Budgeting tools and financing

[Tonkspaws]

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Sorry if this has been posted about before but I didn't see anything recent about this.

I was wondering what sites people use for budgeting their loans and finances BEFORE school starts. A lot of what I have found is for people that have graduated. I'm just trying to get ahead of the game before I get into 300,000 in debt.

 

[Caiter92]

I really like Mint! You can make a budget for whatever categories you want, and it'll send you alerts when you're getting close to your max/if you've gone over. There is an app for Apple products, and I think androids too. You can connect all your accounts and everything is automatically synced and categorized if you use cards for everything. You can manually enter/reorganize things as well if needed.

Ive been using it for a while and plan to keep using it during school to keep track of my spending to help minimize living expenses.

There's also been a few threads on budgeting during school that would probably be helpful to read through as well 🙂

 

[fredandcessna]

I really like Mint! You can make a budget for whatever categories you want, and it'll send you alerts when you're getting to close to your max/if you've gone over. There is an app for Apple products, and I think androids too. You can connect all your accounts and everything is automatically synced and categorized if you use cards for everything. You can manually enter/reorganize things as well if needed.

Ive been using it for a while and plan to keep using it during school to keep track of my spending to help minimize living expenses.

There's also been a few threads on budgeting during school that would probably be helpful to read through as well 🙂

I second Mint! LOVE it!

 

[WildZoo]

I like YNAB a lot. Didn't care much for Mint for whatever reason.

 

[variegata]

I like Mint too, I just wish it would take into account IBR student loans. I can't set a goal to pay off my loans because at what I'm paying now on a resident's salary, it'll take >50 years to pay off and the program won't allow it 🙁

 

[chickenlittle]

Not budget-specific, but my favorite personal finance resource (by far!) is mrmoneymustache.com

I can't say enough good things about that site. The blog is a great introduction, but the forums are an amazing wealth of information. I'm not nearly as extreme as most of the folks over there, but their influence on me has definitely been a good one.

 

[pibble-love]

I like YNAB a lot. Didn't care much for Mint for whatever reason.

Mint doesn't work with my bank account. I'll definitely try out YNAB though! Is there an app for it or is it just online?

 

[WildZoo]

Mint doesn't work with my bank account. I'll definitely try out YNAB though! Is there an app for it or is it just online?

There's an app! You don't get the full experience with the app though, so I tend to just update things online every couple days.

 

[rockatiel]

There's an app! You don't get the full experience with the app though, so I tend to just update things online every couple days.

I got YNAB and I'm really enjoying it!

 

[Great Butts]

I'm not sure whether to post in this thread or this one, but I was wondering what sorts of methods/techniques you veterans use for budgeting, other than apps. How much of the estimated CoA (according to your vet school) do you end up spending? How often do you cook or do fun things that require money, especially with the business of vet school?

 

[battie]

As a general reply, I used mint for a long while, but I fell out of keeping up with it. I still have it, but I haven't looked at it in a while.

How much of the estimated CoA (according to your vet school) do you end up spending? How often do you cook or do fun things that require money, especially with the business of vet school?

I took out 15k for living expenses/emergency fund this year. If everything works out for next year, I will only be taking it 10 or 11k. I looked at how much I would be paying in rent, asked upper classmen how much they spent on groceries, and decided on what my limits were for "fun" stuff.

During the school year, a group of us would get ice cream one or twice a week after work out or studying. We would eat out once every week or two. The last month or two, I wasn't the best at staying on budget, but it because the spring clothing sales rolled around. Lol

 

[Coopah]

I'm not sure whether to post in this thread or this one, but I was wondering what sorts of methods/techniques you veterans use for budgeting, other than apps. How much of the estimated CoA (according to your vet school) do you end up spending? How often do you cook or do fun things that require money, especially with the business of vet school?

The best way to figure this out is to try it. Live for a month as if you're in vet school money wise. You can spend as much or as little on fun stuff as you want, that's up to you. Your rent and utilities should be able to be estimated by the area. Put together an estimated budget and try to stick with it. Figure out how much you really need for groceries and household stuff like toilet paper or paper plates and the like by living like a vet student for a month. Here are the areas I like to account for to get you started.
Rent, utilities, renters insurance, car payment (if applicable), car maintenance (I account something like 50 bucks a month for oil changes and anything left over I save for any repairs needed), gas, tolls, car insurance, groceries, eating out (fast food, grabbing a bite between classes), cable and internet, cell phone, household items (as a reference I usually budget about 50 bucks but I have two people to account for), any loans in repayment, and any spending money for fun or gifts around Christmas time.

Try to make your own budget, I'm happy to be of any assistance I can!

 

[Great Butts]

As a general reply, I used mint for a long while, but I fell out of keeping up with it. I still have it, but I haven't looked at it in a while.



I took out 15k for living expenses/emergency fund this year. If everything works out for next year, I will only be taking it 10 or 11k. I looked at how much I would be paying in rent, asked upper classmen how much they spent on groceries, and decided on what my limits were for "fun" stuff.

During the school year, a group of us would get ice cream one or twice a week after work out or studying. We would eat out once every week or two. The last month or two, I wasn't the best at staying on budget, but it because the spring clothing sales rolled around. Lol

I feel like first year would probably accumulate the most expenses in veterinary school, since you're buying new supplies and trying to get a feel for how much to budget? Are you spending a lot less now compared to then?

 

[Great Butts]

The best way to figure this out is to try it. Live for a month as if you're in vet school money wise. You can spend as much or as little on fun stuff as you want, that's up to you. Your rent and utilities should be able to be estimated by the area. Put together an estimated budget and try to stick with it. Figure out how much you really need for groceries and household stuff like toilet paper or paper plates and the like by living like a vet student for a month. Here are the areas I like to account for to get you started.
Rent, utilities, renters insurance, car payment (if applicable), car maintenance (I account something like 50 bucks a month for oil changes and anything left over I save for any repairs needed), gas, tolls, car insurance, groceries, eating out (fast food, grabbing a bite between classes), cable and internet, cell phone, household items (as a reference I usually budget about 50 bucks but I have two people to account for), any loans in repayment, and any spending money for fun or gifts around Christmas time.

Try to make your own budget, I'm happy to be of any assistance I can!

I'm really frugal when it comes to groceries and household items, so I generally spend as least as possible when it comes to costs of living! I'm just having trouble starting budgeting, because I never had the time to actively sit down and record everything/allocate appropriate funds as needed. I'm living with parents for the summer without a job, so I suppose I'll be trying this out for realsies my first month.

Do you have a joint account with your SO or separate bank accounts for all the different funds? I tried doing that for a semester or so, but it became a hassle to constantly switch money around. I ended up just sticking with one account and pulling out money as needed.

 

[battie]

I feel like first year would probably accumulate the most expenses in veterinary school, since you're buying new supplies and trying to get a feel for how much to budget? Are you spending a lot less now compared to then?

The biggest expenditures at the beginning of first year were school supplies specific to vet school like my stethoscope, large animal boots/coveralls, club dues, etc. After looking at how bad I was with my budget the last two months, I rewrote it (yesterday actually) and am going to try to shoot for living off 850-1000 a month.

I rent from someplace that combines rent and utilities (including cable and internet), and my new place will be the same.

 

[Coopah]

I'm really frugal when it comes to groceries and household items, so I generally spend as least as possible when it comes to costs of living! I'm just having trouble starting budgeting, because I never had the time to actively sit down and record everything/allocate appropriate funds as needed. I'm living with parents for the summer without a job, so I suppose I'll be trying this out for realsies my first month.

Do you have a joint account with your SO or separate bank accounts for all the different funds? I tried doing that for a semester or so, but it became a hassle to constantly switch money around. I ended up just sticking with one account and pulling out money as needed.

Nah we have a joint account. We do have a separate account for an emergency fund because it's a CD gaining interest. Take out what you need maybe a little more, you have 120 days to return it if you don't need it.

 

[Coopah]

The biggest expenditures at the beginning of first year were school supplies specific to vet school like my stethoscope, large animal boots/coveralls, club dues, etc. After looking at how bad I was with my budget the last two months, I rewrote it (yesterday actually) and am going to try to shoot for living off 850-1000 a month.

I rent from someplace that combines rent and utilities (including cable and internet), and my new place will be the same.

That makes me sad, my rent alone is $1,000 a month, and that's actually pretty cheap for the area, but doesn't even include water.

 

[Great Butts]

That makes me sad, my rent alone is $1,000 a month, and that's actually pretty cheap for the area, but doesn't even include water.

Have fun moving to California 😀

My parents are selling the house that I grew up in, finally, and it's being bought for $600k. 1000 sq feet, 2 bed 1 bath.

 

[Coopah]

Have fun moving to California 😀

My parents are selling the house that I grew up in, finally, and it's being bought for $600k. 1000 sq feet, 2 bed 1 bath.

lol the pain, it's so great!

 

[battie]

That makes me sad, my rent alone is $1,000 a month, and that's actually pretty cheap for the area, but doesn't even include water.

Have fun moving to California 😀

My parents are selling the house that I grew up in, finally, and it's being bought for $600k. 1000 sq feet, 2 bed 1 bath.

Love me that rural life. Lol. I've told my family I'm moving back to Nebraska and not Colorado due to the rising cost of living. There's a 6 bed, 4 bath house 3543 square feet, for sale in my undergrad town for 165k right now.

 

[Great Butts]

Love me that rural life. Lol. I've told my family I'm moving back to Nebraska and not Colorado due to the rising cost of living. There's a 6 bed, 4 bath house 3543 square feet, for sale in my undergrad town for 165k right now.

That is incredible. I can't imagine what the cost of that house would be in California lol, definitely in the millions.

My vet mentor moved from California to Texas to establish residency, worked and bought a house in Texas, and then sold that house after graduating to pay off all his student debt.

Then again, this was in 1970s lol, oh how times have changed.

 

[Teepster87]

My good friend bought what's basically a studio apartment in South SF for over 300k. The whole real estate game is bonkers in CA.


Comparing what I could get in a house here to what we'll be looking at when we move back after school is nuts.

 

[battie]

That is incredible. I can't imagine what the cost of that house would be in California lol, definitely in the millions.

It does need some love; built in 1912, I think. But then again 10k fixing up a house in rural Nebraska probably goes a lot further than 10k fixing a house in California. Lol.