I feel sooo strongly that financial wellness is just as important as physical and mental wellness during medical training. The unfortunate truth of the matter is that, in this world, things cost money. And I call BS on all those people who tell you “money can’t buy happiness.” Because you know what money can buy you - it can buy you a gym membership that is close enough to your apartment that you actually can make it there. It can buy you therapy and massages. It can pay for your vacations. It can pay for that splurge lunch when you’ve just had a terrible day. There are a lot of studies that show the more money you have, the happier you are.

Medicine is this crazy world in which some of the smartest people you will ever meet are still struggling to make ends meet or have a ridiculous amount of credit card debt. Some of this comes from never learning the skills it takes to navigate the financial world. For others, it’s from this sense of delayed gratification. After decades of schooling, we are finally making money and spending wayyy too much of it.

I could go on forever about trainee salaries (and will in fact will dedicate a whole other post to that). Let me suffice it to say that it’s crazy literal doctors make minimum wage per hour worked. There once was a program director who told their residents to go on food stamps, I seriously wish I was kidding.

The most important reason to have a solid financial background is the security that comes with it. Let me tell you about my friend who is a badass surgical resident (now badass surgical attending). She was on vacation with her boyfriend at the time. Day 1 of this trip, he decided to drop the news that he could never see himself marrying her. She wanted OUT of this 8 day trip, but as a surgical resident fresh out of medical school she had no extra money to change her flight. So she stayed on the trip and was obviously miserable the rest of the time. Afterwards, she was the world’s biggest saver - never again was she going to find herself in that situation.

Financial freedom can be utterly life-changing.

So here are the things you must, must do when starting off residency:

1. Open up a high-yield savings account if you don’t have one already. I wish I would have done this during medical school. I cringe thinking about that loan money sitting in my checking account not making. me any meaningful interest. Automate part of your paycheck into this account in addition to your checking account. Your goal should be ~3 months living expenses. The one benefit of medical training is that our salaries (and our work) rarely change. So unlike those starting a business or working in a highly volatile field, we can get away with having less in our emergency fund.

2. Open up a retirement account - this will likely be a 403b through your hospital. In addition to this, I firmly believe that every resident and fellow should have a ROTH IRA. This is a retirement account that is taxed now, so when you’re an attending in a higher tax bracket later in life nearing retirement, you don’t owe taxes on that money. And it has been sitting there growing for decades. Literally life changing. A few key points - you can’t contribute to a ROTH IRA if you make more than $161,000 and your yearly contributions are limited to $7,000.

3. Figure out your student loan situation. Make sure what you are being asked to pay during residency is low (you’re going to need to build up some of the above). If you have private loans, make sure you’re filling out the necessary deferment papers if that is an option for you. I took the approach of low payments over a longer period of time because debt like this isn’t bothering me.

4. Organize your credit and credit cards - if you’re like me, you probably had a starter credit card during undergrad and medical school. Now’s the time to 1. look at your credit score so you know what you’re dealing with and 2. get an adult credit card. Shop around and look to see what credit card rewards are going to work best with your lifestyle. If you’re denied a credit card, try calling and explaining that you are in medical training. Credit card companies love the idea of having a high earner as a loyal customer. This worked for me, and I got a credit card I would never have been able to get on my own.

5. Set your budget and make sure you are putting money away to have fun. Residency is challenging. The days and weeks are long. Make sure you have some money set aside for that dinner, trip, spa day whatever it is.