Is Medical School Debt Really Manageable?

[notbobtrustme]

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I was told that deferments are granted during residency.

Not sure if there's a difference anymore, but with subsidized loans, deferments meant that the interest wouldn't accumulate, however, under forbearance, interest does accumulate. However, now that there are no more subsidized loans, I don't think a real distinction exists.

 

[notbobtrustme]

And what school would that be? What is the actual TUITION?

My state school (UIC) total cost of attendance is approximately 260k for instaters.

 

[IlDestriero]

I respectfully direct you to my source: http://medicine.creighton.edu/MMSA/hpspinfo.htm I don't BS, but may be reading from an outdated source or may have misinterpreted the facts. About a third of the way down the page you'll find the following paragraph:

I guess you could read the above as supportive of being required to match to a military internship first and subsequently repaying your time as GP. Although, I did read elsewhere that the GP path is in the process of being phased out.

Anyway, just citing my source. Cheers.​

Don't put much faith in civilian interpretation of complicated military systems. They don't understand them, and they interpret what they read only knowing how the civilian system works. That leads to misunderstanding. Don't listen to the recruiters either, they'll sell you the 1:200 exception as routine.
They won't make you apply for some residency you don't want, nor will they make you select a back up residency when you apply.
Read the mil med board here for good info, it's there between all the biased posts.
Here's a good link. http://www.militarygme.org/
And another for the air force. https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&...tKzUbQ&sig=AHIEtbQEa-Ev2EwjJCLVoRiBuiz3rZ1RGA
I'm a Navy medicine survivor myself.
One of the reasons that military GMOs won't go away, even though they've been "phasing them out" for the last 15 years is that they can't get rid of them. Unmatched interns need to do something. If they did require you to apply for a residency you didn't want, nobody would accept the scholarship. You don't have to apply to any other residency in the civilian world either. You can scramble into an internship, try again, fail again, take a year or two off to do research, apply again, etc. Eventually you may have to pick another field if you can't match, but if the military took that freedom away, forcing a back up plan, they're going to suffer, and lose many applicants. They had a taste of that a few years ago during the war. When I applied long ago it was quite competitive, recently they couldn't give the scholarships away and went unfilled. I'm sure the tanking economy fixed that a few years ago however.
Good luck.

 

[Guero]

Wow, that was so informative! Thanks for the links and for clarifying.

Don't put much faith in civilian interpretation of complicated military systems. . . .

 

[poohbear12345]

280 in loans is not an unrealistic number when you add the interest that is accrued in medical school to the principle. The idea that budding pediatricians or FM docs have to blow away step I to match into a higher paying field they don't want to go into is a little bit goofy.

I am puzzled by this notion that student debt impoverishes people. I have several close friends who are businessmen who borrowed a large note to start businesses (seven or eight figures). On top of paying their note, they are also covering overhead. As soon as they paid their first note off, they borrowed again to expand and grow their business. The point is, they live with debt. It's a cost of doing business. They simply know how to leverage it and be smart about it.

Compared to expected revenue, student debt is pennies on the dollar and a safe investment. Compare student loans to the hoops you have to jump through for a home loan, and it's obvious that lenders deem student loans to be a safe bet.

As a side note: I am grateful for attendings who take the time to contribute to threads here. I will certainly listen respectfully when they are discussing their area of expertise. However, board certification doesn't confer expertise on evey other facet of life. Especially emotionally charged issues like politics. I've heard attending physicians say some really goofy things. So in that regard, I don't afford them the power of fiatt.

Puzzled by the idea that student debt impoversishes people? are you really? You sound like one of those unrealistic medical students who lives like a doctor while they are a student.

Why dont you talk to anyone working who has student debt, and ask them how they feel about it?

Someone else mentioned doing to 10% IBR until the loan is forgiven after 25 years, this does work except the amount of your loan that is forgiven is counted as taxable income the year it is forgiven ( do a 7% compound interest calculation on this and youll see the number will prob be over a million)

to whomeever said you could living on 2,080 dollars a month is enough to live on. Are you serious?? having a family and kids on that much?

Buying a 150K home... I live in california so my standards for homeprices are off, 150K will get you a home in inglewood. thats about it.

The debt crisis in student loans is real, the bubble wont burst until years from now when more peope begin defaulting in mass.

Doctors may be able to manage their debt under the system as of today, but if you extrapolate the trends, Higher Debt and Lower Pay, eventually you hit a tipping point.

The mass denial I see amongst a lot of medical students always worries me. Usually when something bad is happening the first step is denial.

 

[Guero]

I'm from Inglewood. It's worse than you think. Our steel-reinforced barred window homes here are still worth well over $150k. I think you need to go even farther inland to places like Compton and South Central to get prices like that. It's amazing what a ferw miles can do for home prices, lol.

 

[PostHaste]

to whomeever said you could living on 2,080 dollars a month is enough to live on. Are you serious?? having a family and kids on that much?

That was me, I believe, and I was talking about living on that in med school. I should hope that's enough, since MCW's COA - Tuition only allows for $1400/mo. I'm not sure who was trying to have a "family & kids" on $24,000/yr, it sure as heck wasn't me.

 

[EBTrailRunner]

I'll be attending an expensive OOS private school this fall carrying decent undergraduate debt. No parental support. If you're wondering why I won't be attending my state school, it's because I'm from California and didn't fair well this application cycle in-state. I have to say, I spend a lot of time stressing over how much debt I'll be accruing over the course of my medical education and training and how it'll affect my ultimate specialty choice. However, I think if I live frugally, take out only what I need, manage my debt well, and work hard, I'll make it through to the other side one day. At least I hope.

 

[Old Grunt]

Puzzled by the idea that student debt impoversishes people? are you really? You sound like one of those unrealistic medical students who lives like a doctor while they are a student.

I don't really give two flips what you think I sound like. If your ego is so fragile that you can't tolerate anyone challenging your proclamations, then you might be going into the wrong business.

Why dont you talk to anyone working who has student debt, and ask them how they feel about it?

Wow. Great advice. You know, in the past four years of medical school, I never thought to ask residents about how they manage their debt. I also never thought to ask or research cost of living and housing market in each of the 13 locales I interviewed at for residency. And I certainly haven't made a budget with my salery next year! Wow! If only I ld have talked to you first! You should go into finance. You're talents are obviously wasted in pre-med land!

Buying a 150K home... I live in california so my standards for homeprices are off, 150K will get you a home in inglewood. thats about it.

So maybe you should preface your comments with the fact that you are talking about the California market and your comments aren't necessarily applicable to everyone.

Either way, have fun sticking an inflated rent check into someone else's pocket. I'd rather use that money to accumulate some equity.

The debt crisis in student loans is real, the bubble wont burst until years from now when more peope begin defaulting in mass.

Doctors may be able to manage their debt under the system as of today, but if you extrapolate the trends, Higher Debt and Lower Pay, eventually you hit a tipping point.

The mass denial I see amongst a lot of medical students always worries me. Usually when something bad is happening the first step is denial.

Not buying into your predictions for the future doesn't necessarily equate to denial.

 

[Old Grunt]

That was me, I believe, and I was talking about living on that in med school. I should hope that's enough, since MCW's COA - Tuition only allows for $1400/mo. I'm not sure who was trying to have a "family & kids" on $24,000/yr, it sure as heck wasn't me.

IMO, that's more then enough as a single med student. As a student without a family, you can get away with living cheaply. Try and stretch your living money as far as you can. You can't really affect tuition, but you can control expenses.

Just do your own budgeting and worry about the task at hand (med school) as opposed to fretting about bubbles, Obamacare, or any other proclaimations of societal downfall by self appointed prophets.

 

[Perrotfish]

The debt crisis in student loans is real, the bubble wont burst until years from now when more peope begin defaulting in mass.

Doctors may be able to manage their debt under the system as of today, but if you extrapolate the trends, Higher Debt and Lower Pay, eventually you hit a tipping point.

The mass denial I see amongst a lot of medical students always worries me. Usually when something bad is happening the first step is denial.

The student loan debt criss is very real, but let's be honest, its not coming from physicians. Even if you're coming out of an engineering backgound, go to a private medical school, and end up practicing academic pediatrics medical school is still at least a neutral investment: you'll pay off your loan and still recover the cost of the time you spend in education. The floor for salaries in this profession is still around 100K, and the average salary is well over that. Even if there was real underwriting for student loans we would still be getting them, because medical school is a very safe investment. Realizing that isn't denial, its actually very well informed.

The student loan crisis is based around the people that pick up fourth tier law degrees and MBAs, the legions of liberal arts graduate students, and millions upon millions of undergraduates that have taken out 250K in loans for degrees that are so worthless that they actually end up with a lower average lifetime salary than their peers who went directly into the workforce. You can't pay off 250K of loans with a communications degree, and you can't discharge those loans in bankruptcy,so you screwed forever. When you take away the protection of bankrupcy every loans become usery, its that simple. However medical school loans, at least for US medical schools, remain a very safe bet.

 

[Old Grunt]

The student loan debt criss is very real, but let's be honest, its not coming from physicians. Even if you're coming out of an engineering backgound, go to a private medical school, and end up practicing academic pediatrics medical school is still at least a neutral investment: you'll pay off your loan and still recover the cost of the time you spend in education. The floor for salaries in this profession is still around 100K, and the average salary is well over that. Even if there was real underwriting for student loans we would still be getting them, because medical school is a very safe investment. Realizing that isn't denial, its actually very well informed.

The student loan crisis is based around the people that pick up fourth tier law degrees and MBAs, the legions of liberal arts graduate students, and millions upon millions of undergraduates that have taken out 250K in loans for degrees that are so worthless that they actually end up with a lower average lifetime salary than their peers who went directly into the workforce. You can't pay off 250K of loans with a communications degree, and you can't discharge those loans in bankruptcy,so you screwed forever. When you take away the protection of bankrupcy every loans become usery, its that simple. However medical school loans, at least for US medical schools, remain a very safe bet.

Exactly.

 

[deleted274002]

The student loan debt criss is very real, but let's be honest, its not coming from physicians. Even if you're coming out of an engineering backgound, go to a private medical school, and end up practicing academic pediatrics medical school is still at least a neutral investment: you'll pay off your loan and still recover the cost of the time you spend in education. The floor for salaries in this profession is still around 100K, and the average salary is well over that. Even if there was real underwriting for student loans we would still be getting them, because medical school is a very safe investment. Realizing that isn't denial, its actually very well informed.

The student loan crisis is based around the people that pick up fourth tier law degrees and MBAs, the legions of liberal arts graduate students, and millions upon millions of undergraduates that have taken out 250K in loans for degrees that are so worthless that they actually end up with a lower average lifetime salary than their peers who went directly into the workforce. You can't pay off 250K of loans with a communications degree, and you can't discharge those loans in bankruptcy,so you screwed forever. When you take away the protection of bankrupcy every loans become usery, its that simple. However medical school loans, at least for US medical schools, remain a very safe bet.

IMO, that's more then enough as a single med student. As a student without a family, you can get away with living cheaply. Try and stretch your living money as far as you can. You can't really affect tuition, but you can control expenses.

Just do your own budgeting and worry about the task at hand (med school) as opposed to fretting about bubbles, Obamacare, or any other proclaimations of societal downfall by self appointed prophets.

I don't really give two flips what you think I sound like. If your ego is so fragile that you can't tolerate anyone challenging your proclamations, then you might be going into the wrong business.



Wow. Great advice. You know, in the past four years of medical school, I never thought to ask residents about how they manage their debt. I also never thought to ask or research cost of living and housing market in each of the 13 locales I interviewed at for residency. And I certainly haven't made a budget with my salery next year! Wow! If only I ld have talked to you first! You should go into finance. You're talents are obviously wasted in pre-med land!



So maybe you should preface your comments with the fact that you are talking about the California market and your comments aren't necessarily applicable to everyone.

Either way, have fun sticking an inflated rent check into someone else's pocket. I'd rather use that money to accumulate some equity.



Not buying into your predictions for the future doesn't necessarily equate to denial.

Amen. Nicely put guys.

Pre-meds, don't listen to the fear mongers about your debt. Is it a lot? Yes. Can you manage it and not be a debt slave for the rest of your life? Absolutely.

People on one side of the political spectrum are trying to turn lower Medicare reimbursement rates (which not only come from the side of the political spectrum they support but also are not set in stone) into a straw Bogeyman about doctors' pay getting cut.

Pre-meds, chew on this: physicians' pay, while in some cases is overinflated, generally reflects the time and money it took to train us. All lower pay would do is send people into default (similar in a reverse way to how the housing crisis crashed: subprime mortgages with adjustable interest rates sent monthly payments way above what the borrower could repay, even if they could afford the early payments; lowering our salaries, something the government can't do, would create a situation where monthly payments would be so high that we couldn't pay our student loans).

No one wants a default. You're fine. I'd be more worried as to how an insurance company would swindle physicians. They're already doing it.

 

[DrSnips]

Do not fear, Americans! Even in my socialistic hellhole of a country (Canada) no physician makes $40k a year unless they're working like 1 or 2 days a week. Same with other US-like but still evilly socialistic hellholes like the UK. True, physician compensation in the US is higher than in most of those countries, but you won't be making secretary-pay even if you did go all out and hit the single government payer road 😉

Well it's basically the difference between making 2x the pay of the average citizen, vs. 4-5x the pay of the average citizen.

Also wait, you mean to tell me I can make 40k by working 1 day a week? brb canada.

 

[werd]

as noted above, the debt is usually very manageable, but exactly how manageable depends on the details... if you have about 200k in debt at ~4%, you'll owe about $2200 a month on 10-year repayment or more like ~$1100 on 30-year repayment. obviously, the numbers would be a bit higher if your interest rate or total debt were higher. if you come out and make $250k a year, that's about $21k a month (maybe $14k after taxes) and your debt payment isn't a big deal. if you come out and make $125k, that's about $11k a month (maybe $8k after taxes) and the debt payment is affordable but you start to feel it a little more.

i'm using some rounding and estimates here, but i think it makes the point... if you make it all the way through med school/residency and work as a physician you can pay your med school debt, but how much you feel the payments financially depends on your specialty and how much you're working.

 

[diamethuel]

I'll be attending an expensive OOS private school this fall carrying decent undergraduate debt. No parental support. If you're wondering why I won't be attending my state school, it's because I'm from California and didn't fair well this application cycle in-state. I have to say, I spend a lot of time stressing over how much debt I'll be accruing over the course of my medical education and training and how it'll affect my ultimate specialty choice. However, I think if I live frugally, take out only what I need, manage my debt well, and work hard, I'll make it through to the other side one day. At least I hope.

I'm in the same boat as you. If it makes you feel any better, the estimated yearly budget for in-state students at UCLA, UCI, and UCSF are still kinda high at ~$60k.

 

[poohbear12345]

Someone starting medical school this fall like myself will not have the luxury of any subsidized loans, and an interest rate of at LEAST 6.8%. The interest accrues every year while your in school and capitalizes when you enter and exit repayment. Not to mention taking 250k out to go to med school will grow to 350K or more after residency (depending on its length).

Old Grunt- Were you in the military? do you have some sort of military scholarship?

Wayne State med student- are you out of state paying 70k tuition or instate paying 35k? i turned down my seat there because the out of state tuition would make life very difficult for me.

I think you guys are acting like the debt will be no burden or strain whatsoever. I agree f you can keep it below 150K its extremely manageable, but over 250K ( while in school) causes a monthly payment of about 5k which begins to really make a hit.

 

[deleted274002]

Wayne State med student- are you out of state paying 70k tuition or instate paying 35k? i turned down my seat there because the out of state tuition would make life very difficult for me.

I'm IS, so my tuition is about 30K. OOS at Wayne is about 50K. I'm not exactly sure how the OOS would make life "difficult". Considering we're all borrowing, no one is feeling the "pain" right now.

Did you mean you didn't want to have as much debt? Wayne has a lot of Californian and Canadian students and they manage just fine. As for myself, I also have undergraduate debt to worry about, so in the end the difference between me and my OOS classmates isn't as big as you think.

 

[poohbear12345]

I'm IS, so my tuition is about 30K. OOS at Wayne is about 50K. I'm not exactly sure how the OOS would make life "difficult". Considering we're all borrowing, no one is feeling the "pain" right now.

Did you mean you didn't want to have as much debt? Wayne has a lot of Californian and Canadian students and they manage just fine. As for myself, I also have undergraduate debt to worry about, so in the end the difference between me and my OOS classmates isn't as big as you think.

Its 65 thousand out of state tuition a year.

Its very easy to talk about how affordable it is when your paying instate prices and arent forced to actually do the math on the loan and interest values.

 

[Perrotfish]

Someone starting medical school this fall like myself will not have the luxury of any subsidized loans, and an interest rate of at LEAST 6.8%. The interest accrues every year while your in school and capitalizes when you enter and exit repayment. Not to mention taking 250k out to go to med school will grow to 350K or more after residency (depending on its length).

Old Grunt- Were you in the military? do you have some sort of military scholarship?

Wayne State med student- are you out of state paying 70k tuition or instate paying 35k? i turned down my seat there because the out of state tuition would make life difficult

I think you guys are acting like the debt will be no burden or strain whatsoever. I agree f you can keep it below 150K its extremely manageable, but over 250K ( while in school) causes a monthly payment of about 5k which begins to really make a hit.

No one is saying that OOS debt isn't significant, or that you won't feel it. Debt is in fact a great reason to seek out your lower in state tuition, even if you have to opportunity to go to a hiigher ranked private school. However medical school debt is NOT high enough t justify aavoiding medicine entirely (assuming you get into a US school). The expected rate of return on any US medical school is more than high enough to justify even the worst OOS tuition.

 

[deleted274002]

Its very easy to talk about how affordable it is when your paying instate prices and arent forced to actually do the math on the loan and interest values.

I'll still be over $200,000 in debt when I'm done. Yes, it's affordable.

 

[Old Grunt]

Someone starting medical school this fall like myself will not have the luxury of any subsidized loans, and an interest rate of at LEAST 6.8%. The interest accrues every year while your in school and capitalizes when you enter and exit repayment. Not to mention taking 250k out to go to med school will grow to 350K or more after residency (depending on its length).

Old Grunt- Were you in the military? do you have some sort of military scholarship?

Wayne State med student- are you out of state paying 70k tuition or instate paying 35k? i turned down my seat there because the out of state tuition would make life very difficult for me.

I think you guys are acting like the debt will be no burden or strain whatsoever. I agree f you can keep it below 150K its extremely manageable, but over 250K ( while in school) causes a monthly payment of about 5k which begins to really make a hit.

I was in the military. I didn't opt for the HPSP.

 

[Old Grunt]

No one is saying that OOS debt isn't significant, or that you won't feel it. Debt is in fact a great reason to seek out your lower in state tuition, even if you have to opportunity to go to a hiigher ranked private school. However medical school debt is NOT high enough t justify aavoiding medicine entirely (assuming you get into a US school). The expected rate of return on any US medical school is more than high enough to justify even the worst OOS tuition.

Seriously, Poohbear. If you haven't started yet, and you claim you can see the Tuition Titanic about to hit the iceburg, why enroll?

 

[shibby1111]

It seems like not too many people realize that if you take out 70k first year, in 4 years that 70k will compound to between 80-90k by graduation. By year 4 (when i start PGY1) I will be at 300k (people forget about compound interest). If I pay salary based repayment of 15% of my predicted resident salary towards the total loan, after 3 years of residency i will be at 350k, then have to pay 70-80k per year for 6 years to totally pay the loan off. The numbers here make little since until you model your debt using more than windows calculator. That is with a 3 year residency like IM, EM, etc. Holy **** if you were to do a 5-6 year residency with income based repayment you would be at 0.5 million mark and have to pay 90k per year for many years to get out of the hole.

Remember, i haven't misguided myself with a windows calculator. i will be in debt up to my eyeballs and i cant wait. but hopefully by age 40 (i am 27 now) i will be out of the hole.

I am considering a range of projected resident/practice salaries and interest rates.

I will have to live like I am right now, eating canned beans and brown rice every day until i am 40 years old. Then i will live comfortably.

 

[Guero]

It seems like not too many people realize that if you take out 70k first year, in 4 years that 70k will compound to between 80-90k by graduation. By year 4 (when i start PGY1) I will be at 300k (people forget about compound interest). If I pay salary based repayment of 15% of my predicted resident salary towards the total loan, after 3 years of residency i will be at 350k, then have to pay 70-80k per year for 6 years to totally pay the loan off. The numbers here make little since until you model your debt using more than windows calculator. That is with a 3 year residency like IM, EM, etc. Holy **** if you were to do a 5-6 year residency with income based repayment you would be at 0.5 million mark and have to pay 90k per year for many years to get out of the hole.

Remember, i haven't misguided myself with a windows calculator. i will be in debt up to my eyeballs and i cant wait. but hopefully by age 40 (i am 27 now) i will be out of the hole.

I am considering a range of projected resident/practice salaries and interest rates.

I will have to live like I am right now, eating canned beans and brown rice every day until i am 40 years old. Then i will live comfortably.

Yup. Now imagine already having $125k of variable APR debt from undergrad before even starting med school, like me. Plus, only about $15k is federal, meaning I have no perks like IBR or forgiveness on that $110k. I'm 29 and begin MS1 in the summer. It's quite terrifying.

 

[HughMyron]

Don't go to med school unless you're part of the 1%. Or at least the 5%!

Yup. Now imagine already having $125k of variable APR debt from undergrad before even starting med school, like me. Plus, only about $15k is federal, meaning I have no perks like IBR or forgiveness on that $110k. I'm 29 and begin MS1 in the summer. It's quite terrifying.

Why the hell did you go to a private school if you wanted to go into medicine?

 

[Guero]

Don't go to med school unless you're part of the 1%. Or at least the 5%!





Why the hell did you go to a private school if you wanted to go into medicine?

 

[The Beyonder]

Yup. Now imagine already having $125k of variable APR debt from undergrad before even starting med school, like me. Plus, only about $15k is federal, meaning I have no perks like IBR or forgiveness on that $110k. I'm 29 and begin MS1 in the summer. It's quite terrifying.

I do think people underestimate the debt burden they will be under when they graduate. Good luck man.

 

[The Beyonder]

It seems like not too many people realize that if you take out 70k first year, in 4 years that 70k will compound to between 80-90k by graduation. By year 4 (when i start PGY1) I will be at 300k (people forget about compound interest). If I pay salary based repayment of 15% of my predicted resident salary towards the total loan, after 3 years of residency i will be at 350k, then have to pay 70-80k per year for 6 years to totally pay the loan off. The numbers here make little since until you model your debt using more than windows calculator. That is with a 3 year residency like IM, EM, etc. Holy **** if you were to do a 5-6 year residency with income based repayment you would be at 0.5 million mark and have to pay 90k per year for many years to get out of the hole.

Remember, i haven't misguided myself with a windows calculator. i will be in debt up to my eyeballs and i cant wait. but hopefully by age 40 (i am 27 now) i will be out of the hole.

I am considering a range of projected resident/practice salaries and interest rates.

I will have to live like I am right now, eating canned beans and brown rice every day until i am 40 years old. Then i will live comfortably.

Plus now you have to pay for a family, mortgage....Life. At least your thinking about it now. Start making plans for minimizing your debt. Good luck

 

[Guero]

I do think people underestimate the debt burden they will be under when they graduate. Good luck man.

Indeed, thank you. My main issue was misinformation as an undergrad. I think if I had more sound financial advice as a young man I'd have done things very differently, including sticking to a far cheaper state school. Hindsight is always 20/20. I'm hoping to pursue an IM/EM dual residency (e.g., LSU) and plan to apply for Tennessee's loan repayment program by serving an underserved area. They offer $50k in grants toward loans each year for up to 4 years in addition to your normal salary. I think that will help immensely.

But if I end up preferring a surgical specialty? I'll just have to life thrifty for a few years. We'll see...

 

[CsHead]

Plus now you have to pay for a family, mortgage....Life. At least your thinking about it now. Start making plans for minimizing your debt. Good luck

To play DA... none of those things you mentioned are necessities.

 

[dudeliness]

To play DA... none of those things you mentioned are necessities.

Umm, really?
🙄

 

[CsHead]

Umm, really?
🙄

I too can play that game. gfy 😎


All of those are choices.

 

[dudeliness]

I too can play that game. gfy 😎


All of those are choices.

True enough, but seriously, buying a home makes much more sense than renting, or living on the street for that matter. Lol
And I guess I'm biased about the family part too since I have one and love it so much that I can't even remember what it was like to be single.

But technically, I guess you're right. Someone could choose to be homeless and not have any loved ones and thereby eliminate some "unnecessary" expenditures.
😀

 

[The Beyonder]

To play DA... none of those things you mentioned are necessities.

That's easy to say now, but wait till your thirties. I don't think they feel like choices then.

 

[Guero]

I too can play that game. gfy 😎


All of those are choices.

True enough, but seriously, buying a home makes much more sense than renting, or living on the street for that matter. Lol
And I guess I'm biased about the family part too since I have one and love it so much that I can't even remember what it was like to be single.

But technically, I guess you're right. Someone could choose to be homeless and not have any loved ones and thereby eliminate some "unnecessary" expenditures.
😀

 

[HughMyron]

True enough, but seriously, buying a home makes much more sense than renting, or living on the street for that matter. Lol
And I guess I'm biased about the family part too since I have one and love it so much that I can't even remember what it was like to be single.

But technically, I guess you're right. Someone could choose to be homeless and not have any loved ones and thereby eliminate some "unnecessary" expenditures.
😀

Theoretically, couldn't you just live in the call room of a hospital? Since it's what some residents in surgical specialties do anyways, I can't imagine it'd be that much of an issue.

 

[45408]

True enough, but seriously, buying a home makes much more sense than renting, or living on the street for that matter. Lol
And I guess I'm biased about the family part too since I have one and love it so much that I can't even remember what it was like to be single.

But technically, I guess you're right. Someone could choose to be homeless and not have any loved ones and thereby eliminate some "unnecessary" expenditures.
😀

how long have you owned a home?

 

[Guero]

how long have you owned a home?

Seriously, I was so happy to get rid of mine. They come with a gamut of pricy surprises the longer you own, plus the responsibility of coordinating repairs or doing them yourself. Renting is far easier when you have a lot of stuff going on. I feel as though I'm much better off starting med school single and renting than I would've been if I was still married and a homeowner.

That said, though, when you're as far along as the dude, it makes more sense to stick with what you already have, especially with a family.

 

[dudeliness]

Seriously, I was so happy to get rid of mine. They come with a gamut of pricy surprises the longer you own, plus the responsibility of coordinating repairs or doing them yourself. Renting is far easier when you have a lot of stuff going on. I feel as though I'm much better off starting med school single and renting than I would've been if I was still married and a homeowner.

That said, though, when you're as far along as the dude, it makes more sense to stick with what you already have, especially with a family.

Well...confession time.
I don't own a house. In fact, we are currently residing in my dads basement apartment. 😀
I've heard it said that owning a home
Is like having a part-time job on the weekends. Lol. It's true that it makes more sense to invest your housing money rather than throwing it away on rent, but it is a lot of work.

Or so I hear. 😉

Edit:
Plus it may not always be wisest to buy a home during med school, unless all clinical rotations and possibly residency will be in that same area.


Now who's playing devils advocate?
👍👍 to you CsHead!!

 

[CsHead]

Well...confession time.
I don't own a house. In fact, we are currently residing in my dads basement apartment. 😀
I've heard it said that owning a home
Is like having a part-time job on the weekends. Lol. It's true that it makes more sense to invest your housing money rather than throwing it away on rent, but it is a lot of work.

Or so I hear. 😉

Edit:
Plus it may not always be wisest to buy a home during med school, unless all clinical rotations and possibly residency will be in that same area.


Now who's playing devils advocate?
👍👍 to you CsHead!!

It's the funnest game in town 👍👍

 

[ChiDO]

True enough, but seriously, buying a home makes much more sense than renting, or living on the street for that matter. Lol
And I guess I'm biased about the family part too since I have one and love it so much that I can't even remember what it was like to be single.

But technically, I guess you're right. Someone could choose to be homeless and not have any loved ones and thereby eliminate some "unnecessary" expenditures.
😀

This statement is so broad that it only applies to a very small subset of individuals. Take the state of Michigan for example; the housing market sucks. Sure, you can buy a house for a great price in a great neighborhood; unfortunately there are 12+ houses for sale in some of these places.

Now you are not from this area; thus plan on selling in X years after you are done with residency. What happens when you can't sell, owe 75% of your mortgage still, and want to buy another house in your new job location...ya...now that renting option looks REALLY nice X years ago.

 

[dudeliness]

This statement is so broad that it only applies to a very small subset of individuals. Take the state of Michigan for example; the housing market sucks. Sure, you can buy a house for a great price in a great neighborhood; unfortunately there are 12+ houses for sale in some of these places.

Now you are not from this area; thus plan on selling in X years after you are done with residency. What happens when you can't sell, owe 75% of your mortgage still, and want to buy another house in your new job location...ya...now that renting option looks REALLY nice X years ago.

What I was referring to was areas like the area where I will be attending school. Houses are cheap, so your money goes a long way, plus the school there means that even if I choose to never live there again after school I can most likely rent it out to other students.
i.e. better investment than just renting.