How should you pay down your debt?  Well, are you a mathematically inclined person, or do you need the psychological motivation to get the job done?  The former favors the Avalanche method of paying down debt, the latter favors the snowball. What if I told you that neither of those was ideal if you are a doctor with student loan debt?  Tag along as we discuss the three different methods, the pros/cons of each, and why I support driving your Snow Plow at your most hated source of debt.

What You’ll Learn:

In the 16th episode of Money Meets Medicine, “Snowball vs. Avalanche vs. Snowplow,“ you’re going to learn which method is the best for paying off your debt and:

• Why Dave Ramsey’s advice may not be the best for physicians.
• How the snowball method relates to video games.
• The impact psychology has on your debt payments.
• Why the avalanche method is almost always successful, but why I still don’t teach it.
• And more!

Quotes to Remember:

“Getting started is the hardest thing. Making those small incremental changes is what fuels you.”

“Emotion is built into pretty much every decision we have, and finances are no different.”

“Credit card debt is an emergency!”

“If you’re using any of these three methods, you’re winning!”

Resources from the Episode:

How to Pay Off Debt? The 3 Methods Explained

The Physician Philosopher Student Loan Refinance Page

This Episode’s Sponsor

This episode is brought to you by Robert Kaplan, CFP of Kaplan Financial which can be found at Kaplan Financial .  Robert specializes in serving the unique disability insurance needs of over 2,500 physicians nationwide.  Robert, who has been married to a practicing physician for over 25 years founded Kaplan Financial in 1990.  Kaplan Financial is the place to go for objective and experienced financial advice, discounted rates on individual disability insurance, and a long-term commitment of superior service.

So, if you are in need of disability insurance, don’t hesitate to reach out to Robert at KaplanFinancial.net or if you prefer email or phone you can email Robert at [email protected] or call him directly at 818-783-6620.

Listener Question of the Week:

Today’s listener question is from Robert Jurado who asks,

”I have a traditional IRA, which represents the money that was in old 401k from my previous employer. Do you guys think it’s worth it to convert to Roth? Would you do yearly conversions of the IRA contributions? Does one have to do these conversions yearly? Is it really worth it?”

Each episode, we are going to start including listener questions as they are provided to us.  So, if you have a specific question you’d like answered on the podcast reach out to us!  Email [email protected] or [email protected]

TPP