Money

First, decide who’s the financial team leader. That person must meet quarterly with the other spouse to go over any questions and concerns. Second, designate one spot in your house for all financial items. An extra bedroom, which is quiet, works best. But a kitchen corner, dining room corner, or basement will work fine.

A major financial question on dental hygienists’ minds is, “How much will I need to save to retire at the level of spending I’m used to?” Is it $500,000? Is it $1 million? Is it more? Doug Carlsen, DDS, often hears from hygienists that they “have no idea what is needed to support my spouse and myself in retirement.” Financial professionals throw out retirement numbers like Halloween candy: often and indiscriminately, normally with no personal research or mathematical reasoning.

Tim McNeely, CFP, CIMA, says financial planning and dentistry are more similar than most people probably think. It wasn’t until McNeely married a dentist that he discovered the similarities.

Let’s face it. We all want to earn as much as we can when we’re working … and dental hygienists are no exception. So where in the United States are dental hygienists most interested in comparing salaries and getting more information about their salaries? We went straight to Google to find out.