Ep #113: Exploring the Best Credit Cards and Banks for ER Docs

Recency bias: a cognitive bias that favors recent events over historic ones; a memory bias. I mention this because a composition of the 500 largest companies in the US, also known as the S&P 500, has recently hit all-time highs. While of course that’s a good thing, recency bias is running rampant, making it difficult to remember times when the S&P 500 has severely lagged behind other markets. And when this causes investors to abandon the science of investing and instead opt to own just a single asset class, problems can arise.

On today’s episode, we’ll discuss how periods of return, especially recent ones, can paint a very different picture than what has unfolded over longer time frames and how the infatuation with the best performers can taint the way we look at our own portfolios.

Taxes aren’t as much of a “season” as we tend to think. The reality is, taxes are all around us; they’re a daily occurrence. Thus, condensing an entire year down to a single week or month is a fool’s errand.

On today’s episode, we’ll talk about tax season from a different perspective. A perspective that hopefully creates a mental shift and ultimately improves the way you think about and prepare your returns moving forward.

ER docs tend to lead financially complex lives. With different income sources, different income types, and possibly earnings in multiple states, this provides a major hurdle when it comes to optimization. But not all hope is lost; the added complexity can often lead to opportunity, like in the case of additional contribution limits with multiple non-related retirement accounts.

On today’s episode, we’ll discuss the rules for multiple retirement accounts with separate employers and talk about how to remedy an accidental over-contribution, and even get into a scenario where an intentional over-contribution could make sense.

How do you pay for things? And what’s the thought process behind what card you pull out of your wallet? The effort you bring to this area of your spending is a precursor to living an overall better and more organized financial life.

On today’s episode, we’ll discuss the balance that works for most ER docs in a world of credit card rewards, mailed offers, referral codes, high-interest accounts, and banks of all shapes and sizes competing for your business.

529 plans are typically thought of as college expense accounts. And of course, they are first and foremost, but over the years we have gradually seen the flexibility and use of 529s expand. Whether that’s using them for K-12 private schools, opening an account early in the parent’s name in anticipation of the possibility of a future child, or even strategic changes to the beneficiaries of the account. But using it for retirement has never been an option… until now.

On today’s episode, we’ll start by discussing the Beneficial Ownership Information Report that is likely required to be filed if you have a business open and then we’ll transition into the updates to the 529 plan and how to utilize it for your benefit.

Oftentimes the benefits of a vacation are felt prior to even setting flight or hitting the road. It’s something to look forward to – and that can carry you through even the toughest of workdays. We know ER docs have a unique job when considering the hours and responsibilities, but it doesn’t stop there – PTO and flexibility are also vastly different from not only other job types in America, but even different jobs within emergency medicine itself.

On today’s episode, we’ll discuss the importance of building in vacation time, talk about the financial opportunity costs of taking vacations, and get into prioritizing the right kind of time off to help sustain a lasting career.

The retirement account landscape can be confusing. But maximizing these savings vehicles is so important for ER doctors seeking financial independence. So when the perfect storm of large savings needs meets tax and retirement planning strategies, the mega backdoor Roth strategy may be the tool to get the job done. 

On today’s episode, we’ll give an overview of tax-preferenced retirement accounts, break down the mega backdoor Roth strategy, and go over the scenarios where it makes the most sense to utilize.

If we polled all ER doctors in America and asked them, “Which do you think would be financially more beneficial to you, being paid as an employee (W-2) or contractor (1099)?” we suspect ~75% or so would respond that they’d rather be classified as an employee. Well, that wish may come true as new regulation is set to go into effect in March that could challenge all independent contractor job statuses held by non-locum ER doctors which would force them to be restructured as employees.

On today’s episode, we’ll discuss this recent ruling and how EPs could be rallying behind something that could actually be detrimental to their finances.

When we sit back and really analyze the thousands of ER docs we’ve worked with and spoken to over the past 15 years, we’ve pinpointed one specific thing the financially successful have in common. Most would think high income, or even savings rate. While those may be great indicators, even those have flaws. No, this specific thing is, without fail, the best litmus test for success and we can make positive inferences without needing to evaluate any other piece of a client’s financial puzzle. You’ll probably never guess what it is.

On today’s episode, we’ll discuss this specific indicator of financial success and the nuances of it. Ask yourself, “Is this specific indicator part of my financial plan?”

It’s often the case that people are short-sighted with their retirement. The focus is on getting “to retirement” (saving and accumulating), but not necessarily how to get “through retirement.” That has its own layers, such as: How will you acquire money in retirement? From what accounts? In what order? Where will you be living in retirement? Spousal income? Social Security? You can quickly see there are dozens of variables at play.

On today’s episode, we’ll discuss Shohei Ohtani’s MLB contract and make parallels with ER doc’s deferring income – both in qualified and non-qualified ways.