finance
-
California for Doctors: Challenges and Opportunities for Wealth Building
I love California from Mt. Shasta to San Diego. I love Yosemite, Sequoia National Park, the Sierras, Joshua Tree, and Idyllwild. It has awesome beaches, great mountains, and great deserts all in the
-
Retirement Accounts: A Comprehensive Comparison of 14 Options
When I speak at conferences, I often use a slide entitled “Suitcases and Swimsuits” to demonstrate the difference between investments (the clothes) and the accounts they can be put into (the luggage
-
Whole Life Insurance: Is It a Smart Investment? Understanding the Facts
There are more than 400,000 insurance agents in this country, and almost all of them would love to sell you a whole life insurance policy. If you buy a policy with premiums of $40,000 per year, the
-
Building a Real Estate Course: The White Coat Investor's Story
For years, Brett Stevens and James Talbot have talked about real estate investing. Stevens, the White Coat Investor’s Chief Operating Officer, ran a construction company, and Talbot—WCI’s Chief Tech
-
Investing 101: Build Wealth & Achieve Your Financial Goals
Investing is a critical life skill. Its actually not even that complicated. However, it is apparently very difficult for a large percentage of people. The main problem is that people dont do it. Inv
-
Understanding the One Big Beautiful Bill Act: Implications for Physicians
President Donald Trump signed the much-anticipated and discussed One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) into law on July 4, 2025. As President Barack Obama famously said, “Elections have consequences,”
-
Wakeboat Ownership: 10 Essential Lessons Learned
Long-term readers know that in late 2014, 8 years out of residency, my wife and I decided buy a wakeboat after realizing it was okay to loosen the purse strings a bit. We had lived like a resident f
-
Create a Powerful Investment Policy Statement (IPS): A Comprehensive Guide
[AUTHORS NOTE: This post was originally published in 2015, but it was fun to go back and review for republication now in April 2020. Note that my current asset allocation is slightly different from
-
Real Estate Investing: A Beginner's Guide to Getting Started
Stocks have had a heck of a run the last few years, with 2023 returns of 26% and 2024 returns of 24% for US stocks. International stocks took over in 2025, earning 6% in the first quarter and 12% in
-
Understanding Health Savings Accounts (HSAs): Benefits & Considerations
Every year, nearly 200 million people face one of the most challenging mathematical algorithms in all of personal finance, as we are forced to participate in the terminology-rich and concept-laden o
-
Retirement Spending Strategies: A Comprehensive Guide
In some ways, the decumulation phase can be a lot more complicated than the accumulation phase as you head into retirement. Lots of retirees get confused when they start thinking about how to spend
-
Charitable Giving: Tax Benefits & How to Make a Difference
Giving money away can be an important part of the financial life of high earners like white coat investors. It can help the recipient and the giver, and were not just talking about the tax benefits!
-
Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF): Your Guide to Tax-Free Loan Relief
The Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program is one of the best possible ways to manage federal loans. If you are eligible for this government program by virtue of your employment situation, y
-
Understanding Student Loans: A Comprehensive Guide for Professionals
While I think it is entirely possible to finish an undergraduate education debt-free, that is becoming less and less likely for physicians, dentists, attorneys, and other high-income professionals a
-
Top 529 College Savings Plans: Reviews & Rankings (2024)
529 plans are the most commonly used college savings vehicle among my regular readers. They benefit from higher annual contribution limits than Educational Savings Accounts (Coverdell ESAs), can be
-
Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE): A Comprehensive Guide
The FIRE movement has grown in popularity for the last decade or so. Today, lets dive into the topic and see if it applies (or could apply) to you. What Does FIRE Stand For? For those who arent in t
-
Mega Backdoor Roth 401(k)/403(b): Maximize Your Retirement Savings
The Mega Backdoor Roth IRA has nothing to do with an IRA, much less the Backdoor Roth IRA process, but its still a great way to invest in your Roth 401(k) instead of a taxable account. What a Mega R
-
Estate Planning: A Comprehensive Guide for Protecting Your Legacy
Estate planning is a chore that most of us put off whenever possible. We usually find it uninteresting and expensive, and even worse, it can force us to face our own mortality. However, it is an imp
-
Understanding Debt: A Practical Guide to Managing and Avoiding Financial Ruin
Debt—there may be no more loaded word in personal finance and its endless debates. It is sometimes (generally inappropriately) equated with slavery. It is also sometimes equated (also inappropriatel
-
Roth IRA: Contributions & Conversions Explained - Is It Right for You?
Some financial concepts are simple, but people make them complicated by not following directions well. The classic example is the Backdoor Roth IRA process. Im constantly amazed at how many ways peo
finance
- American Express EveryDay® Preferred Card Review: Is It Right for You?
- Financial Responsibility: 11 Steps to a Secure 2026
- Small Business Grants: A Comprehensive Guide to Funding Your Growth
- Lending Money to Friends: Protecting Relationships & Avoiding Pitfalls
- Understanding Foreign Tax Credits: A Comprehensive Guide
- Authorized Stock: Understanding Share Issuance Limits
-
Financial Journey: Tackling Debt & Building a Secure FutureA note from YNAB before we begin: Krys shared her story over on the YNAB support forum about the moment she decided to get a handle on her deepening debt balance. It was too good not to share. Over t...
-
Understanding Medical Debt & Estate Responsibility After DeathAfter a loved one dies, unpaid medical bills are probably the last thing you want to think about. But if a bill collector contacts you about medical bills after the death of a loved o...
-
20-Year Treasury Bond: Investment Potential & Interest Rate OutlookThe U.S Treasury is launching – or rather re-launching – the 20-year bond, as a way to fund its ongoing budget deficits. The 20-year hadn’t been sold to the public regularly sinc...
-
Understanding Predatory Loans: Risks & How to Protect Yourself(This page may contain affiliate links and we may earn fees from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you. See our Disclosure for more info.) It’s no secret many people eventually encounte...