Dr. Wise Money (DWM)

white coat_body length_ DWM 512 standard

DWM, previously known as Debt Free Doctor (DFD), is a 1st year resident (PGY2) in the Department of Medical Imaging at University of Arizona. DWM firmly believes that financial freedom makes better and happier doctors.

As DWM achieves her financial goals of purchasing a home (MS4), paying off her student loans (PGY1), refinancing her home (PGY1), maxing out retirement savings (PGY2), & now closing on her second home, and on track to becoming retirement-eligible in 7 years (3 years after fellowship completion), she writes about & gives talks on personal finance for doctors, assisting her colleagues to achieve financial success.
You can join the collaborative information sharing and discussion on personal finance here; please share your questions and insights in the comment section or on the DWM forum.

Someone I highly esteemed wrote,
“I wanted to take my time reading your article, and I confess I had a hard time trying to grasp all that deep knowledge, at times s so out of reach for my financially challenged mind.
 
But I am a good observer, and I do clearly see a bright girl that is thriving exponentially just before my eyes. You are applying the universal rule of real success: sharing. Bettering yourself while doing same to others, having fun , staying focused and levelheaded.
 
You are an example to others in many many ways. Congrats Ms Wise!”

“The young doctor should look about early for an avocation, a pastime,

that will take him away from patients, pills, and potions …

No one is really happy or safe without one.”

–Sir William Osler


Dr. Wise Money Crew Member #1:

Mini Wise Money

Fashion Ella
2 year old Mini Wise Money loves style & fashion since toddler hood.

MWM is now a 3rd grader who loves horse-riding, photography, painting, swimming, singing, dressing fashionably, & collecting ear-rings. MWM has learned the importance of compound interest & investing in her future at the tender age of 8, so she has been depositing her gift money from her generous grandparents and other family members in her Mommy’s Bank, where she earns 10% annual interest. Frequently, we joke that MWM has the highest net worth among her nuclear family, especially when her mom DWM was still paying off her student loans back in 2015.

*You can check out MWM’s artwork including photography, paintings, & sculptures in the Mini Wise Money’s Art Gallery, located on your right side bar.


 

Dr. Wise Money Crew Member #2:

Wise Money Shopper

WMS

DWM’s younger sister, aka the Wise Money Shopper, is quite the deal hunter. All major purchases in the family such as plane tickets and high end gifts are deferred to Wise Money Shopper. As Mini Wise Money fullheartedly adores her auntie’s class & style, DWM marvels at the great deals her sister finds. Wise Money Shopper joined the Wise Money Blog Crew in April 2016. WMS will be sharing tips on living with class & style without breaking the bank.


Dr. Wise Money Crew Member #3:

Wise Money Gourmet

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Mom is a cookbook author and gourmet chef. She specializes in the mindful use of healthy ingredients as preventative medicine. She has written over 20 cookbooks in Mandarin Chinese. Since publishing her first cookbook in the mid-90s, she has toured Taiwan many times giving lectures, and there worked extensively in radio and TV. Relocating to the US in 2006, she continually helmed community center cooking classes all throughout southern California. In 2014, she expanded her horizon to mainland China, and there she remains working with local farmers on optimizing the utilization of produce beyond their peak seasons (through fermentation, as well as other forms of preservation).

Every time she visits Tucson, our 4 stoves + 1 slow cooker are on 24-7; our house is filled with the aroma of herbs and spices. You will see new posts from her (in Chinese and English, translated by my sister WMS) soon.

I’ve been trying to convince Mom to start cooking lessons in Tucson, but she prefers to develop her following and business in China for the time being.

Find some of WMG’s recipes here. Click upper right corner for translation to English.


 

Dr. Wise Money Crew Member #4:

Wise Money Environmentalist

Dad @ Strangeloves

Dad is a civil engineer and retired county topological surveyor turned green energy activist. He has been on the down low since a bout of severe depression. We are all rooting for him to return to the enthusiastic and vivacious person he used to be, and doing our best to be supportive in the meantime.

Years ago, dad began a series of blogs on going green, which were sadly abandoned when his depression hit. His focus was on limiting needless consumption and reducing material waste. WMS plans to develop a series with him on being a conscientious consumer and shopping “green”. Together they will navigate the realms of making purchases that are responsible to the wallet and the environment. We can’t wait for dad to come out of his shell more, and show you all what a truly delightful person he is!


 

Legal Disclaimer: The articles and information provided on this website (https://www.drwisemoney.com/) are for informational purposes only and are not intended as a substitute for professional advice. Please consult a (fairly priced) professional accountant, financial adviser or lawyer, before making financial decisions.

 

4 thoughts on “DWM & Crew

  • August 5, 2015 at 8:25 PM
    Permalink

    Hey DFD! Came here after reading your post on WCI. I’m a medical student just finishing up my first year and expect to have >300K in student loans when finishing. I’m also a credit card junkie in that I enjoy using the rewards points for cheap travel, and thus have increased by credit score dramatically. My question to you is two-fold:
    1- how did you manage to increase your credit line to match your annual student income at your med school? I have about a dozen cards, and my credit across all summed is not even half my yearly med school tuition
    2- with tens of thousands of dollars of debt (at 0% interest for the promotion), I love the idea, but doesn’t it mean that your debt:credit ratio will be exceedingly high? AKA since this is a huge component of your FICO score, aren’t you destroying your credit score?

    Reply
    • August 8, 2015 at 5:43 AM
      Permalink

      1. My credit limits on various credit cards increase by
      a. consistently charging 15k of tuition every 4 months and paying it off completely before the 0% promotional rate ends (by a combination of work study, student loans, and balance transfers to other credit cards). Banks sometimes voluntarily, without my asking, increase my credit limits.
      b. I call banks sometimes, after a credit card is open for 6 months to request a credit limit increase.
      c. I continue to open new credit cards, especially ones with features useful to me (cash back, free plane tickets, lowest balance transfer fee, etc). I end up with multiple credit cards from the same company, which allows me to transfer credit limit to the newest card with the longest 0% APR. Instead of having multiple BOA credit cards at 5k, I transfer credit limit to the newest BOA credit card, allowing one card to have 30k-40k credit limit.

      2. Isn’t 10’s of 1000’s of revolving credit card debt destroy your FICO score?
      a. I do allow my FICO score to fluctuate, to my advantage. These 2 articles explain how I do it.
      Timing Credit Trough’s
      If you don’t stretch your credit, it ain’t gonna grow.
      b. as you get more cards with high credit limits, the dominator of your debt to credit ratio increases, allowing you to carry larger 0% debt instead of servicing student loans at 7%. Ultimately, the 0% interest rate helps accelerate paying off your overall debt as you are able to put more money towards principle. This brings me to an update, my FICO score is now back at 760 since its most recent dip into 717.

      Fantastic questions! Keep them coming.
      Please also share anything awesome you know/learn with DFD readers.

      Reply
  • March 23, 2015 at 3:12 AM
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    Hi DFD, my name is Bo Liu and I had contacted Jim at Whitecoatinvestor.com regarding my new personal finance blog whitecoatmoney.com that I started back in January. And he mentioned I was the the second radiology resident who has started a financial website for doctors this week! So I’m reaching out to you to collaborate, share experiences etc etc.

    Let me know if you’d be interested in helping each other get started! My goal is the same as yours – to make our colleagues a little more informed and a lot less taken advantage of.

    Thanks!

    Bo

    Reply
    • March 23, 2015 at 4:20 AM
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      That is super awesome!!! would you like to provide me with a guest post so I can link your website to it?
      I’m so so excited that someone else is out there trying to help our colleagues from getting taken advantaged of.
      I’m excited to collaborate in anyway that you propose 🙂
      Did WCI get a guest post from you? what was your article on?

      Reply

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