The 3 Investing Lies Keeping Medical Professionals Stuck in 2026

Most medical professionals don’t feel “bad with money.”

You have a six-figure income.
You contribute to your 401(k).
Maybe you max out your Roth IRA.

And yet… you still feel behind.

If that’s you, I want you to know something:

It’s not because you’re irresponsible.
It’s because you’ve likely believed one of three lies that quietly derail wealth-building for PAs, NPs, CRNAs, and PharmDs.

Let’s break them down.

Lie #1: “I Should Just Pay Someone to Invest for Me”

I hear this constantly.

“I’m too busy.”
“I’m not good at math.”
“I don’t understand investing.”
“Successful people hire advisors.”

When I was a brand-new PA, I hired a financial advisor at a large national firm. He was a wonderful human. Truly.

But when I ran the math on the 1% assets-under-management (AUM) fee I was paying?

It was going to cost me over $1 million across my investing lifetime.

Here’s what that can look like:

Assume:

• Age 32
• $100,000 invested
• Investing $18,000 per year
• 8% annual return
  
  

A 1% AUM fee can cost you $789,000 over time.

Now let’s look at a higher earner:

• Investing $45,000 per year
  
  

The 1% fee?
$1.47 million lost.

If that advisor also places you in actively managed mutual funds with 1%+ expense ratios?

You could lose $3 million+ in total fees over your career.

Three million dollars.

That’s not small.

Now — should no one ever use a financial advisor?

No.

Data from Vanguard shows advisors can add value through:

• Behavioral coaching (keeping you invested during crashes)
• Distribution strategy in retirement (withdrawal sequencing, tax strategy)
  
  

But that helps most when you’re “landing the plane” — not when you’re 30 trying to build your first $100K.

My belief?

Every medical professional can and should learn to invest their way to at least $500,000 before outsourcing.

You learned medicine.
You can learn investing.

Lie #2: “My Current Investing System Will Create My Dream Life”

This one is dangerous because it feels responsible.

Most clinicians tell me:

“I put 5% in my 401(k) to get the match.”
“I max out my Roth IRA.”
“I’m doing better than most of my colleagues.”

And that may be true.
But that system often does not create:

• Early retirement
• Coast FIRE
• Part-time flexibility
• Same lifestyle at 65

Let’s run simple math.

30 years old
$130,000 income
$10,000 invested
5% 401(k) + maxed Roth IRA

To replace 80% of inflation-adjusted income at 65, you may need a multimillion dollar investment portfolio.

That “responsible” system?

It gets you less than half of that.

And that assumes:

• 2.5% inflation
• No lifestyle upgrades
• No healthcare cost spikes
• No Social Security shortfalls

Most medical professionals don’t want to grind full-time until 67.

They want:

• Reduced hours
• Less call
• Sabbaticals
• Early retirement
• Flexibility with kids
  
  

That requires retirement-plus planning.

You don’t build that accidentally.

You build it by working backwards from your life goals and designing your investing rate accordingly.

If your investing system isn’t built around the life you want, it won’t create it.

Lie #3: “My Student Loans Are What’s Stopping Me”

I graduated with $161,000 in student loan debt.

I felt ashamed.
I felt overwhelmed.
I felt behind.

So I attacked my loans aggressively.

And yes — I paid them off quickly.

But here’s what I learned later.

Let’s say you have:

• $150,000 federal loans
• 6% interest
• $1,700 minimum payment (10-year plan)

If you accelerate payments to $3,000/month to be debt-free in 5 years, you save about $25,000 in interest.

Sounds great.

But what if you invested the extra $1,300/month instead?

Over those same five years, you’d have around $100,000 invested.

If that $100,000 grows untouched until retirement?

It becomes $1.25 million.

You saved $25K…
But potentially lost $1 million in opportunity cost.

This is why:

Dave Ramsey-style advice works for average debt levels.

It does not always work for medical professionals with:

• $150K–$300K in loans
• High earning potential
• Early retirement goals

You need:

• An income strategy
• A student loan strategy
• An investing strategy
  
  

If you’re missing one of those, you don’t have a money plan.

You have fragments.

What Actually Works in 2026

If you want to:

• Go part-time in 5–10 years
• Hit Coast FIRE before 40
• Retire at 55
• Avoid lifestyle cuts at 65
  
  

Then your plan must integrate:

✔️ Optimized investing rate
✔️ Strategic loan repayment or forgiveness
✔️ Negotiation and income growth
✔️ Tax strategy
✔️ Defined lifestyle targets

And most importantly:

It must start with your life.

What do you want a Tuesday to look like in five years?

Until you answer that, you cannot reverse-engineer the math.

Watch full video here

Ready to Build a Real Plan (Not Just Good Intentions)?

You can absolutely figure this out on your own.

But if you want help building:

• A customized investing strategy
• A mapped-out student loan repayment comparison
• A negotiation-based income plan
• A path to part-time or early retirement

We have a personalized coaching program designed specifically for PAs, NPs, CRNAs, and PharmDs.

Before enrolling, you’ll speak directly with alumni clinicians who’ve gone through the program and can tell you exactly what it’s like.

👉 Book a call and speak with a graduate of the program to see if it’s the right fit for you.

Make 2026 the year you stop feeling behind.

And start building wealth with intention.