Budgeting Techniques for Pharmacists

Tim Ulbrich, PharmD and CEO of Your Financial Pharmacist, discusses zero-based budgeting and how it can help pharmacists achieve financial freedom.

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Tim Ulbrich, PharmD: Hi, my name is Tim Ulbrich, co-founder and CEO of Your Financial Pharmacist, co-author of the book Seven Figure Pharmacist, and host of the Your Financial Pharmacist podcast. Pharmacists work hard. But when we think about developing a spending plan, if we are being honest with ourselves, many of us often get a little nauseous when the topic of budgeting comes up. I mean, besides a few financial nerds out there, myself included, not many are fans of the whole budgeting thing. We say things such as, “It takes too much time,” “I already know how much I spend,” “I’m afraid of what I might find when I track my expenses,” “I don’t like to be so restricted,” and “I make enough money, so I don’t need to budget.” I, too, agreed with most of these statements and said these same things until I experienced firsthand how powerful a budget can be through my journey of paying off more than $200,000 in debt. Leadership expert John Maxwell says, “A budget is telling your money where to go, instead of wondering where it went.” The reality is that a budget or spending plan is just a way to thoughtfully plan how to spend your money.

Although one budgeting method will never be right for everyone, the team at Your Financial Pharmacist thinks that the zero-based budgeting technique can yield the greatest results. With a zero-based budget, you account for every single dollar that will be spent before the month or pay period begins. The goal is to spend your paycheck down on paper to 0 and to figure out a way to make sure your goals can be funded, rather than hoping you have money left over at the end of the month. Although this budgeting method can yield the greatest results, it can also be more time-consuming than other budgeting methods and can be exhausting at times to track, leading to burnout. Therefore, make sure you have someone who can keep you accountable along the way, and make sure you create incentives and rewards for achieving your goals to keep you motivated. Get started by downloading our free budget template at yourfinancialpharmacist.com/budget.