How Much of My Income Should I Invest as a Resident vs Attending?

You’re post-call, half-awake, staring at your bank account. Resident salary just hit, rent is pending, loans are looming, and someone on Twitter is screaming that you should be investing 50% of your income “for freedom.”

You’re asking the right question: how much of your income should you actually invest as a resident vs as an attending — without wrecking your life or your sanity?

Let’s answer that directly, then back into the details.

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The Short Answer: Targets for Residents vs Attendings

Here’s the clean, no-fluff framework:

• As a resident:

  • Solid minimum: 5–10% of gross income
  • Strong but realistic: 10–15%
  • Aggressive (no kids / low COL / very motivated): 15–20%

• As an attending:

  • Baseline to not fall behind: 20% of gross income
  • Good target for most physicians: 20–30%
  • Aggressive / early FI crowd: 30–40%+

And yes, this “investing” number includes:

• Pre-tax retirement (401(k), 403(b), 457(b))
• Roth/Backdoor Roth IRAs
• Taxable brokerage accounts
  Not just Robinhood stocks you grab on a whim.

Now let’s make this actually usable.

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Step 1: Understand What “Investing %” Really Means

People throw around “I save 30%” all the time. Half the time they’re counting nonsense.

When I say invest 20–30%, I mean:

Money that goes into:

• Retirement accounts (401(k)/403(b), 457, IRA/Roth IRA)
• HSA (when used like a retirement account, not just immediately spent)
• Taxable brokerage invested in diversified funds

Not:

• Cash rotting in a checking account
• Paying down credit cards from brunch
• Buying a second Tesla “because EV credit”

You track your investing rate like this:

Investing % = (Total invested this year ÷ Gross income) × 100

If you make $70k as a PGY-2 and manage:

• $4k into Roth IRA
• $2k into 403(b) Total invested = $6k
  $6k ÷ $70k ≈ 8.6%

So you’re investing about 9% of your income. That’s a strong resident number.

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Step 2: Resident Phase – What Actually Makes Sense

As a resident, your main job is to not blow up your future self.
You don’t need to be perfect. You just can’t be reckless.

Resident Priorities (In Order)

If you’re a resident, this is the realistic order of operations:

1. Don’t drown in high-interest debt

   • If you’ve got credit cards at 20–25% interest and you’re debating Roth vs brokerage vs “this growth ETF”… stop.
   • Any extra money should go to killing that first. That’s a guaranteed double-digit return.

2. Get a basic emergency buffer

   • Minimum: $1–2k for “car died, phone shattered, surprise flight.”
   • Ideal for residents: 1–2 months of expenses, not 6–12 months. You’re not that fragile; your job is pretty secure.

3. Then start investing something — no matter how small

   • Even $100/month into Roth IRA is not a joke. Compound interest and habit formation both matter.

Concrete Resident Targets

Let’s use real numbers.

Say:

• PGY-2 Internal Medicine
• $70k gross income
• Take-home after taxes/benefits: ~ $3,800–4,100/month (varies by state)

Reasonable target floors:

• Minimum: $200–300/month invested (about 6–8% of gross)
• Strong: $400–700/month (10–15%)
• Aggressive: $800–1,100/month (15–20%)

Where to put it?

• First: Roth IRA up to what you can afford (2025 limit is $7,000 if under 50; adjust for current year)
• Then: employer 403(b)/401(k) up to match (if any)
• If you’re PSLF-bound: still contribute, but maxing retirement isn’t mandatory during residency unless your budget allows

Suggested Investing Rate by Stage

Category	Value
Early Residency	8
Senior Resident	12
New Attending	22
Mid-career Attending	28

Where Residents Go Wrong

I see the same mistakes over and over:

• All-or-nothing thinking
  “I can’t max out my Roth so why bother?”
  Wrong. $1,000 in a Roth is infinitely more than $0.

• Over-saving and under-living
  PGY-1 living like a monk, maxing two retirement accounts, but miserable, burnt out, and then explodes with lifestyle creep as an attending. That’s not discipline; that’s a pressure cooker.

• Ignoring investing entirely because ‘I’ll fix it later as an attending’
  I’ve watched this play out. Later never feels as free as you expect. The student loans, kids, house, lifestyle all show up right on schedule.

As a resident, your realistic victory condition:

Hit 5–15% invested consistently, build the habit, and set yourself up to ramp hard as an attending.

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Step 3: Attending Phase – Where the Real Leverage Is

You finish fellowship, sign your first attending contract, and your income jumps from $70k to $300k+.

This is the danger zone.

Lifestyle creep will eat every dollar if you don’t pre-commit.

Your Real Goal as an Attending

Most physicians who want optional financial independence by their 50s need to invest:

• At least 20% of gross income
• Preferably 25–30%+ if you started late, have big loans, or want more flexibility

Here’s why: simple math.

Assume:

• You start at $300k income
• You invest 25% = $75k/year
• 30-year career
• Average 5–7% real return (after inflation; not crazy optimistic)

That gets you into multi-million net worth territory, comfortably.

If you only invest 10% as an attending, you’re effectively choosing to work longer or live leaner later. There’s no magic trick around that.

Priority List for Attendings

Here’s how I’d structure it for a new attending:

1. Lock in your savings rate before lifestyle

   • Decide you’re a 25–30% investor
   • Then build housing, cars, vacations around what’s left. Not the other way.

2. Max tax-advantaged accounts Typical stack:

   • 401(k)/403(b): max employee contribution
   • If available: 457(b) (non-gov 457 can be more complex; read the plan)
   • HSA (if you have a high deductible plan)
   • Backdoor Roth IRA (for you + spouse)
   • Employer match and profit share on top

3. Then taxable brokerage

   • This is your flexibility money: early retirement, big down payment, practice buy-in, etc.

Account Type	Annual Amount	Notes
401(k)/403(b)	$23,000	Employee deferral
Employer match/share	$20,000	Varies by plan
457(b)	$23,000	If quality plan
Backdoor Roth IRA	$7,000	You
Spouse Backdoor Roth	$7,000	If eligible
HSA	$4,300	Family HDHP (approx.)
Taxable brokerage	$30,000	Flexible investing

That setup alone is pushing around $100k+ per year into investments, or ~28–30% of a $350k income. That’s how physicians actually build wealth.

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Step 4: How Student Loans Change the Equation

You can’t talk about physicians and investing without mentioning the elephant: student loans.

PSLF / IDR Track

If you’re committed to:

• Non-profit hospital employment AND
• PSLF (Public Service Loan Forgiveness) via an income-driven plan

Then during residency and early attending years:

• Minimize required payments legally
• Give PSLF a serious shot
• That usually means:
  • Starting IDR during residency
  • Keeping payments low while years count
  • Not overpaying loans you plan to have forgiven

In that situation, I lean heavily toward investing more aggressively, because:

• Your loan “return” is capped by forgiveness
• Market returns + tax-advantaged compounding often beat extra loan payments

Private Practice / No PSLF

If you’re definitely not getting forgiveness:

• You want those loans gone within 5–10 years as an attending
• That’s not a suggestion. Dragging $300k at 6–7% for 25 years is financial self-sabotage

So:

• As a resident: still invest something (5–10%), don’t go all-in on loans if it kills your optionality
• As an attending:
  • Maintain a floor investing rate (e.g., 15–20%)
  • Throw an additional big chunk (10–20%) at loans
  • Once they’re gone, roll that loan payment straight into investing

Example Allocation for Non-PSLF Attending

Category	Value
Investing	22
Loan Paydown	18
Everything Else	60

So maybe:

• 22% of income invested
• 18% to loans
• 60% for taxes, housing, life

Within 5–7 years, you’re debt-free and can easily pivot to 30–40% investing rate without changing your lifestyle.

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Step 5: Adjusting for Real Life (Kids, COL, Burnout)

Rules of thumb are nice until you move to San Francisco with 2 kids and daycare costs more than your mortgage.

Here’s how to adapt without lying to yourself.

High Cost of Living Area

If you’re in NYC, SF, Boston, etc.:

• As a resident:

  • Be happy if you can hit 5–10% investing
  • Keep fixed costs (rent, car) brutally lean

• As an attending:

  • You still need to push for 20%+ investing, but you may need:
    • Roommates early on
    • Renting longer instead of buying “the doctor house” immediately
    • One reasonable car, not two luxury ones

The math doesn’t care where you live. The percentages are similar. The lifestyle levers just hurt more in HCOL areas.

Kids / Single Income Household

Kids absolutely strain the budget, but they don’t erase the need to invest.

General approach:

• During heavy childcare years, your investing rate might temporarily drop (say from 30% to 20–22%)
• That’s fine if:
  • You were investing aggressively before, and
  • You plan to ramp back up once daycare ends

What you don’t do is say, “We’ll invest later when it’s easier” for 15 years straight.

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Step 6: Tactical Framework – How to Decide Your Number

Let me give you a simple decision structure you can actually use.

Physician Investing Rate Decision Flow

Step	Description
Step 1	What stage are you?
Step 2	Pay debt aggressively, invest 5 to 10 percent
Step 3	Target 10 to 15 percent invest
Step 4	If low expenses, can push to 20 percent
Step 5	Target 20 to 30 percent invest
Step 6	Can do 15 to 20 percent
Step 7	Split extra cash between loans and investing
Step 8	Lean more into investing
Step 9	Resident or Attending
Step 10	Any high interest debt?
Step 11	Want FI by 50s?
Step 12	Large student loans?

If you want a rule you can write on a Post-it:

• Resident: 10–15% if at all possible.
• New attending: Start at 20%, grow to 25–30% within 3–5 years.

If you’re below that, you’re choosing lifestyle today over freedom later. That might be fine. Just don’t tell yourself a story that doesn’t match the math.

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Step 7: Practical Implementation Moves

Concepts are useless if your bank account doesn’t change.

Here’s how to actually make this real:

1. Pick your number now

   • Resident: 8%, 10%, 12% — write it down
   • Attending: 20%, 25%, 30% — pick one

2. Automate it the moment your contract starts

   • Set retirement contributions as a percentage of paycheck, not a dollar amount
   • Set up automatic transfers from checking to Roth IRA / brokerage on payday

3. Build lifestyle around the leftovers

   • Whatever hits your checking after investing and taxes is your “real” income
   • This one mental trick is the difference between wealthy doctors and paycheck-to-paycheck ones at $400k

Wealth Growth at Different Investing Rates (30 Years)

Category	10 percent invest	20 percent invest	30 percent invest
Year 0	0	0	0
Year 10	350000	700000	1050000
Year 20	950000	1900000	2850000
Year 30	1900000	3800000	5700000

The point isn’t the exact numbers — it’s that doubling your investing rate roughly doubles (or more) your long-term wealth.

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Key Takeaways

1. As a resident, aim for 5–15% of your income invested. Don’t chase perfection; build the habit and avoid high-interest debt and lifestyle creep.
2. As an attending, you should be targeting 20–30% of gross income invested if you want real flexibility in your 50s and beyond. Lock in that rate before expanding your lifestyle.
3. Student loans, kids, and high COL change the tactics, not the destination. You can bend the numbers for a few years, but long-term, your investing percentage is the single biggest lever for your financial future.