(Crazy) things you did to save money?

[DrReo]

Son got his financial aid back, not the best ...

So, I was curious what some ways students save cash.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[PharmaTope]

Son got his financial aid back, not the best ...

So, I was curious what some ways students save cash.

never go out...

count calories

thrift store

bicycle

try to sleep more so your metabolism isnt as high to save on food

buy in bulk and freeze, same meals every day for 4 yrs

 

[Jolie South]

Bring my own coffee every day to class/work.

Pack granola bars to tide me over mid day at work to avoid paying for food.

Go to random conferences/meetings that offer free food.

Leave the thermostat at 80 in summer in Texas.

Turn off heated drying on the dishwasher.

Buy generic everything.

Eat less meat.

 

[KeyzerSoze]

count calories


try to sleep more so your metabolism isnt as high to save on food

You're doing it wrong. Calories are dirt cheap. If you actually find that you are reducing your physical activity to avoid starvation, seek help.

 

[plauto]

had my ex-wife cut my hair, I groom and bathe my dogs, fix my car, fix my house, do my taxes, keep the house at 56 in the winter and 80 in the summer, buy in bulk and freeze.....and so much more.

 

[phospho]

keep the house at 56 in the winter

jesus dude... i was born and raised in ohio, and I can't be more used to the cold... but 56? wow!

 

[plauto]

jesus dude... i was born and raised in ohio, and I can't be more used to the cold... but 56? wow!

I'll tell you, you get used real quick, to the point that you'll actually be uncomfortable if it's above that, especially when you're sleeping

 

[mmmcdowe]

I am a scavenger. At the beginning and end of each year people ditch a lot of great stuff. Furniture, for one, but also books and study materials. I have, this year, accumulated over 100 medical school books that people left out to be taken as well as 3 sets of netters flash cards and a bunch of other things. I obviously don't NEED these things, but every year at the beginning of the semester we have a book fair. For the effort of keeping things under my bed I'm going to make a significant amount of grocery money. I also keep a look out for free binders, paper, etc. Not going to lie, I'm wearing a watch that I found in the lounge. Let it sit there for a week and then took it and left my number in case someone finally comes looking for it. I needed one for physical exams and now I have me a nice swiss army one...

I also scavenged a suit that someone ditched after residency interviews.

 

[MDhasbeen]

why limit yourself to med school years? as a student, resident and now as a fellow i:

cut my own hair (which, as a female, was kinda gutsy, but hey, no one died in the o.r. during my surgery rotation so i must be ok enough with scissors, right?)

don't use central air/heat (you're not everywhere in your apt, so why heat/cool the entire place? fans + ceramic space heaters = win). i'd also use prior mentioned thermostat settings in severe weather and energy-saving things like not using the dryer to dry clothing or the heat setting on the dishwasher etc.

am vegetarian (really, really cuts down on food costs but you gotta watch the protein intake)

got a membership to one of those bulk buying stores (which also take coupons, yay!)

buy my clothing from either the clearance rack at scavenger stores like tj maxx/marshalls/burlington coat factory or...

buy from goodwill or...

ebay...

ebay's great for everything, actually, but definitely price shop. sometimes things can be better on...

amazon.com, esp with their free shipping after $25 purchases. tons of great used books there, too.

to supplement my income, i also freely sold tons of things on both ebay and amazon.com, esp if i got killer deals at places like marshalls/tj maxx etc.

also, half.com had decent used textbook prices.

for textbooks in general i would also wait until borders came out with their 30 - 40% off any book coupons. saved me a ton, but had to make sure the book i wanted was in the store (which it usually was, as i'd go for the popular ones like crush step 3 etc). these prices usually ended up comparable to amazon but no shipping hassles.

also look out for book exchanges. in the baltimore area there's a book exchange where i was getting tons of books for free with no book donation requirements.

when you hit residency and start earning money, make sure you document any work-related expenses which you aren't being compensated for (ie step 3 of the usmle, boards exams, licensing fees, professional society dues, computers etc that you'll use on the job). can really add up and help get you get more of a refund come april!

i wouldn't say not to go out. rather, figure out what's cheap esp as a student because you qualify for reduced fare to many places like museums/theme parks etc. and even beyond schooling, there are plenty of free museums where i'm at. ask your seniors at your program, either in med school or residency, where the cheap entertainment is at. although i don't really drink/go to bars, my residency even sponsored a monthly happy hour etc for all the residents.

well, if i think of other strategies i'll post a follow up.

 

[avatarftw]

Great job and suggestions! The US savings rate should improve if everybody adopts frugal habits like the ones that you suggested.

How did you cut your own hair? I haven't had a haircut in 6 years since I do it myself with the buzz cut. However, I'm a guy. I assume that your hair is relatively long?

why limit yourself to med school years? as a student, resident and now as a fellow i:

cut my own hair (which, as a female, was kinda gutsy, but hey, no one died in the o.r. during my surgery rotation so i must be ok enough with scissors, right?)

don't use central air/heat (you're not everywhere in your apt, so why heat/cool the entire place? fans + ceramic space heaters = win). i'd also use prior mentioned thermostat settings in severe weather and energy-saving things like not using the dryer to dry clothing or the heat setting on the dishwasher etc.

am vegetarian (really, really cuts down on food costs but you gotta watch the protein intake)

got a membership to one of those bulk buying stores (which also take coupons, yay!)

buy my clothing from either the clearance rack at scavenger stores like tj maxx/marshalls/burlington coat factory or...

buy from goodwill or...

ebay...

ebay's great for everything, actually, but definitely price shop. sometimes things can be better on...

amazon.com, esp with their free shipping after $25 purchases. tons of great used books there, too.

to supplement my income, i also freely sold tons of things on both ebay and amazon.com, esp if i got killer deals at places like marshalls/tj maxx etc.

also, half.com had decent used textbook prices.

for textbooks in general i would also wait until borders came out with their 30 - 40% off any book coupons. saved me a ton, but had to make sure the book i wanted was in the store (which it usually was, as i'd go for the popular ones like crush step 3 etc). these prices usually ended up comparable to amazon but no shipping hassles.

also look out for book exchanges. in the baltimore area there's a book exchange where i was getting tons of books for free with no book donation requirements.

when you hit residency and start earning money, make sure you document any work-related expenses which you aren't being compensated for (ie step 3 of the usmle, boards exams, licensing fees, professional society dues, computers etc that you'll use on the job). can really add up and help get you get more of a refund come april!

i wouldn't say not to go out. rather, figure out what's cheap esp as a student because you qualify for reduced fare to many places like museums/theme parks etc. and even beyond schooling, there are plenty of free museums where i'm at. ask your seniors at your program, either in med school or residency, where the cheap entertainment is at. although i don't really drink/go to bars, my residency even sponsored a monthly happy hour etc for all the residents.

well, if i think of other strategies i'll post a follow up.

 

[MDhasbeen]

Great job and suggestions! The US savings rate should improve if everybody adopts frugal habits like the ones that you suggested.

How did you cut your own hair? I haven't had a haircut in 6 years since I do it myself with the buzz cut. However, I'm a guy. I assume that your hair is relatively long?

yes, my hair is long. this is all i do:
[YOUTUBE]<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/xF6quAXI0gM&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/xF6quAXI0gM&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>[/YOUTUBE]


i think it's awful that health professionals have to suffer in near-poverty for as long as they do, especially with all the looming healthcare cuts on the horizon. we as a group need to start asserting ourselves and make it known exactly all the things we went through to truly earn the 6 figure salaries we are (barely) maintaining as it is before we lose even that carrot in the future.

 

[235009]

had my ex-wife cut my hair, I groom and bathe my dogs, fix my car, fix my house, do my taxes, keep the house at 56 in the winter and 80 in the summer, buy in bulk and freeze.....and so much more.

are these some of the reasons why she's your ex-wife?

depending on your situation doing your own taxes could actually make you lose money! i sent my taxes off to a pro for the first time ever this year (used to do it myself before) and he was worth every penny of the ~$200 I paid him...ended up paying alot less than turbotax had calculated

Not going to lie, I'm wearing a watch that I found in the lounge. Let it sit there for a week and then took it and left my number in case someone finally comes looking for it. I needed one for physical exams and now I have me a nice swiss army one...

sorry but this one is stealing. when someone loses something they typically don't remember where they lost it. the person who lost the watch in the lounge probably went to the security office to see if anyone brought it in rather than going back to where they lost it! The correct thing to do here was to take the watch to the security office rather than giving yourself a five finger discount.

to supplement my income, i also freely sold tons of things on both ebay and amazon.com, esp if i got killer deals at places like marshalls/tj maxx etc.

don't do this. selling stuff on ebay is an enormous time sink. you're time is better spent when you're in med school

in general, if you are only supporting yourself, you don't have to go to extremes to save money....some of my tips:
cook as much as possible
pick up the weekly circular when you enter the supermarket
buy bigger packages of meat and freeze what you don't use right away
invest in an coffee or espresso machine and make your own coffee in the morning
pack your own lunch or go to meetings for the free lunch...you're technically paying for it with your activities fee
stock up on essentials when they are on sale ...soap, shampoo, toothpaste, etc have very long shelf lives

 

[PharmaTope]

jesus dude... i was born and raised in ohio, and I can't be more used to the cold... but 56? wow!

i kept the heat off the entire winter. it was 46 degrees inside!!! most awful experience of my life. slept ina jacket and winter hat with 2 pairs of sox.

 

[avatarftw]

Amen. Too much saving or penny-pinching can be penny wise, pound foolish.

are these some of the reasons why she's your ex-wife?

depending on your situation doing your own taxes could actually make you lose money! i sent my taxes off to a pro for the first time ever this year (used to do it myself before) and he was worth every penny of the ~$200 I paid him...ended up paying alot less than turbotax had calculated



sorry but this one is stealing. when someone loses something they typically don't remember where they lost it. the person who lost the watch in the lounge probably went to the security office to see if anyone brought it in rather than going back to where they lost it! The correct thing to do here was to take the watch to the security office rather than giving yourself a five finger discount.



don't do this. selling stuff on ebay is an enormous time sink. you're time is better spent when you're in med school

in general, if you are only supporting yourself, you don't have to go to extremes to save money....some of my tips:
cook as much as possible
pick up the weekly circular when you enter the supermarket
buy bigger packages of meat and freeze what you don't use right away
invest in an coffee or espresso machine and make your own coffee in the morning
pack your own lunch or go to meetings for the free lunch...you're technically paying for it with your activities fee
stock up on essentials when they are on sale ...soap, shampoo, toothpaste, etc have very long shelf lives

 

[OnlyAnEgg]

Amen, MDHasBeen, I became vegetarian during my first year. Waaaay less pain on thw wallet.

For those who dont want to swear off meat completely, maybe try eating veg only when eating out?
should save big $$$ since meat/fish in restaurants is superpricey

 

[dpmd]

depending on your situation doing your own taxes could actually make you lose money! i sent my taxes off to a pro for the first time ever this year (used to do it myself before) and he was worth every penny of the ~$200 I paid him...ended up paying alot less than turbotax had calculated

I have never heard of anyone having to pay less in taxes by having a pro do it that didn't involve fraud. Not that you are likely to get caught as long as it isn't blatant. Please enlighten me if there was a particular situation that turbo tax didn't address correctly.

 

[235009]

I have never heard of anyone having to pay less in taxes by having a pro do it that didn't involve fraud. Not that you are likely to get caught as long as it isn't blatant. Please enlighten me if there was a particular situation that turbo tax didn't address correctly.

1. education credit i wasn't claiming
2. writing off business expenses for my self-employed income

all perfectly legal. turbotax never mentioned the education credit and i could not figure out how to do the second one. it also saves me the hassle of having to file the return.

the tax code is enormous and extremely complicated. of course there's no reason to hire a pro if ur return is straight forward but once you get into more complicated issues (like self-employment), and the higher your income is, hiring a pro can go a long way

 

[dpmd]

I'm guessing you were using the free version. I had self employment income and had no problems deducting my business expenses. It even has a feature that takes you through various things you might not know you can deduct. But you have to use the home and business version which is more expensive (99.95 instead of free if you are using the basic). It does require that you know certain things (like if you have self employment income you should deduct your expenses, and if you are in school that you should probably qualify for a credit or a deduction) or at least take the time to go through the help me decide button on the website (and use the guide me buttons while preparing your return instead of trying to skip sections). For some people a pro might be easier I guess.

 

[235009]

I'm guessing you were using the free version. I had self employment income and had no problems deducting my business expenses. It even has a feature that takes you through various things you might not know you can deduct. But you have to use the home and business version which is more expensive (99.95 instead of free if you are using the basic). It does require that you know certain things (like if you have self employment income you should deduct your expenses, and if you are in school that you should probably qualify for a credit or a deduction) or at least take the time to go through the help me decide button on the website (and use the guide me buttons while preparing your return instead of trying to skip sections). For some people a pro might be easier I guess.

i was using the regular non-free version. the free version only allows you to file a 1040-EZ. the reduced hassle is worth the extra hundred bucks or so for a pro (vs. the business version of turbotax) ...especially during med school.

 

[CyberKnife19]

Bump...any other good ideas?

 

[Caristra]

Some students in my class managed to not buy food the entire first and second year by going to events/conferences/clubs that provided food.

You can get cheap books by buying them off last years students. I bought my ophthalmoscope used and then sold it (at a profit of 25$). Many students also e-mail that they are leaving their things they no longer want for others to take. Go look for textbooks. Then pay it forward by giving them to next years students.

Join freecycle, there's tons of stuff given away that you would otherwise have to buy.

And if you have the time and want to try and bring in some income, this website I made has a list of flexible hours/internet based/work at home jobs. It's basically a list of things people have tried to do to make money and if they worked or not. I update it as I get reviews of new things. Perhaps I should make one about finding deals/saving on things too.

http://www.squidoo.com/great-ways-to-earn-money-from-home