Has anyone used David Graham, MD from FIPhysician for retirement advice?

[Heartsmart]

Have been reading his blog and he seems knowledgable. Do not see him on list of recommended advisors on White Coat. Wondering if anyone has experience. Am looking for some advice regarding upcoming retirement and possible Roth conversions.

[jacoavlu]

it's $200 per hour, give it a try and report back about your experience

[Hatton]

I got some advice from him on Roth conversions. I found his advice to be what I was looking for. His software is awesome. I am basically selling off some very old mutual fund positions with large capital gains. I am now retired and took some tax loss harvests in 2-3/20. Between no income, a tax loss, and a DAF contribution it made sense to rip off the bandaid. I may do something similar next year. Once this is done I have room in the low brackets for more Roth conversions. I was doing small 30k conversions. He helped me see that this was worth doing.

[Mid-60s]

I used David this year and found him helpful and economical. I have fired all my "advisors" over the years and have been sharpening my $ IQ with this site and others like FiPhysician. As David would say, accumulation is easy but decumulation can be a lot more challenging. I learned a lot of what I needed to do from this site but I did want a professional's opinion before I took some big steps.

This site routinely says to hire an FA by the hour but those are almost impossible to find so options are limited. I had read some of David's guest posts in the WCI blog and also on his site. I like the way he broke things down in detail with some great graphs to help understand. I had a phone consult with him and it sounded like a good fit. I signed up and entered my details into his software. We had a couple of Zoom meetings and he gave me a written report of his recommendations. He helped me see things that I needed to do to minimize my taxes over the next 20-30 years. He showed me that I needed to do Roth Conversions, gifting to my kids (when they could use it most) and to just convinced me that I was very secure financially and to just go out and work on spending some money. He was exactly who I needed to talk with and it cost me less than a thousand bucks. Every other FA wanted to spend hours and hours, and thousands of dollars, to devise a plan that I didn't need. I just needed confirmation of what I already knew and he did that. He also showed me a few things I didn't know.

I plan on having him take another look at my finances near the end of the year to see how I am doing and to tweak the plan if needed. I would highly recommend him to anyone that is a DIY but wants a 2nd opinion from a financial advisor that isn't selling something.

[Hatton]

I had a similar experience with David. A Zoom meeting and a couple of calls and emails. I also had read his guest posts and started following his blog. His prices are reasonable. I just had some questions about Roth conversions. He has great graphs to help you understand at what bracket a conversion makes sense. He also encouraged me to consolidate my retirement accounts to ease RMDs in the future.

[VagabondMD]

I have been following his blog, and he offers great material and advice for the mid/late career physician and beyond. I can see hiring a few more years down the road when I will need help with an RMD strategy, how/when to engage wife's pension, etc.

[Kennyt7]

James Lange who wrote RETIRE SECURE and others feels I should CONVERT to fill the 24% bracket. As Well I take excess contributions as my EFFECTIVE tax rate is under 20%(no state income tax). Someone else suggests all you can to take yourself to 20% effective tax rate
As well QCDS are charitable contributions and tax free as an RMD
As well know your MAGI for Medicare Part B premiums
The distribution phase is not that complex
In a tax free state you will never see lower taxes. TAKE ADVANTAGE and pull $$$ out of your. TIRA

[Mid-60s]

James Lange who wrote RETIRE SECURE and others feels I should CONVERT to fill the 24% bracket.

Did he actually "run your numbers" or is that your interpretation after reading his book? BTW, I thought it was a good book with good info.

[JBME]

James Lange who wrote RETIRE SECURE and others feels I should CONVERT to fill the 24% bracket. As Well I take excess contributions as my EFFECTIVE tax rate is under 20%(no state income tax). Someone else suggests all you can to take yourself to 20% effective tax rate
As well QCDS are charitable contributions and tax free as an RMD
As well know your MAGI for Medicare Part B premiums
The distribution phase is not that complex
In a tax free state you will never see lower taxes. TAKE ADVANTAGE and pull $$$ out of your. TIRA

I agree with this given the current rates and the income range within that 24% bracket. The only reason not to do this if it you are also in a high income tax state (say above 5%) and intend to move to a lower tax state in the near future

[Kennyt7]

Almost UNIVERSALLY. James Lange feels conversions are a WIN-WIN. Before the SECURE ACT, Conversion was a no. brainier. This act is a MASSIVE tax accelerator and in my case disastrous. Most professionals greatest wealth is in their IRA

[The White Coat Investor]

Have been reading his blog and he seems knowledgable. Do not see him on list of recommended advisors on White Coat. Wondering if anyone has experience. Am looking for some advice regarding upcoming retirement and possible Roth conversions.

If you'd like to see him on the list, encourage him to fill out an application and pay to advertise. I know lots of great advisors that are not on that list. It's not an exclusive list of all good advisors. It is a list of good advisors who want more clients enough to pay us to advertise there.

[racelari]

Ha! looks like he's getting good advertising right now! I haven't used the dude but his blog posts are awesome deep dives and nice to know that he's a fellow physician who's investing advice is aligned with Jim's/Bogelheadish.

[Fullhouse11]

I used David this year and found him helpful and economical. I have fired all my "advisors" over the years and have been sharpening my $ IQ with this site and others like FiPhysician. As David would say, accumulation is easy but decumulation can be a lot more challenging. I learned a lot of what I needed to do from this site but I did want a professional's opinion before I took some big steps.

This site routinely says to hire an FA by the hour but those are almost impossible to find so options are limited. I had read some of David's guest posts in the WCI blog and also on his site. I like the way he broke things down in detail with some great graphs to help understand. I had a phone consult with him and it sounded like a good fit. I signed up and entered my details into his software. We had a couple of Zoom meetings and he gave me a written report of his recommendations. He helped me see things that I needed to do to minimize my taxes over the next 20-30 years. He showed me that I needed to do Roth Conversions, gifting to my kids (when they could use it most) and to just convinced me that I was very secure financially and to just go out and work on spending some money. He was exactly who I needed to talk with and it cost me less than a thousand bucks. Every other FA wanted to spend hours and hours, and thousands of dollars, to devise a plan that I didn't need. I just needed confirmation of what I already knew and he did that. He also showed me a few things I didn't know.

I plan on having him take another look at my finances near the end of the year to see how I am doing and to tweak the plan if needed. I would highly recommend him to anyone that is a DIY but wants a 2nd opinion from a financial advisor that isn't selling something.

This sounds comprehensive. How much did you spend total? >$1000?

[Mid-60s]

This sounds comprehensive. How much did you spend total? >$1000?

<$1000 for what I needed. I thought it was a lot of bang for the buck. How many hours he needs to work on someone's plan would obviously depend on each doctor's financial situation and money management discipline. I had my house in order and just needed some expert advise on a small, but important number of issues before I made some major decisions moving into retirement. If you're interested I think if offers a free phone consult to see if it is the right fit. I think we did that and he gave me an estimate of the time he thought it would take for my situation and the hours billed were right in the middle of the range he quoted.

[Hatton]

I found his ideas really helped put things into perspective for me.