6 Reasons to Smile

As a dentist, Modern Woodmen member Cory Ball loves taking care of his patients. The best cases? When he gets to restore someone’s smile.

“Tooth pain can be really debilitating,” says Cory. “I want to make the experience as painless as possible.”

Cory believes there’s something else that doesn’t need to be painful: financial planning. As a business owner, homeowner and young father, he knows a solid financial plan – and trusted professionals – can greatly ease the stress of reaching your financial goals.

From student loans to saving for retirement, here are Cory’s reasons to smile.

1. I have a financial professional I trust – and genuinely like

You can make a good living with dentistry – but if you’re not used to having money, it’s easy to get into trouble. You get the fancy car you can’t really afford, or you don’t save for retirement until your 40s. Dental school doesn’t teach you how to manage money. That’s why, the day I graduated, I wanted to talk to a professional about my financial goals.

I met with Kevin Ritzema (who’s married to one of the hygienists in our practice) and his partner, Scott Lowing [both Modern Woodmen representatives]. Right away, I knew I was in good hands. It was never stressful or confusing. And they’re just good guys – we’re close in age and have similar interests.

2. Having a budget means less worry

I have to admit, I had shell shock as a new graduate. I didn’t realize car insurance cost that much. Day care costs are insane. I also needed disability insurance. If something happens to my hands, I can’t practice anymore. Life’s expensive, and if you’re lucky, you have some money left over for things you want.

I told Kevin one of my main goals was to have as little financial stress as possible. If I get in a car accident and need to replace my car, or if the hot water heater goes out, I want to be able to shrug my shoulder and say, “That sucks – but we have the money to take care of it.”

3. I’m paying off my student loans – but not stressing about it too much

It takes eight years of college to earn a general dentistry degree. I graduated with nearly $400,000 in student loan debt ($391,000, to be exact). While you’re in school, you have to pretend it doesn’t exist. You accept it and move on.

Now that I’m practicing, paying off my student loan debt is a big priority for me. Kevin and Scott were really helpful. They listened to what I wanted, which was to grind it out as quickly as possible, and they met me in the middle with a realistic plan. A plan that will allow me to save for retirement at the same time. They also suggested I refinance my loans during the repayment freeze [during the pandemic]. I’m now at 2%, while some of my buddies are in the 5-7 range.

4. My wife and I both have permanent life insurance

Life insurance gives us a lot of peace of mind, especially with a growing family.

5. We’re saving for retirement while we’re young

I’m used to short-term goals: get good grades in high school to get into college, get good grades in college to get into dental school. Those kinds of things. Financial goals can be much longer term – decades, even.

With Kevin, we set our goals, so every month became routine. When you’re used to setting aside a certain amount from each paycheck, it’s a lot less daunting.

6. My parents are Modern Woodmen members now, too

My parents had been with the same financial professional for decades, but they had no personal connection. No sense of comfort. When I told them how incredibly easy it was to work with Modern Woodmen, they were blown away. My parents switched over to Modern Woodmen, and they’ve been thrilled.