We have a number of cases where renowned doctors who were know as the best but died in shocking poverty or whose families have suffered severely after they died. Why? Simple lack of planning and financial awareness.
A specialist physician in Zimbabwe can charge a consultation fee of up to US$100 for a 15-20 minute consultation. Assuming this doctor sees 20 patients a day that translates to US$2,000 a day and US$10,000 a week (this excludes hospital visits).
Here's catch, the average Zimbabwean and probably third world doctor grew up in poverty or experienced financial difficulty for most of his/her life so the main priority is to rectify this misfortune of life. Surely the desire to live a comfortable life is one we all share, but that is no excuse for not preparing for the future, is it?
What are your options as a doctor? For the given example of a specialist physician specialising in adult health, there are the following options:
1. Real estate
Probably, the safest investment one can go with if you are looking to generate a steady income in the form of rentals mainly. You can also invest in real estate for capital appreciation purposes i.e. purchasing for re-sale when the value has increased over time. Reals estate doesn't require too much attention therefore its a fairly low cost investment in terms of time and money.
2. Open a hospital/clinic
This type of investment requires a lot of planning, research and consultation but it is not impossible. You will require financing for this venture and more often than not, your savings will not be enough! You will have to borrow! Do not borrow blindly, these financial institutions will take you for everything you have if you are not careful. If you are scared of borrowing then present your business plan to a medical health financial institution such a medical aid society and ask them to be a business partner and offer then a share for financing the project but make sure you do not give them too much power. Include in your offer an option for you to increase your share holding after a certain period of time until maybe you have the controlling share.
3. Invest on the stock market
The majority of you do not have a clue how this investment vehicle works and will probably shun it because of what you've heard about entity's like Enron. I am not a professional on this but my advice is find an actuary or a C.F.A. or a stock broker these guys know a lot about the markets and make sure you find one who's experienced and trustworthy.
(to be continued...)
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