Financial advice for people like you.

Client: Natalie

Age: 36

Position: Vascular surgeon

Situation: Single, post-training, $50k in credit card debt, $550k in student loans

Service chosen: One-time financial plan, then transitioned into ongoing advice

The Situation

Natalie went through 7 years residency and fellowship and during this time, she amassed $50,000 in credit card debt and $550,000 in federal student loans.
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After training, she found a job she loved. The culture felt right, the work would be fulfilling, but it was private practice - not a nonprofit organization. Because of this, if she pursued the private practice role, she would no longer be eligible for PSLF despite being two years away from reaching the 10 year benchmark.

As part of the job search, home affordability came into the equation. While her and her partner were not currently married, they planned to do so in the future so she needed to consider a few different factors.

She also wanted to get a better understanding where her money was going every month and how to get started with investing for retirement.

The Results

Not only did we need to create a flexible budget and a plan for home affordability, we also:

Reviewed different ways to merge finances after getting married
Created a credit card payoff plan
Reviewed disability insurance coverage
Created a retirement plan

Lastly, as part of my role as a financial planner, I conduct deep research and in this situation, it turned out that they had two years worth of full time work at a nonprofit in between undergrad and medical school. With the recent PSLF waiver rules (which were temporary) we were able to get the work included.

Just recently, they found out that all $550,000 worth of their federal student loans were forgiven.

Clients: Pam & Phil

Ages: 45 and 44

Positions: Physicians

Situation: Both have student loans, one is not going to go for PSLF, the other one is still in training

Service chosen: One-time financial plan

The Situation

Pam & Phil are married and while they both have student loans, only one of them is going for PSLF. Phil is currently in training and Pam has already completed her training. Right now, they live close to work and their kid's school and while they enjoy the area, the results of Phil's job search could put them in a position to move across the country.

They have some savings built up (~$75,000) because they've worked hard and been very intentional with their spending. With Pam's higher income, they're able to save some money each month and after Phil graduates, they needed a plan for what they should be doing with extra dollars and how to manage cash priorities.

The Results

In addition to answering their most pressing questions, we created a plan to that included:

Contribution strategy for 401(k) and 457(b) accounts for each spouse
College savings plan for their two kids
Investing & savings plan for current cash and future income
Tax planning informed by PSLF impact, while helping minimize current and future taxes through retirement contributions and college savings strategies