Do you think doctors are rich people?

[Anonymous]

So I have this one friend and she married a doctor. He is a hand surgeon. They live in a very small house in Boulder, so no way they are rich. So my question would be why so many people consider doctors rich?

[Anonymous]

In the 50s to the 80s they were but this was before the cost of medical school exploded and business/finance/IT salaries took off.

[Anonymous]

Like sex it's not how much money you have but how you use it

[Anonymous]

We are very well off and live in a small house. It’s a smaller carbon footprint than a big house, and we find it cozy. We don’t like owning a lot of things. So it doesn’t feel cramped. We spend our fortune on traveling and philanthropy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In the 50s to the 80s they were but this was before the cost of medical school exploded and business/finance/IT salaries took off.

Also because there was a major change around 1990s that drastically reduced how insurance like BCBS would reimburse the physicians.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are very well off and live in a small house. It’s a smaller carbon footprint than a big house, and we find it cozy. We don’t like owning a lot of things. So it doesn’t feel cramped. We spend our fortune on traveling and philanthropy.

What’s your income?

[Anonymous]

OP, for wealth purposes. a hand surgeon is not a pediatrician.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So I have this one friend and she married a doctor. He is a hand surgeon. They live in a very small house in Boulder, so no way they are rich. So my question would be why so many people consider doctors rich?

Lol that you think the size of someone's house is an accurate measure of their wealth.

[Anonymous]

My friend is a cardiologist and I don’t know the salary but I can tell my friend is pretty well off.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So I have this one friend and she married a doctor. He is a hand surgeon. They live in a very small house in Boulder, so no way they are rich. So my question would be why so many people consider doctors rich?

Lol that you think the size of someone's house is an accurate measure of their wealth.

I don’t think anything that’s why I am asking

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My friend is a cardiologist and I don’t know the salary but I can tell my friend is pretty well off.

How can you tell?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So I have this one friend and she married a doctor. He is a hand surgeon. They live in a very small house in Boulder, so no way they are rich. So my question would be why so many people consider doctors rich?

Lol that you think the size of someone's house is an accurate measure of their wealth.

I don’t think anything that’s why I am asking

You literally said their house is small so they can’t be rich. That’s an odd and probably incorrect conclusion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So I have this one friend and she married a doctor. He is a hand surgeon. They live in a very small house in Boulder, so no way they are rich. So my question would be why so many people consider doctors rich?

Lol that you think the size of someone's house is an accurate measure of their wealth.

I don’t think anything that’s why I am asking

You literally said their house is small so they can’t be rich. That’s an odd and probably incorrect conclusion.

And that’s why I am here asking if my conclusions are incorrect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So I have this one friend and she married a doctor. He is a hand surgeon. They live in a very small house in Boulder, so no way they are rich. So my question would be why so many people consider doctors rich?

Lol that you think the size of someone's house is an accurate measure of their wealth.

I don’t think anything that’s why I am asking

You literally said their house is small so they can’t be rich. That’s an odd and probably incorrect conclusion.

And that’s why I am here asking if my conclusions are incorrect.

Your conclusion is incorrect.

[Anonymous]

Housing stock in Boulder is interesting. Their house may be be small AND expensive. What’s it like? If it’s in a good neighborhood and nice inside, it may cost more than you think.

Lots of people with money choose to spend it on things other than housing. Do they travel a lot? Eat out frequently? Have expensive hobbies? Do they ski? Do they maybe have a second home is Estes Park or Breckenridge? Etc.

Also, I know a lot of doctors who never quite over the experience if being a resident even when they advanced and started making a lot of money. They never really feel rich even when they are. This happens with doctors kids, too, if they have childhood memories if those very long hours without that much money. I know people whose parents paid out of pocket for college and grad school, helped them with a down payment, and pay fir annual family vacations to Europe or the Caribbean, but describe their parents as “middle class”. Their early experience skewed their perception and it never adjusted.