What Legacy Will You Leave?

We recently laid to rest my uncle, Bud Cochran. He was the last remaining sibling of my grandmother’s generation. He and my grandmother, Virginia, both passed away in 2016 and were the last of Andrew Jackson Cochran’s thirteen children. My great-grandfather was born in 1873 and his last child died in 2016, a span of … Read more

Finding an Unbiased Financial Advisor

We all can use advice from time to time. Sometimes that advice is about personal finances, Investing, or borrowing. When choosing this person, stay away from financial advisors who have a conflict of interest. The advisor who makes money on your investment decisions is like the pharmaceutical rep who is telling you all about his … Read more

9 tips to avoid becoming “House Poor”

My oldest son, Brian, is closing on his first house this month and will be moving into his own place soon. I’m proud to say he used good sense and bought something well within his budget and a bonus was having the appraisal come in significantly higher than his purchase price. Many people make a … Read more

Marrying Dr. Debt

My son recently announced his engagement and started an intense period of wedding planning since the wedding was only three months away. I began to reminisce about my wedding and the planning that led up to the big event, which for me was also a three month engagement. In my case, I was away at … Read more

Malignant Credit Carcinoma

KevinMD recently published my article about viewing debt as a disease, Malignant Credit Carcinoma. Here is an excerpt of that article, which comes from my book, ”The Doctors Guide to Eliminating Debt.” Debt should have an ICD-10 code Debt is destroying the lives of doctors everywhere. The cost of getting an education has moved into … Read more

Avoid Debtabetic Neuropathy

With a society living on credit, a government deep in debt, eight years of desensitization during training (something unique to doctors), rising tuition, and falling pay—it’s no wonder doctors are having a major problem with debt. Where will it end? Debt has become the norm. Will Rogers summed up this pattern of high consumption on … Read more

Med School Desensitized us to Debt

The high-pitched wail of the pneumatic saw cutting through the tibia and the little bits of tissue the blade flung onto the surgeon’s gown were not enough to get to me the first time I saw a surgery, during my senior year in high school. It was the smell. Sliding down the wall in the … Read more

Do You Have Alzheimer’s Debtmentia?

Many people never get the opportunity to enjoy their grandparents. Your grandparents may have died when you were too young to know them, lived too far away, or were so frail they couldn’t play with you. I was fortunate to know all four of my grandparents. I lost both grandfathers to cancer before I was … Read more

Would you like to be able to spend Freely?

Nothing messes up a good plan for a balanced financial life more than overspending your income. It’s human nature, but it’s like a siren call luring us to our death—as doctors we spent so many years under financial restraint, when it’s lifted we tend to go overboard. We buy too much house, too many toys, … Read more