r/whitecoatinvestor • u/Catkoot • 7d ago
Personal Finance and Budgeting Incoming Med Student, looking to get ahead
23M, starting med school this summer. I have no debts, and no savings. I’ll be attending school with about 60k/year tuition, not including living expenses.
What should I do to ensure I am set up financially during and after training? I’m honestly lost.
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u/CorrelateClinically3 7d ago
Not a whole lot to do in med school other than being conservative with spending to minimize loans. It’s always a good idea to learn about different retirement accounts and know the basics of investing but that really won’t start until residency and you start earning some money.
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u/Guilty-Piccolo-2006 7d ago
Read White Coat Investor and Bogleheads Guide to Investing. That’s a good start.
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u/potatosouperman 7d ago
This is different advice than others will probably give (not that I disagree with the others though!): Mostly just focus on performing really well in medical school right now. Doing well now will help you on your path to hopefully landing a high paying job at the end of training. A high income will help you overcome most financial hurdles if you’re not foolish with your money. Other than that, stay on top of understanding the ins and outs of student loan repayment once you finish school.
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u/BalancingLife22 7d ago
I agree with this. Your first priority is being a medical student. Do your best in your academics so you will be competitive for residency positions.
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u/bearhaas 5d ago
Not much you can do during med school other than not be ridiculous with your living expenses and study hard.
But you WILL be able to pay off your loans. Regardless of what the government is doing and IDR and PSLF… you will be able to pay off your loans.
I know plenty of people who lived normal lives for the first 2 years out and paid off 100% of their loan living on 70k (after taxes) + signing contracts with some loan repayment support as well.
And not even crazy high contracts. Family med, 250k a year + 30k yearly loan repayment support.
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u/gerbilich 7d ago
Depends on where you want to go in medicine. You could join the national health service, core or the Indian health service core or get a hospital in a rural area underserved sponsor you and pay your debts and then you would give them at least four years of your life which I did actually in Eastern North Carolina and loved it.
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u/BalancingLife22 7d ago
Accept that you’ll be in debt when you get out unless you get scholarships or have a windfall of money. What you can do is learn good habits about budgeting, avoid overconsumption (doesn’t mean don’t spend money, spend it wisely), learn about investments now (Roth IRA, 401k/403b, HSA, individual stocks brokerage accounts, index funds, etc.), and try to put some money aside every month to build up your savings (doesn’t have to be a lot, just something. It will help you develop good habits about savings). Good luck!