Hey everyone,
I recently graduated and started working as a healthcare provider. I'm looking for some advice on how best to allocate my income and manage my finances going forward. Here is a summary of my current situation:
Income & Location:
**Gross income**: $160,000+
Location: Oregon (high state taxes)
Debt:
Student loans: \~$350,000
Interest rates: Vary from 6% to 8%
Current Financials & Assets:
Savings/Investments: Approximately $100,000 in a Robinhood brokerage account.
Retirement:
Maxed out Roth IRA for 2025 (first time).
Will need to use a backdoor Roth IRA for 2026 contributions due to my income level.
Starting a 401k this year (2026); unfortunately, there is no employer match.
Expenses (low!):
No rent/mortgage payments.
No car payments.
Do not have medical insurance
I am engaged and looking to have a wedding 2027 \~
**My Main Questions:**
Given my situation, I'm trying to figure out the best strategy for my cash flow. Specifically, I'm wondering:
-
HYSA vs. Debt/Investing: Should my incoming paychecks be deposited into a High-Yield Savings Account (HYSA)?
-
Tax Optimization: What strategies can I use to help lower my tax burden in Oregon?
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Housing: I'd like to buy a house this year (target price $600k–$700k). Is this a realistic goal, and how should I save for a down payment?
-
Student Loans: Should I prioritize paying off my high-interest student loans as aggressively as possible?
-
Brokerage Account: Should I continue investing money in my taxable brokerage account, or direct those funds elsewhere for now?
Thanks in advance for any insights and advice!
Recently graduated healthcare provider with $160k+ gross income, $350k student debt – Need allocation advice
byu/pinkcloudbear inStudentLoans
Posted by pinkcloudbear
5 Comments
Less investing more paying off your loans… you’re trying to put money into investment accounts which you’re HOPING give you 8-12% return and then you get taxed on the gains… when you are losing 8% to student loan balance each year.. I think you’re going way overboard with trying to buy a house and worrying about all these investments. Just pay the loan. Basically all that taxable Robinhood money should be just directed at your loan. Maybe tax advantage and tax deferred accounts like Roth IRA and 401K it’s fine to invest a bit in while paying off the loans, but stay away from anything taxable.
In terms of tax strategies, if you’re a W2 employee this doesn’t really exist. You pay taxes on what you earn and that’s about all there is to it.
1. You definitely should have the ability to save MULTIPLE percent on student loans by private refinancing, unless your strategy is to go for forgiveness most of your savings beyond an emergency fund should be to paying these down. (I dropped from 6.4% to 5.2% by financing through Sofi
1. You qualify for a physician loan, look on r/whitecoatinvestor for more information on how these work (no down payment, no pmi, just need DTI on monthly float to make sense).
1. see 1
2. Pay down what you can in principal before refinancing, physician loans like that monthly payment to be as low as you can get it for the wiggle room of that mortgage.
Can you do PSLF?
Buying an expensive house and getting ahead of the loans at the same time is going to be impossible unless your spouse/whatever is also a high earner. Certainly can’t dump money into a brokerage on top of all that.
I get that Oregon is expensive. But you obviously have very expensive tastes. You’re going to have to figure out how to live on a budget before you try to even think about taking on a mortgage. Start analyzing your monthly expenses. Then figure out if you actually have room for a $4000 a month mortgage. Cause that’s what a $600k house is going to cost you. Sit down with your fiance and consider that a house may need to wait a couple of years until student loans get paid off. Drop that 4 grand to the student loans, and then you’ll know you can afford the mortgage.