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One of the coolest perks and highlights I have had since starting this blog was getting a message that Jim Dahle, of White Coat Investor Fame, wanted my address so that he could send me a copy of his latest book, The White Coat Investor’s Financial Boot Camp.

I was pretty floored to be honest as Jim is someone I highly look up to and felt it was an honor to be selected to receive an unsolicited book of his.

(You can also imagine my surprise that the book I received was a signed copy and included a personal note to me.)

Although there was no agreement, implied or otherwise, that I was to review the book, after reading it I felt no qualms at all about doing so.

[Disclaimer:  As mentioned above, I received this book for free.  This is my unbiased review regardless of whether it was a purchased or a complimentary copy. If you do decide to purchase this book through the affiliate links in this post I will receive compensation but at no extra cost to you.]

 

[Announcement: I cannot believe it but this is officially my 200th post!  

When I first dipped my toes in the blogosphere I could not have imagined I would have lasted this long or write this much content.

I appreciate the readers of this blog.

Your comments and support have really motivated me to try and keep this blog going on as long as you let me.]

Title:

The White Coat Investor’s Financial Boot Camp.

Date of Publish:

2019.

Length:

205 pages.

Readability:

Another very well-written book by Dr. Dahle.

Topics of interest are broken down into easy to read steps and highlighted with anecdotes from various submitters exemplifying the principles in action.

Target Audience:

The highest yield from reading this book will be achieved by medical students, residents, and early attendings just starting out on their financial path to wealth.

Of course other non-medical individuals early in their financial life cycle will also greatly benefit from these pages.

I consider myself a semi-seasoned financial vet yet I was still able to gleam some information on topics that my knowledge base was not up to snuff.

[Example: Jim includes some very helpful formulas with explanations that you can then input into a Microsoft Expel Spreadsheet to calculate things such as the number of periods (NPER) you need to reach your financial goal or how long a term you need for life insurance.]

Content:

Taking a path similar to other famous self-help programs, Dr. Dahle has subdivided his financial boot camp into 12 financial steps that, upon completion, will give you a fund of knowledge that will allow you to either a) become a competent do-it-yourself investor or b) allow you to determine if a particular financial planner is worth his or her weight in fees charged.

The 12 steps are broken down as follows:

• Step 1: Disability Insurance.
• Step 2: Life Insurance.
• Step 3: Spending Plan.
• Step 4: Student Loan Plan.
• Step 5: Boosting Income.
• Step 6: Housing Plan.
• Step 7: Retirement Accounts.
• Step 8: Investing.
• Step 9: Correcting Mistakes.
• Step 10: Saving For College.
• Step 11: Estate Plan.
• Step 12: Asset Protection.

 

Continuing with the military theme implied by the title, Dr. Dahle ends each chapter with a mission directive(s).

A very helpful “Other Resources” page ends each chapter and allows you to further advance your knowledge if you choose to do so in pertinent topics.

Summary:

I purchased Dr. Dahle’s first book, The White Coat Investor, early on in my “financial awakening” stage of life.

That book was incredibly informative and a lot of those principles helped shape my financial path to where I am today.

My concern when this 2nd book was first promoted was,  “Do I really need it after reading the first book?”

Having read both I can say that the second book is not a rehash of the first book material and can indeed stand on its own merits.

That is quite the accomplishment because the first book was quite comprehensive and allowed the reader to gain enough knowledge to do well on his or her own upon completion.

If you are fortunate enough to have read both books I feel confident that you have enough information to truly be able to successfully navigate through most financial situations you will encounter.

I like the evolution of Dr. Dahle’s writing style between the two books.

The first book was quite easy to read but was more factual.

Financial Boot Camp however took it to another level and I really loved the included submitted stories from various participants as it made the book take on a more personal level.

[I may be a bit biased as I was pleasantly surprised that Jim included my own personal tale of financial woe in the Student Loan Plan chapter.]

This book can easily be consumed in just a handful of hours (I actually was able to complete the book during my Bermuda vacation both in the air and on the beach).

Is there room for improvement?

The purpose behind this book was not to be an all-inclusive resource for each of the financial points discussed which is why it was great to see links to other resources at the end of each chapter.

However, I’m afraid a lot of people would not take the effort to manually input each website link in their browser which is a shame.

It would be nice if Dr. Dahle created a one stop landing page that had these active links available so that a reader could easily jump to the pertinent websites without the hassle of typing in some of the lengthier URLs.

It is indeed a minor point of contention but which shows what great length I had to go to to find a point of critique.

Although it is mentioned briefly in several chapters (step 9 and step 12), I wish the topic of divorce (go figure) would also have been emphasized more and perhaps even given its own dedicated chapter (although 13 steps would have not been as catchy).

At the end of the day, this book indeed fulfills its promise of putting you through a boot camp to prepare you for the world of finance.

As in the military, this boot camp gives you basic training on the subject and points you in the right direction.

Advancement in both the military and financial world, however, relies on you taking this ingrained basic material and then further honing your skills and knowledge base through continued education and training.

 

 

 

 

Please check out the other Continuing Financial Education materials I have recommended here.

 

 

 

Note:

If you are in search of financial help, please consider enlisting the service of any of the sponsors of this blog who I feel are part of the “good guys and gals of finance.”

Even a steadfast DIY’er can sometimes gain benefit from the occasional professional input.