We are educators
We empower doctors to make better personal finance decisions using unbiased content grounded in science - we don't sell financial products.
Get Started - The Basics
We empower doctors to make better personal finance decisions using unbiased content grounded in science - we don't sell financial products.
Get Started - The Basics
Brokers, insurance agents, and financial advisors have their own agendas, and their ‘educational’ events are thinly veiled marketing sessions.
Your peers and mentors may have the best intentions, but they’re medical professionals – not finance experts. Furthermore, their advice may be overly influenced by their personal experiences and circumstances, which may not be identical to yours.
Unbiased – We don't sell financial products. Our allegiance is to our students.
Expert – We are finance scholars. Our content is factual and scientifically grounded.
Accessible – Content is available through multiple channels, including e-books, audiobooks, and webinars.
Relevant – Our content meets your needs and constraints as a medical professional.
Pillars of Wealth in the Media.
Aug 15, 2024 06:00
Yuval Bar-Or quoted in a CBS News article on August 15, 2024
Will a high-yield savings account still be worth it after the Fed cuts rates? What experts say
By Tim Maxwell
Jan 20, 2024 11:02
Our latest publication on physician personal financial literacy was posted a few days ago in the journal: Current Problems in Diagnostic Radiology.
Here is the citation:
Shahriari M, Hesami M, Bar-Or YD, Davoudmanesh Z, Franck B, Yousem DM. Radiology trainee retirement programs: Options and participation. Curr Probl Diagn Radiol. 2024. doi: 10.1067/j.cpradiol.2024.01.020.
Feb 08, 2023 10:36
There are many studies about divorce, burnout, suicide, and substance abuse among medical providers. Now, Professor Yuval Bar-Or is part of the first literature review aimed at understanding the relationship between doctor stress and personal financial literacy.
Jan 04, 2023 08:31
Many physicians complete medical school and graduate medical education (GME) burdened by high debt and financial illiteracy. This places them at increased risk for ill-informed financial decisions, which can result in increased stress and anxiety and a lower quality of life. Furthermore, financial concerns impact physicians’ specialty selections and may partly explain the scarcity of primary care practitioners. In response, medical wellness programmes have increasingly sought to offer personal finance education, but there is little guidance on optimal curricula. Our objective in this article is to systematically review the existing literature examining physician financial literacy curricula and to recommend a standardised personal finance curriculum.
Article: Systematic review of personal finance training for physicians and a proposed curriculum
Free to access link: http://bmjopen.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/bmjopen-2022-064733?ijkey=LRxnkM190KOYCjD&keytype=ref
Jun 03, 2022 08:00
We are very pleased to present the second free eBook "Habits and Hacks from Hopkins (H3)" that culminated from year 3 of the Faculty Factory podcast series. The Faculty Factory podcast (“A faculty development community sharing tools to build academic leaders”) was created at Johns Hopkins University in our School of Medicine Office of Faculty in 2019 and has gained an international following with more than 45,000 total downloads and YouTube views from listeners in 70 countries.
Access free Faculty Factory eBook.
Aug 14, 2020 09:47
Yuval Bar-Or interviewed for The Johns Hopkins Carey Business School Expert series: COVID-19: Business and Economic Impact, "Stay the Course with Personal Finances during Pandemic, Carey Expert Advises."
Aug 14, 2020 08:45
Yuval Bar-Or quoted in David Lazarus' LA Times Column: "It’s National Financial Awareness Day. How’s your money game?"
Jul 27, 2020 02:35
Dr. Yuval Bar-Or interviewed by Casey Callanan on the American Urological Association's Inside Tract Podcast (Episode 133): Personal Finance Advice for Healthcare Providers.
Pillars of Wealth Blog
This is the first of what I hope will be several personal stories shared by real Pillars of Wealth readers. The objective is to show that each of us travels our own unique path and we can learn from others' experiences.
Feb 14, 2021 | 08:00 amYuval Bar-Or
Some analysts are certain American markets are entering a golden age of high growth. Others fear the opposite. What are the arguments on either side?
Jan 19, 2021 | 09:00 amYuval Bar-Or
Circumstances recently led me to consider experimenting with an active portfolio, where I have full control over asset selection. Here is the process I followed.
Jan 04, 2021 | 05:45 pmYuval Bar-Or
Recent and upcoming events, workshops, and webinars
Dec 10, 2024 | 09:35 am - Dec 10, 2024 | 10:35 am
Assets and Accumulation
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Nov 19, 2024 | 09:32 am - Nov 19, 2024 | 10:32 am
Personal Finance Essentials for Doctors - Roth IRAs,
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Nov 07, 2024 | 09:29 am - Nov 07, 2024 | 10:30 am
Assets, Liabilities & Net Worth
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Oct 09, 2024 | 09:26 am - Oct 09, 2024 | 10:26 am
Formulate a Financial Plan and Money Basics
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Sep 12, 2024 | 07:30 am - Sep 12, 2024 | 08:30 am
Koch Cancer Research Building, 1550 Orleans St., Baltimore, MD
Johns Hopkins Plastic Surgery Grand Rounds lecture on “Assets & Accumulation”
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Aug 28, 2024 | 06:00 pm - Aug 28, 2024 | 07:00 pm
online
Transition from fellowship to attending, and common financial mistakes physicians make
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Apr 15, 2024 | 05:15 pm - Apr 15, 2024 | 06:15 pm
online
Investing Basics
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Mar 18, 2024 | 01:00 pm - Mar 18, 2024 | 02:15 pm
AMEB 150 West
Baltimore
Prescription for Financial Wellness 2024
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Oct 27, 2023 | 12:15 pm - Oct 27, 2023 | 01:15 pm
UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, Department of Radiation Oncology, Los Angeles, CA.
Financial Wellness: Investing & Retirement Basics for Doctors
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May 05, 2023 | 08:00 am - May 06, 2023 | 04:00 pm
Community Health Network's Wellness Retreat for Advanced Practice Professionals was held in French Lick, Indiana
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This was fantastic for my level of understanding and the exact right timing for this information. 3 years ago I wouldn’t have cared, and 2 years from now may be too late. I think Trainees (fellows or residents) that are in their terminal training program and going to be joining the workforce are the perfect target audience for this. I, like many other physicians, am extremely weary of financial “talks” and so this unbiased presentation was exactly what was needed from a knowledgeable source.
Overall, I thought the [Pillars of Wealth] course was comprehensive and detailed. It provided a very solid foundation upon which I hope to build ... I feel much more comfortable now engaging in these important conversations with my spouse.
Dr. Bar-Or presented an excellent overview of how individuals and families can protect their assets today and for retirement. His presentation at the American College of Osteopathic Internists’ Annual Convention in Baltimore served as a valuable refresher for ACOI members who are currently planning for retirement, and provided the necessary steps that Residents should follow as they begin their medical careers.
This was one of the best non-academic courses I've ever taken. I am a junior faculty member in SOM [School of Medicine] and am trying to learn more about my finances, so that I can make better financial decisions & set myself up well for future financial endeavors. The course material was interesting & the instructor was highly knowledgeable. Thank you so much!
I found the course extremely helpful in understanding the principles of financial health. I think your perspective and interest in health professionals is particularly helpful and I really appreciate your time and how you tailored things for us.
I enjoyed the course very much, and found it useful. We had purchased disability and life insurance before the course, but it has already inspired me to convert an old 401K to a Roth IRA ... We will probably also purchase umbrella insurance.
Great course - would love more of these types of lectures. Highly useful!
Words of Praise for Dr. Bar-Or:
We had the distinct honor of having Dr. Bar-Or as a guest presenter at our inaugural Physician Educational Retreat sponsored by the Center for Physician Well Being and Professional Development.
Our goal was to provide unbiased physician-focused financial basics. We know that financial stressors which are unique to physicians also contribute to stress which can lead to burnout. Dr. Bar-Or worked with us to better understand the needs of our physicians, our culture, and how to complement the presentations of the other facilitators. His breakout sessions were full! People came early to get a seat and stayed after to ask questions. Our physicians thought he had a very engaging presentation style and enjoyed his sense of humor. They had their pictures taken with him and asked him to sign their books!
Administratively, Dr. Bar-Or was very easy to work with. He graciously offered his time in the early stages of putting our retreat content together. He was responsive to our requests and was easily accessible. His presentations were well-planned, well-organized, and well-presented. We were beyond pleased and our physicians and their spouses were as well.
We look forward to having Dr. Bar-Or return and share more of his financial expertise with our physicians in the future.
Ann D. Ostrom
Director Physician Leadership and Well Being, Community Health Network, 7240 Shadeland Station Way, Suite 200, Indianapolis, IN 46256
Dear Yuval,
I wanted to personally thank you for speaking on the importance of financial literacy at our Community Physician Network Well-being CME event on September 27-28th 2019.
I especially appreciated the time you spent in advance of the event to fully understand your audience and the overall goals of the event. The result was an engaging, unbiased presentation that provided practical and actionable advice.
Reviews of your presentations on “Top Financial Mistakes Physicians Make,” “Investing Basics and Portfolio Foundations,” and “Evaluating Needs and Selecting Insurance,” were rated “very good” to “excellent” by 96% of respondents. You graciously agreed to sign copies of your book, Pillars of Wealth: Personal Finance Essentials for Medical Professionals, which we provided in advance to all participants. Your passion for educating physician families on personal finance was palpable.
Comments from our physicians included, “Helped me stop procrastinating on financial planning; isn’t as complicated as I thought,” and, “I feel much more comfortable in how to better manage my finances and be proactive.”
Physicians and spouses also appreciated your accessibility and approachability at our evening social event for additional questions and advice.
Thank you again for such well prepared presentations. Based on our participants’ reviews, we will be planning additional educational seminars and look forward to working closely with you in the future.
Sincerely,
Kevin C. Coss MD
Chief Wellness Officer, Community Health Network, 7240 Shadeland Station, Suite 200, Indianapolis, IN 46256
A very practical and realistic speaker/teacher ... much appreciated since he simplifies the complexities of the finance world.
"Overall very informative and accurate information."
Afshin Safa, online course user.
"I enjoyed the frank presentation and honest review of the financial industry. I like the format and the cartoons especially. I have been taking the course over the past year during my down time and I think it was definitely worth the time. I have passed on these information to my colleagues at my hospital and my residents. I appreciate all the hard work that was put in to develop these courses. Thank you."
