Money The Best Year-End Tax Strategies for Doctors in 2018 Assets worth less than what you invested can be used to decrease your overall capital gains taxes. If you sell, use the capital losses to offset capital gains in any assets you sold for a profit.
Money How Rising Interest Rates Can Impact Your Personal Finances “Interest rates are still low by historical standards, and they remain just below the broad range of estimates of the level that would be neutral for the economy."
Money Do You Really Need to Invest in the Stock Market? If you do not earn at least 3 percent annually on your investments, you’re not earning enough of a return to combat annual inflation. That means the money you’re saving will buy less when you begin to use it.
Mortgage Loans How to Buy a Home and Relocate Your Practice at the Same Time A career in medicine does not come with much free time. And when you do find some to spare, you'd probably prefer to relax with friends and family.
Life Insurance 3 Reasons Why You Should Avoid Cash Value Life Insurance Also known as permanent life, cash value life insurance lasts as long as you pay the necessary premiums. As the name suggests, it builds an account value you can access as cash.
Money 4 Ways Doctors Can Save Better for Retirement Right Now Typically, financial advisers recommend doctors save 20 percent to 25 percent of their income for retirement. But with all of life's unknowns at play, perhaps the best answer is as much as possible.
Disability Insurance How to Get the Most out of Your Disability Coverage Buy an individual long-term physician disability policy. Then if possible, supplement it with your employer’s short-term and long-term group plans.
Money What You Need to Know About Gift Taxes A gift tax is assessed to the donor who makes a gift to another party. Gifts can include cash and/or property. When you give property, it's assessed at fair market value at the time of the gift for gift tax purposes.
Money The Best Ways to Consolidate Multiple Debts Right Now Debt consolidation is the process of taking out a new loan that combines multiple debts into a single, larger payment with more favorable terms.
Mortgage Loans 4 Things You Need to Evaluate When Joining an HOA Some HOAs are much more strict than others. When reviewing its governing documents, understand what enforcement actions the HOA will take if you fail to comply.
Mortgage Loans How to Know If a Condo or Townhome Is a Good Fit for You Because condos and townhomes are attached to other units, they are more impacted by damage to adjacent properties. Damage to commons areas, such as a fire or leaking roofs, impact the value of your individual unit.
Life Insurance Do You Need Life Insurance as a Resident in Training? One way to increase your death benefit amount in later on is to buy a guaranteed purchase option (GPO) rider. Also known as a guaranteed insurability (GI) rider, this features allows you to increase your coverage amount going through the underwriting process again.
Money 4 Reasons Why You Need to Plan Your Estate Right Now Many people associate estate planning with the one percent. Those who own complex estates, and are nearing retirement age. However, everyone needs to a plan to distribute their assets upon death.
Disability Insurance 5 Steps You Need to Take to Get Disability Insurance Disability insurance policies have many moving parts and optional features. That's why it’s important to work with your agent to identify which add-ons are must-haves for doctors like yourself.
Money How to Maximize the Tax Efficiency of Your Investment Portfolio An IRA will come in handy if you switch jobs. It will allow you to roll your accumulated 401(k) assets into your own retirement plan --- and without any expenses or tax penalties.
Money All You Need to Know About Trusts: A Crash Course for Doctors Trusts aren’t just for the top one percent. Anyone with an estate should manage and distribute their assets in a specific, tax-efficient manner. Whereas a will can communicate your wishes, a trust is often needed to carry out those wishes.
Money Is a Deferred Compensation Plan Right for You? Physician groups create deferred compensation plans for partners, physicians and other highly-compensated members. Unlike the qualified retirement plans available to all full-time employees, deferred compensation plans are only accessible to a select group.
Disability Insurance How to Prep for Your Disability Insurance Medical Exam Exclusions and limitations help insurance carriers mitigate their risk of paying claims. This allows them to zero in on illnesses and injuries resulting from high-risk conditions and activities.
Mortgage Loans Everything You Need to Know About Bridge Mortgage Loans On average, the interest rate on a bridge loan is a full two percentage points higher than a standard mortgage. Likewise, fees may cost more than one percent of the outstanding loan balance.
Life Insurance When Weighing Your Insurance Needs, Make Sure You Consider This Many doctors aspire to open their own private practice someday. If this appeals to you, it's important to consider the impact your death or disability would have on your employees and partners.
Money How to Assemble Your Ultimate Financial Advisory Team Like your personal health, your financial health requires multiple specialists. To build, maintain, and grow wealth, you need a team of advisers dedicated to specific areas. You just can’t rely on one person alone.
Malpractice Insurance Do You Need a Consent-To-Settle Clause in Your Policy? Under your employer's group malpractice policy, you may not have a consent-to-settle clause. The employer owns the policy, which means there's a strong chance it owns the consent-to-settle.
Disability Insurance 20 Questions You Need to Ask Before Buying Disability Insurance To be clear, your policy will not cover every possible case of disability. When you apply for a physician disability insurance policy, you may receive an offer with specific limitations or exclusions.
Money What Should Physicians Do with Extra Money? Can you handle your current obligations? Or do you find yourself piling more on to your credit card each month? If you’re overspending, consider using this extra cash to pay down debt. This will help you to fit your financial obligations within your regular income.
Mortgage Loans What You Need to Know When Buying a Home in Residency Buying a home for less than you can afford will allow you to build equity faster. You can make extra principal payments on the mortgage. You can even make improvements that increase the property’s value.
