Texas Tech (Lubbock) c/o 2013

[maggie08]

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Well, I guess it's finally time I register for the forums.

Looks like I will be headed to Lubbock in the fall. 👍

YAY!!!!!!!!!!! Congratulations and welcome classmate!!!

 

[Habeed]

Yeah, not only am I a guy, but I was in the military before, where you have 80 men as your 'roomates', sharing the same bunking area and bathroom.

So yeah, I can pretty much tolerate anything, but I would greatly prefer med students in the same class as roomies.

And nooo, I don't want a girl roomate. Ignoring the obvious problems, girl roomates suck. They have a superhuman sense of smell, they can tell if you haven't used mouthwash (but brushed teeth!) from 3 feet away! They gripe if you put your feet up on things, or track mud on the floor! Uggh...

 

[maggie08]

Yeah, not only am I a guy, but I was in the military before, where you have 80 men as your 'roomates', sharing the same bunking area and bathroom.

ew yikes! 80?!?!?!? weren't you ever just like "ahhhh! i am going to explode if i can't just get alone for awhile!!!!!!"

reason #862 why i wouldn't have made it in the military.

They have a superhuman sense of smell, they can tell if you haven't used mouthwash (but brushed teeth!) from 3 feet away! They gripe if you put your feet up on things, or track mud on the floor! Uggh...

haha, yep, guilty as charged on every single account.
other things that drive me insane:
- not loading the diswasher "correctly"*
- filling up the dog's water dish in the KITCHEN sink 😱
- pouring stuff down the drain of the sink without the disposal.
- coming home/playing with the dog and then getting in the fridge/pantry without washing hands first.
- not spraying down the shower once you get out to make sure all the strands of hair are gone--(though this is more of a long-haired-girl-roommate thing...)
-spilling stuff on the floor while cooking and not cleaning it up (i mean like everything, small stuff included: sprigs of parsely, grains of salt, bread crumbs, etc.)
- NOT WASHING HANDS BEFORE EMPTYING THE DISHWASHER!!!!!😱😱😱


*correctly is, of course, my own completely-arbitrary system of doing things

yeah, i'm a little bit of a control freak when it comes to neatness/cleanliness in the kitchen... 😳

 

[Habeed]

Wow, just wow. I would hate you as a roomate...the only thing on the list that is even worth worrying about is the last one. The rest of the stuff...I have better things to be doing than worrying about them, even if I weren't in med school... They are all things that just don't matter.

 

[maggie08]

Wow, just wow. I would hate you as a roomate...the only thing on the list that is even worth worrying about is the last one. The rest of the stuff...I have better things to be doing than worrying about them, even if I weren't in med school... They are all things that just don't matter.

haha, it's settled then: no roommating for us.

and i dont "worry" 'bout them, it just take care of my crap and keep stuff clean. simple as that! 😀

 

[Habeed]

If I married someone like you, I would need to hire a housekeeper just to follow me around all day and clean up any messes I left. Could get expensive...

And 1950s bedrooms? But I like to cuddle...

 

[maggie08]

If I married someone like you, I would need to hire a housekeeper just to follow me around all day and clean up any messes I left. Could get expensive...

And 1950s bedrooms? But I like to cuddle...

haha, or just marry someone like me that doesn't work. cliche? yes. but it keeps all parties happy. 😀

ok then, instead of two separate bedrooms, have three:
-a 'his room'
-a 'her room'
-and a 'foolin around room'

 

[gobaylor]

Well without being too overtly sexist, sounds like living with maggie would be like having a live-in maid. I could live with that for sure.

I've lived with guys and girls and by myself. If you can get past their emotional times and they can put up with our beer/wing/sports nights, I definitely preferred it over living with other guys and closely behind living alone. They can usually cook, the house always smelled good in spite of my best efforts to the contrary, etc.

 

[maggie08]

Well without being too overtly sexist, sounds like living with maggie would be like having a live-in maid.

hahahaha, go ahead and say it; it's true. no man-hatin neo-feminist nazi here!

 

[Habeed]

Well without being too overtly sexist, sounds like living with maggie would be like having a live-in maid. I could live with that for sure.

Suit yourself. The trouble is, she's like a live in maid manager. After a while, you'll feel like you're the maid, as she never just cleans up the messes you leave that are bugging her.

I know this from experience, also with living with a girl. Sometimes she'd take the time to yell at me for things that would have taken her less time to just clean up herself.

 

[maggie08]

Suit yourself. The trouble is, she's like a live in maid manager. After a while, you'll feel like you're the maid, as she never just cleans up the messes you leave that are bugging her.

I know this from experience, also with living with a girl. Sometimes she'd take the time to yell at me for things that would have taken her less time to just clean up herself.

hey now, don't be sterotypin' all 'clean people' from this chick that you lived with that sounds like she has some serious anger issues...

i'm just sayin'. 😀

(taking more time/effort to yell? that's just stupid. I'm with you there--i wouldn't want to live with her either)

 

[justdoit31]

I am a girl and not a neat-freak! I am more like a just keep it presentable- my room is always the first to go with my busy schedule but I usually clean it up on the weekends.

I do want stuff clean in the sense that it is sanitary but filling up the dogs bowl in the kitchen sink is fine by me. I am contemplating having a dog in medical school but it seems like it could be very difficult.

 

[maliath]

Being from UT Austin, I was at first apprehensive about moving to Lubbock (due to the stereotypes). After almost 2 years in Lubbock it's getting close to the time I have to move to El Paso. I'm going to miss it. I've lived in every major city in Texas. Austin and Lubbock are by far my favorite. There's nothing like living next to a big public university. I didn't take advantage of things I should have my first year, so here is a list:

1. The gym - no other medical school in Texas has unfettered access to such an amazing gym. It's got plenty of classes and facilities, check it out (ESPECIALLY try the rock wall).

2. Palo Duro Canyon - http://www.palodurocanyon.com/ - Sure it's a bit of a drive (almost 2 hours), but it's worth it.

3. Caprock Canyon State Park and Trailway - http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/caprock_canyons/ - there's an old railroad that was converted to a state park trail that begins just northeast of Lubbock and continues for 64 miles. You can camp anywhere along it and go mountain biking.

4. Skiing - There are a few skiing places only a few hours drive from Lubbock in New Mexico. Rent your gear from the rec center for cheap - all this is included with your tuition!

5. Sporting events - TTU had a great football team last year and they'll probably have a decent one again. The athletics package is included in your tuition. What other medical students in Texas got to attend the biggest college football game of the year (Texas vs. TTU)?

6. IM sports - IM sports is huge since it also involves undergraduates.

That's just a few things. I know you're probably thinking: "I won't have time for this stuff! I'm in medical school!" Trust me, the weekend after some of your big exams will be free and clear of studying. So plan ahead and go out and have some quality time. Why would you want to stay in doors when you can do all that excellent stuff I listed above? Good luck to all of you, study hard.

 

[tigerLSU]

4. Skiing - There are a few skiing places only a few hours drive from Lubbock in New Mexico. Rent your gear from the rec center for cheap - all this is included with your tuition!

I'm looking forward to getting some more snow skiing in! 👍

 

[justdoit31]

I'm looking forward to getting some more snow skiing in! 👍

me too! I haven't been skiing since I was 7 years old so I am going up to the little slopes here on the East coast in a few weeks to try out snowboarding!

Also- everyone should check out Palo Dura Canyon it is amazing- only about 30mins from Amarillo! They have horseback riding, hiking, caving, etc. Also, in the summer they have the musical Texas at the amphitheater- it was one of my favorites as a kid so I can't wait to go see it again!

 

[tigerLSU]

I spy a class ski trip.

 

[aggie08]

I spy a class ski trip.

In.

 

[maggie08]

4. Skiing - There are a few skiing places only a few hours drive from Lubbock in New Mexico. Rent your gear from the rec center for cheap - all this is included with your tuition!

me too! I haven't been skiing since I was 7 years old so I am going up to the little slopes here on the East coast in a few weeks to try out snowboarding!

I spy a class ski trip.

In.

WIN!!!!
tell me where to sign!

 

[AgShan08]

I've never been skiing, so as long as I can stay on the baby slopes i'm in!

as a side note, i'm REALLY excited about being able to see real snow in lubbock. I've only seen snow stay on the ground about a handful of times.

 

[AgShan08]

whew...fasfa is done. EFC is zero...bring on the loans! 😎

 

[tigerLSU]

How hard is it to get loans with a non-zero EFC?

 

[maggie08]

as a side note, i'm REALLY excited about being able to see real snow in lubbock. I've only seen snow stay on the ground about a handful of times.

oh i know!!!!!!!! a couple of weeks ago i looked up lubbock on weather.com and it was 10 degrees! TEN!!!!!!!!!!!! that's in fahrenheit people!!!!!!

yay, clothes shopping!!!

 

[AgShan08]

tiger I don't think you'll have a problem getting loans. I'm just fresh out of school (i.e. - next to zero income, and my parents don't make very much money so i don't really have savings or anything) so having a zero might help as far as getting grants but i think everybody can get loans.

 

[justdoit31]

Maggie- I will be joining you clothing shopping! Not only will I need more warm stuff I think I will have to add a few more dress items to the wardrobe for clinical days

Agshan- I am in the same boat- bring on the debt! I have a lil from undergrad but am super excited that Texas tuition isn't too high (its going to be cheaper than going to my state school!) and the loophole for us OOS students rocks- though I still consider myself a Texas even if I have to list myself as a Georgian!

 

[teacherman]

Should I be embarrased since I grew up where it snows a ton, yet I don't have a clue about skiing? I don't even know if I spelled it right!

 

[Habeed]

TigerLSU : the way I understand it, for med school loans (and graduate studies in general) you can borrow 100% of the cost of attendance, no matter what your EFC is. (aka if you make a million a year, you could still take out student loans for the cost of attendance)

Only thing EFC affects is how many $ in subsidized (government pays interest) student loans you can receive. The formula is, I think, that they subtract your EFC from the subsidized loan cap. Since you can only take out a paltry 8500 in subsidized loans, if your EFC is above that you get none.

Which is no big deal. You can still borrow up to the full cost of attendance ($34,000) in staffords and PLUS loans. The only real penalty you face is that the interest on the $8500 that would normally have been subsidized is added to your total bill. (the interest is not compounded, however, until graduation)

So, bottom line, how much money do you lose? Well, I'm assuming you won't be making money in med school, and will have an EFC of 0 for next year. In that case, you'll pay about $2312 in additional student loan interest by graduation. At that point, all of us, even us 'poor' kids with EFCs of zero start having interest accumulate on all of our loans. Also, factor in inflation, which is expected to be high due to the 'economic stimulus' efforts, and it's even less money than it looks like.

The total bill at the end is going to be about $160,000 with interest at graduation anyways, so I wouldn't sweat this small additional cost.

Which is very low, by the way, 4 years of tuition and fees are only $50.6k of that bill. This really isn't any more expensive than medical school was for our parents in constant dollars, the State of Texas must be generously subsidizing a huge chunk of the cost.

Also, I think the massive spending by the Democrats and the low prime interest rates are going to increase inflation several percent. Subtract inflation from your loan interest rate to find the real interest rate : right now, inflation is about 3%, and so these loans are at 3.8%. If inflation goes to 5%, loan interest drops to 1.8%, and so forth.

Bottom line is that while it sounds like a lot of money, med school doesn't get much cheaper than this, and the current economic woes will likely make eventual repayment easier.

 

[Habeed]

Does anyone know how much the premiums on school health insurance plan cost? I'm trying to work out a rough budget for next year.

 

[maggie08]

TigerLSU : the way I understand it, for med school loans (and graduate studies in general) you can borrow 100% of the cost of attendance, no matter what your EFC is. (aka if you make a million a year, you could still take out student loans for the cost of attendance)

Only thing EFC affects is how many $ in subsidized (government pays interest) student loans you can receive. The formula is, I think, that they subtract your EFC from the subsidized loan cap. Since you can only take out a paltry 8500 in subsidized loans, if your EFC is above that you get none.

Which is no big deal. You can still borrow up to the full cost of attendance ($34,000) in staffords and PLUS loans. The only real penalty you face is that the interest on the $8500 that would normally have been subsidized is added to your total bill. (the interest is not compounded, however, until graduation)

So, bottom line, how much money do you lose? Well, I'm assuming you won't be making money in med school, and will have an EFC of 0 for next year. In that case, you'll pay about $2312 in additional student loan interest by graduation. At that point, all of us, even us 'poor' kids with EFCs of zero start having interest accumulate on all of our loans. Also, factor in inflation, which is expected to be high due to the 'economic stimulus' efforts, and it's even less money than it looks like.

The total bill at the end is going to be about $160,000 with interest at graduation anyways, so I wouldn't sweat this small additional cost.

Which is very low, by the way, 4 years of tuition and fees are only $50.6k of that bill. This really isn't any more expensive than medical school was for our parents in constant dollars, the State of Texas must be generously subsidizing a huge chunk of the cost.

Also, I think the massive spending by the Democrats and the low prime interest rates are going to increase inflation several percent. Subtract inflation from your loan interest rate to find the real interest rate : right now, inflation is about 3%, and so these loans are at 3.8%. If inflation goes to 5%, loan interest drops to 1.8%, and so forth.

Bottom line is that while it sounds like a lot of money, med school doesn't get much cheaper than this, and the current economic woes will likely make eventual repayment easier.

aaghh, this money stuff is so confusing!!! (haha, maybe i should have done that business masters thing!)

so does that mean that the loans only see interest and not inflation? (if so, that's pretty sweet.) is that just for stafford and federal loans, or private loans too?

i know this is pretty basic stuff for most people, but am i right in this: no interest accumulates during med school, but it does(?) during residency?

also, i was looking at some student loan examples on the wells fargo website a few weeks ago, and it listed 20-25 year repayment plans 😱...
perhaps i'm just naive, but is that normal? seems like a crazy long time.

i recognize that the banks, in theory would want you to take longer to repay it (ie more interest), but is there a way to live cheaply and pay it back faster without getting penalty fees?

i hate money.

 

[justdoit31]

aaghh, this money stuff is so confusing!!! (haha, maybe i should have done that business masters thing!)

so does that mean that the loans only see interest and not inflation? (if so, that's pretty sweet.) is that just for stafford and federal loans, or private loans too?

i know this is pretty basic stuff for most people, but am i right in this: no interest accumulates during med school, but it does(?) during residency?

also, i was looking at some student loan examples on the wells fargo website a few weeks ago, and it listed 20-25 year repayment plans 😱...
perhaps i'm just naive, but is that normal? seems like a crazy long time.

i recognize that the banks, in theory would want you to take longer to repay it (ie more interest), but is there a way to live cheaply and pay it back faster without getting penalty fees?

i hate money.

I don't get it all but I will talk about the couple things I know- basically most of your loans will be accumulating interest through school (mine from undergrad will also be continuing to accumulate)

Also as far as pay off being 20-25 years that is pretty normal. My physician said she will paying hers off til she retires (she went to a very pricey medical school)... however the oral surgeon I work for was wise and continued to live frugally for a few years after residency and got all his paid off- preventing more interest accumulation and nw he is rolling in the dough!

There is no penalty for paying off your loan early- that is basically what the surgeon did- I believe it was at Tech they said you can actually defer payment through residency...my thoughts would be to let them defer but work to save money/make payments even though they aren't required.

 

[Habeed]

aaghh, this money stuff is so confusing!!! (haha, maybe i should have done that business masters thing!)

No, because the opportunity cost would be too high. 🙄

so does that mean that the loans only see interest and not inflation? (if so, that's pretty sweet.) is that just for stafford and federal loans, or private loans too?

All loans that you take out from anyone, anywhere are affected by inflation. To calculate the actual interest rate you are paying, you subtract the inflation % from the interest rate %. So, if you take out a loan at 6.8% interest, and in the currency the loan is in average inflation is 3%, then your actual interest rate is 6.8-3 = 3.8%.

i know this is pretty basic stuff for most people, but am i right in this: no interest accumulates during med school, but it does(?) during residency?

The standard financial aid package takes out subsidized stafford loans, and unsubsidized stafford loans. The subsidized staffords, which you can only get if you are poor on paper, have a limit of $8500. For that money, the interest rate is 0%. That won't be enough, and so for the rest of your loans, the interest rate is 6.8% and it accumulates during school (but it does not compound)

also, i was looking at some student loan examples on the wells fargo website a few weeks ago, and it listed 20-25 year repayment plans 😱...
perhaps i'm just naive, but is that normal? seems like a crazy long time.

It depends on a lot of things as to whether you should pay the loans back rapidly or slowly. Such as inflation %, discount rate, your income, your other debts, and more. Furthermore, for many people the loans are almost as expensive as their house, and so they simply don't have the option of paying the loan back rapidly.

i recognize that the banks, in theory would want you to take longer to repay it (ie more interest), but is there a way to live cheaply and pay it back faster without getting penalty fees?

Once you are finally an attending physician in approximately 7 to 10 years from today, you can worry about payback. There are no penalty fees for paying a student loan back faster, you could pay the loan back in one payment if you wanted to and if you had the funds.

i hate money.

But I bet you'll enjoy the day when you have a lot of it.

 

[maggie08]

The standard financial aid package takes out subsidized stafford loans, and unsubsidized stafford loans. The subsidized staffords, which you can only get if you are poor on paper, have a limit of $8500. For that money, the interest rate is 0%. That won't be enough, and so for the rest of your loans, the interest rate is 6.8% and it accumulates during school (but it does not compound)

what's typical for private loans? (i won't be doing anything that requires a fasfa, ie no stafford(?) )

 

[justdoit31]

what's typical for private loans? (i won't be doing anything that requires a fasfa, ie no stafford(?) )

no clue- I would think you would want to do a FAFSA- because as a graduate student you will be independent from your parents so they only look at your income- at least that is what I am doing.

 

[Habeed]

Do a FAFSA. Private loans are not a good deal, they are not subsized by the government (all federal loans, even the 'unsubsidized' ones, are only possible at the relatively low interest rates with generous terms because the government is giving the lenders money) and they are not designed for you to pay for a large medical school bill with the loans.

The only use for private loans is that if you need money above the cost of attendance, say, to pay for residency interviews, then a private loan can spell you over with the $10k you might need. Once you match your residency, you would immediately start paying back the private loan.

They fall into kind of a grey area, though, as you are not actually supposed to be able to borrow above your cost of attendance. So, very few lenders make them now, which is a shame because it is easily possible to get into a situation where you need someone to "spot" you an extra 10 grand.

 

[dazed1980]

)

The total bill at the end is going to be about $160,000 with interest at graduation anyways, so I wouldn't sweat this small additional cost.

Which is very low, by the way, 4 years of tuition and fees are only $50.6k of that bill.
.

How do you get to owe up to 160,000 if tuition for all 4 years is no more than 50k?

 

[justdoit31]

How do you get to owe up to 160,000 if tuition for all 4 years is no more than 50k?

Well if you add in living expenses it is like 18-20,000 a year for the 1st 2 years then more than that for 3rd and 4th... remember the first 2 years they only budget you for 9 months. Personally I will be stretching the amount to use for the whole 12 months. Though some might need the whole amount per month- my parents will keep paying my insurance and cell phone and maybe some of my medical cost (chronic disease requires several monthly meds)

 

[dazed1980]

Well if you add in living expenses it is like 18-20,000 a year for the 1st 2 years then more than that for 3rd and 4th... remember the first 2 years they only budget you for 9 months. Personally I will be stretching the amount to use for the whole 12 months. Though some might need the whole amount per month- my parents will keep paying my insurance and cell phone and maybe some of my medical cost (chronic disease requires several monthly meds)

i figure i could live on $1000/month which translates to 12000 a year for living expenses. 12 x4 = 48,000.
48,000 + 50,000= 98,000
books and equipment estmated at about 10,000.
total about $110,000
That's how i have calculated it.

 

[maggie08]

anyone planning to go to spring training from the college station area? (or houston too for that matter)

you planning on flying or driving?

i'm not really looking forward to shelling out $250ish for a plane ticket, but driving back for 8hours late sunday night for monday morning classes also doesn't sound fun.

 

[Habeed]

i figure i could live on $1000/month which translates to 12000 a year for living expenses. 12 x4 = 48,000.
48,000 + 50,000= 98,000
books and equipment estmated at about 10,000.
total about $110,000
That's how i have calculated it.

Health insurance + car insurance + groceries + rent + utilities + books + computers + gasoline + car repairs comes to less than $1000 a month?

Well, my health insurance is $140/mo, car insurance is $85, I budget $10/day groceries = $300/mo, rent might be $400/mo, utilities $100/mo (internet, power, gas, water), books might be $40/mo ($500/year), computers $40/mo, gas $40/mo, car repairs $40/mo = $1185.

And that's a low estimate, I'm just guessing I would spend $500/year on books, computers, gas, and car repairs.
What if I wanted to visit my folks, or buy a new computer monitor, or furniture, or go skiing, or eat out once a month, or....you see the problem. It costs more than you think if you want to do more than sit in a room and study all day.

More importantly, there are certain costs you have to pay later in med school that are quite expensive. For Step 1, you'll need to drop a few grand on review materials such as access to Kaplan's Qbank.(the free USMLEworld subscription is probably inadequate)

For those of us who do our rotations outside of Lubbock, you have to pay to move. For fourth year away electives, you have to pay lots of money to travel and relocate temporarily for those. And then the residency application process...if you want a competitive residency, you may have to drop $10,000 on expenses for getting to interviews and paying fees.

So I think it makes sense to accept the full student loan amount, and to put any excess funds in CDs or other FDIC insured investments. It is not possible to borrow more money the next year, 'after the fact'.

Update : I noticed you have $10k allocated for books and equipment. I missed that part. Well, in any case, you get $147604 total to work with, and you plan on spending $110,000 of that. Suit yourself, but I'd rather have the $37,000 difference in the bank at the end of med school and have ~$45,000 in additional student loans. If you read how residency goes for most people, you'll realize that you need every penny.

 

[Habeed]

How do you get to owe up to 160,000 if tuition for all 4 years is no more than 50k?

Student loan interest estimate. It's 6.8% for the money you borrow over $8500/year. (assuming EFC=0, which it does for most of us)

So $163,052.

 

[justdoit31]

I will write out my budget just in case anyone wanted to see since I am going to be doing a 1 bedroom by myself

First off I took the money budgeted for 1st year for Housing/food, transportation, and personal money and divided it by 12 (budget is for 9 months because you are off in summers but I investigated preceptorships and you only make around 1000/month for those)

Monthly Budget: $1546

Rent- $600
Utilities- $100 (electric, gas, water)
Food- $300
Cable/Internet- $75
Medical- $75 (this is solely for co-pays and meds because my parents cover the main insurance cost until 3rd year when I get kicked off the plan for age reason)
Car Maintenance/ Gas- $75

That adds up to $1225/month
Which leaves me with approx. $320 a month to go for personal expenses (clothing, fun, travel, hair cuts, etc.) and savings for paying for residency interviews or 4th year electives (I plan to go abroad for 1-2 months)

Disclaimer- my parents will be covering my health insurance til I am 25 (3rd year), they also cover my car insurance, cell phone bill, and possibly some of my monthly medicines.

 

[Habeed]

Rent- $600

If you can bear to live with other people, you should be able to do better on this category. On the apartment search engine, many 2 bedroom apartments come $800per month at most, some are even cheaper.

There's a fellow on the facebook group offering rooms in a 'new house' for $500/month, and the rental house search engine shows lots of three bedroom houses that come to $400/month or so.

Consider this : save $200/month, and you would have $2400 extra dollars/year to spend on things to make dealing with roomates more bearable.

 

[maggie08]

There's a fellow on the facebook group offering rooms in a 'new house' for $500/month, and the rental house search engine shows lots of three bedroom houses that come to $400/month or so.

yeah, i was slightly confused by his post--so is the whole house for rent? or will he still be living there?
justdoit might prefer girl roommates (i would). but yeah it's definately an example of the fact that it's cheaper to go for a 3bedrm etc... but imo that extra change each month is worth having the place to yourself. 🙄

 

[justdoit31]

I am not going to do the roommate thing. I actually have a friend with a house that offered me a room but I decided to do my own thing. I really don't want to share anymore- I lived with my parents through undergrad and want to spread my wings. I am willing to spend the extra money to have my own place because I know I study better without distractions

 

[Habeed]

Well, I'll save enough money to buy another car by M3 year just in shared rent and utility payments....

 

[justdoit31]

Well, I'll save enough money to buy another car by M3 year just in shared rent and utility payments....

my car is only 3 years old (bought it with 12 miles on it-that includes my test drive) and my dad is paying it off so I won't need a new car until after med school and most likely not til after residency because we take very good care of the car (oil changes and such)...

my parents actually told me they wanted me to go with a 1 bedroom since I am a 22 year old and need independence. why should I argue with my parents 😉

I still have over $300 a month for fun/spending/savings which is plenty and while I will pay for class ski trip or a trip to visit friend my parents pay for family vacations and that won't change even if I am in med school.

 

[dazed1980]

Monthly Budget: $1546

Rent- $600
Utilities- $100 (electric, gas, water)
Food- $300
Cable/Internet- $75
Medical- $75 (this is solely for co-pays and meds because my parents cover the main insurance cost until 3rd year when I get kicked off the plan for age reason)
Car Maintenance/ Gas- $75

Mine is as follows/month:
rent: 600
food :100
internet: u ca have services for free through the school(i.e if things haven't changed since i was there)
Car: 140
utilities: 75
medical: 80
miscellanous: 100
total= $1100

 

[justdoit31]

Dazed- are you living on Ramen noodles? I could never do $100/month for food! I am impressed- but everything else sound good to me!

 

[dazed1980]

Dazed- are you living on Ramen noodles? I could never do $100/month for food! I am impressed- but everything else sound good to me!

something like that. I don't cook, so pre-packaged deals go a long way.

 

[Habeed]

Yeah, what exactly is Dazed eating?

You know that poor nutrition can both reduce your brainpower directly due to vitamin and mineral shortages as well as lead to poor physical fitness/obesity. And, if you are in poor physical shape, that may also reduce your effective brainpower.

What can you eat for $3 per day? And how does the free internet work from your house?

And the corollary question...what can you buy that you would want to eat for that price?

 

[dazed1980]

Yeah, what exactly is Dazed eating?

You know that poor nutrition can both reduce your brainpower directly due to vitamin and mineral shortages as well as lead to poor physical fitness/obesity. And, if you are in poor physical shape, that may also reduce your effective brainpower.

What can you eat for $3 per day? And how does the free internet work from your house?

And the corollary question...what can you buy that you would want to eat for that price?

Bran cereal and fortified milk gives you your daily needs of proteins, fiber, fat, carbs and some vitamins(multivit supplement can take care of the rest).

Other dairy products and grans are also healthy and cheap; Whole wheat bread and eggs(omelet-style)

see, i have variety and and also eat healthy.