Ten years ago, we recorded the first episode of The Dentist Money™ Show with a simple goal: help dentists make smart financial decisions and feel more control over their money. No flash and no idea what we were doing. Just the conviction that clear thinking, consistency, and perspective can change a career and improve a dentist’s life.
Fast forward and dentists still face the same pressures today: high income with higher expectations, chaotic practice management, conflicting advice, and the constant drive to do more, faster.
After over 700 episodes, millions of downloads, market cycles, client wins, and plenty of mistakes, here are 10 things we still believe 10 years later.
1. Your expectations matter more than your income
A higher income alone doesn’t lower stress. Context and expectations matter. For better or worse, our brains adapt. We normalize gains quicker than we realize.
The raise that felt like progress becomes the new baseline. The milestone that felt like an accomplishment starts to feel like a shortfall. I’ve seen dentists triple their income and still feel behind because lifestyle, comparisons, and spending rose together.
Financial stability isn’t about higher income; it’s about defining enough and measuring yourself against your own past. Compare yourself to a year ago, not someone else’s curated highlights. Remembering your progress keeps you grounded, grateful, and in control.
2. Organization is the foundation of sound money decisions
The biggest financial risk to dentists isn’t taxes, markets, or debt. It’s a lack of organization.
Dentists have complex financial lives on top of running a business. When everything is disorganized, decisions turn reactive. That’s when “random acts of finance” happen.
Anxiety drops when there’s a clear picture: a net worth dashboard, a liquidity and debt plan, and a simple savings system. Clarity creates control. Control produces relief.
Personal finance doesn’t need to be complex. Every good money decision and positive outcome comes from a repeatable system: Organize.
Analyze. Decide. Act. Repeat until work is optional.
3. Your temperament matters more than your tactics
David Booth said, “The most important part of any investment strategy is having one you can stick with.”
Time is the open secret of investing. But harnessing it requires immense discipline and a strong stomach.
If investing were just about intelligence, dentists would be the best investors. But great investing depends on good behavior. It’s how you act when things get scary.
Over the last decade, we’ve seen every type of volatility: pandemics, inflation, war, crashes, and recoveries. The people who stayed invested—and remained patient—were the ones who built wealth. The ones who jumped ship “until things calmed down” are still waiting.
Temperament beats tactics. If you get out of your own way, the markets will do their job.
4. There are no shortcuts
Dentists are constantly tempted with shortcuts. All promising more, faster, easier: the tax trick, the “passive income” play, the real estate deal that seems too good to be true, the exclusive investment opportunity.
Worthy pursuits take time. Compounding requires patience. Wealth comes from consistency, not cleverness.
Many dentists spend years searching for ways to speed up their exit. The “secret” is painfully simple:
- Grow your income.
- Save consistently.
- Diversify your investments.
- Avoid major mistakes.
- Stay invested.
At first, shortcuts feel exciting, but they usually cost you much more later.
5. Balance beats burnout
Personal finance isn’t corporate finance. The goal isn’t to maximize profits at all costs indefinitely. The pursuit of money should be a means to an end, not an end in itself.
Many dentists exhaust themselves chasing an outcome. They chase more income, higher production, or an early exit. It rarely ends well.
Balanced dentists tend to be wealthier and happier, not because they earn more, but because they can sustain the pace. They build a career rather than endure one.
A balanced dentist is a better and usually wealthier one. Sustainability creates more wealth than collapsing after a sprint.
6. Most things you worry about don’t matter
If you read last year’s major newspaper headlines, you’d realize that most daily worries are inconsequential. Most of our worries are just noise.
Distraction.
Market swings, interest rates, election cycles, and competitor actions rarely matter long-term. But they occupy significant mental space.
In the end, few things matter. The ones that do, matter a lot.
Health.
Relationships.
Purpose.
With time and perspective, everything else fades.
Nobody reaches the end of their life wishing they had obsessed over the stock market more or cared more about who the president was.
7. Time is more valuable than money
Money is renewable. Time is limited.
Yet most dentists treat time like an afterthought. You think you’ll get more when you’ve “finally arrived.”
Wealth isn’t just about accumulation. It’s about what it provides: flexibility, family time, time off from work, and time to think.
The pursuit of wealth is walking a tightrope between money and time. The interplay is a delicate balance and a tension we feel throughout life.
Most don’t regret the time they bought back. You’re far more likely to regret the time you traded away.
8. Liquidity is the true stress test
Most dentists require debt. It’s a rite of passage. Without it, you wouldn’t be able to pursue your craft or career. Yet most dentists fear debt. They believe it causes financial stress. But debt isn’t the problem. Lack of liquidity is.
A dentist with $500K of debt and $300K in cash sleeps better than a dentist with $100K of debt and no liquidity.
Liquidity creates options, reduces panic, and buys time.
The main reason for financial stress isn’t the amount of debt a dentist carries, but the lack of liquidity. That’s the true stress test.
9. Planning is a process, not a document.
A financial plan is outdated the moment it’s created. Life changes. Practices evolve. Priorities shift. Kids arrive, then grow up. Markets surprise you.
Dentists who consistently review, refine, and adjust build more wealth than those with an outdated plan from years ago.
Maintaining relationships and a healthy lifestyle requires constant effort and review. They aren’t checklist items. Building wealth works the same way.
Financial planning isn’t a one-time event. It’s a continuous process.
10. There is no magic asset class
Real estate, private equity, crypto, the stock market, and insurance aren’t magic.
Every asset class has pros and cons. All can work. They can also all turn out poorly.
The right asset class is the one that matches:
- Your temperament
- Your liquidity needs
- Your time frame
- Your career goals
The wealthy dentists aren’t those who pick the “best” investments. They’re committed to a strategy they understand and can maintain for decades.
What’s the closest thing to a “magic asset” that dentists have?
Their career.
A healthy, profitable dental practice produces more consistent wealth than any investment trend.
A decade in, the fundamentals still win
This list has survived a decade of change, including practice trends, economic cycles, pandemics, inflation, elections, booms, busts, and industry upheaval.
These principles remain true. They guide better decisions, reduce stress, and help dentists feel in control of their finances and future.
We still hold our core beliefs ten years later. When dentists slow down, define enough, get organized, build liquidity, diversify, and adhere to a long-term plan, good things happen.
Money becomes less stressful.
Life becomes more meaningful.
Wealth becomes a byproduct of good behavior rather than the main goal of life.
These principles still matter and they always will.
We appreciate you all for being a part of this journey over the years. Here’s to another decade of learning together!
