You’ve spent years – sometimes more than a decade – training for your career, often racking up significant student debt along the way. Meanwhile, you’ve been living on a resident’s salary, working long hours, and putting your financial goals on hold.
It’s easy to feel behind. You might look around and see friends from college who’ve already bought homes, paid off debt, or built up solid retirement savings—while you’ve been in the trenches of training. That comparison can lead to serious FOMO and a rush to “catch up” as soon as that attending paycheck starts rolling in.
But here’s the truth: one of the biggest financial mistakes physicians make isn’t about missing the perfect investment or not choosing the right student loan strategy strategy. It’s jumping into financial decisions without a clear plan—trying to fix years of delayed progress all at once, without first taking a step back to think about what truly matters.
The good news? With some intentional planning, you can avoid those common missteps and build a financial life that actually supports the life you want—not just the one you think you’re supposed to be living.
Mistake #1: Believing More Money Will Automatically Make Life Better
Many physicians fall into the trap of thinking more money will solve their problems. There’s a common belief that once you're earning an attending salary, things will just feel better—less stress, more freedom, fewer worries.
But in reality, money tends to amplify who you already are. If you’re stressed, overwhelmed, or unclear on your priorities before the big paycheck arrives, a larger income will often magnify that discontent. It might even lead to lifestyle creep, more obligations, and added pressure.
Money is a tool—not a solution. If it's not used intentionally, it won’t make your life better. It may just make it more complicated.
Some of the most emotional (and expensive) financial decisions – like buying a home, upgrading a car, or choosing a school for your children – are often made without real clarity on what actually matters most to you.
Take buying a house, for example. The question physicians often ask is, “How much house can I afford?” But the better question is: “What kind of home supports the life I want to live?”
If your top values are flexibility, travel, or financial independence, maxing out your mortgage could work against those goals. If relationships and community are high on your list, living in a neighborhood that fosters connection might be more valuable than square footage or granite countertops.
Without a clear understanding of your values, it’s easy to let emotions or outside influences guide you into financial decisions that don’t actually support the life you want.
Without intentionally defining what matters to you, you’re likely to get swept up in what everyone else is doing. This could mean saying yes to a luxury car lease, private school tuition, or a vacation home—not because you truly value those things, but because they’ve become normalized in your professional or social circles.
The danger? These decisions often create a disconnect between what you say matters (like family, freedom, or giving back) and what your financial behavior actually reflects. Over time, that misalignment creates internal friction—stress, regret, or even burnout.
If you’ve never taken time to clarify your values, start there. Make a list of what truly matters to you—things like faith, family, growth, freedom, generosity, health, or exploration. Narrow it down to your top three to five values, and define what each one looks like in everyday life.
Then use that list as your financial filter.
Thinking about upgrading your home? Ask whether the extra cost truly supports your top values—or detracts from them. Considering a major career move, investment, or lifestyle change? Run it through the same lens. Is this decision aligned with the life you want?
Physicians are used to making high-stakes decisions with precision and care in their work—but when it comes to personal finance, many operate on autopilot. The result is often unnecessary stress and missed opportunities to build a truly meaningful life. By identifying your values and using them to guide your financial decisions, you move from reactive to intentional. You shift from chasing more to pursuing better—and that’s what financial success should really be about!
Additional Resources:
3 Exercises to Help You Clarify Your Values
Wrenne Financial Planning is a registered investment adviser. The content of this blog post is intended for informational purposes only and is not intended to be investment advice. The views expressed in blog post are subject to change based on market and other conditions. Some information has been obtained/provided from third party sources and is believed to be reliable, but its accuracy is not guaranteed. There is no representation or warranty as to the current accuracy, reliability or completeness of, nor liability for, decisions based on such information, and it should not be relied on as such