details of contracts, culture, expectations, and incentives.

You’ll hear about:

• Why academics and private practice each cover a wide range of real-world experiences
• How financial structure, partnership terms, and equity risk show up in private practice
• What to watch for around research time, call responsibilities, and compensation in academics

The goal is not to tell you which path is better. The goal is to help you understand what you are walking into so you can choose the environment that aligns with your values, your priorities, and the kind of work life you want to build.

I walk through the popular “save 20% of your income for retirement” guideline and why that number is only a starting point. The real conversation is about your life, your priorities, and the tradeoffs you want to make. In this episode:

• Why 20 percent is a rule of thumb, not a rule
• The role of employer retirement contributions
• How lifestyle choices shape your savings rate
• Early retirement goals
• Why cost of living & inflation matter more than a single number
• Situations where saving less than 20% still works

This episode is about something we do not talk about enough in personal finance: the freedom to choose what feels right, even when it is not the most optimal decision.

Using two real student loan examples, I explain how to evaluate tradeoffs between investing, debt payoff, and mental health, and why progress should feel good.

Too many doctors get pushed into insurance they never needed.

In this episode, I explain how I evaluate disability insurance, why independence matters, and what residents need to know about Guaranteed Standard Issue (GSI) coverage before their window closes.

Starting fellowship is a huge milestone and a stressful financial transition.

In this episode, I walk through eight practical money moves every new fellow should be thinking about, from emergency savings and disability insurance to student loans, taxes, and avoiding expensive short term mistakes.

The goal is simple.

Stay steady now so future you has more options later.

In this episode, I sit down with my friend and colleague Tyrone Ross to talk through something that a lot of people are curious about but still feel unsure how to approach: Bitcoin

Tyrone has been studying, teaching, and building in this space for more than a decade, and what I appreciate most is the way he brings clarity without hype.

We get into the basics in a way that actually helps you form your own opinion, answering questions like:

What is Bitcoin?

Why does it matter?

How should regular people think about it?

And where does it fit within a real financial plan?

In this episode of A Good Problem to Have, I sit down again with my friend and fellow planner, Ronnie Colvin, to walk through one of the most common (and most confusing) topics physicians ask us about: life insurance.

We break it down into the three questions you actually need to answer:

Do you need life insurance? - we talk through who is financially impacted if you weren’t here, how debt and co-signers factor in, and why the answer looks different for a single resident versus a married attending with kids.

If you do need it, what kind? - we cover why term life insurance is the right starting point for nearly everyone, where permanent insurance can serve a specific purpose later on, and why you should be cautious of anyone pushing complex policies early in your career.

How much coverage do you need? - the rules of thumb you’ll find online are all over the place. We walk through how we actually calculate this using real client examples, from income replacement to childcare costs to Social Security survivor benefits.

Other takeaways you’ll hear:

• • Why getting insurance while you’re young and healthy can save you a huge amount over your lifetime
  • How a health change can make you uninsurable or dramatically increase your premiums
  • The problem with “term to age 80” and other policies that look cheap up front

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