Should Young Doctors Pay Off Debt or Invest for Retirement First?

At OMS Partners, LLC, we care about you holistically. We know that you’re busy running and operating your practice, not to mention building it to the size and number of locations you desire. We also know that you likely have sizeable student loan debt, not to mention business loan debt if you own your own practice. That’s why as part of our offering, we work on financial planning for doctors.

When you graduate from dental school, it seems like everyone tells you that you need to jump head-first into saving for retirement. After all, as the old adage goes, “There aren’t no loans for retirement.” But is it really realistic for you to start saving for retirement when you’ve just graduated and have been handed a huge pile of debt?

Don’t Put Retirement Savings Off Until Tomorrow

At OMS Partners, LLC, we know that when it comes to financial planning for doctors, oral surgeons like you likely have:

• A mortgage
• A car loan
• Massive student loan debt
• Business debt
• Credit card debt

Making those monthly obligations is definitely important. But what’s also important is planning for your future. After all, you don’t plan to be doing gum grafts into your 80s just to make ends meet, do you?

If You’re Still in Residency, Start Saving for Retirement Now

Before you decide what zip code you’ll ultimately live in or what set of wheels you’ll drive to get to your practice every day, if you’re still in residency, you should start saving for retirement now. After all, the sooner you start saving, the longer your contributions have to grow, and the smaller the contributions you have to make.

When it comes to retirement vehicles, you should never pass up a 401k match. Doing so is like burning money. Let’s say your practice matches up to 4% of all employer-made contributions to its 401k program. If you contribute 4% from every paycheck, too, you’ve just doubled your money!

Whatever Your Age, Get in the Retirement Game Now

Even if you’ve put off retirement savings to make a dent in your debt, it’s not too late to get started saving for your golden years now. When we discuss or write about financial planning for doctors, we always suggest that if you haven’t started saving yet, you should today. While you may have to contribute more than say, your same-aged partner who contributed during residency to meet his or her ultimate retirement savings amount, starting now is better than waiting until later. Because the later you wait to start, the more dollars you have to put in on a monthly basis.

Will This Debt Ever Go Away?

We know that the public often thinks doctors like you are rolling in the dough, when the reality is you’ve got so much debt from school and opening your practice, much less just living your daily life, that you don’t know what to do!

Don’t stress.

As an oral surgeon, your means are very high. And by living slightly below those means, you can and will not only make a dent in that debt that seems to stare you in the face every day but topple it, too!

If you need a pep talk, we’d love to give you one. Talk to us today about financial planning for doctors by calling (713) 961-2723.