Nobody trolls the Boomers harder than I do. After all, they have given us a lifetime of material. Carpeted bathrooms. Obsession with surface parking lots the size of aircraft carriers. Hoarding Cool Whip containers because they are still “perfectly good.” Printing out emails. Arriving at the airport four hours early. You know, the classics that end up in a Progressive commercial about turning into your parents.
And Gen Z is not off my radar. You follow car-video influencers. You believe iced coffee is a personality trait. You accept TikTok advice from a 19-year-old like it came down from Sinai on stone tablets. You want remote work, flexible hours, and six figures by age 23. You insist on living in a high-cost area, but you are shocked when rent eats half your paycheck. Creative, yes. Delusional, also yes. We love you, but come on.
And yes, Millennials like myself deserve criticism too, but since I am the one writing this, I will avoid going full scorched earth on my own generation for now.
Here is the truth behind the provocative headline of this piece. I am not here to pick on Boomers, Millennials, or Gen Z. The point is simpler and far more important. Every generation eventually learns a set of financial lessons, usually the hard way, and the people who came before us discovered principles that reliably build wealth and reduce stress—even if those lessons arrived via forwarded chain emails.
It's also worth acknowledging that Boomers lived in a very different economic world. In 1970, the median US home cost about 3.2 times the median household income. By 2022, that ratio had risen to about 5.6 times, which is the highest on record. Healthcare spending grew from roughly $353 per person in 1970 (about $3,000 in today’s dollars) to nearly $14,600 per person in 2023. Nearly half of renters today spend more than 30% of their income on housing.
These numbers are real, and pretending otherwise does not help anyone. Gen Z is entering medical school and residency in a world defined by high income, high debt, and high expectations. It is reasonable to ask whether the old financial playbook even applies anymore. At the same time, rising costs do not eliminate mathematics or personal responsibility. The world is more expensive now, and that makes a few timeless fundamental financial principles even more important—not less. If anything, today’s realities mean young physicians need clarity, intentionality, and discipline more than ever—even if that advice comes from the “OK, Boomer” generation.
Here are five timeless lessons that still matter.
Lesson #1: Start Building Good Financial Habits as Soon as Possible
Boomers benefited enormously from doing things early. They entered the workforce young, saved into retirement accounts (or knew they’d eventually receive a pension), bought homes before they felt ready, and stayed invested through every market tantrum.
Most medical students are not investing at age 22. Your money is going toward tuition, ramen, and rotating through three states in one semester. That is normal.
But once you earn a real paycheck, even as a resident, the clock starts ticking. Residents tell themselves they will start paying attention to money when their salary goes up, but those first small contributions are what build the habit that leads to financial independence. When housing costs more relative to income and essentials consume a larger portion of your budget, solid financial habits matter even more.
You do not need to start big. You just need to start. If you begin investing at age 30 and you contribute $250 per month into a Roth IRA invested in a total US stock market index fund, you will outperform the physician who waits until age 40 to invest $500 per month.
Time in the market matters. Good habits matter even more. Start with any amount your resident budget allows without causing undue pain. Automate it. Forget about it. Let compounding run while you learn how to save lives.
More information here:
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Lesson #2: Math Always Wins
Boomers learned frugality through real economic trauma. They were raised by parents who lived through the Great Depression. They came of age during oil crises, double-digit inflation, and interest rates so high that their mortgages could have been drafted to fight in Vietnam. Sure, homes were more affordable relative to wages, and one income often covered a household. Valid points. But the underlying truth remains unchanged. Spending less than you earn always wins.
Millennials walked straight from high school and college into the Great Recession. We coped with instability by upgrading the small stuff because the big stuff felt unreachable. If we could not buy a house—which increasingly felt like an inside joke told by people who bought their first home at 8% interest and still paid less than our rent—we could at least buy artisanal coffee. If we could not afford retirement contributions, we bought succulents that died the moment they entered our homes. And yes, we all convinced ourselves that avocado toast was a personality worth $12. (It was not.)
Now, Gen Z is navigating a world where everything costs more, yet influencers try to persuade them that spending more is the answer to this anxiety. The notion that spending is a form of self-expression and that financial decisions should be based on optics, not arithmetic, seems to permeate social media these days. The pressure to look successful long before you are successful is exhausting and directly conflicts with building real wealth.
Math always wins. If you spend everything you earn, you will always feel behind. If you save consistently, even modestly, you will feel ahead without doing anything complicated.
For physicians, the stakes are higher. You start your career buried in six-figure debt; then your income skyrockets. If you are not careful, your lifestyle quietly expands to match your paycheck, and you will wonder where all the doctor money went.
The doctors who build wealth are not always the ones with the highest salaries. They are the ones who keep their lifestyle flat for the first few attending years while loans shrink and savings habits solidify. Meanwhile, the doctors who “finally deserve nice things” often feel just as stressed earning $350,000 as they did earning $70,000.
These math-based rules have survived recessions, bubbles, pandemics, and TikTok trends:
- Save 20% of your gross income.
- Save more once your loans are gone.
- Save even more if you think you want to retire early.
- Avoid high-interest debt.
- Invest consistently.
- Spend less than you earn.
- You cannot negotiate with compound interest or tax brackets.
- It is easier to grow into comfort than to shrink back from it later.
- You cannot out-invest an overly expensive lifestyle.
Lesson #3: Your Career Is Your Greatest Investment
The biggest lever in your financial life is not your portfolio. It is your paycheck.
My Boomer dad made it very clear to me at a young age that college was the only path to financial success. Today, the world is more nuanced. Some trades pay exceptionally well, and there are plenty of silly undergraduate degrees that will never pay for themselves. But physicians have chosen one of the few fields where the education still has a high ROI.
Physician income is not as predictable as you might think. In many specialties, the pay range within the specialty is wider than the pay range between specialties. Two doctors with the same job, same hours, and same training can end up with completely different incomes depending on where they live, what kind of practice they join, and how well they negotiate.
Your earning potential is not fixed. It is something you can shape. You spent a decade building rare and valuable skills. Now, learn how to get paid fairly for those skills. That means understanding the market for your specialty, knowing the going rate in different regions, and recognizing that geographic arbitrage alone can add six figures to your income without adding a single hour of work.
It means negotiating instead of accepting the first offer because it sounds fine. And yes, I know half of Gen Z is allergic to confrontation and breaks out in hives when someone rings the doorbell, but negotiating your contract is not optional. Ask the uncomfortable questions about RVUs, call, partnership tracks, and bonuses. One well-negotiated contract can accelerate your path to financial independence more than years of optimizing your asset allocation.
You earned the skills. Now, earn the right compensation.
Lesson #4: Be Patient
In the 1970s, developing a roll of film took a week, and that was considered fast. Boomers did not grow up with instant notifications or on-demand everything. That slower pace created a baseline of patience that later generations struggle to access in a world where you can get dinner, a date, and a dopamine hit without leaving the couch.
Financially, Boomers bought homes, paid them off over 30 years, invested steadily, and trusted compounding. They grew up in a world built on patience. Millennials and Gen Z did not. We grew up with Wi-Fi, same-day delivery, and algorithms telling us we are behind before we begin. Our modern world trains us to sprint. Wealth-building requires us to slow down. Sure, patience might have been easier when the starting line was closer, but the principle still holds. Compounding works slowly, and every get-rich-quick scheme should emphasize the word quick far less and the word scheme far more.
For physicians, balance is tricky. Your 30s and 40s show up fast. You have time, but you do not have unlimited time. Wealth requires patience, but that does not mean you should grit your teeth through a decade of deprivation. The key is intentionality. Not rushing. Not drifting. Just consistent, boring progress toward the life you want. To paraphrase my favorite Gen X physician finance writer: be general frugal and selectively extravagant.
The doctors who win financially are not the ones who hustle the hardest. They are the ones who stick to a plan while every caffeine-charged goldfish around them gets distracted.
More information here:
Lesson #5: Being Rich Is More Important Than Being Wealthy
This is rarely said out loud. Money is the least interesting part of financial success. What matters is what money protects and what it makes possible: your time, your health, your relationships, the ability to say no, and the freedom to build a life of which you are proud. Money cannot fix exhaustion or loneliness or chronic stress or the feeling that your life is not yours.
Much of life’s richness costs nothing. Global happiness research consistently finds that many countries with lower average incomes report higher life satisfaction than wealthier nations. Their well-being comes from things money cannot buy: strong communities, slower pace, meaningful connection, shared purpose, and time with people they care about. Once your basic needs are met, every additional dollar helps less than the one before it. But time, energy, connection, and purpose never lose value.
Physicians know this deeply. You can earn multiple six figures and still feel emotionally bankrupt. You can be wealthy on paper and feel no freedom, no rest, and no control. Wealth without well-being is simply a more expensive form of misery.
Being rich is not about money. It is about autonomy. The ability to take a day off without guilt. The security to leave a toxic job. The margin to show up for your family as the version of yourself they deserve. The space to rebuild health, hobbies, friendships, and a life that is actually yours.
Money is a powerful tool for achieving your goals. Do not let it distract you from the richer parts of life.
The Generations Are Not That Different After All
Generational stereotypes and playfully trolling one another can be fun, but there are timeless lessons that cut across all of them. Learn these early, and you will be decades ahead of those who do not. You will reduce stress, avoid the traps that crush physicians, and build a life with more freedom and control.
My practical takeaways for Gen Z premeds, medical students, and residents:
- I am proud of you for making it this far without resorting to an AI summary. I honestly thought the word “blog” might throw you off and make you swipe away before giving this a chance. (FYI, a “blog” is basically a long-form TikTok caption on a website—it is a Gen X term, and they always get left out of these generational discussions, so let’s let them have this one.)
- Math is undefeated. Vibe all you want, but the numbers eventually tap you on the shoulder and tell you to pay up. Be generally frugal. Spend intentionally. Be patient and play the long game.
- Start building habits early. Contribute to a Roth IRA as a resident. Max it out if you can. Invest it reasonably. Automate it. Then get back to becoming the best physician you can be. You will out-earn the attending who waited for the right moment, and you will build financial muscle memory.
- You’re training for one of the hardest, most valuable jobs on the planet, and you’re going to spend your career literally saving lives. Act like it when it’s time to negotiate. Ask uncomfortable questions, and do not accept a “mid” contract.
- Being rich is more important than being wealthy. Life is about control, freedom, energy, and the ability to design the life you want.
- Finally, for the love of Vince Lombardi, please do not tell my dad that I admitted Boomers were right about some things. He will frame this article next to his printed MapQuest directions and brag about it forever.
What do you think? What lessons have you learned from the generation(s) that came before you? What lessons can your generation pass on to the ones coming behind it?