“You can’t get a bigger salary than $150,000,” says Chris Riedel, who runs the firm Riedels Pharmacy in Fort Myers, Florida.
“I’ve never had to say, ‘I need to make a big cut,’ but that’s what we’ve been told.”
If you’re not already on a budget, it’s time to start.
“If you’re on a tight budget and don’t have time for a vacation, you should be cutting back,” says Dr. Michael Riede, a senior medical director at the University of Minnesota’s medical center.
If you don’t know how much you can afford, you can’t cut your costs, says Riedet.
“And that’s not good for your health.”
It’s also not good to be on a strict budget.
“You’re going to have to make decisions about how much time you have to spend at your desk, how much food you can eat, how many hours you’re going out, how you’re spending your time with your family,” Riedela says.
You’ll need to think about what’s important to you, such as how much money you’ll need for your day and when you can expect to receive it.
A good rule of thumb is to limit yourself to spending $2,000 a month on your health care needs, says Drs.
Michael and Amy Luehrs of Mayo Clinic, Minneapolis.
You should also consider how much your family will need.
“The more you have, the less you have,” says Luehr, who’s also a professor of medicine at Vanderbilt University.
“Your kids need to have enough.”
If your spouse is sick, or you can leave home, your budget will probably need to be adjusted.
“Don’t worry about it,” says Rielde, who recommends keeping a spreadsheet of how much is left to spend.
If a family member has a health condition that limits your productivity, like diabetes or heart disease, your spouse can take a break.
But if you can make it work, consider a vacation.
“There’s no reason to not take time off to be with your spouse,” says Amy Lues of the University Hospitals of Pittsburgh.
You can also set aside a few days to see your loved ones.
“Just make sure you can get back to it,” she says.
And remember that your work may not be as productive if you have a family emergency.
“It’s good to have a little time to be together, just to be around each other,” says Karen Besser, an associate professor of health care management at Harvard Medical School.
“We’re not living in a vacuum.”