I have been blogging here at the White Coat Investor since May 2011, 5 1/2 years ago. Before I started writing and especially since, there have always been a number of other blogs out there on similar subjects aimed at the same audience (doctors and other high income professionals.) I put a few out of business. A few others started their blog, then discovered mine and quit when they realized what they were trying to do had already been done. Others quit because it is a lot of work, often doesn't pay well, and they are busy doing something else that pays well. But in the last year or so, a fair number of people have started blogs and don't seem likely to quit any time soon. Frankly, a lot of that has to do with the fact that I actually publish what I make doing this every year, and the last couple of years I have actually made quite a bit of money. People have realized that if you put in some hard work, write some good content, and provide a little bit (or maybe a lot) of value to lots of people, that you can eventually make a doctor-like income doing it, even if it isn't really passive income. “Since the barriers to entry are low,” they say, “why not give it a try?”
Some have realized that it isn't quite as easy as I apparently make it look. Others have been able to take a few shortcuts by adopting the business model I worked out over several years, writing for the same publications/sites that I do, and approaching those who advertise with me. Readership, of course, takes time to build and there isn't a lot of income in blogging when you don't have much readership. I'm not surprised that most of them decided, like I did, that they didn't want to write for free and that doctors are too cheap to buy a subscription to the site/newsletter. Some are more polished writers than others, but all seem to be making an important contribution to the physician financial blogosphere.
Apple batteries, Verizon coverage, and a personal hotspot- I take more working vacations than anyone I know.
Most are surprised at the amount of encouragement I give them when they approach me. I have learned over time that blogging is far more collaborative than competitive. Sure, there might be a limited number of advertisers and every affiliate sale they get is one I don't, but the truth is I am turning down two out of three advertisers who approach me because I am uncomfortable endorsing them. At least half of those I approve decide not to follow through anyway once they learn the price. That's fine, almost everyone I have renews anyway. Besides, we can very comfortably live on half of what this site makes and I still have that side job seeing patients in the ED, rapidly diminishing debt, and a rapidly growing net worth. Some competition for advertisers isn't going to affect us personally very much. One of the more interesting experiences I had with this was a blogger who emailed me asking about a potential advertiser (that I had turned down.) He said he wasn't sure what to do since this was his first advertiser that wasn't advertising with me first!
The real reason I encourage other bloggers is because it enhances my mission- “To Help Those Who Wear The White Coat Get A Fair Shake on Wall Street.” The more they do to encourage and increase physician financial literacy, the less I have to do and the faster it occurs. If they get a nice side income while doing it, all the better. I encourage doctors to pursue their entrepreneurial interests, even if their business ends up looking very similar to mine. In my experience, blog readers will read as much high-quality content as can be created anyway. Without further ado, let's do a brief survey of the physician (and other high-income professional) financial blogosphere. I hope you find some gems that you did not know about before.
Physician On FIRE
POF is still trying to maintain a bit of anonymity, although I don't know how long that will last. He is an anesthesiologist who self-describes as a “family man” about my age who became Financially Independent by age 39. It didn't do him any good, of course, since he's still practicing medicine (maybe not for much longer though)) and now has picked up a second job as a blogger. He started in January 2016, but has been very active with his posts, on the WCI forum, in the comments section on this site and most of the others on this list, and on social media. He featured a post about me here. His focus is primarily on FIRE- Financial Independence and Retire Early. He writes, “What sets my site apart? I started from the standpoint of financial independence. I don’t need additional dollars to live our current lifestyle, and my site has a charitable mission to donate half its revenue.” Some of his better posts include:
Money Used to Buy Me Stuff. Now It Buys Time.
Top 5 Reasons I Chose Not To Retire at 39
Dr. Wise Money
This blog is written by a radiology resident and a single mother who also seems to be trying to maintain some of her anonymity (definitely a good idea for a doc still in training in my opinion.) She started emailing me back in January 2014 and has been blogging for over a year under various names including Debt Free Doc. She sent me a guest post about hitting a net worth of $0 as an intern. She had paid off her student loans by her PGY2 year. Her writing is not terribly polished, but where she really excels is in the personal finance and extreme frugality areas. For example, I tell people to live like a resident for a few years. Meanwhile she is paying off student loans, maxing out 401(k)s and Roth IRAs, and buying investment properties as a resident. In other words, she isn't even living like a resident as a resident. To say that she will eventually be very wealthy is a dramatic understatement. She has already written five books, including Debt Free Doctor. I am honestly amazed at her industry and work ethic. I guess that's what happens when you don't waste weeks at a time in slot canyons. She always has lots of nice things to say about me like “mentor,” “hero,” and “godfather of physician finance.” Here are some of her better posts:
8 Ways To Reduce The Doctors Price Tag
10 Weapons to Terminate Your Student Loans
All the Right Plastics in All the Right Places
Future Proof MD
This one was originally called White Coat Money, until I pointed out to him (and Dr. Wise Money who also briefly had a name with “White Coat” in it) what my trademark attorney thought about that. (Please don't start a physician financial blog with the words “White Coat” in it. Attorneys are expensive and White Coat Investor is a valuable registered trademark I intend to defend.) He is also a radiology resident. He does regular posts about his net worth (it's still negative like most residents but is a great case study), various deals he finds, and a random assortment of other financial topics. He writes that as a resident “there are many who can share in my experience. In addition, my focus is on providing succinct digestible tips that can be consumed in a very short period of time – think of my posts as flash cards for personal finance.” Here is a sampling of his posts.
Chinese Grandma Versus American Grandma
Why I Don't Bet Against Warren Buffett
Miles Dividend MD
This one is written by an electrophysiologist who loves to travel. The main focus is on hacking credit cards and getting travel associated deals. He also focuses a lot on early retirement. Actually, I don't really know what he is focusing on these days. Despite starting with a bang in September 2013, he hasn't published a post since November 2015. Lots of good stuff in there between those two dates though. He is nice enough to call my site the “The Best Financial Site for Doctors. Bar None.” Here is a sampling of posts:
Warning: This Post May Change Your Life
Everything You Need to Know to Manufacture Spending
Wealthy Doc
I'm told this one began in 2007, although I can't seem to find blog posts older than the last couple of months, probably just an issue with site structure. Like POF and unlike me (because we spend too much) he is already financially independent. Blog posts tend to be pretty short, so he's easy to follow. He did a nice review of my book here.
Passive Income, MD
This one is a lot of fun too. Written by an anesthesiologist in an “expensive West coast city” who is looking to uncouple his income from his work. The blog is about 4 months old but there is already some good stuff on it. The focus is on passive income, although he readily admits the blog isn't so passive! One of the most fun aspects is his quarterly passive income report. He's featured me too.
Making Passive Income as Dr. Mom
The 5 Most Important Lessons I Give To My Residents
5 Key Characteristics of Physicians Ready for Retirement
I Am 1%
This one isn't written by a doc, but it is written by a high income professional and it's been around for quite a while. He only posts once or twice a month, and I haven't seen a net worth update any time recently, but there's still plenty of good stuff over there.
5 Things That Can Make Your Taxes More Complicated
How to Negotiate a Raise With Your Boss
Does Your Personality Match Your Career?
The Financial Pharmacist
This one is also written by a WCI reader, Tim Ulbrich, a real life pharmacist, who decided to give professional financial blogging a whirl. I think it's about a year old now and seems to be successful.
My Journey Paying Off $200K in Student Loans
5 Lessons My Swagger Wagon Taught Me
Why Every Pharmacist Should Be A Multimillionaire
Senior Resident
Written by Walter Nguyen, a radiologist, this blog puts out three posts a week. Only the Friday posts are about finances, but he's been going long enough there are quite a few of those.
Actively Managed Funds (Gambling)
The Happy Philosopher
This one is written by a physician and a WCI reader who considers it a guide to freedom and happiness. I think it is about a year old. He writes “I don't write specifically about money and finance, nor is it specific towards physicians right now, but I am starting to write more physician specific material. As you know I'm a big advocate for creating financial independence as a means towards freedom. Money, depression, burnout, suicide: they are all intertwined in strange ways and on the blog I hope to explore these. There are tons of blogs on the nuts and bolts of finance, but fewer that delve into the psychological aspects and ‘softer side'.
Happy Philosopher: The Backstory
How Understanding The Marginal Value of Money Will Make You Happier
A Physician's Guide to Working Part-Time
Debt Freedom Journey
This one is written by a veterinarian about his journey to become debt free. He graduated in 2015 with $205K in debt and a salary of $69K and then just as he was about to lease a new car, he read a Dave Ramsey book. He hasn't blogged in months as near as I can tell, but hey, it was unique in that it was a veterinarian financial blog.
InvestingDoc
This one is written by a brand new attending. He seems to be slowing down already, as I only see about one post a month the last few months. I guess that blogging stuff is hard work. There's some good stuff there though that's probably worth a few of your valuable minutes.
Should You Pay Off Debt Or Save?
My Retirement Mistake in Residency
Med School Financial
This one, despite the name, is written by an attending and is a little over a year old. Posting frequency varies from a whole bunch to once a month at times.
Before You Buy A Home Or Sign A Lease
Education Debt and the Role of 529 Plans
Avoid These Investment Mistakes
Smart Money MD
This one is about a year and a half old and is subtitled “Financial and Lifestyle Principles for the Busy Professional.” If you think my posts are too long, you'll appreciate the brevity. Check these out:
How to Make a Doctor's Salary and Still Feel Poor
The Real Cost of Owning A Swimming Pool
How to Become a Rich Doctor- Ride the Wave
Son of a Doctor
This one is written by the Pearces- he's an attorney and an investment advisor who writes most of the posts and she's an MFM doc who writes occasionally. It's a nice combination and it's about 6 months old. Richard even says nice things about me. Here's a sampling:
5 Things You Need to Know About MLPs, REITs, and BDCs
How Investment Fees Destroy Wealth
Physician Wellness- Parent Win
Wealth Formula
This one is written by physician and entrepreneur Buck Joffrey. It's mostly podcasts, but there is a short blog with a few posts. He leans more toward the Robert Kiyosaki school of thought than the Bogleheads one so a lot of the topics slant more toward real estate and entrepreneurship rather than tax efficiency and correlations. He emailed me saying, “We have the same mission, but our perspective could not be more different.” I disagree. I have no idea why I get lumped in as being anti-entrepreneurship when I have a going entrepreneurial concern that makes more than my physician practice or as being anti-real estate when I've owned real estate in many forms over the years, still own portions of multiple properties, and plan to increase my real estate holdings in the future. He just had me on his podcast last week. At any rate, I wish Buck success just as much as all the other bloggers on this list and hope he keeps it up. Here's some good stuff:
What Is The Foreign Exchange Market?
I'm positive I've forgotten somebody out there, so I'll apologize in advance. But I think this gives you a sampling of all the great resources now available for doctors. I hope you find something useful for you out there and hope to provide a little encouragement and support to these bloggers to help us fulfill our mission to Help Those Who Wear The White Coat Get A Fair Shake On Wall Street.
What do you think? Which of these blogs do you enjoy? Have I forgotten any I should have included? Why do you think so many of these have popped up in the last year? Comment below!
Very cool roundup. I think it’s especially cool that you would promote your fellow doctor community blogs. As I’m still discovering the personal finance blog world it’s interesting to see what’s come before as well as what’s new. What influenced you to start blogging?
# 1 Huge need for the information among my fellow docs. There truly is a mission behind it.
# 2 Learn how to make money online- be an internet entrepreneur
Without both of those, I would have never been able to keep going for 5+ years. Part of it was also that I was sick of typing the same thing into internet forums over and over. With a blog, I can just post a link to a post rather than recreating it. The truth is that we as high-income professionals mostly all run into the same questions and problems over and over again. No sense in all of us having to recreate the wheel.
I have seriously considered a comment repository so I dont have to type the same stuff again and again…but am continually impressed by people that can talk about anything, anything for years on end.
Very true in general.
I have noticed that the most viewed youtube video sites do so with ample cross collaboration. Free cross advertising expands your readership without losing readers, since readership is not a zero sum game.
I am reading POF already. I just don’t know how I can find the time to read all of these. I will try to check them out.
Great list and I second our PoF recommendation. Thanks for introducing us to new bloggers, though you’ve left some awfully big footprints to follow.
Wow, quite honored to make “the list.” Thanks for the mention. Obviously been a devoted follower of this site for years and I launched my site only when I felt I could provide some added value. I’ve enjoyed the ride so far and feel like the connections I’ve made with readers & other bloggers have been the best part. Thanks for paving the way WCI!
Long time reader and recent blogger. Cardiologist by profession. Dreamer by choice. My site DadsDollarsandDebts.com is not even a month old. My latest post on how I got rid of $100,000 in debt in 18 months mentions your site….I leaned toward Dads instead of Doctors to keep my focus sharp. I want financial freedom to spend time with my son- thus I am a Dad first and not a Doctor.
Thanks for the round up.
Just checked it out, I can definitely relate to it as a Dad & doctor. Nice work!
Thanks Passive Income MD. I am working out the kinks but am excited to get out there and write. My wife is happy I am doing it too as I have been talking about 2 years.
I just tagged your site and look forward to reading it! Thanks for checking mine out.
I’m given ample consideration to the idea of blogging, partly as another way to generate income, but partly because I have a lot of thoughts on topics that I *hope* may be interesting to other (some on finance, some not). Facebook just isn’t an effective way to communicate those ideas without starting a lot of arguments (which I am prone to do).
For the potential beginning blogger, any recommendations on how to start of HOSTING a site and how to obtain initial advertising dollars? What platforms are people using to run the blogs, distribute newsletters, and how much time is spent by the nascent blogger trying to find advertisers to make this worth their while?
Part of the fun is learning how to do all that stuff. This blog isn’t about learning to blog professionally, but there are others than are, such as http://smartpassiveincome.com or http://problogger.com.
And there are no initial advertising dollars and nascent bloggers won’t find advertisers that will make this worth their while.
As a high income professional, it won’t be worth your “while” for years, if ever. If you aren’t willing to blog regularly for free, at least for a couple of years, I wouldn’t bother.
Worth my while is a relative term for everyone. If I just translated my energy from Facebook and places like this forum to blogging that would create a few posts per month without even trying to monetize it.
However the impression I am starting to gather is that while significant profits such as yours are rare and always will be (I’m guessing you are in the top 1% of bloggers as far as income goes), the time to actually generating SOME income is decreasing for the high-quality/dedicated blogger.
Obviously a lot of this is relative to the topic and audience and advertisers available, however I think people blogging is now a mainstream activity and dollars are being directed that way accordingly. When you started 5.5 years ago (and I started reading you not long after you started writing), blogging was thought of in completely different terms.
Having said that, your site is an inspiration to many both because of the content that can be life-changing, but also because of the entrepreneurial spirit you’ve shown, which I find inspiring.
Exactly. That was the way I felt about it. I was already spending hours online, why not get paid for it?
As one of the bloggers that has started relatively recently, I can absolutely attest to the different world we live in because WCI. He created the market, proved its value to sponsors, and as a result many of us have benefitted from it.
I was initially encouraged to start the blog by my colleagues and friends. I’m the guy willing to try anything for passive income, and they thought it’d be easier & more entertaining for them to read about it online than to hunt me down in the hospital. So I just put out the content and fortunately the audience has been there.
As for whether it will be “worth your time”, I think WCI has it right. You have no idea whether that’ll ever be the case financially. If I wasn’t able to work on it while sitting in a tiny call room waiting for my pager to go off, I probably wouldn’t be doing it (especially if it took time away from my family). However, sounds like you need / want an outlet your thoughts so might as well try and see how it goes. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions…
I would say the vast majority of blogs use the WordPress platform, and you can choose a free or purchased Theme that dictates how your blog looks. Themes are customizable, some more than others.
Many bloggers have written “How to Start a Blog” posts, largely because they get a cut when you sign up for a hosting service. I think Bluehost gives $30 to referring sites for each signup. A couple how-to guides I read early on came from Financial Samurai (http://www.financialsamurai.com/how-to-start-a-profitable-blog/) and The Minimalists (http://www.financialsamurai.com/how-to-start-a-profitable-blog/). There are many hits and tips on them, as well.
I set a goal of 1,000 pageviews a day before thinking about adding advertisers. You can use Google AdSense and Amazon affiliate links from day one, but you’ll only see a few pennies or dollars from each if you don’t have much readership. I reached my goal in about 4 months, and had been contacted by a number of WCI’s advertisers by then. I put together a proposal for them, and reached out to some others. I’m the blogger referenced above who actually had to do his own vetting for the first time a couple months ago. 🙂
If you decide you want to get started, go ahead and get started. It’s a lot easier to figure this stuff out after you’ve got a site and a “need to know”. There’s a new Rockstar Finance forum (http://forums.rockstarfinance.com/) with a blogger’s only section where you can get lots of answers to specific questions from personal finance bloggers.
I have no doubt you’ll be able to stir up some controversy and have some fun on your own site. I recall some rather heated discussion on the WCI forum. Let us know if you take the plunge, and best of luck!
-Physician on FIRE
Thank you for the tips.
You and WCI both post several times/week, which I think accounts for some of the success. Certainly the content matters the most, but just knowing that there is a constant stream of output makes me more likely to frequently check the site, go back to read old posts and comments, etc.
This is the Minimalists blog link I meant to share: http://www.theminimalists.com/blog/
In addition to the how-to part, there are 20 recommendations that have nothing to do with the tech stuff, but were worth revisiting for me.
Cheers!
-PoF
Thanks for the historical perspective and the roundup of the other physician, financial bloggers. I often saw their forum posts or blog replies and self promotion and wondered if the relationship was parasitic, mutualistic, saprophytic, etc. Glad to know it’s benign and mutually beneficial.
It is interesting that they are all in high-income specialties, 3 radiology, 1 electrophysiology, 2 anesthesiology. I’m surprised there aren’t more FPs, pathologists, etc. due to the clear benefit of extra income.
Like many others, having rad this blog almost religiously for a few months, I’ve entertained the thought of starting my own personal finance blog but finding an unexplored niche has proven to e a bit tricky. Anyway, time will tell if this is a passing fancy.
Still super happy I found this blog. I’ve made and saved money due to the information found here.
I would call it a synergistic relationship. I believe the “rising tide floats all boats” theory applies.
I’ve been very generous in linking out to other sites that have information that my readers would find useful or interesting. My Sunday Best compilations of Other People’s Posts (you down with OPP?) are always popular and have increased the level of engagement I have with others in the personal finance blogging realm, WCI, and most of the featured sites above included.
I struggle with self-promotion, as it’s not consistent with my real life personality, but if you have a message that you want to share, as WCI does with his mission, you have to do some self-promotion or your message will go unheard and your mission unfulfilled.
I try to comment only when I have something to add to the conversation, and link to my own writing only when it directly addresses the question or discussion at hand. As WCI says, there is no need to re-invent the wheel, and it saves us a lot of time.
Best,
-PoF
Synergistic is a better word.
I agree that you do a nice job of only linking to relevant posts on your site. I appreciate that.
I’m all for self-promotion. I was simply unsure about WCI’s official stance regarding cross-promoting posts/posters on this site. Based on this post, he supports it to a certain extent.
I appreciate the Naughty by Nature reference.
If there was a thumbs up icon, or a “like this” phrase, I would be clicking it.
Cheers!
-PoF
I have had 0 subscribers and slowly increasing amount of page views since starting less then 1 month ago. I am publishing 2 times a week and once I have subscribers am thinking a monthly news letter.
I was going to post about costs of starting a blog and for me, as I wanted to go forward as if this business will succeed and grow (growth mindset), I paid for squarespace to host my site, obtained a PO box to maintain my anonymity (mail chimp requires a address due to anti- spam laws), am considering an LLC (was waiting for advertisers), and set up a free sharaholic and mail chimp account. Oh and a free gmail account.
All in all I made be $300-500 in the hole thus far. Not terrible and you can definitely do it for free. For me the added cost is a incentive to take this seriously as a business. The first one I have ever started.
EJ
Mailchimp doesn’t stay free very long, but you’re right, the barrier to entry is far more time than money.
If I hit the 2000 subscribers that is required prior to having to pay, then I will know I am doing something right.
As for WCI, I have been reading since late 2013 or was it early 2014. I have referred friends and family your way. Regarding the book, it is 1 of 20 I have read on finances but 1 of only 2 that I referred my wife to read. Kudos on making it succinct and digestible.
I should have included your blog. It looks like it’s off to a great start. Of course, I wrote this post before you wrote your first one, so you can’t hold me leaving you out against me too much! Best of luck!
Ha ha. That is a fair statement. Its funny how quickly the articles come as you start writing. I am now 2 weeks ahead of schedule which is great. It definitely makes it easy to put these things on cruise control.
Thanks for the support. I have really enjoyed your blog and can thank you for getting me to start thinking about my finances.
I’m still partial to yours, WCI, as it offers the most practical advice on issues such as life insurance, how to do the backdoor roth, etc. This decreases my research time immensely and makes self- wealth management easily doable.
In addition, your blog opened my eyes to what’s possible outside of medicine other than just pulling shifts for the rest of my life. Although I have no plans to start my own blog, I find your success rather motivating to pursue my own outside interests, even if failure is an option.
I will say, however, that I’m starting to tire of the more frequent “humble-brag” tone of some of the other doc’s sites. I make tons of $$, I can afford it, etc….wears thin with me rather fast. I stick to articles with practical applications and avoid the fluff.
Keep doing what you’re doing…fellow ED doc.
That’s very kind of you.
The “humble-brag” is something I’ve struggled with myself. I mean, is my annual “State of the Blog” a humble brag? It certainly didn’t seem to be at first, but as the site makes more money, it feels that way sometimes. In fact, some of my advertisers have a running bet as to when I stop telling readers what the site is making.
Part of my goal with the site is to give readers permission to talk about money. Also, a major part of my philosophy is to “live like a resident” for a few years so you can live the good life. So I like to show what “the good life” can look like. If it looks like I’m still scrounging pennies at 40-45, that makes it a lot harder to live like a resident at 30 if that’s all you have to look forward to. And for the tightwads that tend to concentrate in places like this on the web, I try to give them permission to spend and to think of things they can spend on that would actually make them happier.
But all that could EASILY come across as humble brag. Tough line to walk.
That’s not a humble brag at all. A humble brag would be “well, the blog only brought in $400,000 this year. Guess I’ll have to put more effort in!”
From the all-knowing Google: hum·ble·brag
ˈhəmbəlbraɡ/
noun
noun: humble brag
an ostensibly modest or self-deprecating statement whose actual purpose is to draw attention to something of which one is proud.
I avoid the “humble brag” but some self-promotion, or non-humble bragging is something I see as the best way to get your message out and help people who could benefit from the message. Without an interesting story or an outstanding metric to show everyone (i.e. the state of the blog) you’re not going to get shared or talked about as much.
In real life, I’m reasonably humble, practice stealth wealth, etc… I have an online persona that behaves a bit differently. If you don’t say “Look at Me” every once in a while, not as many people will look at you, and your mission will go unfulfilled. It’s the nature of the beast that is the internet.
Best,
-PoF
WCI, I think you walk the line very well. You never try to slyly come across as humble and there’s no bragging because you literally tell us how much you’re making. I’ve seen it most commonly take the form of “I make x more than you and I don’t spend on such and such, so you have no right to” or “you can’t spend on this, but I have X net worth so I can”. Ive seen this on MMM more and more. I see it on bogleheads too with the How much house can I afford questions and people answer with things like 1.5x – “I make more money and didn’t buy an expensive house therefore you don’t deserve one”. I never get that vibe here.
Great list. I was aware of some of them, but lots of “new” ones there, too. What a great gesture to provide them some exposure and help further your goals.
cd :O)
I logged into my site this morning and saw a bunch of views to posts which don’t normally get that much traffic and was a little confused. Perhaps TIPS and REITs are a more important topic than I realized.
Then I opened my email and read WCI’s newsletter and it all made sense.
Like WCI said, I only post finance stuff on Fridays. Mondays are about Medicine stuff and Wednesdays are whatever I feel like writing about.
Thanks for mentioning me here WCI. If I am able to achieve 10% of what you have done, I will consider my blog a success.
-Sensei
I think your comment “Please don’t start a physician financial blog with the words “White Coat” in it” is a bit egotistical… I would agree if you said “The White Coat” blah-blah-blah, but the words White Coat shouldn’t violate you in anyway if you’re confident enough of your content. It’s almost like saying Bank of America gets offended by any bank that starts with “Bank of”… or Apple gets in lawsuit with anything that starts with an “i.”
Well, if you want to try, I’ll see you in court. It’s not egotistical at all and my trademark attorney assures me our chances of winning that suit are quite good. It isn’t that you can’t use “White Coat” to sell detergent, it’s that you can’t use it in the name of a blog aimed at physicians about personal finance and investment. That’s quite limited and easily defended. I’m told the question boils down to would a typical reader be confused. And if you start a blog about personal finance and investing for physicians and call it White Coat Finance, White Coat Money, White Coat Income etc, it’s pretty easy to argue there could be some confusion.
I’m an IP attorney and what WCI says here is absolutely correct. For PShie’s example of Bank of America, most certainly BOA would have no rights to the word “bank” since it is generic/descriptive of banking services. “Bank of America” is pretty descriptive too, but after a certain time in business, the law recognizes acquired distinctiveness (as you use it, people recognize it as belonging to you). The term “White Coat” in connection with personal finance and investment is distinctive as Dr. WCI was the one to associate the two, and thus is source-identifying for Dr. WCI for consumers in the personal finance/investment world. Anyone other than WCI using this term in connection with personal finance blogs would ultimately confuse the public. Trademark law is pretty much about protecting the consuming public from others free riding off of created brands.
Great response. Sure wish there were a way to make “advisors” who use the term “fee-based” to cease and desist. 90%+ of the public think they are the same as “fee-only”.
I don’t see it as excessively self centered at all. Totally different than your examples. WCI has worked hard to develop a product. He should protect it and not allow others to piggyback off of his hard work.
I think most people, and this is about triply true for physicians…have limited knowledge of these things so it just doesnt occur to them to be fiercely protective of your IP or how tightly it can be protected.
Financial Samurai once tried to get me to do a guest post on his site, and after being nearly finished I bailed out due to thinking “why generate page views for someone else”, thats my story/IP and if I write it I do it for me.
You have a blog, Zaphod?
No, I’ve simply thought of it and would rather own my content rather than give it away to someone else. Guest posts are totally fine, but helps when you have your own site to link back to more.
I’ve had a couple ideas for blogs, and while there are a few very specific ideas finance wise I wouldnt mind writing and linking to instead of retyping my diatribes on the topic, I dont think I have more than that on the finance side of things that arent being done incredibly well already. I probably have never ending content for my industry and my niche there however, along with my particular point of view that would be starkly in contrast to the mostly nothing out there.
Thank you, WCI, for showcasing all the other physician finance blogs, including mine. And thank you for allowing me to guest post, participate in the forums, and for the advice you’ve given me privately this year.
I’m having a blast and the only regret I have so far is that I have even less free time than I had before I started a blog. Ironically, my blog is about creating financial independence, and reclaiming your time to do the things you want to do in life. Fortunately for me, blogging has proven to be one of those things.
I know I’ve thanked you via e-mail, but I figured I should do so in the comments, so as not to appear ungrateful. I have much to be thankful for.
Cheers!
-PoF
Yea. It’s weird. I’m busier than I’ve ever been. Let me know when you figure that out. Balance is tough.
Thanks for the honorable mention, Sir!
Dr WiseMoney has a great blog, but she’d be wise to get an editor.
I’m a big fan of the blog and recommend it to friends/residents/etc. I like the blog roll which I’ll add to my reading list.
I tried myself to start a website/blog (still there PICUMD.com) mostly aimed at clinical issues and general commentary. I keep meaning to pick it back up but it’s been collecting dust. I think if writing does not come naturally it can be hard and time consuming to keep creating original content which is where I got stuck.
I’m curious when you started this, was your goal to make blogging into a second/replacement income or you did it as a hobby and were surprised by the results? It seems like most people who are successful don’t start out with a goal to make money blogging and it just happens to organically grow.
I think there needs to be some posts on the “low income” physician in a “high cost” area. Working in the NYC as a peds intensivist, I have no complaints. However, I have friends/colleagues who are making in the low 100s as general pediatricians and living in NYC or suburbs who would hardly have what we would consider a “doctor lifestyle”. No offense to many hardworking docs here but there’s a big lifestyle difference between making 300-400k in middle America vs. the 150k MD living in NY or NJ.
Thats ultimately a choice. Geographic arbitrage is especially available to physicians more so than most. The answers are boring and obvious, you will be like everyone else that isnt a doc and have to live like as well.
You’re right. Boring and obvious. Either cut the lifestyle or increase the income. I think what would help some of these folks (and probably depress them) is to write out what a sane budget looks like on $130k a year.
That would be an interesting post. Maybe I should post my budget from when I was making $130K a year for four years as an attending. Not a high cost of living area though.
I’m a family doc in NC and would love any new posts for lower income MDs! I have read some of your older posts and enjoyed them.
My intent was for it to be a for-profit professional blog from the beginning. But I never expected it to do anything more than supplement my clinical income. Certainly not replace it. My goal was $1000 a month within 2 years, and I barely made it.
I’d love to run some stuff about low income docs in high cost areas. Can you send your friends to my “guest post” policy?
https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/contact/guest-post-policy/
You’re right that $100K in the Bay Area or Manhattan is very middle class and $200K in an Indiana small town is well-to-do. I’m actually surprised how many doctors live in high income areas. It can obviously be done, but I don’t think it can be done well if there is also a large student loan burden. I think those docs need to move away at least for a few years to clean up the mess.
I would like to see some more articles on low income doctors too. I work with attorneys and have referred a couple to WCI but hesitate to refer more due to the huge income gap.
I try to use the $200K average physician income figure in example as much as possible, but even that is $40K more than people typically start at in big law, much less other types of law. Lawyers also have two other issues- most of them make even less than that $160K figure and despite a high (but not quite as high) loan burden actually getting a job is A LOT harder unless you’re coming out of a top 10 law school. A doctor mostly has a guaranteed job waiting for them at the end of the pipeline.
I’d love to run more guest posts aimed at lawyers but it’s obviously a bit more difficult for me to write stuff personally that is highly applicable to them, having never been through law school or practiced law.
Biglaw salaries shifted upwards in the middle of this year from $160K to a $180K starting salary (it’s the first time that starting salaries have moved up since 2007). So, the new baseline is $180K pretty much across the industry.
Otherwise, you’re 100% accurate describing the two issues for lawyers. There’s definitely no job at the end of the pipeline and only about 5% of lawyers are in Biglaw (roughly 68,000 associates and partners out of 1.3 million lawyers).
My wife and I live in Bay Area. Combined income $500k. We have no student loans. We definitely feel middle class. She asks me each month why we are so poor. We have a full time nanny and pay $7k/month rent. I also don’t tell her about the $10k+/month retirement funding.
Amazing isn’t it? Tough place to get ahead without a big income like yours. The median San Francisco household income is only $88K (US is $56K.)
You truly could not pay me enough to live in San Francisco!
This article (and the linked follow up piece) are articles I come back to when I think about issues of income and wealth:
http://www2.ucsc.edu/whorulesamerica/power/investment_manager.html
It divides the “one percent” into two groups. The lower half are people that get paid a lot for what they do (like doctors) and the top half are the ones in the investor class. This is a neat distinction. I’m not sure that I personally make it in the 1% but I I have no complaints. One thing I realize comparing to others in the area is that the income buys security, piece of mind, and some nicer stuff. However, you don’t really have a different lifestyle until you get into the stratospheric wealth.
It’s a good distinction. In reality, I’m writing for the lower half of the top 1%!
Very interesting link PICU MD
Thanks for including links to some interesting columns without us having to sort out 10 new websites at once – I have already read a few of them!
A little late to the party – but thanks WCI for the mention! Really appreciate all your advice and support (And PoF’s I might add). There is still a large population of medical professionals who are “in the dark” about their finances. Glad I could contribute to the cause in a small way.
Also want to echo what you and PoF have already mentioned. If someone knows how to squeeze more than 24hrs out of a day, please let me know!
Nice shout out to some of the physician personal finance bloggers out there. There are many, many physicians who blog on a wide variety of medical and non-medical topics. I have puttered a bit with a travel-oriented blog that is geared toward physicians, and, more generally, health-oriented active travelers, and I have found it very difficult. These are some of my challenges:
1. Having the time to set aside to write material that I am proud to publish.
2. Having consistent interest in doing it.
3. Having the creativity energy to generate and explore worthy topics.
4. Having consistent messages or themes to convey than run across the blogroll, rather than a random assemblage of unconnected articles.
5. Never really getting comfortable with the set up on the back end–the interaction between all of the apps and gizmos that allow you to publish a blog, email the campaign, acquire subscribers, receive and answer comments, and view stats. I am a bit embarrassed to admit that there were a few times that I had a few hours to think and write and was frustrated and thwarted by the software.
When I am (finally) able to transition to part time, I want to give it another whirl. At some point, I may want to couple it with a few travel business ideas that I have, but it might just be a standalone blog for MDs and the like who enjoy travel.
I may not be writing a physician finance blog, but WCI has been hugely influential to me as well. I think Jim’s been so successful because the mission of the blog to educate and help people is really the mission of the blog (and I think all of us can feel that) rather than some slogan he came up with later to justify the advertising or affiliate links.
And just to echo @passiveincomeMD, WCI created the market, proved its value and set the stage for other bloggers to follow suit. WCI will always be the “grandfather” blog (not to make you feel old!) for the field and hence the immense respect from others that are trying to expand the mission and reach even more people. I personally take GREAT pleasure in referring a lawyer to WCI because the fact is that most people aren’t regularly reading personal finance blogs and the vast majority still haven’t heard of WCI.
There’s another one I missed. Sorry about that!
To current and would-be bloggers – Enjoyed visiting some new-to-me blogs after reading this post.Two things that is a big turn-off when I am reading a blog are grammatical and spelling errors. For example, “motto” spelled “moto” in one of the featured posts mentioned above, not calling any names. It just takes it down a notch for me. I told WCI in one of my earliest convo’s with him that I was really impressed that I couldn’t find any needed editing (I think he said credit goes to Mrs. WCI). Same for PoF and, so far, for Passive Income – I happen to pay attention to these bc I advertise there. Please be scrupulous about proofing!
As an advertiser, I can testify that providing ways to connect with the readers beyond buying ads is, at least to me, invaluable. PoF asked me to write a guest post and PIMD is supposed to run a Q&A with me this weekend. Of course, WCI has been extremely gracious about allowing me to submit articles and help out on the forum which has been so helpful in allowing readers to get to know me to help decide whether they want to take the next step and find out more.
If you’re casting about for a blog idea, I have one that is not, to the best of my knowledge, being blogged about right now and that I believe could be a winner. I might be interested in collaborating with a doctor or two on it. I’ve also got a couple of good blog name ideas that GoDaddy shows as available if you’d like to hear them. These are not connected to my blog idea. You can email me at [email protected] for more. (Note to the cynical: this is not a sales pitch lol.)
No, Mrs. WCI doesn’t do a lot of editing, but Cindy does some proofreading as she adds ads to the posts. Plus, I have some readers who are quick to point my errors out to me so I can often fix them before very many people notice!
Behind every great blogger sits a great editor.
Long time reader/lurker and recent blogger here as well. I came across this site near the end of my residency, about two and a half years ago now. It has been immensely helpful to me and, as evidenced by your readership, to a lot of other people as well. I would say that this blog was probably the main driving force in terms of me improving my own financial literacy and taking control of my personal finances. Can’t thank you enough, WCI!
Awesome list. I love reading lists of bloggers that I am unfamiliar with and reading them 🙂 Thanks for sharing!!!
Thanks for the mention! Love following all these blogs and there will be more posts to come on my website.