Dear Reader,

I’m a very firm believer in looking after yourself before you can look after others, exactly what they recommend with oxygen masks on flights. As a group doctors are very good at looking after others but we often neglect our own physical, mental and financial well-being. When everything is in order in our lives we can look after others with far more ease.

For instance, a family member became embroiled in >£6,000 of debt that was charging them 1,300% APR recently. To put this plainly, that’s the equivalent of paying £6,500 in interest every month without even touching the capital debt. Due to my fortunate situation I was able to stop this madness and paid it off for them. I also regularly donate to charities.

The purpose of the story is not to brag how altruistic I am because given the same situation I’m sure most people would do the same thing. However, the main take home message hopefully is that not everyone has the luxury to help. When one becomes a capable individual, however we wish to define this, they can hopefully make a meaningful difference to other people’s lives.

I attribute a lot of good life choices on reading and listening to (audio)books from great people when I was younger. Here are some financial books I’d highly recommend:

Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki

The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas Stanley

Smarter Investing by Tim Hale

And here’s some information why audiobooks might be crucial to your success. And if you wish, you can obtain any one the above for free in audiobook format (or two free audiobooks if you’re a prime member).

Although the vast majority of us pursue medicine as a career and not simply as a money-making job, creating passive income can always be considered as creating more options for your life. For example, having an extra £1,000 per year might let you take your loved ones on a holiday. Or it can be used towards other ways of improving your life such as home renovations or gym equipment. I’m a full supporter of minimalism but also spending good amounts of money where it’s due. Here is an example of the passive and more recently active income I’ve accrued on top of my NHS work.

	Passive	Active
2016
Q4	£965.64
2017
Q1	£794.49
Q2	£1,293.93
Q3	£1,106.20
Q4	£1,048.82
2018
Q1	£1,169.34
Q2	£1,583.92
Q3	£1,114.73
Q4	£1,013.33
2019
Q1	£1,001.31
Q2	£1,939.77
Q3	£1,116.54
Q4	£1,203.54	£3,237.76
2020
Q1	£1,849.35
Q2	£1,670.52
Q3 2020	£1,533.44	£5,386.82
Q4 2020

From my experience, stock market investing is perhaps the most useful tool to start with when it comes to creating passive income as the entry point is accessible to most people. You could start with any reputable investment broker such as Trading 212 which offer fee-free trading and investing. By signing up using this link www.trading212.com/invite/HElFptiz and depositing just £10, we both get given a free share up to the value of £100.

However, I’d strongly recommend avoiding peer to peer lending as I’ve been burned with this form of “investing”! I’ve also had indirect experience with real estate investing and as the saying goes there is nothing better than brick and mortar. Of course this will take a lot more effort than the stock market and will not be as easily accessible (due to large mortgage) for those just starting out.

Hopefully this helps – good luck and stay inspired!

Rory