Dr. Michele Cho-Dorado, Guest Writer
If you are a follower of The White Coat Investor, you probably already have at least some basic knowledge of financial literacy—if not a more sophisticated understanding of financial planning and making investments. Or perhaps you are new to this site and just starting to learn.
I went through all of medical school, residency, fellowship, and almost the first decade of practice as an attending physician without any financial literacy at all. Someone recommended I read The White Coat Investor book. You know the saying, “The more you know, the more you realize you don’t know?” That is how I felt reading The White Coat Investor. I was learning new financial terminology and concepts for the first time, which made me realize how much more there was to learn. I found out quickly that I wasn’t the only doctor in this boat. Turns out, there are so many physicians and healthcare professionals who go through decades of school and training without ever learning about personal finance. Meanwhile, they’re racking up debt. It’s quite shocking, actually.
It took a couple of years to educate myself—reading about personal finance, different types of investments, real estate investing, and mindset and growth. And I am still learning. But now that I have young kids of my own, I have also committed to teaching them as early as possible. I believe having financial literacy is such a valuable life skill that it should be part of every child’s education. Unfortunately for most, this is not something that is traditionally taught in school.
It is up to us to teach the future generations.
Teaching Ourselves Financial Literacy
Here are the lessons I learned and the things I wish I had done differently:
Start Early — As Early as Possible
I wish I educated myself on basic financial literacy much earlier—basic things like investing in the stock market, understanding index funds, creating a budget, and making financial goals….
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