The Grow Your Wealthy Mindset Podcast

In this timely episode, Dr. Elisa Chiang breaks down the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law on July 4, 2025, and what it means for physicians. With over 800 pages of legislation, this sweeping law has far-reaching implications for taxes, healthcare funding, student loans, and energy incentives. Dr. Chiang highlights the key takeaways—both positive and negative—for physicians, medical stud...

In this episode of The Grow Your Wealthy Mindset, we explore the 7th happiness activity from The How of Happiness by Sonja Lyubomirsky: Learning to Forgive. Forgiveness isn't about condoning hurtful behavior or reconciling relationships—it's about freeing yourself from anger, resentment, and emotional weight. You'll learn what forgiveness truly means, why it's essential for you...

Did you know you could get a 22–37% discount on your childcare or dependent care expenses just by using pre-tax dollars? In today’s episode, I dive into the often-overlooked but highly valuable Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account (FSA). While Health FSAs and HSAs get plenty of attention, Dependent Care FSAs can offer significant tax advantages—especially for dual-income families or single par...

Looking for a way to grow your income beyond your clinical job? In this episode, we’re diving into debt funds—an often overlooked but powerful tool for generating cash flow. Whether you're curious about how they work, the risks involved, or how to get started, this episode breaks it all down in simple terms. If you’ve ever wondered how you can make your money work harder for you—without swing...

In this episode of The Grow Your Wealthy Mindset Podcast, we're diving into two primary strategies investors use to grow their wealth: investing for appreciation and investing for cashflow. Whether you're aiming to build long-term wealth or looking to create more immediate income from your investments, understanding the difference between these two approaches is essential to aligning you...

This episode if a collaboration project with myself and Dr. Disha Spath where we talk about money and happiness. Tune in for a fun and insightful conversation.  Dr. Disha Spath is a board-certified Internal Medicine Physician and the founder and CEO of The Frugal Physician, which has been recognized as a Plutus award nominee for excellence in financial media. In addition to leading her own initiat...

In this episode of The Grow Your Wealthy Mindset, we explore the 6th activity from The How of Happiness by Sonja Lyubomirsky, Developing Strategies for Coping. Whether you're facing burnout, personal loss, or the everyday emotional weight of your work, learning to cope effectively can be life-changing. This episode reviews different types of coping strategies, from problem-solving to emotiona...

Are you tracking your spending—or just hoping it all works out? In this episode of The Grow Your Wealthy Mindset, I share how tracking your expenses can empower you to make intentional decisions, without the restrictions of a traditional "budget." I explain the difference between a spending plan and a budget, why I prefer the former, and exactly how my household tracks spending down to t...

Last week, we explored the role of insurance in protecting your assets. This week, we’re zooming in on a type of insurance that often flies under the radar: travel insurance. Whether you're climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, cruising to Antarctica, or simply flying cross-country, travel insurance can make or break your trip financially if something goes wrong.   In this episode, I share: When travel...

When it comes to asset protection, your first line of defense is insurance against a potential financial disaster. You may purchase insurance to protect an asset, like homeowners’ insurance protects your personal residence in the case of significant damage. As you build your wealth, you may drop some types of insurance since you can self-fund if a situation occurs where you would actually use that...

This month is going over probably my favorite happiness activity that comes out of The How of Happiness by Dr. Sonja Lyubomirsky  and that’s nurturing social relationships. I personally am an extravert and love being connected with people. However, I have found this harder to do as I’ve gotten older.  We all get busy with our lives and time can seem to fly by. I’ll notice it has been months since...

More people are familiar with the Backdoor Roth IRA strategy but there is also a Mega Backdoor Roth Strategy. While the Backdoor Roth Strategy is available to the majority of people, the Mega Backdoor Roth Strategy is more limited since it depends on how your employer sponsored retirement plan, whether it’s a 401(k), 403(b) or 401(a), is set up. In this episode, discuss Roth conversions, review th...

Index fund investing is the best way to invest in the stock market. It has low fees, is tax efficent, and hands off while providing better returns over a 10 year period compared to 90% of actively managed mutual funds.  However, not all index funds are created equal. There are index funds that have relatively high expenses and high turnover leading to tax inefficiency. There are also index funds t...

You may have heard recommendations that range anywhere between 10% and 50% when it comes to how much of your income to save for retirement. I often recommend saving a min of 20% of gross income to physicians who plan to invest primarily in stock and bond index funds. How do you know what saving rate you need in your situation?  What it comes down to is how many years you save (and invest) for reti...

In the book, The How of Happiness, Dr. Sonja Lynbomirsky outlines 12 activities to increase overall happiness by shifting one's baseline. For 2025, each month will have an episode that talks about activities that can help increase happiness by adjusting that baseline upwards. This month’s episode is about Practicing Acts of Kindness. Tune in to learn about activities that research has shown t...

When you hear about a big drop in the stock market, do you feel uneasy? Do you consider selling your stocks or not investing any more money right now. That you’ll wait until the market starts to recover?  If that sounds like you, you need to listen to this podcast episode. I want to encourage you to stay invested. When you deviate from your investment plan due to the performance of the stock marke...

401(a) plans were established with the original tax code in 1954 and have actually been around longer than 401(k) or 403(b) plans.  401(a) plans are generally offered by government agencies, educational institutions and non-profit organizations. Employers can form multiple 401a plans that each have their own distinct eligibility criteria, contribution amounts, and vesting schedules. 401a plans can...

The alternative minimum tax, or AMT, was implemented in 1969 to ensure that all Americans pay their fair share of taxes, and particularly targeted high-income individuals who had a lot of tax deductions. It was originally design to catch those high-income individuals who paid little to no tax but unfortunately, it was not indexed for inflation until 2012. Over time, the AMT started affecting tax p...

Dr. Michele Cho-Dorado is a Pediatric Gastroenterologist, Medical Director, children’s book author, speaker and founder of Bright Futures EDG. She has developed a children’s book series with a mission to introduce financial literacy to young kids. Her first two books are called “Reach For The Stars” and “Mimi’s Magical Money-Earning Adventure” with additional books being released soon. Bright Futu...

In the book, The How of Happiness, Dr. Sonja Lynbomirsky outlines 12 activities to increase overall happiness by shifting one's baseline. For 2025, each month will have an episode that talks about activities that can help increase happiness by adjusting that baseline upwards.   This month’s episode is about avoiding overthinking and social comparison. Tune in to learn about activities that re...

W-2 is a wage and tax statement and is sent by an employer to an employee to show the earned income the employer paid the employee during the prior tax year. 1099-NEC (or 1099-MISC before 2020) are issued to independent contractors.  K-1’s are issued by Partnerships, S-Corps, or Estates and Trusts to partners, shareholders, and beneficiaries to report financial information like income and earnings...

One thing that attracts a lot of people to investing in real estate is how fast you can potentially grow your wealth. Yes, it takes a lot more effort and work than investing in low cost index funds. The use of financial leverage is also a key to amplify returns in real estate investing. However, using financial leverage goes both ways, it magnifies returns but also magnifies losses. Tune in to lea...

The easiest way to invest in real estate is through publicly traded REITs, Real Estate Investment Trusts and REIT mutual funds or exchange traded funds.  Congress established REITS in 1960 which must meet specific criteria.  -        Invest at least 75% of its total assets in real estate, cash, or US Treasurys  -        Derive at least 75% of its gross income from rents of real property, interest...

In the book, The How of Happiness, Dr. Sonja Lynbomirsky outlines 12 activities to increase overall happiness by shifting one's baseline. For 2025, each month will have an episode that talks about activities that can help increase happiness by adjusting that baseline upwards. This month’s episode is about cultivating optimism. Tune in to learn about activities that research has shown to incre...

Have you ever heard of a hot stock tip and debated if you should jump on it? Or been invited to join a group where they discuss promising stocks? If so, you want to avoid finding yourself in a pump an dump scheme. It can be tempting to seek out quick riches but it can leave you with sizeable losses. In this episode, I review what are pump and dump schemes and how they work. I also talk about short...