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Question about debt
- Thread starter Beau Geste
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njbmd
Megboo said:
Hi there,
You need to pay down that debt as much as possible. It is probably better for you to take a year or so and get rid of the debt as opposed to heading into medical school with such a large amount of debt. Loans for medical school (and scholarships if you qualify) are not going to cover a large amount of credit card debt or car payments. You can attempt to borrow extra from outside lenders but you will be stuck paying this back once you begin residency. Take an extra year or so and get that debt down to a managable level so that one of you can totally handle all of the bills. It is also highly advisable to have some savings for emergencies too. You will NOT be able to work during medical school except during the summer between your first and second year. In the event that you want to match into a competitive specialty, you may even need that summer to do research (related to your specialty). Going into medical school a year later if if means being debt free can make a huge difference in cash management. What happens if your SO gets injured and can't work? If you do not have that debt, you life would still be managable and your medical school would not suffer. Make your life as simple as possible even if means selling one of the cars to help get rid of payments before you enter medical school. The simpler the better for you in the long run.
njbmd
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I agree with njbmd.
as posted in the other thread:
I didn't quit my job until I had enough funds to pay off my car and my credit cards. If your husband is working, don't worry so much about the car (if you can afford it) but the credit cards is a yes. Remember, this is a marathon NOT a sprint. I was EXTREMELY antsy until I finally quit in June. It was about a year in a half in the making and a dream for the past 26 Now I am a full-time student doing prereqs and getting a 2nd degree to strengthen my HORRIBLE GPA. I'm engaged to a med student so we will be living off student loans till he graduates soon but even then we'll have loans. I am a year away from applying and no guarantees I'll get in the first time. For me it was more important to pay off the debt then to worry about it and become a student. It depends on the type of person you are and how fiscally responsible you are.
You can just get student loans and try to get some private ones to pay off part of your debt (which I don't advise). Or you can suck it up for a year, live frugally and payoff your debt. Then continue school full time. Take it easy with the classes now. (its what I would suggest) because you need to do well in them.
Just my two cents from someone who's been there.
as posted in the other thread:
I didn't quit my job until I had enough funds to pay off my car and my credit cards. If your husband is working, don't worry so much about the car (if you can afford it) but the credit cards is a yes. Remember, this is a marathon NOT a sprint. I was EXTREMELY antsy until I finally quit in June. It was about a year in a half in the making and a dream for the past 26 Now I am a full-time student doing prereqs and getting a 2nd degree to strengthen my HORRIBLE GPA. I'm engaged to a med student so we will be living off student loans till he graduates soon but even then we'll have loans. I am a year away from applying and no guarantees I'll get in the first time. For me it was more important to pay off the debt then to worry about it and become a student. It depends on the type of person you are and how fiscally responsible you are.
You can just get student loans and try to get some private ones to pay off part of your debt (which I don't advise). Or you can suck it up for a year, live frugally and payoff your debt. Then continue school full time. Take it easy with the classes now. (its what I would suggest) because you need to do well in them.
Just my two cents from someone who's been there.
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See nothing to worry about then if you have 3 years you'll make it work and get some saved. As for mortgage, remember that you will have loans which you use for "housing" so you could still pay part of the mortgage while your husband pays the rest.Megboo said:Thanks Natalie and Msheaddoc:
I think we've got a little time - I won't be applying until '07 for '08 admission, so just about 3 years from now. We will definitely be able to apy off the credit card debt, and the car loan will be paid off in that time frame, too. I guess I'm not in too bad of shape - we'll pretty much just have a mortgage to worry about (barring any future disasters!). I was hoping for an option to help me stop working now, but such is the life of a grown-up
Also, are you guys absolutely sure you can't work while in med school? A close friend of mine held a full-time job during med school and is now in a gen. surg. residency (SIU). But then again, I really may not WANT to work!
Thanks again!
As for working ... yes I have heard of people who worked 20 hrs or so a week or people who were nurses/techs that pulled some shifts for money. I know 2 people who did mcat programs and a person who taught CPR classes. Honestly though ... 95% of my friends CURRENTLY in med school say they want to look for a job, but can't find anything. Why? TIME. Depending on your school and courseload ... the amount of work you will have ot do will not allow time for a job. Also if you want to maintain the relationship with you husband that should be your second priority after school. Its going to be tough and a few doctors I know warn of the divorce rate (as they are divorced) through med school due to the amount of output necessary to survive.
I know money makes the world go round, but living frugally is a major necessity in med school, especially if you have a family!
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Not really sure what the original question was, but I would offer this advice:
Debt sucks and you will never be at true peace until you have lived debt free, however I would not recomend working during med school. Get up, go to work ie from the time you leave the house to the time you get home work toward your goals and study as needed. If you can avoid studying at home do so, your relationships at home will be better....trust me. Put in your 8-16 hours a day, whatever it takes, but when you get home forget about it and enjoy your family. There will be plenty of time for work, money, and student loan repayment when you get done with school.
That being said, I can't agree more with the post that said to keep it simple!!!
Live as close to school as you can, and as modestly as you can, walk if possible, do away with a car if possible but don't have payments while in school for sure. I would recomend owning something that you can carry liability and comp if not liability alone if possible etc. Keep it Simple and life will retain some level of normal.
While student loans are not dischargable in bankruptcy if things go south, if you keep your end goal in focus, they will mearly be a small fraction of your eventual earnings.
Peace
Debt sucks and you will never be at true peace until you have lived debt free, however I would not recomend working during med school. Get up, go to work ie from the time you leave the house to the time you get home work toward your goals and study as needed. If you can avoid studying at home do so, your relationships at home will be better....trust me. Put in your 8-16 hours a day, whatever it takes, but when you get home forget about it and enjoy your family. There will be plenty of time for work, money, and student loan repayment when you get done with school.
That being said, I can't agree more with the post that said to keep it simple!!!
Live as close to school as you can, and as modestly as you can, walk if possible, do away with a car if possible but don't have payments while in school for sure. I would recomend owning something that you can carry liability and comp if not liability alone if possible etc. Keep it Simple and life will retain some level of normal.
While student loans are not dischargable in bankruptcy if things go south, if you keep your end goal in focus, they will mearly be a small fraction of your eventual earnings.
Peace
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My boyfriend and I would be the extreme opposites for dept examples.
His parents paid for his college, he didn't have to work.
I got a need and academic based scholarship and worked 1 or 2 jobs all through school.
He worked in realestate for two years and saved money for med school.
I did Americorps and took a cheap job at the NIH..collected credit card dept.
His parents gave him a no interest loan after his savings ran out during his third year.
I borrowed 65,000 for my masters on top of the 25,000 from undergrad.
I borrowed more during my PhD because I can't live on 900dollars a month.
I haven't managed my dept very well, but I could've done worse. And now I'm going to borrow more for med school (Scary!)
I think you need to make sure you don't compromise your grades for working but credit card dept is bad...once its up to high, its hard to get down.
But, if you put off med school for a year, that's one year you won't be working as a doctor. So taking out an extra loan during med school to cover what's left of your credit cards will cut your interest rate by at least half if not more. And if your spouse is working and can cover the domestic expenses then your low interest loans could be a good way to knock out that high interest credit card car loan stuff.
I would say be smart, but don't put your life off because you'll make it back as a doctor.
I'd say don't wait to apply,but consider deferring only after you've talked over your finances with the financial aid department of your prospective med school. They can probably help you work it out and show you how you can manage your dept without stress in med school.
School loans are the lowest interest loans you can get. My consolidation will put me at less than 2% interest. And as I doctor, you'll be in the best place to deal with them. Banks consider MDs the lowest credit risk...trust me. I'm totally amazed at how my doctor and med student friends qualify for mortgages etc....I had to fight for my mortgage preapproval and they just throw money at MDs!
This is just my opinion!
Sounds like you've got a good game plan.
-s
His parents paid for his college, he didn't have to work.
I got a need and academic based scholarship and worked 1 or 2 jobs all through school.
He worked in realestate for two years and saved money for med school.
I did Americorps and took a cheap job at the NIH..collected credit card dept.
His parents gave him a no interest loan after his savings ran out during his third year.
I borrowed 65,000 for my masters on top of the 25,000 from undergrad.
I borrowed more during my PhD because I can't live on 900dollars a month.
I haven't managed my dept very well, but I could've done worse. And now I'm going to borrow more for med school (Scary!)
I think you need to make sure you don't compromise your grades for working but credit card dept is bad...once its up to high, its hard to get down.
But, if you put off med school for a year, that's one year you won't be working as a doctor. So taking out an extra loan during med school to cover what's left of your credit cards will cut your interest rate by at least half if not more. And if your spouse is working and can cover the domestic expenses then your low interest loans could be a good way to knock out that high interest credit card car loan stuff.
I would say be smart, but don't put your life off because you'll make it back as a doctor.
I'd say don't wait to apply,but consider deferring only after you've talked over your finances with the financial aid department of your prospective med school. They can probably help you work it out and show you how you can manage your dept without stress in med school.
School loans are the lowest interest loans you can get. My consolidation will put me at less than 2% interest. And as I doctor, you'll be in the best place to deal with them. Banks consider MDs the lowest credit risk...trust me. I'm totally amazed at how my doctor and med student friends qualify for mortgages etc....I had to fight for my mortgage preapproval and they just throw money at MDs!
This is just my opinion!
Sounds like you've got a good game plan.
-s
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Megboo said:
I have been faced with the same challenges. I am married with lots of financial responsibilities. My advice would be to pay off that debt first. As someone who went through undergrad studies and currently grad school studies with worries about debt, I recommend paying off as much as you can before taking the plunge into full-time studies. I do not plan to matriculate through medical school in the same way that I did all of my other studies, IN DEBT!
I know that things will be much easier for my hubby to handle without all of my credit card debt and my current car loan. I have added an extra year to my plan to pay off consumer debt, build a decent savings for emergencies and save for the medical school application process itself (don't forget about this area!). I think that this is too serious of an investment and process to go through this half-cocked. I have learned through my experiences that having a drean is simply not enough, I have to have a well-thought out plan to go along with it. As NJBMD and Mshheaddoc stated, take the less complicated road on this journey. I think that you will be a much more effective medical student because of it.
Best wishes in your pursuit.
Blessed1
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