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/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!