20/20 MONEY: The Business of Optometry

Welcome to this episode of 20/20 Money! In today's episode, we're diving into the details of your tax return—beyond just whether you got a refund. We'll break down the difference between deductions and credits, how our tax brackets work, why you should focus on Line 24—your total tax paid—instead of Lines 34 or 37, and what Line 38 might be telling you about penalties and interest. We'll also highlight common areas for errors, clarify how the QBI deduction applies depending on your income level, and walk through important forms like Form 8960 for NIIT cancelation, Form 8889 for HSAs, and the health insurance deduction. As a reminder, you can get all the information discussed in today's conversation by visiting our website at integratedpwm.com and clicking on the Learning Center. While there, be sure to subscribe to our monthly "planning life on purpose" newsletter that's filled with tips and ideas to help you plan your best life, on purpose. You can also set up a Triage conversation to learn a little bit more about how we serve in the capacity of a personal and professional CFO: helping OD practice owners around the country reduce their tax bill, proactively manage cash flow, and make prudent investment decisions both in and out of their practice to ultimately help them live their best life on purpose. Lastly, if you're interested in learning more about the 20/20 Money Financial Success Masterclass, a course & platform that we created to help ODs become "brilliant at the financial basics," please check out the link in the show notes of this episode to learn more. Resources: 20/20 Money Membership Information OD Masterminds Information Request 20/20 Episode #332 - Difference between Saving & Deferring Taxes Planning for the QBI (199A) Deduction in your practice Review of Optometric Business 199A Article ————————————————————————————— Please rate and subscribe to 20/20 Money on these platforms Apple Podcasts Spotify ————————————————————————————— For past episodes of 20/20 Money with full companion show notes, please check out our episode archive here!

Welcome to this episode of 20/20 Money! My guest on today's show is Dr. Ted McElroy, OD. Ted and I share in a conversation that's on the heels of a 2 hour CE session I did at SECO 2025, which was titled The Art of Delegation. We talk through why practice owners get stuck on delegation, ways to think about becoming more comfortable delegating, the true cost of NOT delegating, and some NBSs for you to think about around this very important topic. As a reminder, you can get all the information discussed in today's conversation by visiting our website at integratedpwm.com and clicking on the Learning Center. While there, be sure to subscribe to our monthly "planning life on purpose" newsletter that's filled with tips and ideas to help you plan your best life, on purpose. You can also set up a Triage conversation to learn a little bit more about how we serve in the capacity of a personal and professional CFO: helping OD practice owners around the country reduce their tax bill, proactively manage cash flow, and make prudent investment decisions both in and out of their practice to ultimately help them live their best life on purpose. Lastly, if you're interested in learning more about the 20/20 Money Financial Success Masterclass, a course & platform that we created to help ODs become "brilliant at the financial basics," please check out the link in the show notes of this episode to learn more. And with that introduction, I hope you enjoy my conversation with Dr. Ted McElroy, OD. Resources: 20/20 Money Membership Information ————————————————————————————— Please rate and subscribe to 20/20 Money on these platforms Apple Podcasts Spotify ————————————————————————————— For past episodes of 20/20 Money with full companion show notes, please check out our episode archive here!

In this episode, we break down the common misconception that tax deferral is the same as tax savings—spoiler alert: it's not. We discuss how strategies like funding retirement plans, loss harvesting, and depreciation only push taxes into the future, while true tax savings come from tools like QCDs, business deductions, and Roth account growth. We explore when deferring taxes makes sense, and when it might actually cost you more in the long run. As a reminder, you can get all the information discussed in today's conversation by visiting our website at integratedpwm.com and clicking on the Learning Center. While there, be sure to subscribe to our monthly "planning life on purpose" newsletter that's filled with tips and ideas to help you plan your best life, on purpose. You can also set up a Triage conversation to learn a little bit more about how we serve in the capacity of a personal and professional CFO: helping OD practice owners around the country reduce their tax bill, proactively manage cash flow, and make prudent investment decisions both in and out of their practice to ultimately help them live their best life on purpose. Lastly, if you're interested in learning more about the 20/20 Money Financial Success Masterclass, a course & platform that we created to help ODs become "brilliant at the financial basics," please check out the link in the show notes of this episode to learn more. Resources: 20/20 Money Membership Information OD Masterminds Information Request The Augusta Rule 20/20 Money Episode #319 – Year-End Tax Planning Concepts & Strategies to Minimize Tax Stress with JR Armstrong, CPA ————————————————————————————— Please rate and subscribe to 20/20 Money on these platforms Apple Podcasts Spotify ————————————————————————————— For past episodes of 20/20 Money with full companion show notes, please check out our episode archive here!

Welcome to this episode of 20/20 Money! My guest on today's show is Daniel Palmer. Daniel joins me back on the show to talk through a growing service and role in small businesses (optometry included), which is the Fractional C*O service. I use the * to depict the fact that this role could be Chief Operating, Marketing, Information/Technology, and yes Financial Officer. We talk about the differences between a consultant and a fractional C*O and how to think about each of those roles in your organization, how a practice can think about if & when they're ready to add that relationship to their leadership team, and the value that this role should be providing in an organization. As a reminder, you can get all the information discussed in today's conversation by visiting our website at integratedpwm.com and clicking on the Learning Center. While there, be sure to subscribe to our monthly "planning life on purpose" newsletter that's filled with tips and ideas to help you plan your best life, on purpose. You can also set up a Triage conversation to learn a little bit more about how we serve in the capacity of a personal and professional CFO: helping OD practice owners around the country reduce their tax bill, proactively manage cash flow, and make prudent investment decisions both in and out of their practice to ultimately help them live their best life on purpose. Lastly, if you're interested in learning more about the 20/20 Money Financial Success Masterclass, a course & platform that we created to help ODs become "brilliant at the financial basics," please check out the link in the show notes of this episode to learn more. And with that introduction, I hope you enjoy my conversation with Daniel Palmer. Resources: 20/20 Money Masterclass Information ————————————————————————————— Please rate and subscribe to 20/20 Money on these platforms Apple Podcasts Spotify ————————————————————————————— For past episodes of 20/20 Money with full companion show notes, please check out our episode archive here!

Welcome to this episode of 20/20 Money! My guest on today's show is Rick Norwood, founder & President of Norwood Device & Diagnostics. Rick joins me on the show to talk through an often-discussed topic in practice ownership, and that is the responsible purchasing of equipment. We talk through how practice owners should evaluate various suppliers, the cadence and frequency of replacing and upgrading your equipment, and how to avoid purchasing "buyer's remorse" through the process. As a reminder, you can get all the information discussed in today's conversation by visiting our website at integratedpwm.com and clicking on the Learning Center. While there, be sure to subscribe to our monthly "planning life on purpose" newsletter that's filled with tips and ideas to help you plan your best life, on purpose. You can also set up a Triage conversation to learn a little bit more about how we serve in the capacity of a personal and professional CFO: helping OD practice owners around the country reduce their tax bill, proactively manage cash flow, and make prudent investment decisions both in and out of their practice to ultimately help them live their best life on purpose. Lastly, if you're interested in learning more about the 20/20 Money Financial Success Masterclass, a course & platform that we created to help ODs become "brilliant at the financial basics," please check out the link in the show notes of this episode to learn more. And with that introduction, I hope you enjoy my conversation with Rick Norwood. Resources: 20/20 Money Masterclass Information Norwood Device & Diagnostics ————————————————————————————— Please rate and subscribe to 20/20 Money on these platforms Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts Stitcher ————————————————————————————— For past episodes of 20/20 Money with full companion show notes, please check out our episode archive here!

Welcome to this episode of 20/20 Money! My guests on today's show are Drs. Jennifer Stewart & Sam Hornberger, both private practice owners in their respective practices. Sam and Jennifer join me on the show to talk about a topic that admittedly, in over 300 episodes of 20/20 Money, I haven't talked about yet: edging and the decisions around whether to bring edging in-house or continue to outsource it to your lab. We talk through how each of them made the decision to bring edging in-house—Sam making the decision after years of outsourcing it to a lab and Jennifer making the decision within the first year of launching her cold start practice. They give a peek behind the curtains on how vision plans influence the decision, the specific edgers each of them have in their practice, the economic benefits they've experienced, and how they use it as a unique differentiator and value-add to their respective patient bases. As a reminder, you can get all the information discussed in today's conversation by visiting our website at integratedpwm.com and clicking on the Learning Center. While there, be sure to subscribe to our monthly "planning life on purpose" newsletter that's filled with tips and ideas to help you plan your best life, on purpose. You can also set up a Triage conversation to learn a little bit more about how we serve in the capacity of a personal and professional CFO: helping OD practice owners around the country reduce their tax bill, proactively manage cash flow, and make prudent investment decisions both in and out of their practice to ultimately help them live their best life on purpose. If you're interested in learning more about the 20/20 Money Financial Success Masterclass, a course & platform that we created to help ODs become "brilliant at the financial basics," please check out the link in the show notes of this episode to learn more. And with that introduction, I hope you enjoy my conversation with Drs. Sam Hornberger & Jennifer Stewart, OD. OD Masterminds™ Information Request Resources: 20/20 Money Membership Information Episode #256: Successful Implementation of VT in your practice with Dr. Heidi Bell OVDRA Cherry Financing Emergent VT Training Platform for Vision Therapists ————————————————————————————— Please rate and subscribe to 20/20 Money on these platforms Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts Stitcher ————————————————————————————— For past episodes of 20/20 Money with full companion show notes, please check out our episode archive here!

Welcome to this episode of 20/20 Money! My guest on today's show is Dr. Leigha Nielson, OD FOVDR, founder of High 5 Vision Development in New Braunfels, TX. Leigha joins me on the show to talk about how she's created both a successful practice and a life she loves—personally and professionally—through a vision-therapy focused practice. She talks about her journey as a practice owner under the TSO (Texas State Optical) brand and how she transitioned to her own stand-alone practice and why she made the commitment to to change. She also shares the details about the operations of her practice—from the pricing discount she provides to patients that pay all in full to how she thinks about leverage and return-on-investment with the team that supports the care provided to patients, Leigha is very transparent about how she's made her practice profitable while also not compromising her passion for vision therapy. As a reminder, you can get all the information discussed in today's conversation by visiting our website at integratedpwm.com and clicking on the Learning Center. While there, be sure to subscribe to our monthly "planning life on purpose" newsletter that's filled with tips and ideas to help you plan your best life, on purpose. You can also set up a Triage conversation to learn a little bit more about how we serve in the capacity of a personal and professional CFO: helping OD practice owners around the country reduce their tax bill, proactively manage cash flow, and make prudent investment decisions both in and out of their practice to ultimately help them live their best life on purpose. If you're interested in learning more about the 20/20 Money Financial Success Masterclass, a course & platform that we created to help ODs become "brilliant at the financial basics," please check out the link in the show notes of this episode to learn more. And with that introduction, I hope you enjoy my conversation with Dr. Leigha Nielsen, OD, FOVDR. OD Masterminds™ Information Request Resources: 20/20 Money Membership Information Episode #256: Successful Implementation of VT in your practice with Dr. Heidi Bell OVDRA Cherry Financing Emergent VT Training Platform for Vision Therapists ————————————————————————————— Please rate and subscribe to 20/20 Money on these platforms Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts Stitcher ————————————————————————————— For past episodes of 20/20 Money with full companion show notes, please check out our episode archive here!

Welcome to this episode of 20/20 Money! This week's episode is my guest appearance on Dr. Steve Vargo's show "Eye Own a Business," produced by IDOC. Steve had me on the show to talk about something that I've been thinking about for some time, and I used his show to "stake my claim"—I don't like term "admin day" and want to see the profession start embracing a different way of thinking about the work that owners do ON the business. I share my beliefs and reasoning behind this and why I feel it behooves owners to start thinking differently about their role in their practice. As a reminder, you can get all the information discussed in today's conversation by visiting our website at integratedpwm.com and clicking on the Learning Center. While there, be sure to subscribe to our monthly "planning life on purpose" newsletter that's filled with tips and ideas to help you plan your best life, on purpose. You can also set up a Triage conversation to learn a little bit more about how we serve in the capacity of a personal and professional CFO: helping OD practice owners around the country reduce their tax bill, proactively manage cash flow, and make prudent investment decisions both in and out of their practice to ultimately help them live their best life on purpose. Lastly, if you're interested in learning more about the 20/20 Money Financial Success Masterclass, a course & platform that we created to help ODs become "brilliant at the financial basics," please check out the link in the show notes of this episode to learn more. And with that introduction, I hope you enjoy my conversation with Steve Vargo. Resources: 20/20 Money Membership Information ————————————————————————————— Please rate and subscribe to 20/20 Money on these platforms Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts Stitcher ————————————————————————————— For past episodes of 20/20 Money with full companion show notes, please check out our episode archive here!

Welcome to this episode of 20/20 Money! My guest on today's show is Jackson Pace, CPA. Jackson joins me on the show to talk about ways owners can maximize the ROI on their team, specifically non-OD team members. He shares examples of ways in which practice owners have brought focus and intention to different areas of the practice, how practice owners can empower their team to take ownership of an incentive program, and examples of a couple of different "dark corners" of the practice that can benefit from some attention. As a reminder, you can get all the information discussed in today's conversation by visiting our website at integratedpwm.com and clicking on the Learning Center. While there, be sure to subscribe to our monthly "planning life on purpose" newsletter that's filled with tips and ideas to help you plan your best life, on purpose. You can also set up a Triage conversation to learn a little bit more about how we serve in the capacity of a personal and professional CFO: helping OD practice owners around the country reduce their tax bill, proactively manage cash flow, and make prudent investment decisions both in and out of their practice to ultimately help them live their best life on purpose. Lastly, if you're interested in learning more about the 20/20 Money Financial Success Masterclass, a course & platform that we created to help ODs become "brilliant at the financial basics," please check out the link in the show notes of this episode to learn more. And with that introduction, I hope you enjoy my conversation with Jackson Pace, CPA. Resources: 20/20 Money Membership Information Refractional CFO ————————————————————————————— Please rate and subscribe to 20/20 Money on these platforms Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts Stitcher ————————————————————————————— For past episodes of 20/20 Money with full companion show notes, please check out our episode archive here!

Welcome to this episode of 20/20 Money! My guest on today's show is Dr. Steve Vargo, OD. In addition to being a practice management consultant with IDOC, Steve is also the host of the podcast "Eye Own a Business" a show with episodes aimed to help independent ODs grow a thriving practice while wearing the hats of both OD and business owner. In this episode Steve and I talk about the importance of staying true to your vision and passion in practice ownership. We talk about how easily owners can get distracted by what other owners are doing and think that they have to compare and keep up to what others are doing instead of staying true to the vision and mission they set out on when they got into ownership. As a reminder, you can get all the information discussed in today's conversation by visiting our website at integratedpwm.com and clicking on the Learning Center. While there, be sure to subscribe to our monthly "planning life on purpose" newsletter that's filled with tips and ideas to help you plan your best life, on purpose. You can also set up a Triage conversation to learn a little bit more about how we serve in the capacity of a personal and professional CFO: helping OD practice owners around the country reduce their tax bill, proactively manage cash flow, and make prudent investment decisions both in and out of their practice to ultimately help them live their best life on purpose. Lastly, if you're interested in learning more about the 20/20 Money Financial Success Masterclass, a course & platform that we created to help ODs become "brilliant at the financial basics," please check out the link in the show notes of this episode to learn more. And with that introduction, I hope you enjoy my conversation with Dr. Steve Vargo, OD. Resources: 20/20 Money Membership Information ————————————————————————————— Please rate and subscribe to 20/20 Money on these platforms Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts Stitcher ————————————————————————————— For past episodes of 20/20 Money with full companion show notes, please check out our episode archive here!