b'FOR YOUR PRACTICE9 common money mistakes new practitioners makeAvoid these missteps to pursuebuilding yourself a strongerfinancial foundationContributed by Are you a new dental practitioner? Whether youve just finished dental school or are Jeffrey E. Wherry,just graduating from a specialty residency program, here are some common pitfalls CFP, CLU, ChFC youll want to avoid when it comes to managing your finances.Director of Research & PlanningMistake #1: Not having a cash cushion for emergencies. We cant stress this enough Treloar & Heisel Wealth Management (and we never tire of saying it, because most people come out of the gate without www.treloaronline.com any cash reserves). Everyone should have, at a bare minimum, three months of their spending (not income, but actual spending) in a money market or savings account. We say three months because in the unfortunate event that youre disabled, in the best-case scenario, provided you have purchased adequate insurance, it would likely take 90 days before you receive any replacement income from your disability income insurer. Over time you want to systematically save to create a six to nine-month cash reserve.Mistake #2: Thinking your emergency reserve fund is investable. You do not want You may not haveto invest this money in the stock market or some other vehicle that is illiquid and at risk. The money needs to be readily accessible, available to you at a moments notice much in assetswithout any penalty. Put your cash reserves into a money market or savings account at your bank. If you want a slightly higher interest rate you may want to shop for an to begin with, butFDIC-insured bank online.Mistake #3: Not educating yourself on the right way to repay student loans. Every the foundation yousituation is different. Federal student loans offer income-driven repayment plans with low initial payments that can be advantageous. You can temporarily use an income-establish needs todriven plan to build an emergency fund, a home down payment fund, or pay off higher interest credit card debt. Income-driven plans do offer the potential for forgiveness of remaining balance after 20 to 25 years. However, the amount forgiven is taxed be strong. which could create a significant cash flow strain. Furthermore, payments increase with income and many practitioners may find that higher payments will be enough to pay off the loan. Because private student loan refinancing lenders often offer much AAP Periospectives| 26'