Financial Residency Book Review: Guide To Physician Financial Planning

Financial Residency: Create Your Financial Plan Without the Long Hours or Sleepless Nights is a useful resource for physicians that need help navigating their personal finances.

Ryan and Taylor Inman offer a tailored perspective on the specific financial opportunities and challenges that come with being a doctor. 

Taylor herself is a pediatrician and the book is rooted in real-life experience combined with Ryan’s personal finance expertise. Throughout the book, you’ll find straightforward guidance and practical advice that can help you get your finances on the right track.

What’s Financial Residency: Create Your Financial Plan Without the Long Hours or Sleepless Nights All About?

As a physician, you will likely have a high income. But it's still important to take your personal finances seriously. Although you may not have too much time on your hands with a busy schedule, there is time to take steps to build a bright financial future.

In Financial Residency, Ryan Inman maps out the path to financial success as a physician. And Taylor Inman, a pediatrician, shares helpful tidbits of how she balanced these best financial practices and the demanding schedule of a doctor. With Ryan’s personal finance expertise and Taylor’s first-hand experience, the book is packed with practical advice to secure your financial future.

Overall, the goal of this book is to help you get a handle on your personal finances. If you follow the straightforward advice set forth in the book, you’ll be well on your way to a successful financial future.

Chapter Summary

Let’s take a closer look at what each chapter covers.

Why Put Together A Financial Plan?

Before you can start making a financial plan, it is important to think about your goals. Ryan compares the idea of building a financial plan to a game of golf. You’ll need to have an idea of where you want to go before you get started. Otherwise, you could take several unnecessary swings in the wrong direction.

Throughout the chapter, you’ll encounter thought-provoking questions and exercises. Each is designed to make you think about what you truly want out of life. Once you have a handle on that, you’ll be better prepared to create a plan that will work for you.

Discover Your Ideal Life

Everyone has a different dream in life. Ryan recognizes that and explains that there is no single financial plan that will work for everyone. But you can create a plan that will work for your vision.

The chapter will walk you through an exercise that forces you to explore your goals for the future. Plus, you’ll work through questions that can help you envision your dream life. 

Getting Financially Organized

Before you can change your financial future for the better, you need to firm understanding of where you stand now. Part of that process includes getting organized.

In this chapter of Financial Residency, Ryan compared this step to ordering lab results for a patient. It helped to put the process into perspective. Taylor shares some useful tips on how she and Ryan keep their personal finances organized. Although you’ll need to come up with a system that works for your life, these tips are a good place to get started.

Understanding The Flow of Money

With a high income, it can feel unnecessarily constructive to budget your income. However, a budget is not meant to be confining. Instead, the goal is to help you reach your financial goals with fewer bumps in the road.

Ryan shares how you can create a budget that aligns with your goals. With clear guidance, you can confidently create a budget that reflects your values. 

Related: These Are The Best Budgeting Apps To Track Your Money

Understanding And Confronting Your Debt

On your path to becoming a doctor, you likely had to take out a substantial amount of student loan debt. Inman talks through the different types of debt in the context of becoming a doctor. Not all debt is a bad decision, but understanding the implications of your debt is critical to creating a bright financial future.

You’ll learn about different ways to path down your debt and forgiveness options that you should consider. At the end of the chapter, you’ll feel more prepared to make major decisions about your debt.

The Types Of Insurance You Need

Insurance is an often overlooked concept in personal finance. But Financial Residency makes it clear that medical professionals are actually in more need of good insurance than most. 

Inman outlines the types of insurance that should physicians should consider such as life insurance and disability insurance. With a comprehensive look at insurance, you'll be better informed to choose the right policies to protect your assets and your dependents.

Investing In Your Future

The concept of investing can seem overwhelming at the outset. But Inman walks through the types of investment accounts you might encounter.

Armed with useful knowledge about the differences, you can build an investment portfolio that suits your goals. A firm understanding of investing basics is exactly what you should expect in this chapter. 

Estate Planning Isn’t Just For The Wealthy

Although you may not be wealthy, you still need an estate plan to protect your assets and your heirs. You’ll learn about the four pillars of an estate plan - a will, a medical directive, living trust, and power of attorney -- and how to implement each of these in your life. 

Financial Health Assessment And Prescription

Financial Residency stresses that you should treat your personal finance situation as you would the health of a patient. You need to track it regularly, monitor for changes, and adjust as needed.

In this chapter, you’ll learn how to track your own personal finance health with your net worth.
You’ll also find out how to work yourself up the ladder of financial success. Track your net worth with Personal Capital.

How Not To Cripple Your Financial Health

Unfortunately, there are a few surefire ways to hurt your financial future. You’ll find out what they are and how you can avoid making some of the most common mistakes. 

Pay Off Debt Or Invest?

Inman provides you with a straightforward list to help you decide whether or not you should pay off your debt or invest. It can be a tricky subject, but you’ll find this explanation very easy to follow. 

How Much House Can You Afford?

In this final chapter of Financial Residency, you’ll find a simple answer to one of the biggest personal finance questions -- "How much how can I afford?" You’ll find a simple formula to help you make an affordable choice on your home purchase. 

About Ryan And Taylor Inman

Ryan Inman is the voice behind the Financial Residency podcast. Additionally, he is the President of Physician Wealth Services which works with physicians across the country. He has the goal of helping physicians develop a financial plan that works to support the life they love.

Taylor Inman is a pediatric pulmonologist in San Diego. She truly believes that physicians have the ability to pursue their dream life when their finances are on track. The goal is to get started when you're a medical resident, and then keep taking steps forward.

The couple works together in this book to create a useful guide for physicians that want to move their finances in the right direction. 

Who Should Read Financial Residency: Create Your Financial Plan Without the Long Hours or Sleepless Nights?

If you aren’t sure where to get started when it comes to money, then look no further. Financial Residency: Create Your Financial Plan Without the Long Hours or Sleepless Nights is the perfect book for a physician that is ready to get their finances on track.

The book is very clear and honest about how to build a financial plan that works. Instead of spending days researching these topics on your own, you’ll build a solid financial base by working through the steps in the book.

I really enjoyed Taylor’s helpful stories throughout the book that shed some light on the practicality of this advice. At the end of each chapter, you’ll find digestible tips that will help you get the most out of the book. I think you’ll really like the tips to help keep your progress on track.

Final Thoughts

At 148 pages, Financial Residency is packed with useful information on every page. You won’t have to wade through any fluff to find the answers you need. And if you find that you need more information, the book points to a free course offered by Financial Residency to help you dive even deeper into various topics. 

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