As we enter 2013, many people are starting on their New Year’s resolutions. You’ve read the same old newspaper articles and watched the same recycled video clips from the local news highlighting the usual resolutions, such as working out at the gym or eating healthier. As physicians, I know most of us could benefit from a little more sleep, a little more working out, and a little less hospital cafeteria food. But have you thought about the benefits of building a financial house? Physicians are in a unique position in that we have a much shorter window of time to achieve financial independence compared to the average American worker. Our friends and colleagues who started working right out of college are at least 10 years ahead of us when it comes to funding their 401k’s, Roth IRA’s, etc. They also don’t have the student loan burden or high income tax burden that many of us will have to deal with. So, it is very important to get your financial house in order even before you take that first job as a urologist. Ever since I had the first thoughts of creating UrologyJobSearch.com, I always wanted to integrate an aspect of financial education into the site. When I was in college at Texas A&M, the job market was quite good for those graduating ahead of me. Many of my friends were getting nice signing bonuses and going out to buy new cars and other cool toys. For a while, my college roommate and I would conduct small investing seminars in our apartment, mainly focusing on the Roth IRA’s and the principle of dollar-cost averaging. Those were simple concepts compared to what most of us will need to do in order to achieve financial independence. This is especially the case with how health care reform and changes in the tax code will ultimately affect our take-home pay. Over the past couple of years I have spent time looking for an ideal partner in providing financial education to fellow physicians. I have spent a good amount of time doing some due diligence in meeting with a number of potential partners to serve in this role. About one year ago I started working with Lauren Law of Larson Financial Group, LLC. Larson Financial Group is the nation’s largest financial planning firm that works exclusively with physicians, so they are very knowledgeable as to the unique financial situation most physicians find themselves in as they graduate from residency/fellowship and transition into practice. Lauren has been great to work with and she has certainly helped me get my financial house in order. I have met with Paul Larson, founder and CEO of Larson Financial Group, in the past and I appreciate the vision he has for his company. Paul and Lauren both have a passion for financial education for physicians all around the country and I am pleased to have them contributing to the educational content of our site. My resolution for 2013 is to do what I can to help make sure my colleagues are armed with the best financial information to help make the right decisions for themselves and their families. Lauren will be sharing regular installments on the site on topics such as: debt management, Roth IRAs, benefits of 1099 income vs W2 income, disability insurance, life insurance, etc. If at any time you have questions re: the financial education content or a question on another issue, or if you would like time for some one on one discussion, you can feel free to contact Lauren by phone or email: Lauren Law Phone: 615-766-2677 Fax: 615-783-1671 Email: [email protected] Website: www.larsonfinancial.com Read Lauren's first post here. Happy New Year! Ian Thompson III