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The White Coat Investor: A Doctor's Guide to Personal Finance and Investing
Written by a practicing emergency physician, The White Coat Investor is a high-yield manual that specifically deals with the financial issues facing medical students, residents, physicians, dentists, and similar high-income professionals. Doctors are highly-educated and extensively trained at making difficult diagnoses and performing life saving procedures. However, they receive little to no training in business, personal finance, investing, insurance, taxes, estate planning, and asset protection.
This book fills in the gaps and will teach you to use your high income to escape from your student loans, provide for your family, build wealth, and stop getting ripped off by unscrupulous financial professionals. Straight talk and clear explanations allow the book to be easily digested by a novice to the subject matter yet the book also contains advanced concepts specific to physicians you won’t find in other financial books.
This book will teach you how to:
Graduate from medical school with as little debt as possible
Escape from student loans within two to five years of residency graduation
Purchase the right types and amounts of insurance
Decide when to buy a house and how much to spend on it
Learn to invest in a sensible, low-cost and effective manner with or without the assistance of an advisor
Avoid investments which are designed to be sold, not bought
Select advisors who give great service and advice at a fair price
Become a millionaire within five to ten years of residency graduation
Use a “Backdoor Roth IRA” and “Stealth IRA” to boost your retirement funds and decrease your taxes
Protect your hard-won assets from professional and personal lawsuits
Avoid estate taxes, avoid probate, and ensure your children and your money go where you want when you die
Minimize your tax burden, keeping more of your hard-earned money
Decide between an employee job and an independent contractor job
Choose between sole proprietorship, Limited Liability Company, S Corporation, and C Corporation
Take a look at the first pages of the book by clicking on the Look Inside feature
Praise For The White Coat Investor
“Much of my financial planning practice is helping doctors to correct mistakes that reading this book would have avoided in the first place.” – Allan S. Roth, MBA, CPA, CFP®, Author of How a Second Grader Beats Wall Street
“Jim Dahle has done a lot of thinking about the peculiar financial problems facing physicians, and you, lucky reader, are about to reap the bounty of both his experience and his research.” – William J. Bernstein, MD, Author of The Investor’s Manifesto and seven other investing books
“This book should be in every career counselor’s office and delivered with every medical degree.
225 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 9, 2014
1246 people are currently reading
4716 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 336 reviews
May 14, 2024
Recommended to me by an American physician. I don't think this is of interest to an audience beyond that.
The question then is whether this is the best book for physicians. If you're a med student or resident and will read this because it has a stethoscope on the cover, and you refuse to read anything else on the topic, then this book will be very valuable. But if you can get past the white coat, I think there are better options.
The irony of this book is that the central premise is doctors are lousy investors because they are busy with a challenging, honorable profession and so they should stick to that and not try to do investing as a side-job. OK. Fair enough. But then why listen to a doctor who's writing investing-advice books as a side-job? The plus-value here would be the tips specific to young doctors, like "Don't buy a house while you're a resident." But is that really a good rule?
The author's advice is generally sound, but other books recommended by the author are better reads and do a better job elaborating on some important concepts.
With respect to being an "investor" the main advice is to put your money in index funds. This is certainly better than paying a high-fee "financial advisor" to lose your money. But I don't think he emphasizes enough that if the market crashes, an index fund will crash too. Tobias, for example, is clear about this and tells people about guaranteed income funds, which are not right for everyone, but should be explained to people as an option, especially for their tax-protected retirement fund.
The audiobook is hard to listen to.
Alternatively:
The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need
The Psychology of Money
The question then is whether this is the best book for physicians. If you're a med student or resident and will read this because it has a stethoscope on the cover, and you refuse to read anything else on the topic, then this book will be very valuable. But if you can get past the white coat, I think there are better options.
The irony of this book is that the central premise is doctors are lousy investors because they are busy with a challenging, honorable profession and so they should stick to that and not try to do investing as a side-job. OK. Fair enough. But then why listen to a doctor who's writing investing-advice books as a side-job? The plus-value here would be the tips specific to young doctors, like "Don't buy a house while you're a resident." But is that really a good rule?
The author's advice is generally sound, but other books recommended by the author are better reads and do a better job elaborating on some important concepts.
With respect to being an "investor" the main advice is to put your money in index funds. This is certainly better than paying a high-fee "financial advisor" to lose your money. But I don't think he emphasizes enough that if the market crashes, an index fund will crash too. Tobias, for example, is clear about this and tells people about guaranteed income funds, which are not right for everyone, but should be explained to people as an option, especially for their tax-protected retirement fund.
The audiobook is hard to listen to.
Alternatively:
The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need
The Psychology of Money
May 22, 2018
Advice tailored to physicians, but has good basics/concepts for any young professional. Good starting place for people with no prior knowledge, and an easy read. Not too useful if you already have a moderate grasp personal finance, but has good book/article recommendations to go deeper on the subjects.
Intros the following subjects:
- Tax-deferred retirement accounts (401k, Traditional/Roth IRA, backdoor Roth, HSA)
- Low expense ratio index funds (stocks, bonds, mutual funds, index funds)
- Tax deductions (how to take advantage)
- Real estate investing (Capitalization rate, tradeoffs vs index/stock/bond investing)
- Retirement saving necessities (amount needed, strategies to get there, general budgeting/testimonials)
- Estate planning (minimizing estate/inheritance/gift taxes incurred)
Intros the following subjects:
- Tax-deferred retirement accounts (401k, Traditional/Roth IRA, backdoor Roth, HSA)
- Low expense ratio index funds (stocks, bonds, mutual funds, index funds)
- Tax deductions (how to take advantage)
- Real estate investing (Capitalization rate, tradeoffs vs index/stock/bond investing)
- Retirement saving necessities (amount needed, strategies to get there, general budgeting/testimonials)
- Estate planning (minimizing estate/inheritance/gift taxes incurred)
April 1, 2020
Quick read, was helpful for the transition into residency especially in regards to budgeting, saving for retirement, and paying off student loans. The links to the website are useful. The last few chapters were a bit out of scope though and I got bored... will probably reread as an attending.
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December 29, 2024Read about half of it before it became about attendings and less relevant. I decided to read it this year because one of my rotations, the residents were discussing personal finance and I was so humbled that it was going way over my head. I think I got a lot of basic fundamental topics covered, which I needed, and some good advice for the start of residency (like what type of disability insurance to purchase). I do wonder if it’s outdated but either way I think the fundamentals still stand up well. Will definitely revisit towards the end of residency
March 25, 2023
I’m not a doctor, but a nurse. The book is definitely tailored to the physician journey but it was still nice to have a different resource for ideas on about finances and habits to help be more financially literate… and how to have more moneyyyyy! I liked how he was very straightforward and kept it simple to understand as well
August 14, 2017
Extremely useful intro
This book is an excellent introduction to finances for any physician, especially one in residency, or medical student. I highly recommend it to anyone/everyone in our profession. It was recommended to me by a senior resident my first year of residency, and I have been passing it on ever since.
This book is an excellent introduction to finances for any physician, especially one in residency, or medical student. I highly recommend it to anyone/everyone in our profession. It was recommended to me by a senior resident my first year of residency, and I have been passing it on ever since.
May 5, 2021
SUCH a useful intro to finances and investing. So much important information that I didn't know before. I also like that it is written with medical people in mind. It's easy to push off important financial decisions/investments as a medical student and resident thinking that you can figure it out once you make more money. This book helped me avoid that error by helping me learn what I need to be thinking about at each step. There's a lot more to learn, but I'm super thankful that I was introduced to this book.
March 4, 2024
My initial goal for reading “The White Coat Investor” by Dr. James M Dahle was to gain knowledge on how to be financially sustainable throughout my medical education and career. It is clear, through the many pieces of financial advice, that Dr. Dahle is extremely knowledgeable on such a topic. He has read through countless research and has his own success story to showcase. However, information is not entirely helpful when there is a lack of fundamental knowledge by the reader. Unfortunately, this book did not give me everything I hoped for. I came out the other end confused, especially on the terminology and quick passages. On the other hand, this book will be a wonderful reference as I navigate the financial world of my career in medicine. Although, I do need to find other material that will teach me a general introduction to finance to get started.
August 25, 2024
Great read; doctors to a degree make for gullible, easy targets or 'marks' for investing schemes by not always well-meaning financial advisors; the main take aways serve as solid generic financial advice for anyone, including doctors; live just below your means, make paying off high interest loans, including student debt your highest priority; invest a share of your income in assets (mutual fund, precious metals etc) to hedge against inflation and dabble with a low percentage in more risky markets, if you're comfortable with possible losses, and potentially higher gains.
January 24, 2023
Learned an incredible amount from this book. Will likely reread this when transitioning from a resident physician to an attending physician
September 30, 2024
Great book for young professionals. This is a good place to start with lots of recommended further reading if desired
March 5, 2023
Great book specifically written for those in a unique position. Because we don't receive any education on business and finance, this is a good book to get started and he makes it a little easier to understand. You'll need supplemental information to understand the world of finance though. The author also has a blog that is great and includes useful links and recommendations throughout the book. This is a fairly easy read; it's concise and he gets to the point.
December 3, 2023
Should have read this in medical school or residency! Helpful, understandable, great starting point for financial planning and independence. Now time to break ties with my NWM “financial advisor”!
February 9, 2018
This is an easily understood book that provides a small glimpse of the financial situation that high income earners are in and how to handle the burden of being a high income earner. Specifically this is tailored to physicians and I would hesitate to recommend this book to anyone outside of some sort of medical profession.
A small portion of the book is a summary of the very excellent "The Millionaire Next Door" which leads me to recommend reading that first. This could be seen almost as an addendum to that book with the middle to later chapters being the meaty new material about insurance, real estate, and asset protection.
As I read the chapters on choosing to be in a pre-med program or determining of medical school is right plus the cost benefits of taking a year off after undergraduate it made me wish my wife and I knew about this book before she attended medical school. Not much would have changed but we would have been much better educated on the pitfalls that many people fall into. Even now, we have made many choices that are not in line with the recommendations in the book and probably would have had different considerate of we knew them.
My one real draw back is that the book is so short and does not explain in great detail about some things that really need a technical explanation. A simple example is the author says to buy an umbrella policy of 1 to 5 million to supplement your personal insurance but doesn't describe what an umbrella is it how to add it to your current policies. It might seem like an odd complaint but it occurred often enough that it was a little distracting to have to look up certain things because they were not explained well enough.
Glad I read this one and would recommend it to anyone you know that is considering becoming a medical professional, in med school, residency, or even later into their medical career. It could literally save them hundreds of thousands of dollars.
A small portion of the book is a summary of the very excellent "The Millionaire Next Door" which leads me to recommend reading that first. This could be seen almost as an addendum to that book with the middle to later chapters being the meaty new material about insurance, real estate, and asset protection.
As I read the chapters on choosing to be in a pre-med program or determining of medical school is right plus the cost benefits of taking a year off after undergraduate it made me wish my wife and I knew about this book before she attended medical school. Not much would have changed but we would have been much better educated on the pitfalls that many people fall into. Even now, we have made many choices that are not in line with the recommendations in the book and probably would have had different considerate of we knew them.
My one real draw back is that the book is so short and does not explain in great detail about some things that really need a technical explanation. A simple example is the author says to buy an umbrella policy of 1 to 5 million to supplement your personal insurance but doesn't describe what an umbrella is it how to add it to your current policies. It might seem like an odd complaint but it occurred often enough that it was a little distracting to have to look up certain things because they were not explained well enough.
Glad I read this one and would recommend it to anyone you know that is considering becoming a medical professional, in med school, residency, or even later into their medical career. It could literally save them hundreds of thousands of dollars.
February 1, 2022
Read this book in medical school and residency. It’s short and full of excellent advice.
The book’s goal is to teach doctors how to pay down large school debts and build wealth over their career. Much of it can be boiled down to live frugally and save wisely. However its value lies in its chapters on retirement savings, house buying, and investing. They lay out the fundamentals of each field and give practical advice on what to do and avoid.
Pros: brevity, solid insights, lots of references for future reading
Cons: It’s not interested in discussing budgeting details, credit scores/credit card practices. By design, not as applicable to non-physicians
Would highly recommend to any physicians
The book’s goal is to teach doctors how to pay down large school debts and build wealth over their career. Much of it can be boiled down to live frugally and save wisely. However its value lies in its chapters on retirement savings, house buying, and investing. They lay out the fundamentals of each field and give practical advice on what to do and avoid.
Pros: brevity, solid insights, lots of references for future reading
Cons: It’s not interested in discussing budgeting details, credit scores/credit card practices. By design, not as applicable to non-physicians
Would highly recommend to any physicians
May 21, 2019
I wish there were a less sexist (literally every doctor and financial professional in this book is a 'he') and less douchey (i.e. less emphasis on "millionaire by 40," less strategies for tax dodging) and more compact and practical version of this book. That being said, there seemed to be some good concrete advice buried among the garbage. Hold your nose and skim to the key takeaways, or find an alternative book (and tell me about it).
December 1, 2014
This is an amazing book that taught me a lot that I never knew about personal finance. Doctors spend hundreds of hours reading different texts, but often know nothing about how to handle money. This book has inspired me to do more reading on subjects like personal finance, taxes, investment, real estate, and retirement.
January 1, 2020
I thought this was a useful financial book for me, and a quick read. Very Dave Ramsey-esque, but with an application directly to physicians. I'm currently a medical student, so I'll have to wait to apply a lot of what he teaches until residency and beyond. I'll definitely re-read this before starting on a residency salary and again before I start as an attending.
October 28, 2021
This book carries out its purpose well! The content definitely became more high-level as the book progressed. A great intro to personal finance and investing for anyone, whether they are going onto medical school or not.
Also, the emphasis on the importance of a spouse with good money habits makes so much sense, but isn’t something I had thought much about before.
Also, the emphasis on the importance of a spouse with good money habits makes so much sense, but isn’t something I had thought much about before.
May 23, 2016
Excellent Resource
This book provides an excellent overview of sound financial advice for physicians. I highly recommend it, especially for physicians in residency or early in their careers.
This book provides an excellent overview of sound financial advice for physicians. I highly recommend it, especially for physicians in residency or early in their careers.
October 26, 2017
Straightforward and readable presentation of basic personal finance information for the physician with very limited prior knowledge of the topic. I found this book very useful and will be referencing it again in the future.
February 18, 2018
Required Reading for (New) Physicians
Good into to many financial topics that the average young physician has probably never even heard of. Likely a good starting point to further reading. I would recommend to others.
Good into to many financial topics that the average young physician has probably never even heard of. Likely a good starting point to further reading. I would recommend to others.
March 23, 2018
If you feel like you don't have any financial education and you're nearing the end of medical school, start here.
Excellent and honest advice that will help guide your future success. At a comprehensible level for any medical student. Read it.
Excellent and honest advice that will help guide your future success. At a comprehensible level for any medical student. Read it.
May 22, 2018
This is the first financial education book I’ve read. It’s specifically written for doctors though the principles could benefit anyone. It made me realize how little I know about finances. So many ways to invest! I would like to read more books on this topic to increase my knowledge in this area!
September 17, 2018
A jumping off point . I’ve read a few other financial books as a resident when some of it was not useful . I wish I read this earlier . It’s short and you really have to read other sources for a complete understanding though .
November 16, 2015
Great read
Easy quick read with some good basics on personal finance. Enjoy the references at end of each chapter. Very informative
Easy quick read with some good basics on personal finance. Enjoy the references at end of each chapter. Very informative
May 22, 2024
I appreciate the mission of this book, which is to fill in the glaring gaps in financial education for healthcare professionals and trainees. The most recent edition contains current information, and this book provides several important lessons for investment novices.
The most frustrating aspect of this book is the QR codes at the end of chapters, which commonly link to The White Coat Investor blog posts for supplemental information. As the most recent edition is less than 180 pages, I think there is certainly room to beef up the text with that material. The book is also littered with grammatical errors and could use some serious editing/formatting work. Parts seem to breeze past major topics (perhaps discussed in more depth on the blog), while others come across as repetitive.
Though I certainly learned valuable information from TWCI, this book is more of a primer for additional financial reading than a comprehensive guide.
The most frustrating aspect of this book is the QR codes at the end of chapters, which commonly link to The White Coat Investor blog posts for supplemental information. As the most recent edition is less than 180 pages, I think there is certainly room to beef up the text with that material. The book is also littered with grammatical errors and could use some serious editing/formatting work. Parts seem to breeze past major topics (perhaps discussed in more depth on the blog), while others come across as repetitive.
Though I certainly learned valuable information from TWCI, this book is more of a primer for additional financial reading than a comprehensive guide.
January 4, 2026
Appreciated the useful, high-yield information in this book presented without too much filler. I thought the author gave a great overview of many financial key concepts, though I have some minor critiques of the ordering of some information (namely, recommendations for 401k/403b plans in one of the early chapters assumes a baseline knowledge of these plans which isn’t discussed until later in the book). Unfortunately, some of the chapter about loan repayment and repayment plans is no longer relevant, by no fault of the author.
I was worried this book would heighten my anxiety but it actually did the opposite by touching upon two of my greatest fears: there are a couple of chapters about (1) obtaining a comprehensive disability insurance plan and (2) financial recommendations if you fail to match. Hopefully this will not be relevant to me, but having this information makes me feel more prepared to handle this should it come up. Thanks Dr. Dahle and shoutout UCSF for the book 😎🫡
I was worried this book would heighten my anxiety but it actually did the opposite by touching upon two of my greatest fears: there are a couple of chapters about (1) obtaining a comprehensive disability insurance plan and (2) financial recommendations if you fail to match. Hopefully this will not be relevant to me, but having this information makes me feel more prepared to handle this should it come up. Thanks Dr. Dahle and shoutout UCSF for the book 😎🫡
July 30, 2021
This book was mentioned on the “Physician on fire” website so I decided to read it despite not being a medical doctor. Although some of the chapters are pretty specific to doctors (ex the chapter on finance during residency), a lot of the information is broadly applicable to any professional or advanced degree. I did learn a new term: Dimensional fund advisors (DFA) which apparently are funds only available through financial advisors. Although the book recommends not using financial advisors and doing your own taxes, it’s also realistic about the fact that not everyone will take that advice. I appreciated the chapter on taxes since that seems to be the most confusing area where it’s difficult to learn about and even more challenging to find a tax advisor who really knows how to deal with people needing upfront tax planning. Some of their comments about CPAs being unwilling to take risks and navigate gray areas were interesting as were the comments about an audit being a negotiation rather then penalty! It took a lot of the stress out of the word “audit” so that in itself was a gift!
June 10, 2020
This book was given to me as a residency graduation gift and was a greatly appreciated read! The book provides financial advice for all levels of the medical pipeline: pre-med, medical student, residency/fellowship, and finally attending. There is a lot of good common sense advice that any professional person can take away. There are pearls from with regards to loan management, malpractice insurance, and planning for long-term future things like college-funds for children. Overall a very succinct read that got me thinking about how to smartly set up finances as I graduate from my residency program.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 336 reviews