Financial wellness

John Scott talks to Jules Willcocks about financial wellness for doctors. Good financial health includes having a plan in place for investments and passive income to support your passions outside of work. John and Jules also discuss the importance of income protection, life insurance and cover different investment categories you may want to consider.

Summary Writer:  Peter Hoppett

Script Writers:  Jules Willcocks and John Scott

Editor:  Jules Willcocks

Interviewer:  John Scott

Interviewee:  Jules Willcocks

About Dr Jules Willcocks

Jules Willcocks is an ED consultant and the Director of Prevocational Education and Training at Gosford Hospital.

His interest is in bringing out the best in people principally through mentoring and coaching. He firmly believes that wellbeing is a crucial part of this and that you cannot look after someone to the best of your abilities if you yourself are not well.

He trained as an executive coach and has a particular interest in financial wellness for doctors.

He is married with 2 boys, which is why he’s not living a degenerate life in Las Vegas and loves playing poker and fine single malt Islay whisky.

About Dr John Scott

John Scott is an emergency physician working on the central coast of NSW.

A naturally optimistic, outgoing and energetic person he was quite shocked to find himself burnt out and depressed at the end of his advanced training in emergency medicine. To overcome this unpleasant condition much research and soul searching has lead to John’s passion for mindfulness meditation, the field of positive psychology, the many benefits of regular exercise (Crossfit and surfing) and other practices that lead to personal and institutional resilience, personal growth and movement towards our peak performance.

John runs a wellbeing program at Gosford Hospital Emergency Department and is currently undertaking a diploma in positive psychology and wellbeing.

Financial Wellness

With Dr Jules Willcocks, Emergency Physician and Director of Prevocational Training at Gosford Hospital, New South Wales, Australia.

Introduction

Financial wellness is a concept that allows an individual to live their life without the constraint of money. It requires introspection, goal-setting and clear planning from small-scale day-to-day finances, to longer-term investing. It is linked with income protection insurance, which provides a guarantee of cash-flow in the event of illness or injury and allows for the exploration of passions, whether they be medical or non-medical.

  • Financial wellness can have a variable definition for different people, but in general allows for individuals to structure their lives per their goals.
  • It does not necessarily mean being wealthy – but having enough money such that it is not a limiting factor in exploring passions.
  • Involves structuring different investments to supplement wages with passive income.
  • Before investing:
    • Before thinking about the long-term there is a need to manage finances on a short-term basis to place yourself into a position to invest which includes accruing savings and minimising debt.
    • The Barefoot Investor is a good starting point as it provides a solid foundation for general financial principles around small-scale savings and progressing to investments.
  • Planning:
    • Goal setting – clarifying wants versus needs, going part-time, age of retirement, having children.
    • Set a financial freedom number – the amount of money needed per year to achieve goals for that time, this should be the aim for passive income.
    • Structure an investment plan to accomplish the goals.
  • Investments:
    • These include shares, property, managed funds, exchange traded funds, superannuation, bonds and annuities, with each having risks and benefits.
    • Property – commonly thought of as ‘safe’ due to the tangibility of the asset requires favourable interest rates, taxation advice and appropriate tenets.
    • Start thinking about investments early as by the time training is finished there is a significant amount of time that could have contributed to asset growth.
  • Income protection insurance should activate when there is an inability due to injury or illness to work specifically as a doctor.
  • Relieves the financial pressure from not earning and allows the individual to focus solely on treatment or rehabilitation.
  • The adage ‘you are your best asset,’ rings true as doctors are set to earn approximately $15 million dollars over a lifetime.
  • Notably easier to acquire when younger as there are less likely to be exclusion criteria.
  • Life insurance is also something to be aware of and should be revisited each year, especially if there are dependents involved.
  • Doctors are overrepresented in scams and are targets for fund managers as they are ‘time poor,’ however, most managed funds do not beat the market consistently.
  • Most traders tend to lose money; trading should not be entered on a whim as it requires extensive education, research, and strict plans for individual trades.
  • Aim to set clear goals including a financial freedom number, investment objectives and retirement plans.
  • Income protection insurance should be purchased early before exclusion criteria are present.
  • Start investing early, passive income can be accrued through compound interest while training.
  • Do not commit to trading without first educating yourself.
  • No quick ways to financial freedom.
  • Anderson P. The Secret Life of Real Estate and Banking, 1st edition. Shepheard-Walwyn Publishers Ltd
  • Pape S. The Barefoot Investor – Updated 2019 Edition, 1st edition. John Wiley & Sons Australia
  • Calnan and Flack. Calnan and Flack Blog, 2020. Accessed at https://calnanflack.com/blog/
  • Barefoot investor accessed at  https://www.barefootinvestor.com/

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Tags: #annuities,#asset growth,#bonds,#debt,#ETFs,#finances,#financial freedom,#financial health,#financial wellness,#goal setting,#income protection,#investing,#investments,#life insurance,#managed funds,#passive income,#property,#savings,#super,#superannuation,#The Barefoot Investor

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