C.A.R.E. Framework · Physician Wealth Workbook
Your Personal
Wealth Planning Workbook
Work through each pillar at your own pace. Reflect on where you are, identify what needs attention, and leave with concrete next steps for each area of your financial life.
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C
Career Stage, Context & Capacity
Effective financial planning begins with an honest picture of where you actually are — not where you hope to be or where a generic model assumes you should be. This pillar helps you define your financial starting point with clarity and specificity.
1
Career Stage
Reflection + Action
Why this matters: Your career stage determines which financial tools are available to you, what debt obligations look like, and how much of your peak earning window remains. Strategy must be calibrated to stage — not applied generically.
ReflectWhich of the following best describes your current career stage?
Resident / Fellow
Early Attending (1–5 yrs)
Mid-Career (6–15 yrs)
Senior / Pre-Transition
ReflectWhat does your current income picture look like? Describe your compensation structure — salary, fees, incorporated income, locum work, or other sources.
Include rough ranges if exact figures feel uncomfortable — the goal is clarity, not precision.
ReflectHow much student debt do you currently carry, and how does it factor into your day-to-day financial decisions?
ActionBased on your stage, what are the 2–3 financial priorities that matter most right now?
Think about what decisions in the next 12 months could have the most lasting impact.
2
Personal Context
Reflection
Why this matters: Two physicians at the same career stage and income level may need completely different strategies based on their personal context. Family obligations, wealth background, and lifestyle expectations all shape what is realistic — and what actually matters.
CheckWhich of the following personal context factors are currently relevant to your financial planning?
Dual professional income (my partner also earns significantly)
Children under 18 (education savings, life insurance, estate planning more urgent)
Aging parents or dependants I may need to support financially
First generation wealth builder — no existing family wealth to draw on
Existing family wealth or inheritance that affects my planning
Geographic relocation possible in the next 3–5 years
Considering a career shift — admin role, industry, reduced hours
High lifestyle spending — I know I spend more than average
ReflectWhat does "financial success" actually mean to you — in concrete, personal terms?
Not what it should mean, or what a financial planner might define it as. What does it mean to you?
ReflectAre there any aspects of your personal context that you feel your current financial advisor or plan doesn't adequately account for?
3
Capacity
Reflection + Action
Why this matters: A strategy you can't maintain is worse than a simpler one you can. Capacity is your honest assessment of how much time, knowledge, and mental energy you have to manage your financial life — and it should shape how your plan is structured.
ReflectHow would you honestly describe your current approach to managing your finances?
DIY — I stay closely involved in all decisions
Validator — I review and approve, others execute
Delegator — I trust my team and check in periodically
Unclear — it varies or I haven't thought about it
ReflectHow many hours per month do you realistically spend on financial decisions, reviews, and planning?
ReflectHow confident do you feel in your own financial literacy — your ability to evaluate advice, understand products, and make informed decisions?
Not confidentVery confident
ActionGiven your honest capacity, is your current financial setup — its complexity, the involvement it requires from you — appropriately matched to what you can sustain?
If not, note what you'd want to simplify or delegate.
A
Audit & Align
This is the most practical pillar in the workbook. You'll take inventory of your financial life, identify what may have drifted or become outdated, and reconnect every component to a current purpose. Many physicians find this exercise produces the most immediate, actionable insights.
1
Financial Debris
Audit
Why this matters: Financial debris is the accumulation of past decisions that no longer serve you — legacy policies, dormant accounts, outdated structures. Each item may seem minor, but together they create drag: fees, inefficiency, and strategic confusion.
CheckReview this list of common debris sources. Check anything that may apply to your situation.
Life or disability insurance policies I haven't reviewed in 3+ years
Dormant or fragmented RRSP / TFSA accounts from different stages
Student or professional loan terms I've never renegotiated
Investments sitting in default allocations since they were opened
Will or powers of attorney that haven't been updated since major life changes
Professional corporation with unclear investment or distribution strategy
An advisor relationship I've stayed in longer than the value it provides
High-fee investment products I don't fully understand or remember choosing
ReflectOf the items you've checked above, which feels most overdue for attention — and what has stopped you from addressing it?
2
Comprehensive Audit
Inventory
Why this matters: Most physicians have never seen all their financial components on a single page at the same time. This inventory is the starting point for any meaningful review — and it's often the step that reveals the most.
ActionComplete this financial inventory. You don't need exact figures — estimates and notes are fine. The goal is visibility, not precision.
| Category | Description / Provider | Approx. Value | Last Reviewed |
|---|---|---|---|
ReflectLooking at this inventory as a whole — what do you notice? Any surprises, gaps, or areas that feel overdue for attention?
3
Alignment
Reflection + Action
Why this matters: Knowing what you have is only the first step. Alignment is asking whether each component is still connected to a current goal or risk — or whether it's just inherited from an earlier version of your financial life.
ReflectFor each of the three questions below, write your honest answer as it stands today. These are the alignment questions that should guide any financial review.
Reflect1. What are your top 3 financial priorities right now — specific goals or outcomes, not general principles?
Reflect2. What are the 2–3 biggest financial risks you're currently exposed to — risks that could genuinely set you back?
Reflect3. Are there financial opportunities available to you right now that you haven't yet taken advantage of?
ActionBased on your answers above, what is the single most important alignment gap to address in the next 90 days?
R
Realize
Having a strategy on paper is only valuable if it actually gets implemented — and if the right people are executing it together. This pillar helps you evaluate whether your current advisory relationships and implementation processes are genuinely delivering outcomes, or just generating activity.
1
Implementation
Audit + Action
Why this matters: The gap between financial advice and financial outcomes is almost always an implementation problem. Well-designed strategies fail when execution is fragmented, delayed, or never fully completed.
CheckWhich of the following implementation gaps might currently exist in your financial life?
I've received advice I haven't acted on yet
Contributions to savings or investment accounts are inconsistent
Tax planning happens reactively after year-end rather than proactively before
A corporate or legal structure exists but isn't being used to its full potential
I don't actively track net worth or measure progress against goals
Investment decisions are made without input from my tax advisor
ReflectThink of a specific financial decision or recommendation that fell through the cracks in the last 2 years. What happened — and what did it cost you (in time, money, or opportunity)?
ActionWhat is one concrete implementation step you could take in the next 30 days to close a gap you've identified above?
2
Integrated Advisory Team
Audit + Reflection
Why this matters: In medicine, patient outcomes depend on how well a care team communicates. The same principle applies to your financial team. Advisors working in silos — even excellent ones — miss the interactions between their domains. That's where significant value is lost.
ActionMap your current advisory team. List everyone who plays a role in your financial life.
| Role | Name / Firm | How often you meet | Do they know your other advisors? |
|---|---|---|---|
ReflectHow well does your team actually function as a team? Rate the coordination between your key advisors.
Complete silosFully integrated
ReflectIs there a gap in your team — a role that's missing or a relationship that exists in name only?
3
Value vs. Activity
Reflection
Why this matters: High physician income can absorb significant inefficiency without any immediately visible consequence. This is why it's possible to feel financially fine while leaving meaningful value on the table. The question isn't whether things are happening — it's whether they're producing the right outcomes.
ReflectHow do you currently measure whether your financial strategy is working? What does success look like — and are you tracking it?
ReflectIn the last 12 months, what value have you received from your advisory relationships — value you can point to specifically?
If this is hard to answer, that's important information.
ActionDefine 2–3 specific, measurable outcomes you want your financial strategy to produce in the next 3 years.
Make them concrete enough that you'd be able to say with certainty whether you've achieved them.
E
Evolve
A financial plan is not a document you file. It's a system you maintain. This final pillar helps you anticipate the events that will require recalibration, build the habits to stay ahead of change, and close the workbook with a clear, prioritized action plan.
1
Inflection Points
Reflection + Planning
Why this matters: Inflection points — predictable and unexpected alike — can quietly render a previously sound strategy obsolete. Anticipating them lets you act before disruption, not after.
CheckWhich of the following inflection points are relevant to your life in the next 3–5 years?
Partnership buy-in or practice ownership change
Incorporation or restructuring of professional corporation
New child or family expansion
Home purchase, upgrade, or mortgage renewal
Planned reduction in clinical hours or scope
Retirement is within 10 years — income distribution planning is now relevant
Anticipated tax policy changes affecting physician corporations or high earners
Expected inheritance or other significant windfall
ReflectFor the inflection points you've checked, which one has the most financial consequence — and is your current plan prepared for it?
2
Intentional Recalibration
Planning
Why this matters: Recalibration is not about constant change — it's about returning to first principles at deliberate intervals. A strategy that isn't reviewed eventually reflects who you were, not who you are.
ReflectWhen did you last have a truly comprehensive financial review — one that examined your strategy as a whole, not just one product or account?
Within the last 6 months
6–18 months ago
More than 18 months ago
I don't think I ever have
ReflectHow has your life changed in the last 3 years in ways that your current financial strategy may not yet reflect?
ActionCommit to a review cadence. How often will you review your financial strategy — and who will be responsible for initiating it?
3
Proactive vs. Reactive
Planning
Why this matters: Reactive financial decisions — made under time pressure, triggered by a tax bill or a life event — almost always produce suboptimal outcomes. Proactive planning gives you more options and better results.
ReflectIn the last 3 years, have there been financial decisions you made reactively that you wish you'd addressed earlier? What was the cost?
ActionWhat are 2–3 financial decisions you know are coming in the next 12–24 months that you should be preparing for now?
ReflectWhat is the one thing you want to be true about your financial life in 10 years that isn't true today — and what's the first step toward making it real?
This is the question that connects everything you've worked through in this workbook.
✓
Your Priority Action Plan
Summary
Completing this workbook is a starting point, not an endpoint. Use this final section to consolidate your thinking into a short, prioritized list of actions — the things that will move the needle most based on everything you've reflected on.
ActionList your top 5 financial actions, in order of priority. Be specific — include who is responsible and a realistic timeframe.
| # | Action | Who / What's needed | By when |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | |||
| 2 | |||
| 3 | |||
| 4 | |||
| 5 |
ReflectWhat is your single most important takeaway from this workbook — the thing you most want to remember and act on?
You've completed the C.A.R.E. Wealth Workbook. Your responses have been saved and will remain here when you return to this page. Share your action plan with your financial advisor, or use it as the agenda for your next review meeting.