The Dentist Money Show | Financial Planning & Wealth Management

Have you considered buying an annuity? Maybe you already have one. Either way, you should understand how they work and why a lot of people experience annuity remorse. In this episode of Dentist Money™, Reese & Ryan list ten things annuities and timeshares have in common. They also explain how dentists often get pressured into purchasing annuities and why they don't always get the returns they expected.

Is it possible that your desire to achieve is keeping your practice from reaching the next level? Or more broadly, are your ambitions holding you back from a more epic life? In this episode of Dentist Money™, Reese welcomes Dr. David Maloley, owner of Vail Valley Dental Care and host of the Relentless Dentist Podcast. Dr. Maloley reflects on his journey from "deadbeat undergrad" to one of the most successful practice owners in Colorado, and offers his formula for greater fulfillment — both personally and professionally. He describes his daily routines, how he stays in the moment, and two core principles that changed the trajectory of his practice.

When can we expect the next major market correction? Plenty of experts have weighed in recently as financial markets continue to expand. So who should you listen to? In this episode of Dentist Money™, Reese & Ryan evaluate headlines from major financial publications over the past several years to determine the accuracy of market projections. They also pose a more important question investors should ask to ensure their portfolios remain bubble-proof.

What's the right mix of fee-for-service and PPOs? While the answer may vary by practice, most dentists would like to run a business that relies less on insurance income. In this episode of Dentist Money™, Reese welcomes Gary Takacs, who explains how practices can thrive in a world of heavy handed insurance companies and the emergence of corporate dentistry. He also provides answers to questions like: When should I hire my next front office employee? Should I continue to use my lab or buy a CEREC? When is it time to part ways with an employee? When should I hire an associate? When is it time to sell my practice?

Should you pay down debt or invest? The sum of student loans, practice loans, equipment loans, and real estate loans can seem insurmountable for a dentist. So what's the right pace to chip away at them? In this episode of Dentist Money™, Reese & Ryan explain how managing debt the right way can help you build wealth much faster. They also discuss the way debt should be viewed at different phases of a dentist's career.

What's with all the Bitcoin hype? Is it here to stay? More importantly, is it a viable investment option? In this episode of Dentist Money™, Reese and Ryan explain the origin of Bitcoin and its emergence in the market over the past few years. They examine the sophisticated "cryptocurrency" trading platform, highlight pros and cons of owning Bitcoin, and share stories of investors who bought in (for better or worse).

Are you taking the right amount of risk with your money? Do you know how much life insurance you need? What about disability? Liability? Policy selection requires more than looking at your budget and deciding how much you can afford. In this episode of Dentist Money™, Reese and Ryan explain how much coverage you should carry and how the amount can change during your career. They also discuss two elements of a dentist's risk profile that aren't covered by insurance.

Have you ever thought about investing in a startup? If you haven't already, someday you'll be approached to fund the next big thing. And maybe it's the next Amazon.com. But before you hand over your cash, you'll want to understand exactly what you're getting into. In this episode of Dentist Money™, Reese & Ryan walk through the steps of startup investing and provide a list of factors every dentist should consider before jumping in.

There's no such thing as a stupid question. In some cases it might just be the wrong question. And it's not uncommon for dentists to ask the wrong question about financial markets. In this episode of Dentist Money™, Reese and Ryan explain one fundamental principle of markets a lot of dentists seem to misunderstand. They also explain what a market is by comparing investments to more familiar products we buy in our everyday lives.

Have you ever made a big change to your business or financial plan out of frustration? When cash was tight, the market was down, or collections were stagnant, did you allow short term thinking to get in the way of long term goals? In this episode of Dentist Money™, Reese & Ryan identify three classic examples of big sweeping changes dentists make that often come back to bite them. They also offer guidance for choosing less expensive and more effective alternatives.

What's the best way to pay your financial advisor? How does fee structure affect performance? In this episode of Dentist Money™, Reese & Ryan explore the pros and cons of five compensation models and the outcomes you can expect from each one. They also describe the fee structure used by DentistAdvisors.com to align clients' best interest with advisor incentives.

When is the last time you took a hard look at your spending habits? Do you wonder how your current lifestyle choices will affect your ability to retire comfortably? In this episode of Dentist Money™, Reese and Ryan discuss why it's so easy for dentists to overspend. They also provide valuable reminders to avoid the most common traps that send your personal budget into a tailspin.

What if you looked at your investment portfolio the same way you looked at your practice? Would it change the way you approached financial markets? In this episode of Dentist Money™, Reese and Ryan explain how the same principles used to build your practice can be applied to capture more value with your investment portfolio.

What does it mean to have financial health? Is it a thriving practice, plenty of income, or an abundant lifestyle? In this episode of Dentist Money™, Reese and Ryan approach the World Health Organization's definition of health from a wealth-building perspective, and explore the meaning of financial fitness. They also discuss common decisions dentists wait too long to resolve, and offer advice for overcoming economic atrophy.

Think back to the moment you decided to become a practice owner. What were your hopes and dreams? Did you have visions of freedom, financial upside, and personal fulfillment? Is it playing out like you thought, or has the vision become slightly blurred? In this episode of Dentist Money™, Reese & Ryan describe what it means to live the dream of practice ownership. They discuss common reasons dentists get discouraged along the way, and provide three important keys to building a profitable practice while maintaining work life balance.

How does brainpower impact your investment outcomes? Do smart people have the edge when it comes to recognizing the most lucrative opportunities? In this episode of Dentist Money™, Reese & Ryan highlight a major private equity fund that lost everything despite participation from some of the world's most respected organizations. They also glean three critical lessons every investor should apply.

A bet is a bet whether you realize you're making it or not. Are you letting your future ride on risky propositions that could be avoided altogether? In this episode of Dentist Money™, Reese & Ryan discuss the most common ways dentists allow luck to determine their financial outcomes. They also share advice for building a plan that doesn't bank on hitting it big.

Have you ever jumped on an investment bandwagon that went south? As a successful dentist you're a prime target for opportunistic dealers who don't mind risking other people's money. In this episode of Dentist Money™, Reese and Ryan explain the difference between legitimate investments and potential money pits. They also list the warning signs of dangerous advice so you can avoid it altogether.

Is your financial plan ready to go the distance? Have you eliminated all the distractions so you can focus on the fundamentals that drive better results? In this episode of Dentist Money™, Reese and Ryan break down three habits followed by the world's greatest athletes and describe how the same principles apply to dentists who strive for financial independence at an earlier age.

Pledge allegiance to the flag, support the troops, and cheer for your favorite Olympian. There's nothing wrong with a little home country pride. But how does love for your country affect your investments? In this episode of Dentist Money™, Reese & Ryan compare Americans, Canadians, and Australians to illustrate how home country bias can influence investment decisions.

Would you be happy if your investment portfolio earned average market returns? Is that enough to secure a comfortable retirement? In this episode of Dentist Money™, Reese and Ryan discuss four important habits followed by effective investors, how to set proper expectations for portfolio growth, and a new way to measure the value of a good advisor.

The world's greatest inventors, most accomplished musicians, and best athletes often attribute their success to persistence. It's the same trait that pushed you through dental school and keeps your practice moving forward. But what does it mean to have a persistent financial plan? In this episode of Dentist Money™, Reese and Ryan explore four steps to developing persistence and how each one translates to long term financial success. Show notes: dentistadvisors.com/tt

What can brown do for you? In the early 2000s, UPS unveiled a new way to navigate its routes. The idea seemed too simple to be effective, but it drastically improved productivity and saved the company millions of dollars. In this episode of Dentist Money™, Reese & Ryan compare the attributes of a well-run shipping company to those of a good financial plan and explain what it means to have an efficient investment portfolio.

What is the role of a good advisor? It depends who you ask, which is part of the problem with the financial industry—there's no real consensus. In this episode of Dentist Money™, Reese & Ryan explore the spectrum of services offered within financial planning and how some advisors fall short of expectations. They also explain the difference between performance-based and advice-based planning.

When will you have enough money to make work optional? Are you building the right mix of assets? Is your tax rate minimized? Do you have the proper amount of insurance? In this episode of Dentist Money™, Reese and Ryan introduce a periodic table of twelve key indicators called Elements® which gives dentists a straightforward way to answer the some of the most difficult questions about their financial health. Tt Guide Book Download 4 Keys for Dentists Download

Do you know how your advisor gets paid? If not, there's a good chance your best interest is taking a back seat to handsome commission checks and all-expenses-paid vacations. In this episode of Dentist Money™, Reese and Ryan describe a hypothetical DSO where production incentives are out of whack and patients are getting the raw end of the deal. Then they draw a comparison to the way many financial firms compensate their advisors. Listen to the podcast then visit: http://dentistadvisors.com/review/

How is it possible that the average dentists retires later than the average American? Income can't be the reason — dentists are among the highest earners in the country. And you can't put all the blame on personal spending when there's an entire web of variables to consider. In this episode of Dentist Money™, Reese & Ryan cover five main reasons dentists have a difficult time holding onto their income and building enough wealth to retire comfortably.

Milton Friedman, Peter Lynch, Warren Buffett. When financial advice comes from a nobel laureate, a legendary mutual fund manager, or an Oracle of Omaha, people tend to listen. But do they really understand the context of the advice? In this episode of Dentist Money™, Reese and Ryan dissect quotes from five famous economists and clarify the intended message of each. They also explain how the principles taught can be applied to dentists.

Are your investments protected from conflicts of interest? What is the relationship between your advisor and the custodian of your accounts? In this Dentist Money™ episode, Reese & Ryan discuss the role of a custodian, why it matters who your custodian is, and how investors have lost fortunes by trusting the wrong people. They also explain how custodians get paid and provide tips for protecting yourself from investment fraud.

Are you hesitant to invest your extra cash? If that emergency fund has turned into an emergency fortune, it's probably time to let your money spread its wings in the market. In this episode of Dentist Money™, Reese & Ryan discuss findings from a Vanguard study which compares two common approaches to investing large amounts of cash: Lump Sum Investing and Dollar Cost Averaging. They explain the tradeoffs of each approach and the factors to consider before deciding which strategy will work best for you.

Should you pay someone else to do a job you can handle yourself? As a practice owner, you might struggle to know when it makes more sense to outsource or keep things on your own plate. In this episode of Dentist Money™, Reese and Ryan explore the fundamentals of trade, specialization, and opportunity costs, and how economic lessons taught to fifth graders can help dentists improve their net worth.

Do you know what's happening in your front office? Has your staff been properly trained to offer appointments, ask for payments, and deal with cancellations? In this Dentist Money™ episode, Reese welcomes Laura Hatch, founder of Front Office Rocks, an online resource for dentists who need specialized training for their team on all aspects of the front desk. Laura discusses the four most common challenges in the front office and their financial impact on a practice. She also offers solutions to improve communication within the office, strengthen your value proposition against the competition, and increase case acceptance. Show notes: https://youtu.be/YgbnDtCDlTM www.frontofficerocks.com [email protected]

Have you ever made a financial decision on the grounds that "everyone else is doing it?" When all the facts aren't readily available, human nature is to follow public opinion. But the herd can lead you off a cliff if you're not careful. In this episode of Dentist Money™, Reese & Ryan reflect on recent financial trends that led mobs of people to the poor house. They also provide a list of common investment bandwagons that leave dentists holding the bag.

Let's say you have an extra $30,000 in cash. You can pay down a loan with a 6% interest rate or invest in a retirement plan which could return anywhere from -10% to +10% this year. What should you do? In this episode of Dentist Money™, Reese and Ryan dive into the not-so-simple answer and explain why a lot of people get it wrong. They also weigh in on the pros and cons of cost-driven investment portfolios and provide a list of questions to ask before locking yourself into a loan.

Marketing pioneer John Wanamaker said, "Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don't know which half." As a practice owner, you might feel the same way. The challenge of measuring marketing results can be especially difficult for small businesses that have plenty of questions and not enough time to answer all of them. In this Dentist Money™ interview, Reese welcomes Wendy Phillips, founder of Big Buzz, who implements customer-focused dental marketing solutions for practice owners across the country. She highlights the most common marketing mistakes in dentistry, describes what to look for in a marketing agency, and provides inexpensive solutions for market research.

Remember the last time your retirement account took a hit? A lot of people do. You might have questioned the quality of your portfolio and the competency of your advisor. (Your concerns might have been valid by the way). Regardless of who or what's to blame, losing hurts, and behavioral psychologists have spent years researching how pain avoidance can influence major financial decisions. In this episode of Dentist Money™, Reese and Ryan explain how the fear of losing money can lead to losing more money. They also provide guidance for gaining emotional clarity so you can invest with more confidence.

Do you ever wonder if you're overlooking simple business fundamentals that could take your practice to the next level? Do you struggle to articulate your priorities as a business owner? While the decisions you make throughout your career are endless, there are basic principles that give the best business leaders an edge over the competition. In this episode of Dentist Money™, Reese welcomes Tanner Milne, founder of Menlo Group, the largest dental real estate brokerage firm in Arizona. In this interview, Tanner takes off his real estate cap and speaks to dentists as a business owner who understands the growing pains of entrepreneurship. He offers insights for better hiring, better planning, and better marketing to keep your practice thriving.

Did you know the average American wastes 55 minutes a day, or about 12 days a year, looking for things they own but can't find (Newsweek)? If it's lost keys, you could be late for your morning staff meeting. If it's important financial information, the setback is likely more severe. In this episode of Dentist Money™, Reese & Ryan discuss common ways dentists lose money simply because they don't know where to find the right information. They explain the preparation that should go into each decision-making scenario and calculate the cost of being unorganized.

Reese welcomes Denise Leleux, a leading expert on end-to-end client experience whose 26-year resume includes a position as VP of Global Customer Experience at eBay where she mentored top business leaders and managed a team of 6,000 employees. In this episode of Dentist Money™, Denise draws on her client-communication expertise and the observations she's made while in the chair at dental practices from Dallas to Denver and Louisiana to London. She offers priceless advice on dealing with difficult office managers, unifying your staff, and translating your business mission into unforgettable client experiences.

How much is an hour of your time worth? In terms of earning potential, it could be anywhere from a few hundred dollars to over a thousand. You can quantify it with a little bit of math. But salary aside, how much value can you really place on your time? Afterall, once an hour is spent, you can't ever get it back. In this episode of Dentist Money™, Reese & Ryan explain three core principles dentists can follow to maximize their time so they can build wealth more efficiently. They also describe dentists who have mastered the art of being an "entreprofessional."

Dentistry is what you do, but money is what you make. And unless you keep an eye on overhead, just making ends meet might be hard enough. In this episode of the Dentist Money™ Show, Reese Harper welcomes CPA, Andrew Schwartz who works with hundreds of dentists and understands the science of overhead distribution. He explains how much dentists should spend on staff, when you know your margins are too low, and common themes he's observed among practices who experience large growth. Show Notes: Schwartz & Schwartz, P.C.

Saving is only one part of the retirement equation. Whether you've already reached the end of your career, or are still in accumulation phase, you'll need to know how to spend down assets in the right order to get the most out of your nest egg. In this episode of Dentist Money™, Reese & Ryan talk about which accounts to pull from in the early years of retirement, how to keep your tax rate down, distribution requirements on your 401(k), and how assets like your house and practice can be utilized to lengthen the life of your other accounts. Show notes: Survey link: dentistadvisors.com/benchmark

Do you know your net worth? Not just an estimate, but the actual amount? And do you know what it was last quarter? What about your personal spending? How much of your income is used to support your lifestyle every month? Unless you know the answers, your path to successful retirement will be left up to chance. In this episode of Dentist Money™, Reese and Ryan provide solutions for tracking the most important indicators of financial health. They also give instructions for participating in a short benchmark survey so you can compare your own performance to hundreds of other dentists. Click here to take the survey. Show notes: Survey link: dentistadvisors.com/benchmark

When is it time to get an estate plan? Or, if you already have one, how often should it be reviewed? And how do the requirements of an estate plan differ if you're a dentist? Wills, trusts, tax planning, asset protection—not the most exciting topics to bring up at family dinner. But the same people who join you at the table will be glad you planned ahead and kept them from having to track down all your assets. In this episode of Dentist Money™, Reese welcomes estate planning attorney, Andrew Howell, who explains why there's more to estate planning than most people think. He describes what happens if you die without an estate plan, three common fallacies about estate planning, and how a properly structured estate plan will protect your wealth while you're still living. Show notes: www.yorkhowell.com

Did you hear about the dentist who lost his shorts in a scam? No? That's because nobody likes to tell the world they got hosed by a con artist. But it happens—a lot. And unless you know the warning signs, you might get wrangled into the same type of deal and put your retirement on the line. In this episode of Dentist Money™, Reese and Ryan respond to a special request from a loyal listener who asked for stories of dentists who fell victim to bad advice from people they should have never trusted. They also share the warning signs to watch for so you can avoid making the same mistakes.

A few hundred here, a few thousand there. Overspending on insurance, loans, supplies, staff, benefits, and personal life may seem insignificant in the short run—a lot of dentists make enough money to cover the cost. But over the course of a career, those costs can add up to millions and downgrade the quality of what should've been a great retirement. In this episode of Dentist Money™, Reese and Ryan list the most common places where dentists overspend and how to make sure your hard earned money stays in your pocket.

Real estate can be an excellent investment. But many dentists delay their retirement by doing the wrong deal at the wrong time. What are the biggest mistakes that dentists make with real estate? In this episode of Dentist Money™, Reese & Ryan give five examples of real estate deals that often turn good investments into massive setbacks. They also provide a list of questions to ask before purchasing your next home, practice space, or investment property.

Student loans, practice loans, real estate loans. Dentists and debt go together like presidential elections and economic uncertainty. With speculation of rising interest rates, many are wondering if now is the right time to borrow money or refinance existing loans. In this episode of Dentist Money™, Reese welcomes Wells Fargo practice finance expert, Kent Murphy, who lists a number of factors to consider when shopping the lender market. He explains how low interest rates often lure people into bad loans and shares common factors dentists overlook before signing on the dotted line. Show notes: [email protected] practicefinance.wellsfargo.com/dentists/

How do you know when it's time to hire a financial advisor? For a lot of dentists there's a trigger that goes off ― a shortage of cash, an investment gone bad, stagnant collections ― and they wonder if it's time to call for help. But it's not always clear what's causing your pain or which professional has the right prescription. In this episode of Dentist Money™, Reese & Ryan explain when it makes sense to hire a financial advisor, and when it makes sense to look elsewhere for solutions.

There are two types of people in the world: those who have heard a sales pitch about permanent life insurance, and those who will hear a sales pitch about permanent life insurance. And the way these policies are sold ― on the premise of guaranteed returns and tax-free withdrawals ― often give investors a false sense of security. In this episode of Dentist Money™, Reese & Ryan walk through the stages of grieving that usually follow the purchase of permanent life. They also talk about the rare exceptions for justifying insurance as an investment, and how to unwind a bad policy if you already have one.