Financial Education 101: How to Finally Get Started on the Path to Financial Well-Being

7/7/2020

Before we start, here is a quick reference list for you to learn the basics for your financial education on this blog!

Read them all in 10-15 minutes and you’ll know the 20% you need to know to get 80% of the results!

Ok, so you’re somewhere between a PGY-1 and PGY- infinity. And you realize you don’t know the first thing about financial education and your personal finances?

Compound interest… How’s that work again?

Factor investing…No clue.

Cap Rate…Ok, fully lost now.

It’s amazing that we can go through so many years of education and training, understand the renal system, let alone the Kreb’s cycle (long gone from my memory), but we lack even the most basic understanding of personal finance.

The reason for this is complicated but to distill it down in simple terms, the reasons are:

  • We get a highly specialized and narrow education, and
  • We usually went into medicine to help people, not focus on money.

Unfortunately, sooner or later we must realize that money does matter.

It matters in the sense that a lack of money or its understanding leads to undue stress, burn out, and diminished ability to care for and contribute to ourselves, our loved ones, and society through charity.

I truly believe that financial well-being enhances personal well-being and improves us as physicians when it is aligned with our passions and purpose. That’s why I started this blog.

Regardless of when we begin our financial education (remember, it only matters that we start, not when we start), we can all reach financial well-being.

The nice thing about establishing any goal, including financial well-being, is that once we set our sights on it, all we need to do is figure out how to get there. We know we are going to get there one way or another because we are determined and gritty. All that’s left to figure out is which way.

There are 2 generally two ways of going about achieving financial well-being:

  • Figure it all out by yourself, or
  • Use previous models, mentors, and experience.

The beautiful thing about financial well-being, for physicians specifically as well as anyone in general, is that there have been many others who have left breadcrumbs along the way and provided models for others who seek the same goal.

Why then, would we not seek their advice and experience so that we can not only replicate their success, but avoid their mistakes?

I have chosen path #2. 

Since deciding that financial education/well-being as part of my personal well-being was a goal and priority, I have been determined to learn as much as I can from others, rather than reinventing the wheel myself.

I highly recommend that you do the same. I imagine that is why you are here reading this blog. We are both on the same path and can help each other stay focused on the goal and be ever progressing towards it.

I therefore would like to provide a guide to my favorite starter resources (blogs, books, courses, etc.) that I have and am using in my journey to financial well-being.

I have personally used and can vouch for all of the resources for your financial education that I list below! For each, I provide a short description as well as level of difficulty and category.

Enjoy!

*****