The first thing you have to think about is keeping your medical school living expenses as low as possible without compromising safety and health. Get a roommate, stop drinking, get rid of your gas hog etc, etc.
I will give you a simple formula to calculate your end of residency debt based on ANNUAL cost of attendance. If you can pick this up easily you will demonstrate that you are better financiers than the pre allo crowd.
The basic math of debt accumulation is as follows:
1) If you can get an interest deferral through residency, for every dollar per year you borrow through Stafford subsidized loans you will owe $4 total at the end of a four year residency;
2) For every dollar per year @ 6.5% you borrow through unsubsidized Staffords per year you will owe about $5.82 at the end of a four year residency;
3) For every dollar per year you borrow @ 8.5% through Grad Plus you will owe about $6.57 at the end of a four year residency.
Assume you go to a school with a cost of attendance totaling $70,500 per year and you borrow $8,500 per year through subsidized Stafford loans, $32,000 at 6.5% through unsubsidized Stafford loans and $30,000 through Grad Plus at 8.5%. Your debt at the end of residency would be (4*$8,500) + (5.82 * $32,000) + ($30,000 * 6.57) = (34,000+ 186,240+ 197,100) =$417,340.
If you make $200,000 per year after residency but live like a resident for five more years even with income taxes you can pay the whole thing off. The secret here is that for 13 straight years you must be as cheap as you can be without sacrificing safety and health.😀
(kidding, of course)
