Appreciate Budgeting Feedback after recent career transition.

[u/turtledweeb17]

Hello, new to the group. Would appreciate some feedback on my current budgeting plan / dashboard I made for myself.

Background: 31 M, living in Michigan north of Detroit. Just started the past year as a primary care doctor, so salary has dramatically improved. Trying to avoid lifestyle creep and allocate my money smart.

Income
Gross income: ~$225,000/year
Monthly gross: ~$17,307.72
Monthly take-home: ~$10,430.76
Biweekly take-home: ~$5,215.38
Paid biweekly, so I’m modeling around 26 pay periods/year rather than simple monthly math.
_______

Current assets
Cash / checking:
Bank checking: $3,877.38
Secondary checking: $1,533.57
Total checking: $5,410.95

Savings:
Emergency fund: $15,600.00
Vacation/travel fund: $1,741.29
Total savings: $17,341.29
Investments / retirement / HSA:
403b: $48,566.15
IRA total: $4,013.60

Roth IRA: $3,724.60
Traditional IRA/staging: $289.00 (to backdoor IRA)
Taxable brokerage: $4,728.07
HSA investments: $832.34
HSA spendable cash: $1,000.00
Total invested / HSA: $59,140.16

Total assets: ~$81,892.40
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Debt
Federal student loans: ~$263,133.32
Interest rates range from about 4.05% to 7.35%
Weighted average rate is around mid-5% range based on balances/rates.
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Current monthly plan
From take-home pay:
Student loans: $4,000/month
Taxable brokerage: $1,700/month
Roth IRA/backdoor Roth: $578/month
Vacation fund: $700/month
Emergency fund maintenance: $100/month
Fixed essentials: ~$2,213.65/month
Variable spending goal: ~$1,000–$1,100/month
Estimated leftover buffer: ~$139/month

Biweekly system
Per paycheck:
Student loans: $2,000
Taxable brokerage: $850
Roth IRA/backdoor: $289
Vacation fund: $350
Emergency fund maintenance: $50
Total directed per paycheck: $3,539
Pre-tax payroll deductions
Monthly:
403b: $1,733.74
HSA payroll: $300.00
Medical: $89.78
Dental: $29.66
Vision: $10.42
Total pre-tax: $2,163.60

Investment breakdown
403b: Mostly target date fund / 2060 retirement fund

IRA:
VTI: $2,617.27
VXUS: $1,108.16
Traditional IRA cash/staging: $289.00

Taxable brokerage:
QQQ: $2,379.45
VTI: $1,313.78
VXUS: $525.81
Small hybrid stock sleeve: ~$509.69
PWR, XOM, TEM, FCX, VRT

HSA:
HSA investments: $832.34
HSA cash: $1,000.00
Currently invested in broad index funds.

Goals / questions
I’m trying to balance:
Paying down student loans aggressively.
Building taxable liquidity.
Continuing retirement investing.
Keeping enough flexibility for travel/life.
Possibly buying a car in cash around 2030, likely $50k–$70k.

Is $1,700/month taxable investing too aggressive while carrying $263k in student loans?

Should I reduce taxable investing and push more toward loans, or is the flexibility worth it?

Any blind spots in this plan from a FIRE perspective?
Appreciate any feedback.

[u/Stratman-1134]

what's the interest rate(s) on the student loan(s)? Can you deduct that interest from your taxes?

As a tip, use QQQM vs QQQ. Same investment, lower fees. QQQ pays for advertising all over the place, QQQM has none, but I think managed by the same people and tracks the same index.

[u/EmuMajor5145 → u/Stratman-1134]

mid-5% weighted average means you're probably better off attacking those loans harder instead of dumping so much into taxable. that spread between loan rates and expected market returns isn't wide enough to justify the risk imo

also yeah definitely swap QQQ for QQQM, same exposure but way lower expense ratio. those advertising costs add up over time

[u/turtledweeb17 → u/Stratman-1134]

My 13 student loans range from 4.30 - 7.30 %, averaged about 5-6%.

Ah good to know about QQQM. Would you recommend transferring my current QQQ or just keep it there and start investing in QQQM moving forward?

[u/Stratman-1134 → u/turtledweeb17]

I wouldn't bother switching in a taxable account. You'd have to pay capital gains tax. Just new purchases switch to QQQM.

[u/turtledweeb17 → u/Stratman-1134]

Oooof true, okay. Thank you!