<prompt> Human: Ive finished my fellowship and Im a hand surgeon now. I am in debt to the tune of 350,000 from undergraduatemedical school, and I feel a little overwhelmed now that the paychecks have started flowing in. I wasnt wealthy growing up and so my parents dont have much advice for me either. Im projected to make 400,000 this year base salary doesnt include any incentives I may receive and my wife makes 85,000. I had my loans deferred, so I havent been making payments on those, and honestly I wasnt thinking about my financial situation during residencyfellowship, because I was so damn busy. Id like to buy a house and pay off my loans within the next five years, but Im wondering if I should get a financial advisor to help me out with all this? Or should I just do it all myself? I feel overwhelmed and Id appreciate any advice I could get. Btw Im using a throwaway, because people I know in real life know my reddit username, and Id rather them not know about this.  <response>: read Stop Acting Rich by Thomas J. Stanely. he was a professor who studied high-income and high-wealth Americans not always the same group!. among other points, he found that MDs are under-represented among millionaires. despite earning much lower incomes than MDs, jobs like teachers and farmers are more likely to accumulate a million in wealth. why? because teachers and farmers live middle-class lives. they dont live in the upscale part of town. theres no pressure for a farmer to buy a high-end Tesla or BMW, and no pressure for the teacher to send the kids to private school; nobody expects their plumber to live in the upscale part of town. those professions have lower overhead costs, so to speak, and thus are able to save and invest a lot more of their income than the typical MD. in short, MDs are often basically broke because of lifestyle spending and social pressure. if you can nip those habits in the bud now, at the start of your career, youll be in an excellent position to build wealth. also, check out these videos by Doug Carlsen. Hes a dentist, retired early and now coaches DDSs on avoiding the financial mistakes so common in their professions e.g., dont have a practice loan AND a mortgage at the same time its just too much debt; dont spend too much on house and upgradesremodels because they can eat up way too much income that you need to be saving and investing.as for the financial planner ... be careful. some of them will give you questionable advice. proceed very, very slowly. find someone who is less a salesman, more a teacher. if you feel confused or pressured, thats because theyre selling rather than teaching. also avoid anyone who is selling insurance products as investments. just stay away. you need insurance. you need investment. but dont cross the streams. 