You are going to face many bear markets in your investing career. Having an action plan to survive a bear market is critical. I go over an important list of things to do in a bear market and things to not do in a bear market in this episode. Things like don't sell at the lows, stay the course, following your investing plan, and have a cash reserve on hand. You want to be a long term stock market investor. You don't need this money next month, next year, or even in the next decade. Don't act like you do.  All bear markets come to an end and stocks recover eventually. In some respects, this one is a little bit different from other bear markets in that it involves a pandemic. I have a little bit of advice for you specific to this bear market as well in this episode. Your mortality may be a little higher, your income a little lower, and you have more time on your hands. I address what to do for all of those things as well. I think this show will be helpful to you right now. Soon we will be out of this. Maybe it is next month, maybe it is three years from now. I don't know, but this too shall pass. If you are finding our podcasts informative and helpful, check out our website! Since 2011 we have been working hard to provide valuable personal finance and investing information through thousands of blog posts written by an array of authors. You can find information on how to manage your student loans, fix and avoid common financial mistakes, understand your retirement accounts, optimize your investments, find professional help at a fair price, get started investing in real estate, and so much more, all at no cost to you. You can find out more about the courses we offer, the conferences we put on, the newsletters we provide, and interact with other WCI readers through our online forum. Head on over to https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com to start learning today. You can do this and The White Coat Investor can help. The White Coat Investor has been helping doctors with their money since 2011. Our free financial planning resource covers a variety of topics from doctor mortgage loans and refinancing medical school loans to physician disability insurance and malpractice insurance. Learn about loan refinancing or consolidation, explore new investment strategies, and discover loan programs specifically aimed at helping doctors. If you're a high-income professional and ready to get a "fair shake" on Wall Street, The White Coat Investor is for you! Main Website: https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com  YouTube: https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/youtube  Student Loan Advice: https://studentloanadvice.com  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewhitecoatinvestor  Twitter: https://twitter.com/WCInvestor  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewhitecoatinvestor  Subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/whitecoatinvestor  Online Courses: https://whitecoatinvestor.teachable.com  Newsletter: https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/free-monthly-newsletter 

Tax loss harvesting is an important topic, especially right now. If you have been hemorrhaging money in the markets, like most of us have, you may want to do some tax loss harvesting. This a great way in which you can get Uncle Sam to share the pain of your losses in a taxable or a non-qualified or brokerage accounts. Why is tax loss harvesting useful? You can take up to $3,000 per year in capital losses and offset your ordinary income with that loss. So it lowers your tax bill. Any other losses are placed against your capital gains so you can use them in any limit, not just $3,000 a year, but hundreds of thousands of dollars a year if you want, toward any capital gains taxes you owe. If you don't use all of the losses in one year, you get to carry them forward and you can carry them forward for years and years. Thanks to the recent bear market I now have hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax losses. In this episode I talk about what I can do with those loses. In a lot of ways you are just deferring taxes when you do tax loss harvesting. But there are times when that is really helpful and we get into that in this episode. I also answer a listener question about tax loss harvesting ETFs vs. mutual funds.  If you have a taxable account, this will be a useful episode for you to listen to. Even if you don't I answer other listener questions about growth stock mutual funds, Roth conversions, PSLF, backdoor Roth IRAs, investing in bonds vs stocks, charitable contributions, your asset allocation in a bear market, glide paths, and bond tents. Did you know that the White Coat Investor not only has a podcast and a blog but several books that will help you on your way to financial independence. These books cover topics such as asset protection and minimizing your taxes to keep more of your hard earned money. They discuss plans for insurance, housing, spending, student loan elimination, investing and estate planning. You can learn how to become a millionaire within 5-10 years of leaving residency and how to invest in a sensible low cost and effective manner with or without the assistance of a financial advisor. There is even a book geared directly toward medical and dental students so you can start optimizing your finances early in your professional journey. Find the book that is right for you at the WCI store at https://www.shop.whitecoatinvestor.com or on Amazon. You can do this and The White Coat Investor can help. The White Coat Investor has been helping doctors with their money since 2011. Our free financial planning resource covers a variety of topics from doctor mortgage loans and refinancing medical school loans to physician disability insurance and malpractice insurance. Learn about loan refinancing or consolidation, explore new investment strategies, and discover loan programs specifically aimed at helping doctors. If you're a high-income professional and ready to get a "fair shake" on Wall Street, The White Coat Investor is for you! Main Website: https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com  YouTube: https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/youtube  Student Loan Advice: https://studentloanadvice.com  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewhitecoatinvestor  Twitter: https://twitter.com/WCInvestor  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewhitecoatinvestor  Subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/whitecoatinvestor  Online Courses: https://whitecoatinvestor.teachable.com  Newsletter: https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/free-monthly-newsletter 

With medical school classes now having slightly more women than men, more physicians are or will be juggling the challenge of being a professional and a mother. Figuring out the work-life balance can be difficult. Fortunately women physicians have some great role models to look to. One of those is Dr. Barbara Hamilton, also known as Tired Superheroine https://tiredsuperheroine.com/  our guest in this episode. We discuss her experience in the field of interventional radiology as a female physician, a field where women still make up a small percentage. Dr. Hamilton is trying to change that by educating early career doctors on the benefits of choosing specialties currently dominated by male physicians. In this episode we discuss her mentoring work, what it is like to be in a male dominated specialty, negotiating your salary in that environment, finding life balance as a professional and mother, dealing with childcare, and financial empowerment. 6 years out of training she has crossed over into the millionaire status. I am in awe of everything she has accomplished and I think you will be as well after listening to this interview. If you need inspiration that you can do it, this episode will help!  Love what you hear on the podcast? Looking for more great White Coat Investor content? Head over to our YouTube channel where you can watch video recordings of our podcast, short snippets of financial tips explained succinctly by me and others, and deep dives into topics for more in depth learning. You can even learn all about real estate with webinars from our real estate partners. Check out all this and more at https://www.youtube.com/thewhitecoatinvestor. You can do this and The White Coat Investor can help. The White Coat Investor has been helping doctors with their money since 2011. Our free financial planning resource covers a variety of topics from doctor mortgage loans and refinancing medical school loans to physician disability insurance and malpractice insurance. Learn about loan refinancing or consolidation, explore new investment strategies, and discover loan programs specifically aimed at helping doctors. If you're a high-income professional and ready to get a "fair shake" on Wall Street, The White Coat Investor is for you! Main Website: https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com  YouTube: https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/youtube  Student Loan Advice: https://studentloanadvice.com  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewhitecoatinvestor  Twitter: https://twitter.com/WCInvestor  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewhitecoatinvestor  Subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/whitecoatinvestor  Online Courses: https://whitecoatinvestor.teachable.com  Newsletter: https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/free-monthly-newsletter 

Choosing which charities to give to is important. It takes just as much effort to give well as it does to earn, save, invest and spend well. We all know that some charities are better than others so how do you choose a charity to give to? What should you look for in that charity? For me, the most important thing is to to begin with choosing a cause that you want to support. Once you know the cause you want to to support, there are resources to identify the best charities for that cause. See the show notes at https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/classic-blog/ for links to the resources.  In this episode we discuss how to pick a charity to donate your money to as well as using a donor advised fund and donating shares to charity. Besides charitable giving, we answer listener questions about getting disability and life insurance outside of the United States, asset location, how to balance Roth conversions against ACA subsidies, PLLC vs LLC, resources to use for budgeting, and more. At some point in our financial lives, it will be time to buy a home. A physician mortgage can be a good vehicle for a young doctor who’s just out of school and has a more effective place to use their money than on a big down payment. These loans allow doctors to secure a mortgage with fewer restrictions and a lower down payment than a conventional mortgage. But if you’re further advanced in your career or deeper into your journey to financial freedom, buying a home with a conventional mortgage and then, later on, potentially refinancing that loan to a better rate with a shorter time frame could be a great move. Wherever you are in your financial journey, make sure you use the mortgage that will be most financially beneficial for you. Hop over to our recommended tab to learn more about all of your mortgage and refinancing options at https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/mortgage. You can do this and The White Coat Investor can help. The White Coat Investor has been helping doctors with their money since 2011. Our free financial planning resource covers a variety of topics from doctor mortgage loans and refinancing medical school loans to physician disability insurance and malpractice insurance. Learn about loan refinancing or consolidation, explore new investment strategies, and discover loan programs specifically aimed at helping doctors. If you're a high-income professional and ready to get a "fair shake" on Wall Street, The White Coat Investor is for you! Main Website: https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com  YouTube: https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/youtube  Student Loan Advice: https://studentloanadvice.com  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewhitecoatinvestor  Twitter: https://twitter.com/WCInvestor  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewhitecoatinvestor  Subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/whitecoatinvestor  Online Courses: https://whitecoatinvestor.teachable.com  Newsletter: https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/free-monthly-newsletter 

Medical school classes now have slightly more women than men. In today's episode we talk a little bit about what that means, both for male and female doctors, for employers, and for patients. We cover some controversial topics that typically I only talk about with this week's guest privately, but Dr. Nisha Mehta of Physician Side Gigs and I delve into the demographic changes that we are seeing in medicine and the issues women physicians are facing. Whether you are a male or female physician you will finish this episode with the confidence to be an advocate for yourself and your family. You can have a life in medicine that works for you. Nothing is impossible. We talk about how to make that happen in this episode. I estimate that 80% of doctors need, want, and should use a financial advisor and/or an investment manager. Some investment gurus such as Dr. William Bernstein think my estimate is way too low. At any rate, if you want to use an advisor temporarily or for your entire life, there is no reason to feel guilty about it—just make sure you are getting good advice at a fair price. If you need help updating your financial plan or just getting one in place, check out our list of recommended financial advisors at https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/financial-advisors. You can do this and The White Coat Investor can help. The White Coat Investor has been helping doctors with their money since 2011. Our free financial planning resource covers a variety of topics from doctor mortgage loans and refinancing medical school loans to physician disability insurance and malpractice insurance. Learn about loan refinancing or consolidation, explore new investment strategies, and discover loan programs specifically aimed at helping doctors. If you're a high-income professional and ready to get a "fair shake" on Wall Street, The White Coat Investor is for you! Main Website: https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com  YouTube: https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/youtube  Student Loan Advice: https://studentloanadvice.com  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewhitecoatinvestor  Twitter: https://twitter.com/WCInvestor  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewhitecoatinvestor  Subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/whitecoatinvestor  Online Courses: https://whitecoatinvestor.teachable.com  Newsletter: https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/free-monthly-newsletter 

Should you try to time the market? No! Why? Because it is very hard to do well over the long term and it introduces significant transaction costs to the equation. Beginner investors have trouble staying the course in market downturns but I've noticed that what I call intermediate investors, people who have learned a thing or two about investing, become fearful at market highs and want to sell when the market is at new highs. What they don't realize is that the market is usually at new highs because it is usually going up. You are much better off setting a static asset allocation of a reasonable mix of stocks, bonds and or real estate and rebalancing back to it each year. That way you hold your risk constant, and when the inevitable downturn comes, because it's going to come, you can simply rebalance back to your percentages. That forces you to sell high and buy low because you're selling what did well in the recent past and buying what did poorly in the recent past to get back to your plan percentages, your planned asset allocation.  If you look back at market history, you will see that on average, we see a market correction, a drop of 10% or more in the stock market about once a year. So if you're investing career is 60 years, 30 years while you're working, 30 years in retirement, you're going to see about 60 10% drops in the market. So this is not something that's unusual or something that's rare. This is something you should be planning for.  Getting quality disability and life insurance should be the first financial chore for a doctor to complete. Most docs don't have the ideal policy for their gender, specialty, state, or health status and 1 in 7 doctors get disabled at some point during their career. Because these policies can only be purchased through brokers, we have put together a list of vetted agents who are experienced with working with the specific needs of medical professionals and who have your best interest at heart. If you have questions about insurance and what kind of policies would be the best fit for you, check out our insurance recommended list at https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/insurance and feel the peace of mind that comes with knowing you have the optimal policy in place. You can do this and The White Coat Investor can help. The White Coat Investor has been helping doctors with their money since 2011. Our free financial planning resource covers a variety of topics from doctor mortgage loans and refinancing medical school loans to physician disability insurance and malpractice insurance. Learn about loan refinancing or consolidation, explore new investment strategies, and discover loan programs specifically aimed at helping doctors. If you're a high-income professional and ready to get a "fair shake" on Wall Street, The White Coat Investor is for you! Main Website: https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com  YouTube: https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/youtube  Student Loan Advice: https://studentloanadvice.com  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewhitecoatinvestor  Twitter: https://twitter.com/WCInvestor  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewhitecoatinvestor  Subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/whitecoatinvestor  Online Courses: https://whitecoatinvestor.teachable.com  Newsletter: https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/free-monthly-newsletter 

Life balance is an important topic as we address physician wellness in the medical community. Why is it so hard for high-income professionals to find balance in their lives? Most of us are striving to do so as we juggle busy careers, family responsibilities, and personal pursuits but it is challenging. Our guest this episode is Dr. Dawn Baker who blogs at PracticeBalance https://practicebalance.com/ . She became interested in writing about wellness when she experienced a major health crisis during residency training. In this episode we discuss what doctors, that feel their lives are unbalanced, can do to change that. Many of us want to do it all but will we be happy trying to do it all or would it be better if we figured out what is most important to us? After interviewing Dr. Baker I feel like I want to hire her as my life coach! Dawn will be a speaker at the WCI Conference next week speaking about how self-knowledge is the key to managing physical and financial health. If you'll be at the conference you don't want to miss her talk. If you are not attending, you will be able to buy the video version of the conference in the next couple of weeks. Her blog name, Practice Balance, is a good reminder that finding balance is a continuous practice that everyone can be engaged in to live a healthy, happy life. You'll find lots of helpful suggestions for practicing balance in your life listening to this episode.  As a white coat, you have valuable knowledge. Various companies want that knowledge. And they’re willing to pay you for it! That’s why we’ve put together a list of recommendations for companies that pay you to take surveys. If you’re looking for a profitable side gig for not too much effort, getting paid for surveys could be the perfect solution for you. You can make extra money, start a solo 401(k), and use your medical knowledge to impact new products. One of the WCI columnists makes an extra $30,000 a year just doing these surveys. Sign up today and use a fraction of your downtime to make extra cash! Go to https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/MDSurveys. You can do this and The White Coat Investor can help. The White Coat Investor has been helping doctors with their money since 2011. Our free financial planning resource covers a variety of topics from doctor mortgage loans and refinancing medical school loans to physician disability insurance and malpractice insurance. Learn about loan refinancing or consolidation, explore new investment strategies, and discover loan programs specifically aimed at helping doctors. If you're a high-income professional and ready to get a "fair shake" on Wall Street, The White Coat Investor is for you! Main Website: https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com  YouTube: https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/youtube  Student Loan Advice: https://studentloanadvice.com  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewhitecoatinvestor  Twitter: https://twitter.com/WCInvestor  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewhitecoatinvestor  Subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/whitecoatinvestor  Online Courses: https://whitecoatinvestor.teachable.com  Newsletter: https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/free-monthly-newsletter 

All of us can become a finance buffs if we are willing to put in the time to learn. Our guest in this episode is proof of that and is a bit of an of an idol of mine. Harry Sit has been blogging at The Finance Buff https://thefinancebuff.com/ for 13 years. When I was considering getting into blogging, I decided to reach out to the only two people I knew who had financial blogs, Mike Piper, who blogs at The Oblivious Investor and Harry Sit. I asked them what they thought about me getting into blogging as a business in the niche of reaching doctors. They were both very encouraging and gave me a couple of quick tips that really got me off the ground and running which I am very grateful.  Harry Sit and his wife are immigrants who came to the US in their 20s with just a few hundred dollars in their pockets. Now they are financially independent in their 40s. When they first came they didn't know how the financial system worked in this country and had to learn everything from how a checking account worked to doing a tax return. His first job after graduate school was in an employee benefits department for a large company. Part of his job was to present the company benefits to the new hires. He had to learn how a pension worked, how 401(k) worked, how the mutual funds in the 401(k) worked, and even what are mutual funds. Since that time he has developed an uncommonly in-depth understanding of the tax code and particularly retirement accounts. His message is really that all of us can become a finance buffs if we are willing to put in the time to learn.  He will be a key note speaker at the WCI Conference in a couple of weeks, speaking about how to legally lower your taxes. If you aren't attending the conference you will be able to buy the videos and watch that talk. In this episode we discuss retirement accounts, getting financial advice, mistakes investors make, and more. No more wading through dozens of books at the library, scrolling through hundreds of blog posts on dozens of blogs, or checking in daily with online forums trying to gain a financial education the way the hobbyists do. For a fraction of the price of hiring a professional financial planner, the Fire Your Financial Advisor online course will take you from feeling anxious and having no plan to having a written financial plan you can follow the rest of your investing career as a professional and a retiree. This course is the material that should have been taught to you in college, medical school, or residency but never was. Fire Your Financial Advisor also has a version eligible for CME credit. Get your financial life in order today. Go to https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/courses to sign up. You can do this and The White Coat Investor can help. The White Coat Investor has been helping doctors with their money since 2011. Our free financial planning resource covers a variety of topics from doctor mortgage loans and refinancing medical school loans to physician disability insurance and malpractice insurance. Learn about loan refinancing or consolidation, explore new investment strategies, and discover loan programs specifically aimed at helping doctors. If you're a high-income professional and ready to get a "fair shake" on Wall Street, The White Coat Investor is for you! Main Website: https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com  YouTube: https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/youtube  Student Loan Advice: https://studentloanadvice.com  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewhitecoatinvestor  Twitter: https://twitter.com/WCInvestor  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewhitecoatinvestor  Subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/whitecoatinvestor  Online Courses: https://whitecoatinvestor.teachable.com  Newsletter: https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/free-monthly-newsletter 

The 5-year rule for Roth IRA Conversions can be confusing because there are two 5-year rules regarding Roth IRAs. We discuss the difference between them in this episode. See the full show notes here https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/classic-blog/ . The first five year rule applies to Roth IRA contributions and determines whether the earnings will be tax free. The second rule applies to Roth conversions and applies to whether or not the principal that was converted will be penalty free when it comes out. In the case of conversions each conversion amount actually has its own five year time period. With multiple conversions, there may be multiple different five year periods underway at once. When withdrawals occur from the conversion amounts, they're deemed to come out on a first in first out basis, so that means that the oldest conversions, the ones most likely to have finished their five year requirement, come out first, and the most recent conversions come out last. We discuss in this episode why the rule is set up this way and how it will affect your retirement planning. We also answer listener questions about Roth vs Traditional 401(k) contributions, employers contributing to a different HSA for you, buying into a practice and losing your solo 401(k), defined benefit plans, how much cash to keep on hand, NNN properties, and why every solo 401k or SEP IRA isn't self-directed? The White Coat Investor is proud to introduce our No Hype Real Estate Investing course, which will provide the framework for developing further knowledge and experience as you progress in your real estate investing career. We call it an introductory course because there is always more to learn. But this is no short, superficial course. There are over 200 lectures and videos adding up to more than 27 hours of content by over 15 different instructors. We think it just might be the best real estate course on the planet. Continue your wealth-building journey today with the No Hype Real Estate Investing course at https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/courses. You can do this and The White Coat Investor can help. The White Coat Investor has been helping doctors with their money since 2011. Our free financial planning resource covers a variety of topics from doctor mortgage loans and refinancing medical school loans to physician disability insurance and malpractice insurance. Learn about loan refinancing or consolidation, explore new investment strategies, and discover loan programs specifically aimed at helping doctors. If you're a high-income professional and ready to get a "fair shake" on Wall Street, The White Coat Investor is for you! Main Website: https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com  YouTube: https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/youtube  Student Loan Advice: https://studentloanadvice.com  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewhitecoatinvestor  Twitter: https://twitter.com/WCInvestor  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewhitecoatinvestor  Subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/whitecoatinvestor  Online Courses: https://whitecoatinvestor.teachable.com  Newsletter: https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/free-monthly-newsletter 

In this episode we are looking at faith, family, and finances through the lens of medicine. Fahd Ahmad, also know as Rogue Dad, M.D. is our guest. See the full show notes and transcription at https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/classic-blog. Three years ago the concept of Rogue Dad, M.D. originated as an anonymous, creative outlet born out a desire Dr. Ahmad had to express himself when he was frustrated and dismayed by the presidential election of 2016. We don't delve into politics too much in this episode but as a Muslim son of immigrants, he felt very frustrated, worried, and upset, and wanted an outlet to talk about that. I first met Fahd at the WCI Conference in March 2018 in Park City where he was on a blogger panel. I was so impressed with his presence on stage that I thought he would make for a great keynote speakermat the next White Coat Investor conference. I'm excited about the topic he will speak on at our conference. I think it is an important one, a really significant contributor to burnout. He will be discussing second victim syndrome. We talk about second victim syndrome in this episode a bit but for those of you who are coming to the conference, make sure you catch his talk and for those of you who aren't coming to the conference, you will be able to buy the conference videos afterward and watch the talk in it's entirety. If you are finding our podcasts informative and helpful we would encourage you to sign up for our monthly newsletter! It is totally free and includes useful, actionable information NOT AVAILABLE on the regular blog posts. It's almost like being in a secret club - the kind of club that can boost your knowledge and enhance your wealth at the same time - with no strings attached. Visit https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/newsletter to sign up today. You can do this and The White Coat Investor can help. The White Coat Investor has been helping doctors with their money since 2011. Our free financial planning resource covers a variety of topics from doctor mortgage loans and refinancing medical school loans to physician disability insurance and malpractice insurance. Learn about loan refinancing or consolidation, explore new investment strategies, and discover loan programs specifically aimed at helping doctors. If you're a high-income professional and ready to get a "fair shake" on Wall Street, The White Coat Investor is for you! Main Website: https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com  YouTube: https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/youtube  Student Loan Advice: https://studentloanadvice.com  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewhitecoatinvestor  Twitter: https://twitter.com/WCInvestor  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewhitecoatinvestor  Subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/whitecoatinvestor  Online Courses: https://whitecoatinvestor.teachable.com  Newsletter: https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/free-monthly-newsletter