A Week In Houston, TX, On A $1,089,000 Joint Income

📋 The basics

• Age: 36
• Location: Houston, TX
• Occupation: Critical Care Physician & Clinical Scientist
• Joint Income: $1,089,000 ($289k for me, $350k + $450k bonus for M.)
• Net Worth: ~$8M (includes home equity, M.'s $6.2M in equity/investments, and retirement accounts)
• Debt: $98,000 (my med school loans) and $483,000 (mortgage)

💸 Monthly expenses

• 🏠 Mortgage: $5,541 (I pay $4k, M. covers the rest)
• 👶 Daycare: $3,268 (M. pays)
• 🎓 Student loans: $2,500 (Aggressive repayment mode)
• 👵 Parental support: $7,500 ($5k for my parents, $2.5k for M.'s dad)
• 🧹 House cleaner: $500
• 🩺 Health/Life: $64 (Phone), $184 (Electric), $70 (Car insurance)
• 💖 Charity: $650 (Plus a $20k+ year-end donation)

🧐 The bigger picture

This week was a whirlwind of morning sickness, ICU shifts, and toddler chaos. Being pregnant while working in critical care is no joke. I spent a lot of time (and money) trying to find foods that wouldn't immediately make me nauseous. We are in a very lucky position financially, which allows us to support both sets of parents to the tune of $90k a year. It is a huge priority for us.

One thing that might shock people outside of medicine: I pay $300 cash for my psychiatrist. I do not use insurance because medical boards can be incredibly punitive regarding mental health. It is a "hush money" tax to protect my license while I deal with the trauma of seeing so much death at work.

Our spending is definitely high, but we also save aggressively. M. has a massive amount of non-liquid equity from his finance job, and we keep a healthy $280k in cash savings. We also dropped $300 on a date night (babysitter + dinner) because, with two kids and one on the way, sanity is a line item in the budget.

🏁 Final thoughts

The week's total was $2,433.65. A huge chunk of that was prenatal care ($267), Costco ($349), and pet supplies ($329). We also spent a lot on takeout and coffee because we are tired. Honestly, between the $1M+ income and the $8M net worth, the daily spending feels manageable, but the emotional weight of the job and the pregnancy is what actually drains me.