So how much money do doctors make? Well, it depends. There are large discrepancies between different specialties and even the pay within a single specialty can vary widely.
A full-time physician in any specialty can earn multiple six figures per year. Granted, most doctors complete their education and training in their early-to-mid-thirties, but there is a strong salary awaiting newly minted physicians every summer.
The average physician salary is $243,000 for primary care physicians and $346,000 for specialists. This is self-reported, which means it might be artificially inflated.
According to the Medscape survey, U.S. Physicians earn more money than physicians in all other surveyed countries except Canada, which apparently leads the pack.
Let me state something obvious. Winning at personal finance is not complicated. Here are the steps:1. Earn a decent paycheck. 2. Spend less money than you make.3. Save the difference between what you earn and what you spend
The problem for most physicians is that we feel that we deserve to spend every dime of the money we make. After all, we started behind the eight-ball by waiting to earn the first attending paycheck.
This is why behavioral finance matters. We have to get the number one enemy – ourselves – out of the way. We can do this by playing mind games and setting ourselves up for success.
Here is a practical example of what I mean.1. Spend some time thinking and talking with loved ones about how you would design your ideal life. 2. Live your lifestyle based on what is left.