I’m a Doctor: How I Spent My First Huge Paycheck
Written by
Heather Altamirano
Edited by
Travis Woods
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Some dream jobs can land you in a financial nightmare thanks to an exorbitant amount of student loans, which happens to many medical doctors. Having the initials “M.D.” behind your name is an impressive accomplishment, but it comes at a high cost for physicians. According to the Education Data Initiative, “The average medical school graduate owes four times as much as the average college graduate,” which is, on average, “$202,453, excluding premedical undergraduate and other educational debt.”
Tuition and fees at some schools range from about $68,000 to $73,000, leaving “73% of medical school graduates have educational debt,” per the Education data Initiative.
While repaying student loans can take years, Dr. Josh Lumbley, Head of Member Engagement for Doc2Doc Lending and Chief Quality Officer for NorthStar Anesthesia, had a strategic plan to pay off his debt early and celebrated his successful endeavors with an unforgettable trip.
“I was fortunate enough to have less than $100K in student loans when I finished my residency,” Dr. Lumbley told us. “My wife and I were aggressive in paying off the debt, and we were very fortunate to have paid them off in around 18 months.”
He added, “Luckily, I had a track scholarship in college, so any savings that my family had accrued for college was applied to medical school.”
Dr. Lumbley graduated from Baylor College of Medicine and completed his residency in Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine at Brigham & Woman’s Hospital in Boston, MA. He also holds a master’s degree in business operational excellence from The Ohio State University. In addition, he was previously a fellow with the American Association for the Advancement of Science, informing congressional health policy.
Although he holds a remarkable resume, Dr. Lumbley didn’t live a lavish lifestyle. Instead, he budgeted sparingly and carefully avoided unnecessarily spending to pay off his loans. “At the time, we lived very frugally,” he shared. “We had one car, which was paid off, so our only substantial expenses were a reasonable mortgage payment and a partial tuition payment for a business degree. Looking back on it, I think we probably lived too frugally, but it did the job!”
Besides sticking to a tight budget, Dr. Lumbley worked additional hours and relied on his wife’s income to help. “Well, besides the aforementioned frugality, we were fortunate enough to be a dual-income family (at the time, my wife was a schoolteacher), so we could apply both salaries to any debt on bills. Additionally, I spent a lot of extra time in the hospital picking up extra shifts and calls to help supplement our income.”
After living so frugally for months, working long hours, and making tough sacrifices, Dr. Lumbley’s and his wife’s hard work paid off. “After paying off the debt, our first real splurge was flying first class to Hong Kong and Thailand. For both of us, traveling internationally in first class had always been something we had dreamed of. It was an incredible experience getting to celebrate in such an enjoyable way.”
Today, Dr. Lumbley continues to serve as a Board-Certified Anesthesiologist while “combining his passion for lifelong learning, data-driven decision making, and strategic leadership to improve clinical performance and elevate physician wellness.”
He continued: “This was pre-pandemic, so premium airfares were not nearly as expensive as they are now. But airfare was somewhere around $10,000,” he told us. “And the entire trip to Hong Kong and Bangkok probably landed somewhere close to $15,000. We love street food, so we hit up so many day (and night) markets in Hong Kong. We went all over Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. While in Bangkok we did a boat tour of the Chao Phraya River, two days at the Chatuchak Weekend Market, and an evening food tour. It was an incredible trip.”
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