Who is This Person?

Let’s go through this in the ever-popular Q & A format, and base it on questions and comments I actually get from people.

Who are you?  I’m Dr. Peppers.

Dr. Peppers is an awesome name.  I know! Thank you!

Wait, are you a real doctor?  I’m an orthodontist. You can learn more about my practice here.

Why are you blogging?  Because (other than the fact that it’s just fun) writing makes me focus in on my goals, like destroying my student loans, traveling for free, and getting ready for a baby on the cheap. If the information I share can help others in the process, that’s awesome.

Are you really not trying to sell me anything?  I’m really not. I already make enough money. I’ve learned a lot from some truly amazing people over the years, and my best mentors have never charged me for their time. I’ll pay it forward if I can.

How long have you been out of school?  I graduated from residency in 2013 when I was 29.

You’re not even 35. How are you qualified to dispense any advice to anyone?
I have done a whole lot of stuff that some of you are wondering about doing in your professional, personal, and financial lives including: racked up significant out-of-state, in-state, and private school loans, taken out huge business loans, repaid my loans relatively quickly, lived in high cost-of-living areas in multiple states, worked as an employee, bought ownership in a business, became part of a successful partnership, started real estate investing, and started stock market investing. I’ve done all of this while staying reasonably fit, building a little family, and traveling all over the world with them. I’ve won an award for scientific research and been published in the Angle Orthodontist and the Vaudeville Times (you read that right).  I have enough experiences and know enough interesting people that I have a lot to share with you. My complete resume is available upon request.

It sounds like you do a lot of career-related stuff. You’re not so great with the work-life balance thing, are you?  I think I’ve actually got that pretty dialed in. My professional training took some hard work – don’t get me wrong there. But now I work part-time, and have since school ended. My husband and I have been skiing, backpacking, and doing endurance races since we met. We’ve been to most of United States and a whole mess of countries on every continent save Antarctica (it’s on the list)!

Your traveling and fitness hobbies will bite the dust when you have a kid.  We already have some! They are great!

So if you do all that and have always worked part-time and have a family, your husband has a super high income right?  He’s a junior high teacher at a charter school, so no.

Did your parents pay for all your schooling? Did your dad give you his business for free?  No and no. I used scholarships and student loans to pay for the majority of my education. I paid fair market price for my share of the practice when I bought it, and most of that payment went to our other business partner, who had majority ownership at the time.

What’s your enneagram score?  One.

Are you a minimalist?  Probably depends on who you ask. We’ve certainly been called minimalists by friends and family. We have a lot less stuff than we could. We also have a lot more stuff than we need. Our tendencies tend to be minimalist-ish. We requested no presents at our wedding, and we still ask people not to buy us presents for things like Christmas and birthdays. Our approach to raising kids is pretty minimalist. And we’d for sure rather roam around the world with a couple of backpacks than have a giant house full of toys.

I’m not a doctor or a Millennial professional, per se, but I can relate to some of this.  Awesome! You are very welcome here. This content is not meant to be exclusive based on age or profession. Read on, and I hope you find more posts that you like!