The human propensity to talk oneself into various schemes to justify wishes disguised as must-haves has pitched 
many an entrepreneur into the poor house.
Yet even those in the medical and dental professions may sabotage their own plans to save money. It happens when a recently minted doctor or dentist succumbs to faulty psychology. And it rears its ugly head when unexpected funds arrive in the mailbox, bank account or even in your pocket.
Here’s how to stay on track with your goal of constructing and owning your own professional practice or business.
- Invest those tax refunds. It’s amazing how many people put a spin on certain sums of money that come their way in order to justify impulse spending. Here’s just one example of a money-squandering pitfall. Instead of saving tax refunds and using them to pay off student loans or investing in a business, many aspiring professionals see that check as an opportunity to blow money on a frivolous purchase. Consider this: That’s your money simply coming back to you without interest. You haven’t gained anything, and in fact, you lost the use of that money for the time it took to get your refund. Now that you have it, apply it to a student loan or invest it.
- Track that pocket change. When you paid $600 for that new washing machine, remember how you told yourself how nice it would be to run a load of wash without having to feed one quarter after another into a coin-operated washing machine? You still have several rolls of quarters hanging around after you bought the new washer. What will you do with all those spare coins? People have a tendency to see pocket change as free money to spend on impulse purchases. Remember those paper money rolls banks give away for free? Use them! Invest that spare change through the teller window next time you’re near your bank branch. You may be surprised at how quickly small change turns into a sizable stack of bills.
- Blew through your budget? That’s not a good way to build a thriving practice or a successful business. Whatever you overspend in a given month, aim to pay it back into the kitty over the ensuing two to three months.
- Take two people you trust with you when shopping for a major purchase. Tell them up front to hold you accountable and to not be afraid to engage in some healthy naysaying if the high-pressure-sale detector goes off. A salesman worth his salt is adept at overcoming objections, but that’s a lot harder to do when your friend is ready to bolster those promises you made yourself to not overspend.
When you put these tips into action, track your savings and put that money to work caring for your business, community and family. Pocket change can be pretty amazing, after all!