Message Boards
Today's Active Topics Today's Active Cases Browse Forum Categories My Recent Activity My Messages Private Groups My Marked Threads My Subscriptions
Today's Active Images Today's Active Polls Most Active Topics Global Townie Map Advanced Message Board Search Message Board Terms of Use

Practice Management: Avenues for Financial Education for Dentists Douglas Carlsen, DDS

More by this author (62)

Avenues for Financial Education for Dentists

by Douglas Carlsen, DDS

At a recent cocktail party, two professionals engaged in financial conversation. The first said, “My portfolio lost half a million last year.” The second replied, “My 401(k) is down more than a million and counting.” Yes, one-upping of the amount gone is now in vogue. Financial fear and instability rules the airwaves, the Internet, and now the braggadocio content of the reception and gala circuit. To brighten the climate, I thought it might prove useful to pull together a set of materials that any dentist can use to increase financial awareness. In doing so, I took care to list materials that are easy and quick to read or listen to. We, as a profession, are high tech sensitive, yet have little time to enjoy it.

Podcasts
I listed podcasts first, as they are the new century’s equivalent of the tapes many of us used to heed. They are easily found at iTunes, free, and all last from 30-60 minutes. Anything else listed should increase your appreciation for money matters without involving a trip to a timeshare or differential equations. Within categories, I’ve listed those that I feel most valuable first.

“Sound Investing” provides clear, concise advice on money and retirement, and includes interviews with the most influential people in the money business including Vanguard’s Jack Bogle, Kiplinger’s Knight Kiplinger, and Money Magazine’s Jason Zweig. Straight shooting from a position of integrity.

“On the Money with Steve Pomeranz” provides an honest and frank discussion of investing, insurance and how to avoid what looks “too good to be true.”

“Bloomberg on the Economy” gives analysis of the world’s markets and economies from an economic standpoint. This podcast is for those interested in an academic approach.

The Web
All sites are free. Some offer upgrades available for a fee.

MSN Money at www.money.msn.com is simply the best comprehensive site for advanced screening and portfolio tracking as well as market news and complete stock and fund data. Its portfolio tracking for all of your investments is highly rated.

Fundadvice.com at www.fundadvice.com provides free model portfolios for Vanguard, Schwab, T. Rowe Price, and Fidelity investors. What can be easier?

Bankrate.com at www.bankrate.com is a must visit. Whenever you consider any loan, money market or savings account, or new credit card, go to Bankrate first. You’ll save a bundle on auto loans, mortgages and personal loans. The calculators are also quite helpful for those wishing to compare products or financial outcomes.

Bloomberg.com at www.bloomberg.com provides in-depth domestic and international news. This site offers many podcasts beyond “Bloomberg on the Economy” mentioned above. It has some great videos, too.

BigCharts at www.bigcharts.com provides up to 30 years of bars, candlesticks, and more for advanced technical analysis with Java flexibility. This is for the technical analysis geek.

InvestingInBonds.com at www.investinginbonds.com provides education on all bond types as well as real-time pricing.

TreasuryDirect at www.treasurydirect.com is the U.S. Web site to directly purchase U.S. Treasuries, including TIPS and savings bonds.

Books
Please notice that the investment books are not all at the top. If you don’t have a global view in today’s world, you might as well work for General Motors. All books (aside from perhaps those by Friedman and Malkiel) are easy, fun reads.

The Millionaire Next Door, T. Stanley, W. Danko: Tips on how the truly wealthy operate and what they don’t buy. No Rolexes, no Lexi, no GPS homes. Oh, and no debt.

Bridging the Financial Gap for Dentists, L. Mathis: A simple and straightforward guide to financial goal setting, cash and debt management, asset protection and retirement planning. This 131-page book is written specifically for dentists, providing vision we, as dentists, can relate to well.

The World is Flat, T. Freidman: Why the world is a lot more important than you think. Awe-inspiring in scope. A must read for anyone in business. Friedman has almost overnight become the de facto American World Economist.

Tipping Point, Blink, and Outliers, M. Gladwell: Why did crime drop so dramatically in New York City in the mid-1990s? How does a novel written by an unknown author end up as national bestseller? What is going on inside our heads when we engage in rapid cognition? When are snap judgments good and when are they not? Why is our understanding of success really so crude – is there an opportunity to dig down and come up with a better set of explanations? A trio of exciting and easy reads about the entrepreneurs of the millennium.

The Little Book of Common Sense Investing, J. Bogle: Maybe the best investment advice of all time. This guy started index funds and still beats the street at their game.

A Whole New Mind, D. Pink: Why the right-brainers will rule the 21st century. An intriguing study of why design will trump the math and science nerds that dominated the 20th century. Yes, dentistry is safe!

Total Money Makeover, D. Ramsey: Recipes for debt destruction from the stalwart of “cash is king” mantra. If you ever are in a debt crisis, Ramsey is the one to tame the beast.

A Random Walk Down Wall Street, B. Malkiel: Academic proof that investing really is easy. A bestseller since the 70s.

Newsletters
The Hulbert Financial Digest tracks the performance of more than 180 stock and mutual fund letters with more than 500 recommended portfolios – to give you an honest picture. Please start here before subscribing to any print or online newsletter. The maze of newsletters claiming to double or triple your money in a short period weaves a twisted path of short lived promotions.

The Pure Fundamentalist, The Prudent Speculator, Fidelity Monitor, and Dow Theory Forecasts all are highly ranked and provide a wealth of information. Disclaimer – I do not subscribe to any newsletters as I find more than enough information at Web sites and through the AAII Journal listed below.

Non-profit Journals
Consumer Reports Money Adviser provides succinct advice on portfolios, investing, spending, tax strategies and retirement in a 10-minute-per-month read.

American Association of Individual Investors Journal is for those wishing to engage finance on any level. Beginning investors to day-trader cyber rats use AAII materials. A wonderful non-profit educational organization that provides sophisticated computer screening devices as well as easy-to-use beginning portfolio strategy. If you’ve read this far, join this group, now!

Magazines
The Economist has tight, insightful writing on many national and international economic and political issues.

Business Week has easy-to-read content with real insight, yet provides debatable investment advice from columnists.

Money, Forbes, Kiplingers, and Smart Money are all fun reads at the airport but have limited value for those interested in investing wisely. They cover hot products and hot themes.

TV
If you want to laugh, cry, go postal, or pray for a lobotomy, watch CNBC for more than 10 minutes. You’ll have better financial luck watching QVC. Bloomberg TV has sophisticated and professional reports on all national and international issues.

Newspapers
The Wall Street Journal is our de facto national financial newspaper. Barrons is encyclopedic. They are both comprehensive and a daily must for the mavens of finance. I find MSN Money on-line easier to read daily, and it has all the top WSJ and Barrons articles.

This is a partial list at best and there are some out there who would disagree with the choices. Realize it is compiled by a dentist (me) who spends an average of 10-15 hours per week researching finance and investments for education – not to beat the system. John Bogle, who founded Vanguard, doesn’t personally check his portfolio more than once a year. In other words, I’ve provided too much information. Please diversify, reallocate once a year and get some sleep at night.
Author's Bio
Douglas Carlsen, DDS, owner of Golich Carlsen, retired at age 53 from a 25-year private dental practice and clinical lecturing at the UCLA School of Dentistry. He writes and lectures nationally on retirement and financial topics from the point of view of one who was able to retire early on his own terms. Dr. Carlsen consults with dentists, CPAs, and planners on business systems, personal cash flow, and retirement scenarios. Visit his Web site: www.golichcarlsen.com; call 760-798- 0886 or e-mail drcarlsen@gmail.com.
Dentaltown Magazine
September 2025
Dentaltown Magazine September 2025 Read Current Issue Read Archived Issues
Sponsors
Townie Perks
Townie® Poll
Who or what do you turn to for most financial advice regarding your practice?
  
Site Menu
Message Boards Magazine Continuing Education Podcasts Blogs Classifieds Dental News Events Townie® Poll Ebooks Townie Choice Awards
Company Info
Contact Us Advertise With Us Howard Farran DDS, MBA Policies and Agreements
Site Help
Sally Gross, Member Services Specialist
Phone: +1-480-445-9710
Email: sally@farranmedia.com
©2025 Dentaltown, a division of Farran Media • All Rights Reserved
9633 S. 48th Street Suite 200 • Phoenix, AZ 85044 • Phone:+1-480-598-0001 • Fax:+1-480-598-3450