20/20 MONEY

Today’s show is another solo episode that takes you on my personal journey as I evaluate healthcare options that my family is considering now that we no longer have access to group health insurance through my wife’s employer. During this episode I discuss some of the details about how COBRA coverage works, the benefits of an HSA, and how to understand the different plan options provided through www.healthcare.gov, which is otherwise known as “Obamacare” or the Affordable Care Act (ACA). I go into the details of our personal situation, including the costs of our different options. I’ll share my philosophy and approach on the cost/benefit analysis of premiums versus deductibles, and how understanding the tax benefits of HSA plans figures into the total cost of your plan. I close out the show discussing SHOP, which is the Small Business Health Option Plan program available for small business owners through ACA.   If you own a practice and are considering providing group coverage for your team or are self employed, do not provide insurance to your team but still have to provide coverage for your family, this episode goes into the nuts and bolts of understanding your options.   How does COBRA work. Federal Poverty Levels SHOP Tax Credits Getting started with SHOP

Today is a shorter, solo episode and I talk all things cash. This may seem like a boring topic because cash as an asset class really hasn’t mattered much over the past 11 years. We’ve all been accustomed to seeing the 0.05% (.0005) interest rate in your checking account, so it was basically a lost cause to think about putting your cash to work and actually getting a return on your balance. However, as the Federal Reserve has raised interest rates, one of the benefits of this monetary policy change is a higher return on cash deposits, but not all banks are created equal. While you may not have seen much of a change on your rates at your brick-and-mortar banks, the rise on online-only banks has added an additional competitor to the field…all vying for your deposits. Because these institutions don’t have near the overhead, they can offer higher rates to consumers and thus have added additional competition to the banking industry. In this episode we discuss the history of cash, how interest rates are set by banks, how much cash you should have on hand, and various strategies and options to consider with your cash-on-hand. Towards the end of the show I also talk about taking these same principles and making sure you understand your cash options within your investment account(s) as well.   Resources: Nerd Wallet The Motley Fool https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07G23zMGa4g —————————————————————————————————— Please rate and subscribe to The Dose on these platforms Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Play Stitcher  —————————————————————————————————— For past episodes of The Dose with full companion show notes, please check out our episode archive here!

Welcome to this Episode of The Dose podcast. My guest on today’s show is Kevin Wittmeyer, Manager at Slattery & Holman, P.C. here in Carmel, Indiana. For today’s podcast, Kevin stops by to discuss how to effectively utilize Cash Balance Plans and the benefits they can have for the right person in the right business. A Cash Balance Plan is a unique and powerful planning tool for your practice, so Kevin and I aim to give you the ABCs and 123s on when you might consider one for your business. —————————————————————————————————— Please rate and subscribe to The Dose on these platforms Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Play Stitcher  —————————————————————————————————— For past episodes of The Dose with full companion show notes, please check out our episode archive here!

Welcome to another episode of The Dose. In this episode, I’m joined again by Dr. Jeremy Ciano, an optometrist located in Carmel, IN (where my office is located) and the owner of two practices: RevolutionEyes and Little Eyes, a pediatric practice. Jeremy and I talk again to get “generally specific” about all things related to making financial decisions for optometrists both in their practice as well as in their personal lives. Our conversation definitely blurred the lines around managing your finances…part of the episode could be applicable to any professionals that invest in themselves and own a business while yet other parts of our conversation are going to be more applicable to optometrists, such as how cost of goods sold can influence the amount of cash on hand that one keeps in their practice. We also discuss: Important decisions to make and be cognizant of your first six months after graduating optometry school and what mistakes to avoid during that time, including how to avoid “1099 hell” come tax time. The difference between “good and bad” debt and how being aware of the current interest rate market can influence the source of capital for future decisions—both personally and professionally. A strategy Jeremy used to manage his debt strategically by breaking up one big loan into three separate loans, which allowed him to manage his cash flow more precisely while paying down the debts. The pivotal point in Jeremy’s practice when he started thinking of his practice finances through a “profit first” mentality   The current retirement plan that Jeremy uses in his practice and how he’s chosen to share the profits of his practice with his team. Books Referenced   Profit First – Mike Michalowicz Geometry of Wealth – Brian Portnoy The Behavioral Investor – Daniel Crosby ——————————————————————————————————————— Please rate and subscribe to The Dose on these platforms Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Play Stitcher  ——————————————————————————————————————— For past episodes of The Dose with full companion show notes, please check out our episode archive here!

Welcome to this Episode of The Dose podcast. My guest on today’s show is Kevin Wittmeyer, Manager at Slattery & Holman, P.C. here in Carmel, Indiana. Kevin stops by to discuss the advantages of Donor Advised Funds and charitable donation strategies to consider with legislative changes to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. We also touch on maximizing the efficiency of your charitable donations while still keeping true to charitable giving.    —————————————————————————————————— Please rate and subscribe to The Dose on these platforms Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Play Stitcher  —————————————————————————————————— For past episodes of The Dose with full companion show notes, please check out our episode archive here!    

Welcome to another episode of The Dose. In this episode, I’m joined by Dr. Jeremy Ciano, an optometrist located in Carmel, IN (where my office is located). What’s unique about Jeremy is that he has one of the best business minds and ways of thinking about an optometry business that I’ve ever met, and we leave no stone unturned during this episode. We talk about his journey in optometry and the state of his practice, how he started building his patient base, why he closes his office down for an entire day once per month, and the two criteria he uses for empowering his team to make decisions. We also discuss: How he started from day one of wanting to be “the 1%” of practices that delivered a world class patient experience Why he starts off by thanking patients when they bring in a problem or complaint Pieces of technology he’s using to deliver a great patient experience, including the importance of investing in a great practice website. Time management and the stepping stones that Jeremy’s taken in life to get to where he is now: running a $2.4MM practice w/ one FTE OD schedule, while he works about 2.5 pt facing days per week. And be sure to stick around to the end, where we talk about where Jeremy is speaking and how you might be able to learn more from him in the future, including a “tease” on the next topic we’ll discuss in a future episode. We also reference no less than 7 books that have been very influential on both of us in our businesses. Never Eat Alone – Keith Ferrazzi Killing Sacred Cows – Garrett B. Gunderson The Everything Store – Jeff Bezos Good to Great – James C. Collins Failure is Not an Option – Gene Kranz The One Thing – Gary Keller Small Giants – Bo Burlingham 4 Hour Work Week – Tim Ferriss Technology: National Recalls http://www.nationalrecalls.com/index.html Solution Reach (https://www.solutionreach.com/) Please rate and subscribe to The Dose on these platforms Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Play Stitcher  ————————————————————————————————— For past episodes of The Dose with full companion show notes, please check out our episode archive here!

A special mini-episode with segments from the Energeyes National Meeting in St. Louis. The Energeyes National Meeting is the annual National meeting for Energeyes, an association exclusively focused on supporting and empowering optometrists that practice in a corporate-affiliated practice model. With nearly 700 members, Energeyes is dedicated to providing mode specific CE and career growth for corporate affiliated optometrists who operate their practices within stores like Target, Walmart and others. Learn more when I ask these members the following: “What’s the one myth of misconception about Corporate Affiliated Optometry that you would like to dispel or correct?” https://www.energeyesassociation.org/ https://www.electrifeyejournal.org/ —————————————————————————————————— Please rate and subscribe to The Dose on these platforms Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Play Stitcher  —————————————————————————————————— For past episodes of The Dose with full companion show notes, please check out our episode archive here!

Welcome to this episode of The Dose podcast and Happy 2019! I hope you all had a wonderful and happy New Year celebration, and in keeping with the common themes we’re seeing on social media, we are talking about goal setting for 2019 in this episode. I didn’t want to talk about just the boring financial goals, but also how to measure your overall progress in life and how to get off to best start possible with your New Year’s goals. I also share more about my unfortunate ice-skating incident that happened the day before New Year’s Eve, and how being in the right frame of mind is helping me deal with this setback, and why you also need to be prepared for curve balls as well and have the right mindset to respond to them. External Show Links Jocko Willick Good Way of Life App YNAB Mint.com Jay Z Process Marcus Lemonis Trust the Process —————————————————————————————————— Please rate and subscribe to The Dose on these platforms Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Play Stitcher  —————————————————————————————————— For past episodes of The Dose with full companion show notes, please check out our episode archive here!

Welcome to this Episode of The Dose podcast. My guest on today’s show is Michael Pote. Michael and I met a little over 4 years ago through a national optometry association and have followed each other’s businesses ever since. Michael’s exposure in optometry has been primarily as a marketer, but today he is the leader of the Growth Cooperative, a unique organization that helps optometrists around the country with many issues that practitioners face today, such as the role of insurance in the industry, the OD/MD split and what it means to the patient experience, and how to help optometrists scale and build a practice that they otherwise might have thought to be impossible. In this episode we discuss:   The evolution of managed care in optometry and how it has changed the way optometrists not only practice clinically, but how they structure their business Why focusing on making money in your practice is not necessarily the best way to make money in your practice, and why you should think about the “currency of care” to measure your success. The benefits the Growth Cooperative are bringing to optometrists and what optometrists can do to “stand up” to the change and pressure that eye-care providers are feeling from legislators in each of their states. ——————————————————————————————————————— Please rate and subscribe to The Dose on these platforms Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Play Stitcher  ——————————————————————————————————————— For past episodes of The Dose with full companion show notes, please check out our episode archive here!

Welcome to this episode of The Dose podcast. My guest on today’s show is Josh Kegley.  Josh works exclusively in the retirement planning space and provides multiple services to business owners and their team members. What’s unique about Josh is that he’s been doing this for the last 15 years and has spent pretty much his entire career in the retirement planning landscape. During our conversation, Josh and I discuss: Basic plans like SEP and simple IRAs Full Profit sharing and 401k plans Defined benefit plans and how when structured/implemented correctly they can help business owners offset taxes by timing the deduction of cash balance contributions with an event that can cause significant tax liabilities Biggest mistakes business owners make when having a retirement plan in their business How much your retirement plan is really costing you and why you should be shopping your plan ——————————————————————————————————————— Please rate and subscribe to The Dose on these platforms Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Play Stitcher  ——————————————————————————————————————— For past episodes of The Dose with full companion show notes, please check out our episode archive here!