5 things I wish I did before starting residency
Med school is busy at times. Residency is busy ALL the time. During residency, even on outpatient rotations I felt like there was very little time to catch my breath. When I had free time, I used the time to spend with friends, clean my apartment, work-out, and really just reset myself. The last thing on my mind was my financial wellbeing (I was just excited to have a regular paycheck TBH).
Hindsight is 20/20 but I wish I would have done these 5 things before starting residency. Warning that these things are a little boring and can take some time. So treat yourself to a little date night - order in that Indian and take the time to do these. Your future self will thank you.
Set up a high-yield savings account and set up automatic deposits from my checking to my savings account for every month (bonus points if you can do this directly from your paycheck).
Find a brokerage account you like and set up a ROTH IRA. Your resident salary will definitely be in the range to contribute. The contribution limit is $7,000 this year, but put whatever you can into it! Some sites will even allow you to do monthly automatic contributions.
Actually read your benefits package - there’s a lot of hidden gems in there (read: exercise and wellness reimbursements, fertility coverage) that employer’s love to hide.
Clean-up your subscriptions - there's nothing worse than paying for something month after month and having no idea. Rocket Money app is a good place to start.
In my opinion, the most important one. Take time to reflect on how you recharge and set aside some money in your budget for it. Is this monthly massages or facials? Flights home to see your family? Work-out classes? Decide now that this is an important value for you, and don’t feel guilty about spending money on it!
