student loans + significant other = doable?

[iMD]

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tried my hardest to search for an answer for something i know has been discussed but couldnt come up with anything

anyway, current med students, what type of living style would i have if the missus and i were to live strictly off my loans? is it doable? im a worse case scenario type of person even though im sure she'll find a job. i found a few threads about couples with kids but nothing on just couples.

Here's the estimated CoA for my school:

Tuition 9,550
Fees 1,844
Books/Intruments 4,000
Room/Board 13,200
Personal 3,438
Transportation 2,867
Total 34,899

im working on a budget in excel right now but i figured i'd get some feedback from the experienced. (anybody have an excel file that they've worked out? i might be missing a few expenses im not thinking of)

 

[IHeartNerds]

anyway, current med students, what type of living style would i have if the missus and i were to live strictly off my loans? is it doable?

I don't have an excel file or a breakdown of exact expenses, but I would think it'd be pretty hard. We live in a pretty expensive area and in a decent sized 1-bd rm apt, true, but my student loans essentially only cover our bills (rent, utilities, internet, car ins). The SO's income covers food, gas, that kind of thing. And we don't really live an extravagant lifestyle by any stretch of the imagination -- the $18/mo for NetFlix is about as wild as it gets.

 

[Octagonecology]

tried my hardest to search for an answer for something i know has been discussed but couldnt come up with anything

anyway, current med students, what type of living style would i have if the missus and i were to live strictly off my loans? is it doable? im a worse case scenario type of person even though im sure she'll find a job. i found a few threads about couples with kids but nothing on just couples.

Here's the estimated CoA for my school:

Tuition 9,550
Fees 1,844
Books/Intruments 4,000
Room/Board 13,200
Personal 3,438
Transportation 2,867
Total 34,899

im working on a budget in excel right now but i figured i'd get some feedback from the experienced. (anybody have an excel file that they've worked out? i might be missing a few expenses im not thinking of)

Just FYI, my tuition alone is 15K more than your total cost of attendance. FML.

 

[iMD]

yes, i <3 texas.

do they give you ~ 14k to live on like they give us? is it doable?

 

[nogolfinsnow]

-

 

[nontrdgsbuiucmd]

what style of life? One that's more limited than if spouse/SO worked! In my experience it's possible to get a job for pretty much anyone, pretty much anywhere. This is based on my experience finding professional jobs in two really bad markets (2001, 2008) where I lived at the time, each within 2-3 months.

Key on the job side is to realize a few things -- if you are pursuing manufacturing jobs, and the first 100 calls/e-mails/letters/contacts at job fairs to manufacturing folks turn up zilch, it is time to reconsider and look at another functional area. Second, it is the # of contacts that matters -- spending a morning researching a company = very little value. Making 5 phone calls to people in that and several other companies to learn more about them, pursue informational interviews, request referrals to others = a good approach that will land a job over time.

re: expenses - couple others that may come up or that you may want to consider:

clothing costs
vet bills/pet food
emergency fund - travel to family out of state
cell phone/internet
utilities vary by location - may include trash, water/sewer, gas, electric
local taxes?
home expenses - drapes for apartment, area rug, stuff to make it home
birthdays/xmas/holiday expenses
travel to residency interviews
setting up household costs - pots & pans, dishes, vacuum cleaner, coffee cups, maybe clothes washer (several apartments I was in did not offer these - it was a hassle spending an evening every 3 weeks or so at the laundromat)

on the + side there may be some subsidies you qualify for, such as earned income tax credit, if you + partner earn the "right" amount of money, check the form 1040 to look into this; I'd guess 20K earned would get you another few thousand back from this alone. Some states have subsidized health insurance for low income folk that may be cheaper than the med school health insurance option.

 

[nogolfinsnow]

Ok, so subtracting unavoidable costs (tuition, fees, books+equip) from your COA leaves you 1,625 per month. Unless you eat ramen, get your rent for $400, and one maybe one or more likely zero cars, I don't think it's going to be very doable. You have to first lay out all your expenses:

rent
utilities (cable, gas & electric, cell phones)
groceries (most people out on their own for the first time tend to underestimate what they spend on food)
car (gas + insurance + payments if you still have them)
other unavoidables (e.g. monthly prescriptions)

I think you're looking at a minimalist lifestyle for two people to live on 1,625, especially if your SO isn't working. There will be little money left for date nights, travel, and most importantly emergency situations (i.e. your car needs a 1k repair).

Your SO should try and get a job to alleviate the mental burden of being broke as heck every month.

 

[Norman]

tried my hardest to search for an answer for something i know has been discussed but couldnt come up with anything

anyway, current med students, what type of living style would i have if the missus and i were to live strictly off my loans? is it doable? im a worse case scenario type of person even though im sure she'll find a job. i found a few threads about couples with kids but nothing on just couples.

Here's the estimated CoA for my school:

Tuition 9,550
Fees 1,844
Books/Intruments 4,000
Room/Board 13,200
Personal 3,438
Transportation 2,867
Total 34,899

im working on a budget in excel right now but i figured i'd get some feedback from the experienced. (anybody have an excel file that they've worked out? i might be missing a few expenses im not thinking of)

Yes it's doable. Just don't get the biggest house your credit will get you.

 

[clinicallabguy]

tried my hardest to search for an answer for something i know has been discussed but couldnt come up with anything

anyway, current med students, what type of living style would i have if the missus and i were to live strictly off my loans? is it doable? im a worse case scenario type of person even though im sure she'll find a job. i found a few threads about couples with kids but nothing on just couples.

Here's the estimated CoA for my school:

Tuition 9,550
Fees 1,844
Books/Intruments 4,000
Room/Board 13,200
Personal 3,438
Transportation 2,867
Total 34,899

im working on a budget in excel right now but i figured i'd get some feedback from the experienced. (anybody have an excel file that they've worked out? i might be missing a few expenses im not thinking of)

I have a family of three (soon to be four in a week or so), and we can live on $2K/mo. So, it may be possible but only you can tell. There's not enough info here to say yes or no. Whether you have a car payment, and how much that is will affect it. Any other debt you are paying will affect it. Cost of living where you are will affect it.

So you have 13,200(room and board)+3428(personal)+2867(transportation)=somewhere around $19495. So I figure closer to $1950/mo. Unless some of that money is tied up elsewhere, but I don't see why it would be.

Plus, you may try to go cheap on the textbooks, and you may get to keep a little of that $4,000.

I am going to start this fall, so if I have made an error perhaps a med student will correct me. But, it seems like it may be possible.

Plus, I understand that you get your money in two lump sums in August and January. So, your SO has until your first lump runs out to find a job.

 

[nogolfinsnow]

I have a family of three (soon to be four in a week or so), and we can live on $2K/mo. So, it may be possible but only you can tell. There's not enough info here to say yes or no. Whether you have a car payment, and how much that is will affect it. Any other debt you are paying will affect it. Cost of living where you are will affect it.

So you have 13,200(room and board)+3428(personal)+2867(transportation)=somewhere around $19495. So I figure closer to $1950/mo. Unless some of that money is tied up elsewhere, but I don't see why it would be.

Plus, you may try to go cheap on the textbooks, and you may get to keep a little of that $4,000.

I am going to start this fall, so if I have made an error perhaps a med student will correct me. But, it seems like it may be possible.

Plus, I understand that you get your money in two lump sums in August and January. So, your SO has until your first lump runs out to find a job.

Just one thing to think about is your COA only covers the school year. For many people this means 9 months first year and 10 months second year, so you need to stretch that loan money if you're counting on it year round.