#144 Invest or Reduce A Mortgage: What’s the Best Option for Docs With Extra Cash

#144 Invest or Reduce A Mortgage: What’s the Best Option for Docs With Extra Cash

Author: Nate Reineke December 3, 2025 Duration: 33:53

If you are on track for retirement, college, have an emergency fund, have bought all your cars in cash, and check all the other planning boxes, but find yourself with extra cash, where is the best place to put it? It may seem like a simple math problem to decide if investing is a better option than paying down your mortgage, but the math isn’t actually that easy. Nate Reineke and Kyle Hoelzle break down why it’s not an easy question to answer and the caveats that complicate the math. We also discuss how paying off your mortgage faster helps reduce risk as you head into retirement. We also answer your colleagues’ questions. An ENT in New York says, “If my employer updates the plan’s default investment option, does that change how my current retirement account is invested?” A Critical Care Doctor in Ohio asks, “My oldest child is in college, and we have some of his tuition money in a high-yield savings account. Should we move it to his 529?” An ENT in Oregon wonders, “How should investors think about owning broad index funds when they disagree with the practices of some of the companies inside them?” Are you ready to turn worries about taxes and investing into all the money you need for college and retirement? It’s time to make a plan and get on track. To find out if we’re a match visit physicianfamily.com and click get started or, you can ask a question of your own by emailing podcast@physicianfamily.com. See marketing disclosures at physicianfamily.com/disclosures


Finding a clear path through financial planning feels uniquely challenging when your career is in medicine and your heart is at home with family. The Physician Family Finances Podcast exists in that specific, demanding space. Host Nate Reineke, alongside co-host Chelsea Jones, brings their experience as Certified Financial Planner™ professionals directly to conversations with physician parents. They understand the dual pressures of managing a practice, caring for kids, and making smart long-term decisions with your earnings. Each episode moves beyond generic advice to tackle the real questions you face, from navigating student loan strategies and investment options tailored to a physician's timeline to planning for retirement without sacrificing your family's present. This isn't about quick tips; it's about building a sustainable framework that aligns with your values and goals. Tune in for a candid, practical discussion that makes complex topics like tax laws and wealth building accessible, so you can gain confidence and clarity with your finances. The entire podcast is built on the principle that securing your future should feel like an achievable part of your life's work, not an overwhelming distraction from it.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

Physician Family Finances Podcast
Podcast Episodes
#185 Physicians Don’t Need to Move the Financial Goalposts to Win [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:09
Dessert comes after the vegetables. A seven year old goes along with this because at seven the broccoli takes four minutes and the ice cream shows up in the same hour.You have been eating vegetables since you were twenty…
#184 Smart Strategies for Docs Who Inherit Brokerage Accounts [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:41
What is in your garage that you would not go out and buy today?The elliptical. Your father-in-law's table saw. Six gallons of the paint color from the last house.This week we take a question from a physician who inherite…
#183 Docs Don’t Need to Shipwreck Their Plan to Keep Family Afloat [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:55
Every lifeguard learns the same thing before they are allowed near the water. You do not swim into someone's arms. A panicking person will climb you, and then there are two people in trouble instead of one, so you bring…
#182 Are Annuities Really a Bad Deal for Physicians? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 27:35
Nobody books the all-inclusive because the food is better. They book it because it takes the risk out of the trip. No bad rental in the wrong part of town and no hour-long drive to anything worth eating. An annuity is th…
#180 Saving Beyond the 529: How Doctors Can Pass Down Wealth [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:50
There are two ways to get saving for your children wrong. You can undersave and leave your kids with student loans. You can oversave and hand a nineteen year old a pile of money with no strings attached. Physician famili…
#179 Is the Cash Balance Plan Tax Break Worth It for Doctors? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:53
Should you choose a high tax break or high investment growth? Nate Reineke and Chelsea Jones break down a common dilemma for high-earning physicians: deciding between a Cash Balance Plan and a traditional taxable brokera…
#178 Online Comparison: The Thief of Physician Joy [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:14
When you log onto online physician forums, it’s incredibly easy to feel like you are losing a race you didn’t even know you were running. Nate Reineke and Chelsea Jones tackle a question from a 40-year-old family medicin…
#177 Should You Skip a 529 Without a State Tax Break? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 18:38
When planning for your children's future education, a lack of an upfront state income tax deduction can make saving feel like a raw deal. Nate Reineke breaks down a question from a Florida surgeon tempted to skip 529 pla…
#176 Remodel or Relocate: Should Doctors Stay or Should They Go? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:23
When you need an extra bedroom and a bathroom remodel, it is incredibly easy to turn a lifestyle dilemma into a stressful math equation. Nate Reineke and Chelsea Jones look at a question from a double-doctor family in Vi…