MtoM #243: Locums Psychiatrist Crushes Student Loans in 4 Years and Finance 101: How Dental Insurance Works

4 snips

Oct 6, 2025

Discover how a locum child and adolescent psychiatrist tackled $400,000 in student loans in just four years. He shares his refinancing journey and reveals his saving strategies while enjoying the flexibility of locum work. With big payments and strategic savings, he not only eliminated debt but also accumulated over half a million dollars and bought a new car with cash. Plus, learn the ins and outs of dental insurance, from coverage limits to how it often resembles pre-paid care rather than true insurance.

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ANECDOTE

Paid Off $400K In Four Years

Steve paid off about $400,000 in student loans in four years by aggressively refinancing and making large monthly payments.
He saved cash reserves as a locum and used a large lump sum near the end to finish repayment early.

ADVICE

Refinance With Rate Risk In Mind

Consider refinancing loans when rates are clearly advantageous but weigh fixed vs variable risks before switching.
Monitor rates and be ready to adjust strategy rather than assuming one choice is always best.

INSIGHT

Locum Work Encourages Bigger Cash Buffers

Locum income variability encourages holding larger cash reserves for taxes and gaps between assignments.
That cash cushion enabled Steve to apply a large lump sum and finish his loans quickly when he chose to.

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Today we are talking with a full time locums doc who has paid off his student loans. He is a child and adolescent psychiatrist and tackled about $400,000 in only 4 years. He refinanced a couple of times and he said it is debatable if that was the right choice, but at the end of the day he just made big payments and poured in everything he could until the loans were done. He said as a locums doc his income is fairly variable so he always has a big chunk of cash available for taxes and expenses and he used that money to wipe out the last of his loans. Despite putting so much towards his loans he has also saved more than half a million dollars and also bought a new car with cash. He also provided a lot of great information about being a locums doc. After the interview we are talking about how dental insurance works for Finance 101.

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00:00 MtoM Podcast #243 02:45 Locums Psychiatrist Crushes Student Loans in 4 Years 25:42 How Dental Insurance Works