Why physicians deserve financial planning built around their reality — not cookie cutter plans.

A Career Unlike Any Other

Many professions follow more a relatively normal financial path. You finish school, start earning, begin saving, and build from there. The path has its complications, but the general shape is familiar. A physician's path often looks different.

Doctors navigate one of the most financially complex careers of any profession. And they do it largely on their own, often without guidance tailored to their specific situation. The journey begins with years of intensive education and the accumulation of significant student loan debt. It continues through residency and fellowship: years of long hours, limited income, and relentless demands on time and energy, with little free time or financial flexibility.

Then, almost overnight, everything changes.

Income rises sharply. Tax complexity follows. Financial decisions that once felt distant suddenly carry real weight — and they arrive all at once.

This transition is both an opportunity and the risk. It is a moment when thoughtful financial planning and tax strategies can make an enormous difference — and when the cost of poor decisions can compound for years.

Why Specialized Planning Matters

Michael came to understand this gap firsthand. When his wife Jacqueline was in medical school, Michael had a front-row seat to the financial realities of a medical career — the uncertainty, the deferred gratification, the weight of long-term debt, and the sheer volume of decisions that pile up the moment training ends.

What struck him most was not only the complexity level, but also the lack of guidance built around it. The advice being offered to medical trainees and physicians was often generic, product-focused, or disconnected from the view of a physician's real life.

Cookie-cutter advice shouldn’t be for a physician.

This frustration led Michael to add on to his set of skills as a Certified Financial Planner™ and Enrolled Agent so he could help physicians navigate their career.

Common Topics for Each Stage of a Physicians Career

  • Now that you've made it to an attending physician a lot changes. How does your strategy shift from your lower-income years?

    • Which accounts may take priority for your short-term and long-term wealth building goals?

    • What tax plan should we add to our investment approach?

    • Should I have disability insurance and life insurance or not?

    • What investment approach makes sense for where you are now, but also where you hope to be 10, 20, 30 years from now?

    • What combination of accounts will serve your long-term tax plan best?

    • And the question every attending should be asking: how much should you actually be saving for retirement versus enjoying what you've worked so hard to earn?

  • Congratulations. You've earned this. From the long hours to the difficult moments to the ones that reminded you why you chose this career, retirement is now on the horizon. And with it, a whole new set of questions worth exploring together.

    • How much could you actually plan to spend?

    • What does a smart withdrawal strategy look like, and which accounts should you draw from first?

    • When may be the right time to claim Social Security?

    • How can you avoid Medicare surcharges?

    • What does tax efficiency planning look like in retirement?

    • In those final working years, should you be aiming to maximize your current tax deductions or shifting toward more future tax free assets?

    • How could you give to the people and causes you care about in a more tax-efficient way possible?

  • You're finally making a paycheck after your hard work. So, how do we try and make the most of it?

    • Should student loans be aggressively paid off, or does a Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) make more sense for you?

    • How would this effect me if I’m married?

    • Should I be investing anything for my future now or wait until I’m an attending?

    • I heard I should have disability insurance and life insurance? Is that true?

    • Look, I’m ready to start enjoying myself some. I’ve worked hard and want to enjoy this stage of life right now at least some!

Planning That Fits a Physician's Life

Good financial planning for physicians is not about a single recommendation or a generic portfolio strategy. It is about building a framework that makes sense across the full arc of a medical career.

That means taking the time to understand where you are, where you want to get, and what decisions are most pivotal right now, because the choices that feel straightforward now can have meaningful consequences years from now.

It also means recognizing something that is easy to overlook in the middle of a demanding career: you have worked hard for a very long time, and the financial life you are building should reflect that. Not just stability, but the ability to live in a way that aligns with your values and priorities.

A Different Kind of Guidance

The goal of physician-focused financial planning is not to add complexity to an already demanding life. It is to reduce it. To help physicians make confident, informed decisions without having to become financial experts themselves. To create clarity around the choices that matter most, and to build systems that work in the background while you focus on the work you trained for.

Whether you are navigating residency and looking ahead, entering practice and confronting a sudden income shift, or well into your career and wanting to build more intentionally toward the future — thoughtful, specialized guidance can make the path significantly clearer.

Physicians deserve a financial plan built around their reality. Not a template. Not a product pitch. A plan.