Code Green! The Taxman Cometh: Making Sense of Tax Law Gobbledygook
“I am proud to be paying taxes in the United States. The only thing is – I could be just as proud for half the money.” -Arthur Godfrey, entertainer What’s that noise? Why, that’s the sound of your bank account crying when tax time rolls around. Navigating the seemingly complex annals of the tax code and process of filing your taxes can be less painful when you are well-informed (and that…
Ensure You’re Most Assuredly Insured: Home, Auto, and Extended Warranties
It is generally agreed that insurance is not exactly the most palatable way to spend your money. After all, you’re regularly paying for a product you don’t want to ever actually have to use. From one perspective, one might view it as sort of a rigged system. Insurance companies usually pay out less in claims than they receive in premiums, so insurance buyers collectively lose money. No one…
Building Your Stay-well Game Plan: Health, Long-term Care Insurance
Thus far, we’ve taken a jaunt through the educational pastures of life and malpractice insurance, and dipped our toes into the informative waters of disability insurance. In this post, we shall take a stroll of insight through the valley of health and long-term care insurance. Fortunately, or unfortunately, I am neither a gecko nor Dennis Quaid (or insurance spokesperson of any kind). So I’ll…
Buying Disability Insurance: The Biggest Mistake You Never Made
A full post devoted to the topic of disability insurance might sound a little extreme to some; you may be dismissive about the idea of buying disability insurance coverage. At one point in time, I would’ve thought the same thing. I have to admit that I didn’t know much about disability insurance as a student, resident, or even for a long time as a practicing radiologist. Luckily, my naivety…
Protecting Patient Information in Medical Presentations
The following is an abbreviated overview of the information disseminated by the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), the American College of Radiology (ACR) and the Society for Imaging Informatics in Medicine (SIIM) in August 2020 about protecting patient information in medical presentations. Search engines can extract patient identifiers in PowerPoint™ slide presentations that were…
Risky Business: Your No-BS Guide to Malpractice and Life Insurance
Don’t bother to read this post if you are omnipotent and infallible (but then, of course, you’ll already know that). For the mere mortal, however, we can all benefit from a better understanding of strategic risk management—and by taking steps that can help stack the odds in our favor for our best future. While we have only one past, we face all kinds of possible futures—and nobody knows which…
Asset Class II: Hot Tips on Developing a Sound Portfolio
I like diverse assets and I cannot lie. My last post (part 1 of this 2 part series on asset allocation) focused on investment philosophy and four things to consider before developing an investment portfolio. In case you missed it, here’s a quick refresher: asset allocation refers to the process of dividing investments among different kinds of asset classes to minimize risk and maximize return. In…
STOP and Ask Yourself These 4 Questions…Before You Invest
The savvy investor will invest sufficient time and consideration before making any major financial decisions—and part of this consideration should entail a dose of soul-searching and self-reflection with unflinching-bare-all-honesty. If you haven’t read my previous post on investment options you might want to start there. It’ll be helpful if you’re not already familiar with stocks, bonds, cash…
Interpreting Your Financial Brain: Behavioral Finance for Radiologists
This is a scan of your financial brain. As you interpret the images, you may not initially spot any abnormal findings, but a closer read will reveal the influence of subconscious biases. In this post, I’ll be diagnosing patterns of thought and behavior that too commonly lead to unsound financial decisions and investing mistakes. Don’t let your psyche sabotage your efforts and hard-earned…
Financial Advisors: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
(😇👺😱) Okay, let’s face it: the idea of managing your own finances can seem like a daunting, time-consuming endeavor; one that requires a specialized skill set, secret knowledge and/or a crystal ball. That’s why many physicians seek out the help of a financial advisor. You may have questions: Do you really need one? What exactly do they do anyway? How can you be sure you’re getting good…