MtoM #16 - Paid off $260K in 2 years

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Milestones to celebrating stories of success along the journey to financial freedom. Here is your host, Dr. Jim Dali. This is Milestones to Millionaires podcast number 16 paid off $260,000 in two years. We want you to be successful, and so we're going to give anyone who refinances more than $100,000 in student loans through the WCI links@whitecoatinvestor.com student loan refinancing free access to the White Coat Investors flagship course. Fire your financial advisor. Not only will you continue to get the amazing cash rebates that we have negotiated from these lenders, but now you will also get another $799 in value. Create your own financial plan with the help of the White Coat Investor. Offer is valid for loan applications started on May 1, 2021 or later after refinancing. To claim free course enrollment, visit whitecoatinvestor.com refi bonus. If you're looking to boost returns, lower taxes, and build wealth, join the WCI monthly Real Estate Opportunities list for tips and strategies to maximize your real estate returns. And for introductions to exclusive investment opportunities, expect educational emails that introduce you to syndicators, fund companies, online courses, and online real estate platforms. Go to whitecoatinvestor.com reopportunities to sign up today. You can do this, and the White Coat Investor can help. All right, we got a great guest on today. This is a urologist. Let's get him on the line. All right, next on the podcast, we have a urologist. Welcome to the White Coat Investor Podcast.

Thank you so much for having me.

Jim, congratulations to you on your recent accomplishment. How much debt did you pay off?

I had about $260,000.

How long did you take to pay that off?

Two years.

Two years. And what was your average income or range of income over that time period combined?

With my wife, it was about 700, 720.

So pretty good income. And you wiped it out pretty quickly.

Before taxes.

Yeah, yeah. After tax is much less. I know how that goes, but. And how'd you do it?

I mean, I think the big thing was, you know, we were just both on the same page about it. And to both of us, you know, getting rid of our student debt was a big priority. You know, I mean, we did a lot of the things you preach, you know, maxed out the 401ks, the Roth IRAs, 457s first, but then everything else, I mean, minus, you know, the expenses, went towards paying off debt.

Did you feel like you held your expenses down in order to pay that off so quickly? Or do you feel like you bought everything you wanted to do and still were able to pay it off?

No, we definitely didn't buy everything we wanted to. I'm a big cyclist, I race bikes. So for me, kind of a prize at the end was once I got them paid off, I could upgrade to the bike I wanted, for example. So, I mean, we definitely, you know, we kind of set goals and there are a few small rewards here or there, but for the most part, I mean, we never really set a budget. We just paid the expenses, put the money in retirement accounts, went at the loans first.

So tell us about the bike. Carbon fiber disc brakes. What'd you get?

Of course, both.

Very nice. Very nice. So looking back to a couple of years ago when you said, we're going to pay this off, did it turn out to be easier or harder than you thought it was going to be?

I think at times it was easier. At times it was harder. Certainly when the pandemic hit, for example, that definitely ate into the bonuses and, you know, ability to, to work more and generate more RVUs. Right. So we had to re. Strategize sometimes. So I think having the flexibility and negotiating ahead of time to have flexibility or having a, a side gig or something like that can help you achieve those goals when things go sideways. For example, I had the ability to get paid extra for taking extra call. So March, April, May, June, I took call almost every day.

That's a lot of call. I hope it wasn't too burdensome. Calls all night, every night?

No, no. I mean, you know, I work at a small, kind of more rural hospital, so just like you experienced during, especially the first few months earlier in the summer, no one was coming into the er. People were sitting at home with their stones.

Yeah, that's right. I'm not going to the er. I'd rather have this kidney stone than Covid.

Right.

I don't know.

Both are pretty bad. Yeah.

So how does it feel to have your. Have your loans gone?

You know, I mean, people always ask you, you know, pay off debt versus invest. Right. I don't think you can put a price tag on the feeling of having them off. I think for a lot of people it's. It's such a habit thing, and it just feels so good to have them off as opposed to, you know, knowing that I probably would have had a better return if I had put it in the market.

Now some people feel like they're not Done with school until they paid for it. Did you feel that way?

That's a good question. I've never really thought about that. No. No, I didn't really feel that way. I mean, I just felt it was, you know, something that just. We had to get that done before we could move on with the rest of our lives to achieve other goals.

So what advice do you have for somebody that's like you were a couple of years ago, looking at this big student loan, wondering if they should pay it off, wondering if they can pay it off? What advice do you have for somebody just coming out now, staring at big student loans?

I think one of the biggest things, you know, that you preach towards residents and medical students is having a plan ahead of time, not kind of waking up all of a sudden once you're out of residency and seeing, oh, my, you know, I've got two or three times my income in student loans. That would be really tough. I was very fortunate in that situation. But, I mean, I think it. A lot of it, too, comes down to choices. You know, what you prioritize. So I think the biggest thing is just making choices. Where you live, what jobs you take. I mean, there's, you know, a lot of different choices you can make out there if that's your goal and you want to achieve it.

Looking back, do you see yourself having made some choices differently, knowing you had that big student loan, or do you feel like you would have made all the same job decisions, special decisions, et cetera?

That's a really good question. I think most of the choices I would have made would have been the same. Yeah, I definitely prioritized where I worked and what kind of job I took to achieve some of our goals as a family over maybe, you know, more jobs that. Where I would be doing bigger surgeries or more prestigious jobs or things like that. You know, our family working together as a cohesive unit and having success and things like this was more important to me.

So what's next for you in your financial goals? The student loans are gone. What's next? What are you working on?

Well, we. We saved up and refinanced the house, so we got that down from 4% to 2,375. So working on that some and then just trying to catch up in terms of putting more money in the rest of our accounts, like our taxable account.

Cool. And riding your new bike.

Got to keep training. Yeah, that's right. Even during the pandemic, did the bike.

Make you any faster?

Absolutely.

Totally worth it then, right? Totally worth it.

Oh, yeah. I took a few koms the first week. I got it.

Sweet. Well, congratulations, Andrew, on your success, and thank you for inspiring the next generation to do what you've done.

Well, thank you. I mean, I think a lot of it. I have to thank you. I mean, you know, I've read both your books. I follow your podcast religiously. When I came out of residency, my head was in the sand. I honestly, no, I had no clue. I'd listen to my friends during residency talk about finances, and I would just bury my head because I had no idea what they were talking about. And it actually kind of scared me. So actually it's now kind of become a hobby.

Awesome. It's the best paying hobby there is. Although maybe not quite as good for your health as cycling.

That's true. That's true.

Well, thank you so much and congratulations on your success and may it continue forward.

Thank you so much for having me on, Jim, and really thanks again for everything. Bye. Bye. All right.

A lot of lessons learned from that interview. That's a lot of money to pay off in just a couple of years. So very proud of that. Obviously, with the higher income, that makes it easier. So this is why I'm telling you, get higher incomes. It definitely helps. And it's always amazing how big the difference is in incomes in a given specialty. It dwarfs the difference in average incomes between specialties, for sure. I love the approach of maxing out retirement accounts and throwing everything else out at the loans. And I love the ability to really take advantage of COVID and actually take more call during COVID I also love that he had a plan to pay these off before he even got out of residency and really hit the ground running and knock it out. I love that, you know, he took time to really still buy the things you really wanted, like the bike.

Right.

And take advantage of that and really use it as a reward. Kind of, you know, a carrot hanging out there, if you will, to get the loans paid off. And so pretty awesome. Great to hear that inspiring story from this listener, and I hope that's inspiring to you to pay off your own student loans. If you would like to share your story on the Milestones to Millionaire podcast, you can apply for that. It's at whitecoatinvestor.com Milestones is where you apply for that. Is that right, Cindy? Did I get that right? Milestones, Yep. So we'd love to have you on, highlight your particular milestone, your particular financial achievement, and use it to inspire others to do the same. If you're looking to boost returns, lower taxes and build wealth. Join the WCI Monthly Real Estate Opportunities List for tips and strategies to maximize your real estate returns. And for introductions to exclusive investment opportunities, expect educational emails that introduce you to syndicators, fund companies, online courses, and online real estate platforms. Go to whitecoatinvestor.com reopportunities to sign up today. You can do this and the White Coat Investor can help. Keep your head up, shoulders back. You've got this and we can help. We'll see you next week on the Milestones Podcast.

My dad your host, Dr. Dahl, is a practicing emergency physician, blogger, author and podcaster. He is not a licensed accountant, attorney or financial advisor. So this podcast is for your entertainment and information only and should not be considered official personalized financial advice.