Money Meets Medicine
The Physician Philosopher
On Money Meets Medicine, Dr. Jimmy Turner discusses all things career and finance for physicians. With expert guest discussions, Jimmy tackles the personal finance topics you wish you had learned in medical school. The MMM podcast will help you tackle your student loans, achieve financial independence, invest for retirement, and decrease your financial stress and burnout. To get help with free educational content or obtaining own-occupation disability insurance from a source you know you can…
Recent Episodes
Physician Tax Strategy: W2 vs 1099 vs K1
Jul 8, 2026Spencer Carroll, a CPA and leading account executive at Gelt, discusses advanced tax strategy for physicians across different income structures. The episode covers why W2 income offers limited tax optimization opportunities, how 1099 and K1 business ownership unlock significant tax benefits, S Corp strategy and reasonable salary determination, and the role of AI-powered tools in modern tax planning. Carroll emphasizes that effective tax strategy requires complexity—ideally through business ownership—and warns against pursuing tax strategies solely for their deductions without sound underlying investments.
Why FIRE Isn't the Goal (FIWO)
Jul 1, 2026Dr. Jimmy Turner and Justin Harvey discuss Financial Independence Work Optional (FiWo) versus the popular FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early) movement among physicians. Turner argues that FIRE often leads to arrival fallacy and existential crisis, sharing his personal experience of burnout, going part-time, and struggling with loss of purpose. The episode emphasizes that financial freedom is a tool, not an end goal, and that physicians should focus on understanding root causes of dissatisfaction before making drastic career changes.
Saving Less Saved My Career (Coast FIRE)
Jun 24, 2026Jimmy Turner, an academic anesthesiologist at Wake Forest, discusses how reducing his clinical workload from 1.3 FTE to part-time practice saved his career and mental health. The episode explores the concept of Coast FIRE—leveraging high savings rates in the first 2-3 years post-training to achieve financial independence by the mid-40s while working reduced schedules. Turner shares his personal burnout experience, the importance of time autonomy, and how a 30% wealth accumulation rate early in a physician's career can provide long-term flexibility without extreme sacrifice.
Why Many Doctors Live Paycheck to Paycheck
Jun 17, 2026Justin Harvey, a certified financial planner specializing in physician wealth management, joins Dr. Jimmy Turner to discuss why high-earning physicians often live paycheck to paycheck despite earning $250k–$400k+ annually. The episode explores psychological money phenomena like lifestyle inflation (the Diderot Effect), leverage risk, and analysis paralysis that trap doctors in financial stress. Harvey and Turner emphasize the importance of intentional spending, creating a financial plan early in attending years, and maintaining optionality for career flexibility a decade forward.
Is Loan Forgiveness Worth a $300K Tax Bill?
Jun 10, 2026Dr. Jimmy Turner and Justin Harvey discuss a complex student loan scenario involving a high-income married couple—an anesthesiologist earning $600K and a dentist earning $225K with $400K in federal loans at 7% interest. The couple is considering taxable forgiveness through income-driven repayment plans while filing taxes separately to minimize monthly payments, but faces a potential $300K tax bill in 20 years. The hosts explore the tradeoffs between taxable forgiveness, refinancing, PSLF eligibility, and the psychological/financial implications of each strategy, emphasizing the importance of professional consultation and the complexity of student loan planning.
New Student Loan Rules: The $100K Mistake
Jun 3, 2026Dr. Jim Turner, host of Money Meets Medicine, delivers a comprehensive solo episode on the May 2026 Department of Education final ruling implementing the Working Family's Tax Cuts Act (formerly the One Big Beautiful Bill Act). The episode details major changes to federal student loan repayment plans—specifically the elimination of PAYE, REPAYE, and ICR in favor of the Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) and Income-Based Repayment (IBR)—and the critical implications for residents and fellows. Turner walks through the "RAP to IBR playbook," explaining how physicians can strategically use RAP during training (with its valuable interest subsidy preventing loan balance growth) and then transition to IBR post-training, with particular emphasis on the July 1, 2026 eligibility cutoff and the permanent consequences of consolidating loans after that date.
Should You Rent or Sell Your House When You Move?
May 27, 2026Justin Harvey and Dr. Jimmy Turner discuss whether physicians should rent or sell their home when relocating for training or career moves. Using a listener's question about a couple moving from Georgia to New York for fellowship, they explore the financial math of rental properties, the psychological appeal of real estate as a wealth-building tool, the critical Section 121 capital gains exclusion rules, and the often-overlooked realities of becoming a landlord—including maintenance costs, property management fees, and tax implications.
40% of Doctors Have a Side Gig. Most Set It Up Wrong.
May 20, 2026Dr. Jimmy Turner, an academic anesthesiologist turned 1099 contractor and entrepreneur, discusses the financial and tax complexities of physician side gigs alongside co-host Justin Harvey. Drawing on recent Medscape data showing 40% of physicians have non-clinical income, the hosts analyze a listener question from an orthopedic surgeon running a SaaS business for prior authorization automation, covering tax strategy (S Corp, QBI, LLC setup), intellectual property concerns in academic contracts, business accounting separation, and the ROI of professional CPA guidance. The episode emphasizes that while side gigs can accelerate financial independence and create schedule flexibility, they require entrepreneurial mindset, proper entity structure, and expert support to justify their complexity.
New Attending Financial Checklist: Money Mistakes to Avoid
May 13, 2026Dr. Jimmy Turner and Justin Harvey discuss critical financial decisions new attending physicians face in their first 6-12 months after residency, including lifestyle inflation, taxable investment accounts, student loan planning, and retirement account strategy. The episode covers specific mistakes to avoid—such as carrying credit card balances, neglecting disability insurance increases, and misunderstanding backdoor Roth contributions—while emphasizing the importance of establishing a savings-first philosophy aligned with individual financial independence goals.
When Can I Get Rid of My Disability Insurance?
May 6, 2026Justin Harvey and Dr. Jimmy Turner discuss the complete insurance portfolio physicians should maintain and when—if ever—to discontinue coverage. The episode covers disability insurance, life insurance, malpractice/tail coverage, umbrella insurance, and health insurance with HSA considerations, then addresses the common misconception that financial independence means dropping disability or term life insurance. Key themes include the order of operations for obtaining insurance (disability first, then life), the importance of guaranteed standard issue policies during residency, and why maintaining insurance as leverage remains valuable even after achieving substantial net worth.
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