Freedom Formula For Physicians: A Prescription for First-Class Financial Health for Doctors Paperback – February 16, 2015

Freedom Formula for Physicians is a great financial resource for physicians young and old. It's never too late to improve your financial planning. I wish I would have had Dave as a resource back in medical school. We get plenty of in depth training on the science of medicine, but very limited advice on how to make wise decisions financially. Physicians rarely get advice outside of the big insurance/investment firms who often don't always have the best intentions - Dave does this in a very unbiased, descriptive manner. Buy the book, don't wait!

Worthless. This book was poorly written, and does not provide any good information on financial planning or retirement. It speaks in vague generalities - no specifics, no discussion of tax deductions, no good advice about investments, asset protection, insurance annuities, tax deferments - nothing. He then tells you he has a “gift” which is nothing short of an advertisement for you to go online and buy for $84 his freedom formula! Why did I buy this book then? The spacing and text was also weird, as if they were trying to fill up space and make the book thicker than it needed to be. You read the whole book in 5 minutes, then roll your eyes and ask for you 5 minutes back.

As a disclaimer, David was kind enough to give me a complimentary book to review.Overall, the book does a good job introducing the vast array of topics in personal finance to the beginning physician investor in just a few hundred pages. There are a few topics that I wish he could have fleshed out some more but I do realize that there is only a limited amount of space to work with. He does provide some great follow-up resources for people who want to delve more into a certain topic. The only chapter that I did take some issue with was parts of chapter 4 (Investing 201: The Advanced Course on Investments). Being a die-hard Boglehead, my views on investing is obviously going to clash with any form of active investing. He does provide some examples of why he believes tactical allocation and technical analysis can beat the market but again, I don't necessarily agree. But overall, I think David is providing a great service to the physician community with this book and I would have no reservations about recommending it to a fellow colleague.

[In the interest of full disclosure, I too received a complimentary advanced draft copy to read]Unless you have some big fancy economics or MBA degrees behind your name, I believe even those of you physicians or readers who consider yourselves financially literate will benefit from the primer's many insights.Enlivened with personal stories and anecdotes, the book's journey starts by challenging the reader to know where you are, and know where you want to go, by reflecting upon and developing a 10-, then a 3- and finally a 1-year vision, both for life and for business.The next challenge Denniston insists we consider is implementation! How to achieve the vision ... This is where disciplined planning become critical. Just as having the right mindset is essential. The author addresses both of those in some detail.Subsequent chapters focus on helping the reader become educated and financially literate. There are chapters about debt (how to get out of it, or at least get it under control), understanding and minimizing taxes and capital gains, and developing investing strategies.And since this book was published in February 2015, the content appears to be updated and timely. Instead of pontificating and engaging in political rants, Denniston calmly discusses the implications of updated laws and regulations and how we in the medical community should adapt our financial strategies and tactics.The book offers tools, tables, examples, detailed chapter summaries (for those who like to cut to the chase - although you'd be gnawing on bone instead of enjoying something meatier!) and lists of online and offline resources.The final chapters point out 7 mistakes that physicians are prone to making (based I imagine on the author's experience working with physicians) and 8 actions readers can take to gain greater financial freedom.For those of you who can set aside 30 minutes a day to devote to a chapter at a time and work the exercises, and who are committed to gaining control over your financial destiny, this book, especially being tailored to the peculiarities of what we need to own is "our physician lifestyle", is a worthwhile investment.

Freedom Formula for Physicians is a great resource for not only physicians, but anyone in the medical community. In fact, I learned several great applications myself. Dave shares an inspiring, personal story that sparked his desire to "pay it forward," if you will, to those in the medical field. Through practical principles, this book will open the reader's eyes to better financial planning strategies for a more secure and less stressful future. I highly recommend this book to help you map out your 3, 5, and 10 year financial goals as well as retirement. Dave keeps the information interesting and yet easy to digest.

I wish I had read this when finishing up medical school 10 years ago. It provides new perspectives on managing student loan debt and how to approach managing the myriad of opportunities and burdens that can accompany a sudden change in income. He does a great job of taking potentially dry material and making it a humorous and enjoyable read packed full of real life examples as illustrations. I am also an avid follower of Dave Ramsey and Denniston's approach is consistent with the Ramsey philosophy. I definitely feel that Dave Denniston has the heart of a teacher and I was so pleased that I enjoyed the book as much as I did. I may be 10 years late reading this, but it is never to late to put your finances on the right course!