How to live comfortably in medical school?

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Might want to consider roommates.
How do people furnish their places as well on the $ they're given ? Like I don't see how people live off of 2k a month AND furnish their places and put the down payment on a car lease and the down payment for their place? And all the other stuff that comes with relocating and moving to a new city? That cost doesn't come into consideration...
 
How do people furnish their places as well on the $ they're given ? Like I don't see how people live off of 2k a month AND furnish their places and put the down payment on a car lease and the down payment for their place? And all the other stuff that comes with relocating and moving to a new city? That cost doesn't come into consideration...
How do people furnish their places as well on the $ they're given ? Like I don't see how people live off of 2k a month AND furnish their places and put the down payment on a car lease and the down payment for their place? And all the other stuff that comes with relocating and moving to a new city? That cost doesn't come into consideration...
Ask family if they want to give you anything, check ebay, craigslist, etc. If everyone's able to do it there has to be a way. It may not be top of the line, but it'll work. Also find roommates it helps a lot
 
Ask family if they want to give you anything, check ebay, craigslist, etc. If everyone's able to do it there has to be a way. It may not be top of the line, but it'll work. Also find roommates it helps a lot
My parents don't live in the states and I don't have family that's close by at all :-/
 
How do people furnish their places as well on the $ they're given ? Like I don't see how people live off of 2k a month AND furnish their places and put the down payment on a car lease and the down payment for their place? And all the other stuff that comes with relocating and moving to a new city? That cost doesn't come into consideration...


4th med students always sell a ton of furniture for pretty cheap. Most people rent, not buy for apartments. Almost everyone has roommates that they split rent/general furniture costs with.
 
How do people furnish their places as well on the $ they're given ? Like I don't see how people live off of 2k a month AND furnish their places and put the down payment on a car lease and the down payment for their place? And all the other stuff that comes with relocating and moving to a new city? That cost doesn't come into consideration...
I don't most lease a new car first of all. As for furniture, thrift shop/online sales/hand me downs from other people/doing without stuff besides the bare basics is the way to go. What vehicle are you using now and what are you using where you live?
 
It's an on and off thing depending on where I was/am rotating. On the low end I'm at $30 and probably at $40-$50 on average. I would get maybe 3 coffees a day, that's 5.75x3 right there. Lunch = 15, Dinner = 15. The place I live in, food is generally on the more expensive side and I tend to eat a lot. I am really dependent on coffee and need 4 shots of espresso in each coffee...trying to figure out how to decrease spending on this. One solution is to make some at home (doesn't seem to work much for me but it's a start)....that would decrease at least one coffee per day. So weird because until a few years ago I didn't drink coffee at all. And I think just meal prepping will drop the lunch and dinner expenses. The top 3 places I ranked have pretty bad cafeteria food so I feel like the change is inevitable.

I know it sounds ridiculous...but food is the one thing I spend all my money on. I'm glad I don't have any responsibilities because it's not sustainable.

There's your huge problem right there. Most of the people I know who need to chug coffee aren't paying $6/cup or anything close to that. If you do that most days, then for 300 days at $17/day you're spending $5,100/yr just on coffee. If you're spending $30/day on food then at 300 days you're spending $9,000 on food. So between food and coffee you're spending almost $15,000/yr. By the end of med school that's $60k you spend on food and coffee. Again, not trying to make you feel bad, but that should be a bit of an eye-opener if you haven't calculated it before. To put that in perspective, $15k is my entire yearly budget right now.

If you're requiring 4 shots of espresso per coffee just to function I'd also recommend trying to stop/cut back for health reasons, as you're basically drinking over 1,000 mg of caffeine daily.

I'm going to be living somewhere that has a high cost of living, so that's my only concern...that I'll be forced to take out extra $? I don't care about making an Instagram, getting a sugar daddy/mommy, or a boyfriend/girlfriend. Med school is a time-sucker already, I don't need all of that added crap. Also, I'm surprised people say that I won't have time to do the things I'm used to...do most people not exercise here everyday or cook their meals?

I was wondering, for the procedures I get done--do you think I could perhaps ask the residents to "practice" on me for a lower fee? I get botox in my jaw to help with my TMD, so maybe I could just pay for the unit price and have them do it? I can totally forgo mani/pedis/getting my hair done.

I only get the procedures (depending on what) done every 3-4 months..sometimes just once a year.

I don't watch TV, I don't care about the movies, I don't care about eating out, e.t.c. As long as I can cook I'm happy.

To the bolded, I'd say the majority of med students I know don't exercise or cook legit meals every day. Those who make it their main priority outside of school can do it, but they sacrifice time for most other things. Imo if there's something you really enjoy doing, you can find some time to do it every day. However, it's extremely unlikely you will be able to find time for multiple things everyday (ie, you may have to choose between cooking and exercise). A lot of people I know did bulk cooking and would prepare a week's worth of meals on lighter nights. For me, I was able to workout 3-4 days a week and cook most days, but I also sacrificed my grades a bit (especially first year) for lifestyle. Second year I had almost no time for workouts and cooked in bulk. Depends on your school's curriculum and your efficiency.

Also, as others have said, it's extremely illegal for residents to "practice" on you or treat you at a discounted price, at least until they're licensed. Even then, it would still likely be illegal and certainly breaks a lot of ethical standards. If it's medically indicated botox, I'd look into investing in a good insurance plan that will cover it. At the worst, I think you could get away with it once a year. For future reference, getting botox injections for TMJ dysfunction would not be considered a cosmetic procedure as you have an actual medical indication for it, it would be considered an elective treatment. You also probably would have taken a lot less flack if you'd stated it like that instead of cosmetic.

How do people furnish their places as well on the $ they're given ? Like I don't see how people live off of 2k a month AND furnish their places and put the down payment on a car lease and the down payment for their place? And all the other stuff that comes with relocating and moving to a new city? That cost doesn't come into consideration...

Typically people either bring the stuff they already have with them or take out extra during their first year to cover that. Unfortunately, there are some costs that you really can't get around and have to just take out loans for. Again, it's a priority thing in terms of how much you want to spend furnishing your apartment/house and what kind of transportation you get. That X dollars per month people spend is typically separate from moving costs as well as other major expenses like board exams or interview season (I took out an extra 5k for interview season just in case)
 
I don't most lease a new car first of all. As for furniture, thrift shop/online sales/hand me downs from other people/doing without stuff besides the bare basics is the way to go. What vehicle are you using now and what are you using where you live?
My car is on it's last leg and I won't be able to even drive it out of my city, let alone across the US.
 
To the bolded, I'd say the majority of med students I know don't exercise or cook legit meals every day. Those who make it their main priority outside of school can do it, but they sacrifice time for most other things. Imo if there's something you really enjoy doing, you can find some time to do it every day. However, it's extremely unlikely you will be able to find time for multiple things everyday (ie, you may have to choose between cooking and exercise). A lot of people I know did bulk cooking and would prepare a week's worth of meals on lighter nights. For me, I was able to workout 3-4 days a week and cook most days, but I also sacrificed my grades a bit (especially first year) for lifestyle. Second year I had almost no time for workouts and cooked in bulk. Depends on your school's curriculum and your efficiency.

Also, as others have said, it's extremely illegal for residents to "practice" on you or treat you at a discounted price, at least until they're licensed. Even then, it would still likely be illegal and certainly breaks a lot of ethical standards. If it's medically indicated botox, I'd look into investing in a good insurance plan that will cover it. At the worst, I think you could get away with it once a year. For future reference, getting botox injections for TMJ dysfunction would not be considered a cosmetic procedure as you have an actual medical indication for it, it would be considered an elective treatment. You also probably would have taken a lot less flack if you'd stated it like that instead of cosmetic.



Typically people either bring the stuff they already have with them or take out extra during their first year to cover that. Unfortunately, there are some costs that you really can't get around and have to just take out loans for. Again, it's a priority thing in terms of how much you want to spend furnishing your apartment/house and what kind of transportation you get. That X dollars per month people spend is typically separate from moving costs as well as other major expenses like board exams or interview season (I took out an extra 5k for interview season just in case)

Wow! Really? I did not know that people barely had time to cook/exercise! I would say that takes about an hour to two hours away from my day...I didn't think that it would be that time consuming for medical students...good to know! Like you said, I might just have to find the balance of working out only a couple of times a week, and bulk-cooking.

And sorry I didn't really know about the resident thing, I actually didn't even know they weren't licensed at that point. Yeah unfortunately I've had to pay out of pocket for the TMD, and it's not the only procedure I get.

How much do people take out extra? And when would be the best time to look at private medical school loans? Do I need to have my school's FAFSA information? I'm hoping that if I get a place close to my school I can avoid getting a car (until I'm forced to).

Thanks for answering all of my questions! I appreciate it.
 
Wow! Really? I did not know that people barely had time to cook/exercise! I would say that takes about an hour to two hours away from my day...I didn't think that it would be that time consuming for medical students...good to know! Like you said, I might just have to find the balance of working out only a couple of times a week, and bulk-cooking.

And sorry I didn't really know about the resident thing, I actually didn't even know they weren't licensed at that point. Yeah unfortunately I've had to pay out of pocket for the TMD, and it's not the only procedure I get.

How much do people take out extra? And when would be the best time to look at private medical school loans? Do I need to have my school's FAFSA information? I'm hoping that if I get a place close to my school I can avoid getting a car (until I'm forced to).

Thanks for answering all of my questions! I appreciate it.
You are limited to your COA . You may get some additional money to buy your schools health plan, and if this is a medical procedure and not cosmetic you may ask for a COA increase. You can also ask for a COA increase for car repairs.
You should probably find the cheapest housing you can find close to school. Buy furniture from thrift stores, mattress from Amazon, and try to set up a situation where you don't need a car.
 
Wow! Really? I did not know that people barely had time to cook/exercise! I would say that takes about an hour to two hours away from my day...I didn't think that it would be that time consuming for medical students...good to know! Like you said, I might just have to find the balance of working out only a couple of times a week, and bulk-cooking.

And sorry I didn't really know about the resident thing, I actually didn't even know they weren't licensed at that point. Yeah unfortunately I've had to pay out of pocket for the TMD, and it's not the only procedure I get.

Why on earth do you need all these regular procedures? Once you've taken out the full COA you have to petition to get more and at my school I had to detail exactly why I needed more than the approved COA and then the financial office had to approve of the increase and they definitely wouldn't approve of something you are suggesting. I highly doubt you will get an increase simply because "I have cosmetic procedures I want to have done."

I work out almost every day, and have time to put together my meals. My workouts aren't 30 min treadmill sessions either. The issue isn't that you won't have time to do those things its that you are expecting there to be time for that and also 5 other things. Something has to give.
 
Wow! Really? I did not know that people barely had time to cook/exercise! I would say that takes about an hour to two hours away from my day...I didn't think that it would be that time consuming for medical students...good to know! Like you said, I might just have to find the balance of working out only a couple of times a week, and bulk-cooking.

And sorry I didn't really know about the resident thing, I actually didn't even know they weren't licensed at that point. Yeah unfortunately I've had to pay out of pocket for the TMD, and it's not the only procedure I get.

How much do people take out extra? And when would be the best time to look at private medical school loans? Do I need to have my school's FAFSA information? I'm hoping that if I get a place close to my school I can avoid getting a car (until I'm forced to).

Thanks for answering all of my questions! I appreciate it.

You don't have to live like a pauper, but if you don't need something and it doesn't significantly change your lifestyle, don't spend money on it. Time is the most important commodity to manage as a med student and beyond. Some people are great at it and can keep a nice lifestyle during med school. Most of us are decent or worse and have to make significant sacrifices. You learn your limits when you get there.

How much extra people take out varies depending on their expenses. Your school should list their COA on their website along with a breakdown. If they don't you can call and they should be able to e-mail it to you. Generally, fed loans are the way to go because they're relatively simple and you don't have to start paying until residency (other loans may be set up that way, but may have other stipulations). I personally wouldn't advise taking out private loans unless they're either significantly lower interest/better policy or the COA won't cover all your expenses which it absolutely should for 99% of people.
 
I’m not going to lie, this is all a bit depressing. Super excited for medical school, but not ready to live on such a tiny budget. Not to mention, I still have a bunch of credit card debt from applying....sigh..
 
There's your huge problem right there. Most of the people I know who need to chug coffee aren't paying $6/cup or anything close to that. If you do that most days, then for 300 days at $17/day you're spending $5,100/yr just on coffee. If you're spending $30/day on food then at 300 days you're spending $9,000 on food. So between food and coffee you're spending almost $15,000/yr. By the end of med school that's $60k you spend on food and coffee. Again, not trying to make you feel bad, but that should be a bit of an eye-opener if you haven't calculated it before. To put that in perspective, $15k is my entire yearly budget right now.

If you're requiring 4 shots of espresso per coffee just to function I'd also recommend trying to stop/cut back for health reasons, as you're basically drinking over 1,000 mg of caffeine daily.

I have realized. Adding onto that barely drinking any water because I'm drinking coffee for all my fluid intake. I have been sticking to 1-2 coffees the last couple weeks and trying to keep it to regular coffees...it's been closer to $7 per day. The last 3 days I drank zero coffee. Still managed to go out and eat enough to spend 50$ a day tho. I feel so exhausted haha. I have to really change to be more fiscally responsible.
 
I’m not going to lie, this is all a bit depressing. Super excited for medical school, but not ready to live on such a tiny budget. Not to mention, I still have a bunch of credit card debt from applying....sigh..

I love how every conversation comes down to "I wish I had more money"...I've been thinking about this quite a bit. One of my friends' parents have a huge empty apartment in NYC so he picked NYC programs as his top choices...he's going to be making about 70K straight out of med school with no loans and no rent to pay...I definitely called my parents after and was like, "hi can you be richer?" hahaha. To which my parents rightfully told me to shut it haha.
 
I love how every conversation comes down to "I wish I had more money"...I've been thinking about this quite a bit. One of my friends' parents have a huge empty apartment in NYC so he picked NYC programs as his top choices...he's going to be making about 70K straight out of med school with no loans and no rent to pay...I definitely called my parents after and was like, "hi can you be richer?" hahaha. To which my parents rightfully told me to shut it haha.
Yeah I have a friend who’s parents paid his entire way through med school and even gave him an unlimited credit card..ughhh. My parents didn’t even pay for a single book in UG lol. I feel your pain. 😛
 
I’m not going to lie, this is all a bit depressing. Super excited for medical school, but not ready to live on such a tiny budget. Not to mention, I still have a bunch of credit card debt from applying....sigh..
Seems like if you had gotten ready for a smaller budget you wouldn't be dealing with a bunch of credit card debt. It is a lot easier to escalate lifestyle than to deescalate. Breaking the habit now may help you avoid being the stereotypical doctor living a life based on debt with little net worth.
 
Really shocked at how much people spend on coffee..y'all could save a LOT by making your own coffee and investing in a flask...

I was told by a smart man working in the financial aid office at the school I plan to attend to avoid living like an attending while being just a med student.
 
Really shocked at how much people spend on coffee..y'all could save a LOT by making your own coffee and investing in a flask...

I was told by a smart man working in the financial aid office at the school I plan to attend to avoid living like an attending while being just a med student.

Re: Coffee-I tried that but it wasn't strong enough for me. The quads seem to be the only thing that helps.

I'm bad at finances, but luckily haven't had to take out more loans than the usual.
 
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Really shocked at how much people spend on coffee..y'all could save a LOT by making your own coffee and investing in a flask...

I was told by a smart man working in the financial aid office at the school I plan to attend to avoid living like an attending while being just a med student.
Yeah, I am an attending making good money and I don't spend anywhere close to an average of 40 to 50 bucks a day on food.
 
I apologize if this is in the wrong forum--long time lurker, first time poster. I've recently been accepted to medical school and I have a huge concern.

Throughout undergrad, I was fortunate enough to receive a full scholarship and used the money I earned from work to fuel my "lifestyle".

I eat extremely healthy, mainly focusing on organic food, high quality meats, gluten-free, no dairy, e.t.c. Therefore, I have the tendency to shop at Whole Foods and at local farmer markets, and it gets expensive. There's many reasons for this: 1) I care deeply about what I put in my body 2) when I can, I like supporting local suppliers 3) I have a GI condition that requires me to have a picky diet (gluten free, staying away from certain ingredients, no dairy, e.t.c) unless I want to go on medication

On top of that, I love attending pilates and yoga classes daily, and again, that can add up. This helps me de-stress as well as keep my sane while I'm studying. I hate gyms, I have no motivation to exercise unless someone is telling me to.

I also do a lot of facial treatments, go see my dermatologist, sometimes getting cosmetic procedures, buying top-shelf skin products, e.t.c. To me, it's very therapeutic. I know it's vain to some people, but I really enjoy looking my best and take pride in it.

I know to a lot of you this seems excessive/vain/waste of money, but it's honestly how I distress and I truly enjoy doing these things. Some people like playing video games to relax, I like getting my hair done.

I know medical school is going to be extremely stressful and I'm worried I won't have these "safety" blankets with me when I enter. Is there anyway I can go about doing all of these things with such a small budget? Is it worth getting extra loans to pay for some of this stuff? I really truly believe in investing in oneself, and I think it would personally be worth it, especially if it allows me to do my best in medical school.

Please, serious responders only. I know how ridiculous this may seem to many of you, but this is important to me. (and no my parents don't have a ton of money)

As school goes on and then residency, never mind the money, you will not have the TIME.

I think the problem you're running into is that your idea of comfortable is most people's idea of lavish, especially on a student budget. And to be honest, you're going to run into time constraints for a lot of what you want to maintain as much or more than financial constraints. I get where you're coming from, and borrow a bit more than I *need* to because my spouse and I wanted to maintain our pre-med-school quality of life for the most part, but some of what you're looking for is on the extravagent side.

--Food: do what you need to do to manage your GI condition, but you can buy reasonably priced organic food if you're strategic at Aldi, Trader Joe's, even farmer's markets and your local Kroger/Publix/whatever for cheaper than you'd pay at Whole Foods. I'm not good at it, but if you buy in bulk and meal prep you can save here as well.
--Exercise: I know people that keep up some yoga/pilates, but you won't have TIME to go every day, much less the budget for it. Join a local gym that includes classes (your med school might have a university gym or discounts for others), and buy a mat so you can practice at home. YouTube has a gazillion guidance videos.
--Skin care: you're probably not on a R&F budget anymore, but you don't have to downgrade to drug store stuff, either. A lot of my friends and I still shop at places in the Bare Minerals and Sephora range of the spectrum. I'm actually a huge fan of Burt's Bees products (they have so much more than chapstick) and it's reasonably priced. You're not going to have time or money to go the the spa for facials and procedures, but you'll figure out a way to look good anyway.
--Hair: another thing you don't have to give up completely-- a cut/color at a legit place every 6-8 weeks is doable both timewise and budgetwise-- but you're probably not going to be going to blowdry bar on the regular, either.

I'm going to be living somewhere that has a high cost of living, so that's my only concern...that I'll be forced to take out extra $? I don't care about making an Instagram, getting a sugar daddy/mommy, or a boyfriend/girlfriend. Med school is a time-sucker already, I don't need all of that added crap. Also, I'm surprised people say that I won't have time to do the things I'm used to...do most people not exercise here everyday or cook their meals?

I was wondering, for the procedures I get done--do you think I could perhaps ask the residents to "practice" on me for a lower fee? I get botox in my jaw to help with my TMD, so maybe I could just pay for the unit price and have them do it? I can totally forgo mani/pedis/getting my hair done.

I only get the procedures (depending on what) done every 3-4 months..sometimes just once a year.

I don't watch TV, I don't care about the movies, I don't care about eating out, e.t.c. As long as I can cook I'm happy.

1) you will have time, yes they do.
2) NO. Pretty sure this is illegal.

Wow! Really? I did not know that people barely had time to cook/exercise! I would say that takes about an hour to two hours away from my day...I didn't think that it would be that time consuming for medical students...good to know! Like you said, I might just have to find the balance of working out only a couple of times a week, and bulk-cooking.

And sorry I didn't really know about the resident thing, I actually didn't even know they weren't licensed at that point. Yeah unfortunately I've had to pay out of pocket for the TMD, and it's not the only procedure I get.

How much do people take out extra? And when would be the best time to look at private medical school loans? Do I need to have my school's FAFSA information? I'm hoping that if I get a place close to my school I can avoid getting a car (until I'm forced to).

Thanks for answering all of my questions! I appreciate it.

My financial situation is the same as before medical school. My time though? Not. At. All. I used to get a pedicure every 3-4 weeks, now I am currently rocking the same chipped pedicure from a couple days after fall semester ended in December. I used to shave my legs every other day, now I’m lucky if I shave them every 2 weeks.

As for food and exercise, maybe some people are getting it, but I’m eating takeout/delivery more than ever and being more sedentary than ever. All I do is sit at my dining room table and study. I don’t even like pizza but is sometimes comes in clutch because they deliver, and you can eat it with one hand and zero eyes while you continue to study.
 
I apologize if this is in the wrong forum--long time lurker, first time poster. I've recently been accepted to medical school and I have a huge concern.

Throughout undergrad, I was fortunate enough to receive a full scholarship and used the money I earned from work to fuel my "lifestyle".

I eat extremely healthy, mainly focusing on organic food, high quality meats, gluten-free, no dairy, e.t.c. Therefore, I have the tendency to shop at Whole Foods and at local farmer markets, and it gets expensive. There's many reasons for this: 1) I care deeply about what I put in my body 2) when I can, I like supporting local suppliers 3) I have a GI condition that requires me to have a picky diet (gluten free, staying away from certain ingredients, no dairy, e.t.c) unless I want to go on medication

On top of that, I love attending pilates and yoga classes daily, and again, that can add up. This helps me de-stress as well as keep my sane while I'm studying. I hate gyms, I have no motivation to exercise unless someone is telling me to.

I also do a lot of facial treatments, go see my dermatologist, sometimes getting cosmetic procedures, buying top-shelf skin products, e.t.c. To me, it's very therapeutic. I know it's vain to some people, but I really enjoy looking my best and take pride in it.

I know to a lot of you this seems excessive/vain/waste of money, but it's honestly how I distress and I truly enjoy doing these things. Some people like playing video games to relax, I like getting my hair done.

I know medical school is going to be extremely stressful and I'm worried I won't have these "safety" blankets with me when I enter. Is there anyway I can go about doing all of these things with such a small budget? Is it worth getting extra loans to pay for some of this stuff? I really truly believe in investing in oneself, and I think it would personally be worth it, especially if it allows me to do my best in medical school.

Please, serious responders only. I know how ridiculous this may seem to many of you, but this is important to me. (and no my parents don't have a ton of money)

I'm not in med school, but I had very little money in undergrad to spend. I would suggest shopping at Costco. They have a lot of great organic food in bulk that you can buy. Idk if you've tried Amy's soup, but they sell like a 10 pack of that for 11 bucks, when at whole foods it's like 3 or 4 dollars a can. Look for organic food in normal grocery stores, too. You can also use the clean 15 list from the ewg. EWG's 2017 Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce these are 15 fruits/veggies that have the lowest pesticide levels, so buying non organic wouldn't be as big of a deal. Stay away from prepared food at all stores and try to cook way more (this is how you save a lot of money). I would also limit going out to eat, as well.

For yoga, there is a really cool YouTube channel - Yoga with Adriene that I used. It's free and she's a great teacher. It's a possible alternative to paying for a class. Also just work out videos on there in general are motivating and free.

As far as facial treatments go, there are tons of DIY face treatments you can make with home ingredients. I use a cinnamon/egg white face mask regularly, and it works great. Hope this helps!
 
Speaking of which, does anyone have any recommended websites for easy, simple meals? I love my crockpot/insta pot if anyone has suggestions! (don't worry about the food allergy stuff, I will find substitutes).
 
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