This month America celebrates its independence. As a country, independence is true, but as individuals, many suffer in bondage. The need to “have it now” has led to such consumerism that debt has grown to unbelievable levels. It’s time to declare independence from debt. Debt bondage is not a new thing. Several thousand years ago … Read more
Most of the time when a doctor gets hired they are treated like the average worker when it comes to vacation time allotment. The CEO will think of the doctor’s time in the same fashion he or she thinks of their own time and the time of the other employees at the hospital. But we … Read more
I recently was asked about taking a low or no interest car loan and using the money they had earmarked for a car to instead invest for a higher return. This “I can get a better return” game is very common and can be a dangerous game to play. Often it is used as a … Read more
Fawcett Wedding. Before my wife and I got married, 28 years ago during my surgical internship, we were required to attend a pre-marital class. The class brought up many things for us to discuss ahead of the wedding date. The idea being, if you go into the marriage with expectations of each other that you … Read more
Today the Physician on Fire published a piece I penned about my first venture into buying a car. My parents had provided a car for me up until then. It was my second year of residency and my old car, an Oldsmobile Delta 88 which my parents drove for many years before giving it to … Read more
Vanessa R. Majeski, General Surgery Award, COMP-NW 2017. Yesterday, I had the privilege of presenting the Clinical Specialty Award for General Surgery at the 2017 Graduate Awards Celebration at Western University of Health Science’s College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific (COMP-NW). It was amazing to hear all the accomplishments and meet so many wonderful … Read more
My son Brian racing for the University of Oregon Bike Team. One of the biggest complaints I hear when I discuss becoming debt free is the dread of living on a shoestring. We did enough of that in medical school and we don’t want to do it again. Let me make something perfectly clear right … Read more
Most of the doctors I’ve encountered who are financially secure at a young age have one thing in common, they are frugal. They are not cheap and I think that is a big distinction. Cheap is buying a particle board dresser for $60 that may not last more than a few years. Frugal is buying … Read more
Today the Physician on Fire did a very nice review of my book “The Doctors Guide to Eliminating Debt.” If you don’t already own this book, his summary may help you decide if the book is for you. You can read it here. If you are undecided, here is a test: If you have debt, … Read more
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
