J.R. Dunigan, DO
Founder & Editor-in-Chief
About the Author
J.R. Dunigan, DO is a family medicine physician practicing in Des Moines, Iowa, and the founder of MedMoneyGuide — the leading independent financial resource built specifically for physicians.
Dr. Dunigan completed his medical training and has spent years in clinical practice watching colleagues — brilliant, hardworking physicians — make the same preventable financial mistakes. Carrying six figures in student debt, signing contracts without legal review, buying too much house in the first year of attending income, letting disability insurance lapse. Not because they weren't intelligent. Because nobody ever taught them.
That gap is what MedMoneyGuide was built to close.
Why a Physician Built This Site
Medical school teaches you how to diagnose a pulmonary embolism. It does not teach you how to choose between PSLF and refinancing $280,000 in student loans. It does not teach you how to read a non-compete clause, how to structure a backdoor Roth IRA, or why a whole life policy sold during residency orientation is almost never in your best interest.
Dr. Dunigan experienced that gap firsthand — and spent years building the financial literacy that medical training never provided. MedMoneyGuide is the resource he wished had existed when he graduated.
Every guide, review, and calculator on this site is written from the perspective of a physician who understands both the clinical demands of medicine and the specific financial realities that come with it — the student debt, the delayed career start, the high marginal tax rates, the disability insurance decisions, the contract negotiations. Generic personal finance advice does not account for any of those things. MedMoneyGuide does.
Credentials
- Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO)
- Family Medicine
- Practicing Physician — Des Moines, Iowa
- Founder & Editor-in-Chief, MedMoneyGuide
Editorial Standards
Every piece of content published on MedMoneyGuide is written or reviewed by Dr. Dunigan and held to the following standards:
- Physician-authored. All guides reflect firsthand understanding of the medical career trajectory.
- Independently produced. Rankings are determined by research, not advertiser relationships.
- Regularly updated. Guides carry a last-updated date and are reviewed for accuracy on a scheduled basis.
- Cited and sourced. Data is drawn from primary sources like MGMA, AAMC, Medscape, the IRS, etc.
A Note on Scope
The content on MedMoneyGuide is educational and informational in nature. It does not constitute personalized financial, legal, tax, or medical advice. For decisions specific to your situation — particularly around student loan strategy, contract negotiation, insurance structuring, and investment planning — Dr. Dunigan strongly recommends working with a fee-only, fiduciary financial advisor who specializes in physician clients.
The goal of this site is not to replace professional guidance. It is to make sure you walk into those conversations informed enough to ask the right questions and recognize the right answers.
Have a question, content suggestion, or want to report an inaccuracy? Reach out at customersupport@medmoneyguide.com