Investments

As a locum tenens nurse practitioner, you should be making more income than your peers working as a permanent employee. Take advantage of this time so save up for your future. Whether it’s for retirement, starting your own practice, or preparing for your new family.

Each year I am surprised to hear how many of my peers both nurse practitioners and physicians that do not take advantage of company provided retirement benefits. Here are some basic recommendations to get you started in the world of investing:

• 401k- If you work with a W2 agency (such as Comp Health) even for a few months, take advantage of that time and set up a 401k with them. They will even match 50 cents to the dollar up to 6% of your income with them. Even if you take a break from them and work with another agency, that money will still be in your account (and growing) until you are able to work with them again and continue contributing to the account. How much should you contribute? The recommendation for most is to contribute 10-15% of your income pre-tax. Your income might as well go to future you instead of uncle sam. If you can’t contribute that much, try to at least put in 6% of your income to maximize the match from your employer.

• IRA – If you work with a 1099 agency, I recommend opening up a self-employed IRA. You can contribute up to 20% of your income or maximum of $55,000 each year. You can contribute monthly or at the end of the year, whatever makes your life easier. A SEP-IRA is similar to a traditional IRA, whereas you won’t be taxed until you withdraw.

• Stocks – If you have maxed at your 401k and IRA, you can look into investing in stocks. Try vanguard or fidelity to open a brokerage account.

• Real estate – Can be personal or commercial real estate. May be tricky if you are traveling and not home to keep an eye on the place. In that case you can hire a property management company to manage your property for you.  I personally like owning multiple properties because when I choose to retire, these places should be paid off and will be a nice source of income.

There is no better time to start investing than today 🙂