Issue link: http://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/822549
BY STEVE BARRETT STUDENT LOAN MINEFIELD STEPPING GINGERLY THROUGH THE MEDI A N MEDICA L SCHOOL student loan debt for 2015 graduates was about $183,000, according to the American Association of Medica l Colleges, and many owe tens of thousands more from their undergraduate days. Daniel Wrenne, CLU, ChFC, CFP, of Lexing ton, Kentucky-based Wrenne Financial Planning, notes on the com- pany's website some key errors newly minted physicians often make, costing hundreds of thousands of dollars in some cases. Here are just a few of those missteps: Loan forbearance. While tempting when money is tight early in one's career, forbearance "sets ož a number of negative triggers with opaque costs [and is] a ter- rible idea for anyone with the means to make payments," Wrenne writes. Barring genuine fi nancial hardship, he adds, this is an option to avoid. Excessive interest . P h y s i c i a n s who a re not se ek i n g publ ic ser v ic e loa n forg iveness shou ld t h i n k about ref i na nci n g i f t hey a re pay i n g a rate higher t ha n 5 percent . Fa i ling to do so ca n leave tens of t housa nds of dol la rs on t he table. Inattention to loan servicer errors. As human beings dealing with compli- cated fi nancial matters, loan servicers ca n ma ke errors. Conf irm that your records match those of the Nationa l Student Loan Data System and the ser- vicer. Deal with discrepancies promptly, and document vigorously. ■ THE MANIFOLD JOYS OF DE ALING WITH STUDENT LOANS ARE COMPOUNDED BY THE MISTAKES E VEN CAUTIOUS YOUNG PHYSICIANS CAN MAKE WHEN AT TEMPTING TO DIG OUT FROM UNDER DEBT. CORE CDIVascularCare.com Call us at 952.738.4477 to schedule your patient for a limb salvage evaluation. My goal is to help patients save their limbs. —Michael Cumming, M.D., M.B.A., F.R.C.P.C. Director of Vascular Services " " Advanced below-the-knee and pedal loop endovascular revascularization can restore blood flow, promote healing and prevent limb loss in patients with Critical Limb Ischemia. Before resigning to amputation, think "endovascular first" and ask for an endovascular limb salvage evaluation. 1 8 1 8F I N A N C E