Written by Josh Lantz, CRPC®/ Chief Investment Officer, Financial Advisor
We all like the feeling of getting a good deal. For some people it becomes a game. The idea of getting the same goods or services for slightly less is appealing to most. Let’s go through 15 ways to save on items you might already be spending on today.
#1 – Shop it
Shopping prices is one way of determining whether you’re getting the most competitive prices. Common examples include:
Mortgage rates
Insurance rates
Internet services
Phone services
#2 – Discounts
Below are companies that have been known to provide discounts for doctors. Most doctors are unaware of this. You just need to ask at the point of sale.
Apparel & equipment
Figs – up to 15% on scrubs
Clove – special pricing on medical footwear
Dansko – professional discounts
Technology
Apple – education pricing extends to healthcare workers
Samsung – discounts on phones, tablets, and other electronics
AT&T – special rates on phone plans
Travel & Hotels
Hilton Hotels – special rates
Choice Hotels – discounted stays
United Airlines – discounted fares on select routes
Retailers
Nike – discounts
Under Armour – special prices
North Face – discount programs
Food & Dining
Starbucks – occasional free coffee promotions for healthcare workers
Chipotle – healthcare worker appreciation events
Common verification
Sometimes to get the discounts you need to verify credentials through services like ID.me or SheerID. Show your medical license or hospital ID. Or register your work email ending in .edu or hospital domain
Other special discounts
If you are a Veteran, you qualify for even more discounts
If you are a senior, you also get special discounts. Typically for anyone older than age 65+
#3 – Change up Grocery Stores
Small recurring purchases add up. They’re also the sneakiest. Most people don’t notice them because they’re small.
You probably spend thousands a year on groceries for you and your family. Run an experiment and write down the expenses for the same exact items at a few stores. You’ll be surprised at the differences.
I did this and discovered a local grocer who advertised low prices, was not in fact the lowest prices. The savings you find may happen weekly for the rest of your life.
#4 – Pay Before Taxes
The best way to pay for things is before taxes. In many cases, it’s like getting a 30-40% coupon on what you buy. If you have small business income (e.g. 1099 contractor, practice owner, partner, etc.) you might be able to deduct items that you already buy.
You’ll need to run this by your tax accountant, but many times that can include equipment (e.g. laptop, iPad, etc,) mileage, home office, and maybe even travel, if it is for business use.
#5 – Ask
This idea might sound strange. Just ask for stuff. It doesn’t hurt.
Next time you’re traveling and checking into the hotel desk, ask if there’s a complimentary upgrade available. You might be surprised. Especially with the major hotels (Marriot, Hilton, Hyatt, and IHG).
Next time you’re buying an item at a major retailer ask if you can have a discount. You might be surprised when the cashier scans the 20% off promotion for a sale that wasn’t explicitly advertised.
#6 – Price Match
If you’re making a big purchase at a store, like buying a TV, hop on your phone and Google search the lowest price available. Many retailers will price match if you bring it up.
#7 – Energy Efficiency
Many local utility companies will come out and do an audit to review your house for free to share how you can be more energy efficient. Common examples include LED light bulbs, sealing drafty areas, and programmable thermostats.
As of early 2025 there are still Federal tax credits for energy improvements. This includes 30% tax credits for solar and geothermal. There are other tax benefits for qualifying windows, heat pumps, AC units, and even exterior doors. Your resident state may also provide energy improvement tax benefits.
Details on Federal programs can be found here. Details on state programs can be searched here.
#8 – Sales Price
Wait for sales. I talk to a lot of clients who will buy a house and immediately furnish the entire house. Most furniture stores run sales on major holidays. Likewise, most car manufactures run deals. The impatient are subsidizing the patient. If you can be patient, you can be rewarded with lower prices.
#9 – High Yield Savings
While it’s not a traditional cost cutting, it is a common issue to see doctors store huge amounts of cash earning very low rates. Make sure to keep some money in a checking account to pay your monthly bills. Excess cash can be stored in a liquid high yield savings account. You can transfer between the checking and high yield savings very easily.
We suggest using the well-known brands of banks for the high yield savings and staying under FDIC limits.
#10 – Cheap Gas
There’s no need to spend a lot of brain power on where you fill up your gas for your car each time. Take 1 minute and check out the link below with a gas price map. Type in your city. Quickly spot your lowest price places to fill up your tank. Get gas from there going forward.
#11 – Loyalty Programs
Most companies these days have a loyalty program. Many of them are free to enroll. The companies are betting that by enrolling, you’ll purchase more items from them. If you can remain disciplined and purchase the same amount from them over time, then you can gain the benefits of the loyalty program without the additional expenses.
Take a second to think about the places you shop the most. Go see if they have a loyalty program and enroll. But only enroll if you can remain disciplined and not buy more stuff.
#12 – Make it difficult
A common way to spend less is to make it difficult to spend. For example, Amazon knows that using one-click shopping increases user’s purchase rates. They know the easier it is to spend, the more people do it.
Just do the opposite to decrease expenses.
Logout of your online platforms where you spend. Don’t have them remember your credit cards. Avoid one-click shopping. Put some distance between you and the items you need to purchase. Sure, it’s less convenient, but for many it decreases expenses.
#13 – Pay it on a Card
This tip comes with three caveats. First, this only works if you were going to purchase the item anyways. Second, make sure you’re the type that pays off your credit card balances each month. Third, if the vendor passes the surcharge fee to you then you likely should avoid this strategy.
Assuming those are the case, try to pay as much as possible using credit cards that earn rewards.
Think of expenses you pay from your checking account, that you could pay via credit card. For example, I was surprised to learn that some of my utility providers allow me to pay them with a credit card.
#14 – Meal Prep
Eating out is expensive. If you eat out for every lunch, it adds up. Doing a meal prep for your entire week can be an efficient and cost-effective way to save money on daily meals.
Check out this link for some example prompts you can plug into any generative AI program (Chat GPT, Claude, etc.) for some quick meal ideas. It can even create meals based on your desired macros or ingredients you already have in your house.
#15 – Manage Subscriptions
These days a lot of products are on subscriptions. We suggest you review these at least once a year to make sure you still want the products.
We will commonly see doctors enroll in every content provider (Netflix, Amazon, Disney+, Hulu, Paramount, etc.). Ask yourself if you use all of these. If not, go ahead and cancel them. They’re easy to restart.
Another strategy is to rotate your subscriptions. You might keep Netflix for three months, and then switch to Hulu, then switch back to Netflix.
Wrapping up
We hope you got a few good ideas to save money from these 15 tips above. If you feel like you have some other cost cutting hacks you’d like to share, please feel free to reach out. If we get enough of them, we will share them in a future article.
Josh Lantz, CRPC®/ Chief Investment Officer, Financial Advisor With over a decade of financial planning experience, Josh has worked on more than 500 doctors’ financial plans. “It’s very hard to find a doctor’s situation I haven’t seen before,” says Josh. This is only a snapshot of the expertise Josh brings to MD Financial. He can be reached at Josh@mdfinancialadvisors.com.
This presentation is not an offer or a solicitation to buy or sell securities. The information contained in this presentation has been compiled from third-party sources and is believed to be reliable; however, its accuracy is not guaranteed and should not be relied upon in any way whatsoever. This presentation may not be construed as investment, tax or legal advice and does not give investment recommendations. Any opinion included in this report constitutes our judgment as of the date of this report and is subject to change without notice.
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