My wife (33F) and I (33M) both work full-time. I finished residency two years ago and currently earn about $600k a year, with plans to increase to around $700k by 2026 once I make partner. She earns about $135k.
We have $40k in savings after putting most of our cash toward a house down payment last year. My 401(k) is at $140k (maxed out the past two years), hers is around $60k, we have $22k in a brokerage account, and $13k in an HSA.
Our biggest debt is a $973k mortgage on a $1.1M home. Due to underestimated property taxes in year one, our payment recently jumped from $7,100 to $8,500. We also have $450k in student loans. I haven’t made payments since COVID due to old income certification, but now that interest is accruing, I’m paying $2,450 a month while planning for PSLF forgiveness in 2029.
Other major expenses include $70k a year for a nanny, $1,000 a month for my wife’s car payment (I still drive my old Accord), and about $2,600 a month for utilities and home services like a gardener and pool maintenance. We eat out often and take about seven domestic trips a year, always flying first class, though we haven’t traveled internationally in a couple of years.
I know I make a lot, but I also spend a lot, and my savings don’t come close to what I see from others with similar incomes. Should I be cutting back?
You’re making almost $750,000 a year and you’re flat broke. Let that sink in. You’ve got a negative net worth and a lifestyle that’s chewing through your income like a wood chipper. Fancy house, $1,000-a-month car payment, $2,600 in “utilities” that are really luxury services, first-class travel… all while sitting on $450,000 in student loans and almost a million-dollar mortgage.
And you’re telling yourself it’s fine because PSLF will “take care of it” in 2029? Stop it. You don’t build wealth by relying on some government forgiveness program to bail you out. Programs change, rules get rewritten, and the people counting on them are left holding the bag. If PSLF comes through, great. But you’d better have a plan to pay that loan off yourself.
You have an income problem? No. You have a spending and discipline problem. You’ve normalized luxuries and called them “needs.” You’ve built your entire financial life around the assumption that your paycheck will never stop, and you’ve left yourself with zero margin for error.
If you got serious, you could have every bit of debt—including your house—paid off in under 7 years. But that requires doing things you’re not used to doing—like selling the expensive car, cutting the luxury services, flying coach, and attacking debt like it’s an emergency.
You’re living like you’re rich, but you’re actually one bad break away from a mess you can’t clean up. It’s time to act like someone who actually wants to build wealth, not just someone who earns a lot.