Doctors are notorious for bungling their financial decisions.
First, they always start in a hole... They've usually got six figures of student debt. And they don't start earning much money until their early 30s.
Worse, doctors can be overconfident. They've spent years in school honing their specialty in medicine. They often think good grades and book smarts in the medical field translate to success in finance.
Well, they don't.
I watched this happen to an attending physician I trained under. Let's call him Dr. Internet...
Once he found out I had previously worked on Wall Street, he pulled me into his office almost daily. "I've been doing pretty well in the market," he told me.
He'd invested in some technology companies that are still around – like Oracle and Qualcomm. He'd also bought a number of now-long-gone Internet stocks.
Dr. Internet had way too much money in these overhyped tech stocks. But he wasn't worried.
The problem? It was 2000... right before the big tech-stock bust.
Instead of teaching me about medicine – what I was there to learn – he wanted to talk about stock investing. It's the classic sign of a market top. When your dentist, your plumber, and the intern working in your office have hot stock tips for you... it's time to sell.
I tried to tell Dr. Internet that he was being reckless. There was, of course, a small chance these stocks could rise. But the economics painted a different picture... Many of these companies had no cash flows and no profit margins. They weren't making money yet.
He didn't listen. Then, the Internet bubble collapsed. And this smart, successful doctor filed for bankruptcy. In the end, he lost both his house and his wife.
Dr. Internet's mistake wasn't that he invested in tech stocks during a bubble. He was guilty of a far more common error... a blunder that you may be making right now.
If you want to know whether a company is worth investing in, don't look at its promises... Look at its profits.
Right now, we're seeing AI companies load up on billions of dollars in debt with the expectation that future profits will surpass it.
But, as we saw when the dot-com bubble burst, most companies making incredible claims don't last long.
As debt levels continue to soar, interest rates rise, and the building of new data centers stalls, the AI boom is showing some very real cracks.
Marc Chaikin and Joe Austin (from our corporate affiliate Chaikin Analytics) discussed this yesterday during their live "AI in Crisis" event.
They covered the biggest warning sign to look out for, how to distinguish which companies are worth your cash, and why the next AI winners will look completely different from the ones we've already seen.
If you missed it, catch up on everything you need to know here.
Now, let's get to this week's Q&A... And as always, keep sending your comments, questions, and topic suggestions to feedback@healthandwealthbulletin.com. My team and I read every e-mail.
The Benefits of Slow Walking
Q: I found I could walk long distances. Today I can walk over 9,000 steps before I have to stop. But here is the thing. I walk slower for longer. Generally around 21 or 22 minutes a mile. I wonder if longer, slower walking isn't being studied. As you age that information is good to know. Especially since most long slow walkers can get more benefits from walking slower and longer or just the steps that help the most. – L.H.
A: Thanks for writing in, L.H. Glad to hear you're clocking in more than 9,000 steps! That's nothing to sneeze at.
Scientists have studied the benefits of longer, slower walks. And there's some encouraging research floating out there...
Take, for instance, a review of 46 studies involving 367,843 older adults that was published this past May. The average participant took 5,694 steps per day. Researchers found that every extra 1,000 steps taken daily was linked to a 13% lower risk of death from all causes. And guess what? That benefit remained about the same "regardless of walking pace."
An eight-year study published in 2025 found benefits associated with longer walks... It looked at 33,560 older adults who took 8,000 or fewer steps daily. Researchers found that those who got most of their steps from longer walks had a lower risk of cardiovascular disease and death. That was compared with those who took most of their steps in short bursts lasting five minutes or less.
Now, that doesn't mean speed doesn't matter... Brisk walking still gives your heart and lungs more of a workout and lets you get more exercise in less time.
But another thing to keep in mind is safety... especially as we age. If picking up the pace throws off your balance, causes pain, or leaves you really struggling to catch your breath... by all means, slow down.
Put simply, keep doing what you're doing... Enjoy those longer walks at a comfortable, steady pace. And if you're feeling up to it, try adding a minute or two of brisk walking here and there.
The goal isn't being the fastest walker on the block – it's keeping yourself moving well into your later years.
What We're Reading...
- Did you miss it? Don't trust your gut.
- Something different: Anthropic is banning abusive behavior toward Claude.
Here's to our health, wealth, and a great retirement,
Dr. David Eifrig and the Health & Wealth Bulletin Research Team
October 16, 2026