As mental health professionals, we are not exempt from worries associated with personal and professional finances. There are costs associated with office space, licensing boards, continuing education credits, and of course EHR (Electronic Health Records). Additionally, we balance those with personal costs of housing, education, hobbies, and more. While we do our best to manage financial pressures, this is often something we have little to no training in. Learning financial basics is useful at any stage of our lives, but it can be especially important during the early stages of our careers.
Different practitioners and practice sites have differing financial needs. With this in mind, we will look at financial planning basics, as well as Luminello discounts for professionals or organizations that could benefit the most.
Understand Your Financial Picture
Whether it is looking at your practice’s finances or your personal finances, the first step is to know what you are working with. This may seem like an obvious suggestion, but it is surprising how many individuals neglect this step. When finances are feeling tight, we can become anxious at the very thought of taking stock of our entire financial picture. Therefore, keeping our heads in the sand about what our bank accounts, credit cards, and student loans look like maybe subconsciously enticing. The only way we can make changes, however, is to identify where change needs to happen.
- Begin with noticing any emotions you may be experiencing about learning more about your finances. If worry is preventing you from taking the first steps, look for additional support from a financial professional. Sometimes weather support of a professional, the best thing we can do is seek it out.
- Begin by tracking expenses and income. This step does not require you to change anything immediately. Just learn what your baseline figures look like.
Create A Budget
Once you have successfully been able to know what your income and expenses are, you can now begin to make decisions about what takes financial priority in your budget.
- Identify expenses that are essential to your practice and your life.
- Subtract your essential expenses from your income and see what is left.
- With the remaining money decide how much you want to use for non-essential expenses such as dining out, shopping, etc., and what you want to put towards savings.
Our financial picture can shift at any time for the better or the worse. Having a regular review of our budget and balances allows for flexibility when change does occur and adjustments are needed.
Don’t Miss Out on Discounts
We all love free money. Knowing about discounts is an easy way to save money. Below are some discounts Luminello provides.
Community Mental Health Clinics
Community mental health clinics are on the front lines of the healthcare system. These providers deliver services to communities that are often under-serviced and under-financed. The financial burden of care on both client and provider can be heavy. As a way of reducing the financial burden that community clinics often face, Luminello offers 50% off subscription fees for non-profit mental health clinics that are affiliated with local or state Departments of Health.
Therapist and Prescriber Trainees
Whether we are prescribers or therapists, hands-on practice is an essential part of our training. We learn how to apply the knowledge we have gained through our education to the real world. Often the price of this hands-on experience is lower pay rates. In this season of our professional journey, financial mindfulness and savvy can make a huge difference in our quality of life.
If you are a psychological assistant or in other post-graduate training, Luminello will waive your subscription fee for the unlimited version until you graduate.
If you are a prescriber in residency, fellowship or other ACGME-accredited training programs, you can receive a 50% discount on your subscription cost, when signing up for a solo practitioner account.
Did you know Luminello was founded by a veteran? Luminello acknowledges that transitioning from military to private practice can be a challenging experience. To show appreciation and ease this transition, Luminello offers a 20% discount.
If you have more questions about the discounts or if you qualify, reach out to the sales team at [email protected].
