How do people have the money to have fun in med school?

[little_giant]

I see my friends who are MS1s drinking out, going to 2 day trips for skiing, etc.. and I was just wondering how they have the money to do this? Coming from someone with <$2K in my bank account?

I'm not talking about the people whose parents pay their entire tuition and then some nor the people who worked as investment bankers before going into medicine. I'm talking about regular people who take out $200K in loans, worked a $15/hr job for their gap year and thus only have about $5K in their bank account when they start med school.

Are they paying for it with the money from their loans? Do they do workstudy?

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[Lifeblood_20]

I have the same question as an undergrad; how tf are some students so rich they do online shopping for fancy clothes and booking spring break Florida trips DURING CLASS; like you are paying to come to class, and instead of getting your money back through education you choose to spend class time spending more (maybe borrowed) money

 

[scorpion2020]

It’s borrowed (loan) money. I made this mistake in undergrad

 

[little_giant]

I have the same question as an undergrad; how tf are some students so rich they do online shopping for fancy clothes and booking spring break Florida trips DURING CLASS; like you are paying to come to class, and instead of getting your money back through education you choose to spend class time spending more (maybe borrowed) money

I think for this undergrad it's mostly rich kids and their parents' money or some people who make a lot of money during summer internships (usually business students) and spend that

 

[Pagan FutureDoc]

It can be possible to budget with your loans so you aren’t living like a monk. And honestly a couple day ski trip isn’t THAT expensive if you have gear and live in an area with ski slopes.

 

[Mkif586]

P
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(isn't it obvious that fair share of med school students come from upper class families?)

 

[vrazzles]

I have a $15/hr gap year job

I wish I had 5k in my bank account 🙁

 

[FutureSurgical]

I make >$25/hour and I don't have $5K in my bank account. Weddings are expensive

 

[jamaica jan sun princess]

One of my state schools budgets about $2400 a month for living expenses. It's not difficult to live on half of that in this area.

 

[NITRAS]

1. Stop caring about what others are doing. Learn to be content. You will alway s have people who have a higher lifestyle than you. I Earn a great income, and I find myself at times being covetous of people that make more than me.
2. Stop equating spending money with fun. You don’t need to spend money to have fun. Most metro areas have lots of free/inexpensive events. There is these things called parks, libraries, which are being paid for by taxes.

 

[OrthoTraumaMD]

1. Stop caring about what others are doing. Learn to be content. You will alway s have people who have a higher lifestyle than you. I Earn a great income, and I find myself at times being covetous of people that make more than me.
2. Stop equating spending money with fun. You don’t need to spend money to have fun. Most metro areas have lots of free/inexpensive events. There is these things called parks, librarit’s, which are being paid for by taxes.

I couldn’t agree more. maybe that person who is spending money to have fun has zero financial literacy and will suffer later. maybe they are looking for “getaways” to try to escape crippling depression or family issues (seen that too). You never know what is in someone’s head. Just work hard, do your own thing. The nice thing is that as a doctor, you’ll be able to experience the fun times eventually too.

 

[82Scout]

One of my state schools budgets about $2400 a month for living expenses. It's not difficult to live on half of that in this area.

This, you would be surprised how generous the living expenses budgets can be.

In college I lived very well on $2500 a month BAH. I've noticed what gets most people my age is things like new cars/phones/clothes etc. They racked it up on credit cards and loans.

Ya boy rocked that iphone 4, 30 pack of busch light $12 from walmart, a 98 honda civic I bought for $1500, and I bought clothes from Marshall's/Ross. I managed to save all throughout college even while taking awesome trips every couple months. By the time I graduated I had well over 20k in the bank.

So to answer your question yeah.... some are probably stacking up that debt and some can probably make a dollar go a long way. I think a lot of medical school programs won't even allow you to work your first two years.

 

[ComebackKid345]

I make >$25/hour and I don't have $5K in my bank account. Weddings are expensive

Lol this. Matriculating in the fall but all my savings are being drained for my wedding right before class starts. On a side note, it’s absolutely outrageous how much wedding vendors charge for their services. It almost makes me sad how much money I’m going to pay for one day/night of our lives.

 

[LizzyM]

Learn to make your own coffee. Learn to make your own lunch. Learn to be a smart shopper and cook food that you eat at home.
Spend the money you don't pay for take-out, delivery, and restaurant meals to have some fun every so often.

Also, and I don't recommend this without considering the risks, but some med students make a little spending money by volunteering to participate in research studies. A couple hours in an fMRI machine can pay for a couple hours in a bar.

 

[Moko]

Lol this. Matriculating in the fall but all my savings are being drained for my wedding right before class starts. On a side note, it’s absolutely outrageous how much wedding vendors charge for their services. It almost makes me sad how much money I’m going to pay for one day/night of our lives.

Because they know that people will still pay their ridiculous prices instead of putting it to better use, eg paying off debt, spreading that spending over several years to allow for a more comfortable lifestyle during medical school and residency, investing in one's future (through a down payment for home or retirement account, etc).

 

[Cornfed101]

Hey if any of you guys with extra money to throw around want to sponsor my wife and kids while I am in med school I would appreciate it...

 

[CherryRedDracul]

The classmates I had who dropped the big bucks had rich parents.

 

[Paralegalities]

1. Rich family, I've seen tons of people at my undergrad who are driving brand new Porsche's/BMW's/Mercedes at 18.

2. Loan money. If you have a scholarship but take out the maximum loan, you suddenly have an awful lot of "free" money laying around.

3. Well-paying hobbies. A former roommate of mine was making over $120,000 a year at age 23 completely self-made by trading on the Forex market during all of his free time for fun. He started with $1,000. He also gets paid to teach others how to do it.

4. Side-hustles. I managed to make over $20,000 in undergrad just by donating plasma every week and participating in paid research studies as often as possible. The neuroscience ones I enjoyed the most paid $20 an hour for multiple hour long studies with bonuses if you won various risk vs. reward games.

 

[little_giant]

1. Rich family, I've seen tons of people at my undergrad who are driving brand new Porsche's/BMW's/Mercedes at 18.

2. Loan money. If you have a scholarship but take out the maximum loan, you suddenly have an awful lot of "free" money laying around.

3. Well-paying hobbies. A former roommate of mine was making over $120,000 a year at age 23 completely self-made by trading on the Forex market during all of his free time for fun. He started with $1,000. He also gets paid to teach others how to do it.

4. Side-hustles. I managed to make over $20,000 in undergrad just by donating plasma every week and participating in paid research studies as often as possible. The neuroscience ones I enjoyed the most paid $20 an hour for multiple hour long studies with bonuses if you won various risk vs. reward games.

Thanks! Do you know if #4 counts as reportable income for taxes?

 

[Paralegalities]

Thanks! Do you know if #4 counts as reportable income for taxes?

Yes, you're still supposed to report it and pay income taxes on it. Pretty much nobody actually does since they pay you in cash or with a prepaid debit card that's pretty untraceable, but you're supposed to.

 

[82Scout]

Thanks! Do you know if #4 counts as reportable income for taxes?

Yes it does. I work in research and we have to be careful as too how much we pay some of our other participants because if we pay them too much it will affect their SS or disability payments. However, this would be a self reported thing so i'm not advocating tax fraud, but you're not gonna get a tax form or W2 from the research study.

 

[Cornfed101]

Yes, you're still supposed to report it and pay income taxes on it. Pretty much nobody actually does since they pay you in cash or with a prepaid debit card that's pretty untraceable, but you're supposed to.

Yeah, I'd be interested to know what percentage of people who donate plasma report it on their taxes... I'm guessing 25%?

 

[Goro]

Lol this. Matriculating in the fall but all my savings are being drained for my wedding right before class starts. On a side note, it’s absolutely outrageous how much wedding vendors charge for their services. It almost makes me sad how much money I’m going to pay for one day/night of our lives.

Just go to Las Vegas and have Elvis do the wedding.

 

[LizzyM]

Yes it does. I work in research and we have to be careful as too how much we pay some of our other participants because if we pay them too much it will affect their SS or disability payments. However, this would be a self reported thing so i'm not advocating tax fraud, but you're not gonna get a tax form or W2 from the research study.

Depending on the amount you are being paid, you may need to provide your social security number and if your payments from one institution (e.g. the entire univeristy) exceeds $600 in a calendar year, it will be reported to the IRS.

 

[OchemOficionado]

A non-medical school partner with a great job 🙂

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

Loan money.

 

[AnonymousDoctorGuyPerson]

Apathetic debt.

You reach a point where the concept of money degrades into some abstract entity that can no longer be grasped and you forget to care. I hit this point mid-undergrad, it's dangerous.




But also side hustles like tutoring can be very lucrative.

 

[Med.School.Hopeful]

Loans, previous career, or parents.

 

[Blueprint Med School]

I see my friends who are MS1s drinking out, going to 2 day trips for skiing, etc.. and I was just wondering how they have the money to do this? Coming from someone with <$2K in my bank account?

I'm not talking about the people whose parents pay their entire tuition and then some nor the people who worked as investment bankers before going into medicine. I'm talking about regular people who take out $200K in loans, worked a $15/hr job for their gap year and thus only have about $5K in their bank account when they start med school.

Are they paying for it with the money from their loans? Do they do workstudy?

Falls under two categories:

1) Fools spending money they don't own, i.e. loans.

2) Thrifty people using clever tricks to have fun without breaking the bank. Combining resources, tutoring on the side (what I did/do), sifting for deals, buying things used, flying Spirit/Frontier economy with a backpack and so on. Having fun doesn't have to break the bank, but you have to be clever and willing to put in the time researching.

David D - USMLE and MCAT Tutor

Med School Tutors

 

[Angus Avagadro]

It doesnt take much money to have fun
My wife and I were married as med students with no parental financial support. We did participate in some research studies. Never sold plasma or took food stamps. After a year, I was a Pgy1, so we could manage. Had some great times with her classmates. As a resident you get a paid conference, pick one in a nice place
Social.media contributes to the notion everyone but you is living this fantastic life. Dont believe it. They still have to go to med school and compete just like you. And we all know how much fun that is! Good luck and best wishes!

 

[mmchick]

... you budget.. however your income is coming in i.e. loans, parents, savings, etc. Some people have certain discretionary priorities over others - some prefer to spend those funds on drinks/food out with friends, other on clothes, others on travel etc. Likely more than not, whatever it "seems" someone is doing is likely their primary discretionary choice and they aren't dipping their toes in other areas of consumerism. No one could reasonably afford to do so.

A budget of living as though you make 30-35k/year (post-tax) is a pretty comfortable income bracket if you budget adequately.