Dentaltown New Grad 2014 - (Page 4)

Find us on Facebook howard speaks www.facebook.com/dentaltown column Keep Living Like a Dental Student There is not a billionaire on Earth that doesn't use debt to beneﬁt business. Even if you started saving money the day you were born and never spent a penny, you'd die before you'd ever see your bank account reach a billion dollars. Billionaires borrow other people's money, whether through stock or bond offerings or a bank. They buy or build something and then they pay back the loan. You could have worked a minimum wage job for 40 years, saved money and paid for dental school in cash. But instead most of you took out student loans. You may not be a billionaire, but you used other people's money to build your career. This is smart debt. The privilege to borrow It's a privilege to be able to borrow money. Thirdworld countries don't have this option. Debt is leverage, but it's treated as an emotional decision. I graduated from dental school in 1987 with $87,000 in student loans. That's in the $220,000 range today. I paid it back after graduation while working as a dentist because the lowest-paid dentists make $50 an hour. That's 10 times what I would have made working and saving money at that minimum wage job. If I hear one more dental school graduate whine about his $300,000 in student loans, I'm going to slap him! Those loans took him from earning $5 an hour to $50+ an hour! Elevated standard of living The fact is your personal consumption likely makes your student loan payment look minimal. Dentists often live an elevated standard of living after they graduate and it catches up to them in the long run. You might buy a big house. What's a monthly payment on a BMW these days? You go out to eat more than you cook at home. On average, people eat out 19 of 30 meals. And you might drop several thousand dollars on a vacation. All these things add up. They add up to a lot more than your monthly student loan payment. Dentists often live an elevated standard of living after they graduate and it catches up to them in the long run." Keep living like a dental student for a few years. Ten years if you can handle it. You don't need a mansion or a BMW. You can go on a vacation that doesn't cost $10,000. If you can live affordably while you pay off your student loans, you'll set yourself up for life. Not your only debt Your student loans are just the ﬁrst of many debts you'll have. You'll have the home loan eventually, if you don't already. And you'll have future investments for your practice, like buying a building or a CAD/ CAM machine or a CBCT unit. Work with a dental CPA to see if a big purchase like this is a good move. Debt will always make your balance sheet look ugly. But the statement of cash ﬂow is what actually matters. It's what makes leverage out of debt, and debt is what separates the billionaires. ■ How will you continue to live like a student? Visit Dentaltown.com/magazine.aspx. by Howard Farran, DDS, MBA, Publisher, Dentaltown Magazine 4 NEW GRADS » dentaltown.com http://www.facebook.com/dentaltown http://www.Dentaltown.com/magazine.aspx http://www.dentaltown.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Dentaltown New Grad 2014

HOWARD SPEAKS: Keep Living Like a Dental Student
PROFESSIONAL COURTESY: They Call It a Practice for a Reason
CONTINUING EDUCATION: Dentaltown CE — Never Stop Learning
DENTALTOWN.COM HIGHLIGHTS
Bombed Out Max Thirds
The Art of Hand Filing
Predictable Full-arch Treatment
PRODUCT PROFILE: Shatkin F.I.R.S.T.
DENTALTOWN FEATURES
I’m Out, I’m Ready, I Owe How Much?
The Fastest Way to Eliminate School Debt
The Student Loan Tipping Point
Land Your Dream Job
Left or Right Foot: Starting in Real World Dentistry
PULP NONFICTION
How Not to Waste Your First Year Out of School
Here’s What You Need to Know
The Science of Location is the Key to Practice Success
AD INDEX
Dentistry and the Dating Game
OFFICE VISIT: Atlanta’s Reason to Smile
10 Must-Haves for a Powerful Practice Brand
10 Actions for Increasing Treatment Acceptance
DENTALLY INCORRECT

Dentaltown New Grad 2014