As a young doctor or dentist just starting your career and family, how do you approach balancing loans, building up retirement savings, and setting aside funds for your kids’ college savings?

Short answer: Yes!

The longer answer speaks to how Life-Centered Financial Planning can help medical professionals navigate some unique short-term challenges while setting themselves up for long-term success.

Early Debt and Delayed Earnings – A Real Balancing Act

According to the American Medical Association, the average doctor leaves school with over $200,000 in student loan debt. For dentists, that figure is over $300,000. And while general dentists might be able to start earning in the high six figures, doctors and dental specialists often have to complete residencies that pay much more modestly.

Once a doctor or dentist does start to reach their full earning potential, it can be tempting to treat those first few paychecks as jackpots. The social and professional pressures that come with being an MD, DMD, or DDS can also push young practitioners to spend too much too soon. Keeping up with the Joneses might create a new category of debt while those student loan interest charges continue to compound.

Balancing loans at this stage is critical. Many professionals who navigate this period successfully adopt a mindful approach to budgeting, one that considers debt repayment, investment, and lifestyle goals all at once. Beyond budgeting, incorporating strategic tax solutions can unlock even more opportunities, as we explain on tax planning strategies.

You might find helpful insights in this article on how advisors collaborate with professionals to manage debt and build long-term financial strategies.

Many doctors and dentists who did manage early debt successfully will advise younger colleagues to "live like a resident" for as long as possible. You deserve to enjoy the wealth you've been working towards with all those extra years of schooling. But if you're not sticking to a budget that includes paying down loans and credit cards, you'll be spinning your financial wheels a lot longer than necessary.

If you're wondering how to create a sustainable strategy during this season, try using a savings goal calculator to visualize how early contributions—even while managing loans—can pay off over time.

College Savings: Helping Your Kids Avoid the Same Burden

Depending on the terms of their repayment plans and how aggressively they can afford to attack their debt, it could take decades for a doctor or dentist to repay their medical school loans. Once they have children of their own, these parents might want to plan ahead and spare their own children the same hassle. Four years of state college will, on average, cost parents more than $100,000. Some private universities charge nearly that much for just a single year.

529 plans are one popular college savings account for investing in a child's education. Earnings grow tax-free, and you can use withdrawals to cover a wide variety of qualified expenses, including tuition, books, and room and board. You can also use 529 funds to pay for qualified elementary and high school expenses. Unused funds can be used to pay down student loans, reassigned to a new beneficiary, or rolled over into a Roth IRA.

Learn from our article on how to incorporate children’s future needs into your plan, where we discuss mini-retirement strategies and life transitions.

College savings doesn’t have to compete with your own financial goals—when aligned with a Life-Centered Financial Plan, it becomes part of a broader vision.

Investing in Your Future Self: Retirement Saving Priorities

Covering the high cost of college might feel more pressing, but retirement saving is just as urgent. The earlier you start maxing out contributions to your retirement accounts and making consistent contributions to investment accounts, the longer that money will have to compound and grow.

Moreover, the cost of your retirement needs will almost certainly exceed the costs of your children’s education.

As a simple back-of-the-napkin experiment, take a look at your current monthly budget. Deduct a few expenses you won’t have in retirement, such as paying for tuition and the cost of your daily commute. Now, multiply that budget out over a couple of decades, and compare that sum to what you currently have saved and invested.

To see how we help individuals define their ideal retirement lifestyle and “number,” check out this helpful guide.

Just like retirement planning, personal growth isn’t achieved overnight — it starts with small, consistent steps, a theme we explore further on building a better you, one step at a time.

Keep in mind, that rough budget probably won’t cover things like bucket list travel, relocating, replacing vehicles, or paying for Medicare premiums and other health care expenses. That’s where intentional travel planning comes in—like we explored in Blog #11, vacations tied to your values and goals deserve just as much thoughtful budgeting and preparation.

You can use a reliable retirement savings calculator to assess whether your current retirement saving plan aligns with your goals.

When Retiring Feels Like a Moving Target

And what if you decide you want to retire early? Or start your own practice?

A Life-Centered Financial Plan can help you find the right balance between providing for your present and preparing for your future.

In our blog What True Wealth Looks Like, we build on this idea by showing how a purpose-driven retirement—aligned with your values—adds depth to the financial plan you’ve worked so hard to build.

Check out how financial clarity plays a key role in identifying meaningful goals and transitions like early retirement.

Make an appointment to work through our interactive $Lifeline tool and let’s start planning for the life and career that you want.

Also, don’t overlook essential safeguards such as life insurance and estate planning—explored further on the often-overlooked pieces of a strong financial foundation.

Final Thoughts

Balancing loans, college savings, and retirement saving may feel like a juggling act, especially for high-earning professionals still recovering from years of educational debt. But with the right guidance and a clear Life-Centered strategy, you can align your financial plan with your values, your goals, and your future self.

Once debt is under control, it’s time to think long term—check out our insights on retirement financial advice to plan the years ahead with confidence.

And, even as you focus on balancing loans, college savings, and retirement saving, it’s just as important to build an investment planning strategy that aligns with your long-term goals and adapts to life’s transitions.

To learn how to start building your roadmap, visit LI Wealth Management Inc. or schedule a call with our financial advisor today.