Links, Templates and Downloads
Debt Management
Student Loans:
NIH's Loan Repayment Programs are designed to recruit and retain highly qualified health professionals into biomedical or biobehavioral research careers. The programs repay up to $50,000 annually of a researcher's qualified educational debt in return for a commitment to engage in NIH mission-relevant research
U.S. Department of Education Federal Student Aid office
Financial Aid section at the Association of American Medical Colleges
Public Service Loan Forgiveness
What Happens to Student Loans When You Die?
DoctoredMoney provides very good resources, in particular when it comes to student debt. According to the site's Disclaimer, it strives to provide conflict-free educational resources for physicians. The Disclaimer mentions that one of the founders has a company that provides a limited amount of financial planning services, described as accounting for 2% of his household income.
Car purchase vs lease:
US News on Buying vs. Leasing a Car
Bankrate’s Buy vs. Lease Car Calculator (Bankrate.com)
2017 Consumer Reports Article on Buying vs. Leasing a Car (ConsumerReports.org)
Mortgage debt:
Bank of America LTV Explanation
The Balance on DTI Calculation
BankRate Buy vs. Rent calculator
Nerdwallet Buy vs. Rent calculator
Mortgage Closing Costs Calculator (Bank of America)
Link to Real Estate Closing Costs (Zillow.com)
Merrill Edge Refinancing Calculator Estimates total impact of refinancing a mortgage. Lays out impact of changes in term, interest rates, closing points and fees on total repayment, principal repayment and interest repayments.
Credit scores:
Federal Trade Commission: choosing a credit counselor
Contracting, Compensation, and Med Mal
Compensation:
Physician Self Referral Law (Stark Law)
The New England Journal of Medicine Career Center - Compensation
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and CMS Physician Fee Schedule
RVUs: A valuable tool for aiding practice management, Medical Economics
American Dental Association Health Policy Institute, information on dentist income
Dental Post survey on dental practices and dentist income
Medical Malpractice Insurance:
American College of Physicians on medical malpractice insurance
NEJM Malpractice Risk According to Physician Specialty
MedMal 101 basics provided by Diederich Healthcare (Inclusion herein is not an endorsement of Diederich Healthcare offerings)
NEJM on Employment Contracting and Interviewing Skills:
NEJM on Physician employment contracts strategies for avoiding pitfalls
NEJM on Interviewing skills for job seeking physicians
Financial Planning
Here is a financial planning checklist. Use this to ensure you've covered all relevant areas of your financial planning needs.
Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth
Sample Personal Balance Sheet Template v2 (Excel file)
Medscape Physician Debt and Net Worth Report 2016 (Medscape.com Medscape has more recent reports, by year, gender, location, and specialty. The 2016 version is provided because it is publicly available and does not require registration on the site. You should be able to create login credentials to access more recent materials.
Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth
Sample Personal Balance Sheet Multiyear Template (v1)
Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth
Forecasted Value of Future Retirement Plan Contributions (v1)
Cash and Cash Equivalents
Use this template to assemble your rainy-day fund using cash and cash equivalent instruments including checking and savings accounts, CDs, etc.
Children's 529 Plans
The College Savings Plans Network
Fidelity on Spending 529 Funds
https://www.fidelity.com/learning-center/personal-finance/college-planning/college-529-spending
Paying for College from US News & World Report
Schwab College Savings Calculator Estimates projected costs of a college education for multiple students based on attendance timeframe. Estimates monthly savings required to be able to fund a specified portion of the total cost per student.
Merrill Edge College Planning Calculator Estimates the projected costs of a college education for multiple students based on attendance timeframe. Estimates monthly savings required to achieve goals.
Merrill Edge 529 Plan State Tax Calculator Estimates state tax savings net of federal tax, of saving in a 529 Plan by state.
Vanguard College Savings Planner Tool to estimate the projected costs of a college education for multiple students based on attendance timeframe and current age. Estimates monthly savings required to be able to fund a specified portion of the total cost per student.
Budgeting, Income and Expenses
Sample Household Budget with annual income of $60,000 (Excel file)
Budgeting, Income and Expenses
Sample Household Budget with annual income of $100,000 (Excel file)
Budgeting, Income and Expenses
Sample Household Budget with annual income of $200,000 (Excel file)
Risk and Return
Schwab Investor Profile Questionnaire Questionnaire to help investors assess their investment timeline and risk tolerance and select an investment strategy in line with these.
A Different Perspective on Stock Returns from an Active Asset Manager. This link is not provided to encourage you to become an active investor. It's simply here to introduce you to more information. I have personally known the author for over ten years and interviewed him for an MBA portfolio management class offered at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School.
U.S. Dominance in Global Services Economy Weakens
Vanguard dramatically cuts its expected rate of return for the stock market over the next decade
Investing Basics
Basic Asset Allocation Template
Investing Basics
Basic Securities Selection Template
Investing Basics - Real Estate
Rental Rates Estimator - Provide an address and obtain a range of potential rental rates.
Retirement Planning
Golden Goose Principal calculation template
Retirement Planning
Hypothetical Wealth Accumulation Template (assumes 30-year investment horizon)
Longevity Illustrator provided by the American Academy of Actuaries and Society of Actuaries
Bankrate.com Retirement Calculator
Kiplinger Retirement Savings Calculator
AARP (formerly the American Association of Retired Persons) The organization’s mission is to “empower people to choose how they live as they age.”
Fidelity Social Security Benefits Calculator Estimates monthly and lifetime benefits at different claiming ages and models the effect of factors such as current salary on benefits amount.
Vanguard Retirement Health Care Costs Calculator
Merrill Edge Personal Retirement Calculator Provides retirement projection based on current income, investments and retirement goals. The effect of strategy changes can be modelled.
Schwab Retirement Income Quiz Very basic quiz designed to educate investors on retirement planning concepts.
The Fidelity Retirement Score(SM) Provides an estimate of monthly retirement income and a retirement plan rating (0-150). Effect of changing retirement age and monthly contributions can also be modelled.
TD Ameritrade Retirement Calculator Calculates likelihood of a specified amount of money lasting throughout retirement based on estimated life expectancy, retirement spending goals, assets in existing retirement accounts and planned additions. Tool also demonstrates the effect of a market crash on value of a portfolio and provides recommended next steps to improve likelihood of money lasting throughout retirement.
Vanguard Retirement Income Calculator Visual representation of predicted monthly income in retirement compared to projected monthly needs. Projection is calculated using current age, planned retirement age, current salary, predicted % of current salary needed for retirement, existing retirement savings, current annual retirement savings, estimated return on investment, estimated Social Security benefit and pension benefits.
Vanguard Retirement Nest Egg Calculator Calculates the likelihood of retirement savings lasting for a specified period, using current savings balance, projected annual expenditure and investment allocation.
Required Minimum Distributions
Investor.gov RMD Calculator Government site allows you to determine how much money you need to take out of your traditional IRA or 401(k), depending on your age.
Fidelity Inherited IRA RMD Calculator Calculates the minimum required distribution from retirement saving for holders of inherited IRA accounts. Keep in mind some providers have not updated their calculators to account for the higher age (72) at which RMDs must begin.
Strata Trust – Increasing Life Expectancies and RMDs
Roth Conversion and Backdoor Roth
The Motley Fool: What Is a Backdoor Roth IRA?
Roth IRA conversion taxes may be trickier than you expect. Here's what to know
Nerdwallet Backdoor Roth IRA high-income how-to guide
Bogleheads IRA recharacterization
Schwab Roth IRA Conversion Calculator Models out tax effects of converting a Traditional IRA to a Roth IRA. This requires a number of assumptions, including estimate of federal tax rate when you retire, number of years to retirement, and annual expected return on IRA investments.
Fidelity Roth Conversion Calculator Tool calculating the tax effect of converting money from another IRA type (e.g. SEP) to a Roth IRA vs leaving the money in the original account. Tool requires a number of assumptions.
Nerdwallet on Roth versus Traditional IRA account?
Retirement Accounts
Contribution Limits by Account Type:
IRS 401(k) Contribution Limits
IRS 403(b) Contribution Limits
IRS 457(b) Contribution Limits
Miscellaneous Topics:
What are the Differences Between 401(k) and 403(b) Plans?
IRS Cost of Living Adjustment for Limitations on Benefits and Contributions
FINRA on Inherited and Stretch IRAs
Merrill Edge IRA Selector Tool Shows investors the maximum amount they can contribute to a Traditional or Roth IRA in a given tax year and provides information on the different features of these accounts. Note: calculator may still assume RMDs must begin at age 70.5. Recent tax-law changed this age to 72.
TD Ameritrade IRA Selection Tool Not a very sophisticated tool. Provides maximum contributions in a specified tax year to Roth and Traditional IRAs, depending on the investor’s income, filing status and age. Shows what contributions to a Traditional IRA are tax deductible.
Tax Considerations
Nerdwallet Federal Income Tax Brackets
Boglehads on Tax-efficient Fund Placement This article addresses some considerations when you have multiple investing accounts, including taxable and tax-advantaged accounts. Deciding in which account to hold which assets is known as Asset Location. Analysis can get quite detailed and contingent on many assumptions.
If you insist on going down the rabbit hole on asset location: Kitces on Asset Location
Insurance Companies
The Balance on What is an A-rated Insurance company
MIB Group, Inc. (“MIB”) is a membership corporation owned by over 400 member insurance companies in the US and Canada. Information you share with an insurer will be added to MIB’s database, where it will be accessible to insurance underwriters across the industry. Thus, if you were flagged with any past or existing conditions, these will be known, or accessible, to all insurers. I recommend requesting your MIB Consumer File at the bottom of this page.
Lemonade Inc. is a Public Benefit Corporation (B-Corp) providing home and renters insurance. According to the company's website, "Social impact is part of our legal mission and business model - not just marketing fluff."
Insurance Types
Use the attached Insurance Types Checklist to inventory your existing insurance coverage, across all insurance products. (Delete the sample information and replace with your own.)
Note: You don't necessarily need all these policies. The coverage you need is determined by your household circumstances.
Some Sources of Disability Insurance Quotes
Here are some potential sources of disability insurance quotes.
Inclusion of a provider on this page does not indicate endorsement of their products and/or services. Providers are included here to give you some experience with the application process. Don't feel obligated to make any purchase(s).
Furthermore, I generally advise against engaging insurance agents as your overall financial advisor. If you do turn to insurance agents, don't get anything from them other than insurance.
Some Sources of Term Life Insurance Quotes
Here are some potential sources of Term Life Insurance quotes.
Inclusion of a provider on this page does not indicate endorsement of their products and/or services. Providers are included here to give you some experience with the application process. Don't feel obligated to make any purchase(s).
Furthermore, I generally advise against engaging insurance agents as your overall financial advisor. If you do turn to insurance agents, don't get anything from them other than insurance.
Common Questions Related to Life Insurance
Does genetic testing affect life insurance?
NPR: Genetic Testing Can Affect Your Ability to Get Insurance
How does pregnancy affect life insurance?
Bestow Blog on Buying Life Insurance While Pregnant
AIG Direct on Buying Life Insurance While Pregnant
Policy Genius Blog on Life Insurance and Pregnancy
Good Financial Cents Blog on Whether Pregnancy Affects Life Insurance
Life Insurance and suicide
Policy Genius on Life Insurance and Suicide
Nerdwallet on Life Insurance and Suicide
Long-Term Care Insurance
Nerdwallet: Long-term care insurance explained
Nerdwallet on Alternatives to long-term care insurance
MSN on How to Support Your Retired Parents Without Sinking Your Own Retirement Plans
Dealing with Financial Advisors
Links to Check Advisor Background:
SEC Adviser Info, Investment Adviser Public Disclosure
Fee-Only Financial Advisors:
National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) – Fee-only financial advisors who take a fiduciary oath each year.
Garrett Planning Network – A network of fee-only financial planners
Government Regulators and Self-Regulating Agency Links:
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB, 2011).
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (FINRA)
Compare Professional Designations using FINRA’s tool
FINRA Financial Advisor Qualification Exams
Robo-Advisors:
Advisor Evaluation Template
Use the attached template to evaluate prospective advisors.
Overview of Select Financial Institutions
This document provides some highlights for a selection of popular financial institutions.
Podcasts
Some recommended podcasts on economics, finance, and investments.
Planet Money (NPR)