Especially
* Don’t use credit cards
* Don’t eat out
* Avoid debt and pay it quick, use only cash you have.

Americans are in debt and financial problems simply because, they want too much. If you are able and willing to convince yourself you can be poor AND happy, you’ll be richer than most you know, and burning money on stupid things before you know it.

No doubt we all have our “wants”, but knowing your priorities and planning ahead WILL pay off.

In regard to “not saving” because you have subsidized loans or student loans, I would say you need to save too. If loans are subsidized, then you are not paying interest on your money. Thus, any interest you are making on savings is a bonus. I am not advocating taking loans to “invest”. Instead, I am encouraging students to learn the “good habits” of saving early. When you learn good habits and can be a consistent saver, even with $20/month, you will increase your “good habits” when you make more money. Treat your student loans like borrowing from your future salary and as today’s salary/income. Thus, if you spend less of your student loans yearly by cutting back, then put it into a money market fund or a good investment. Learn to make your savings grow. When you must pay back your loans, then you can decide whether to keep your savings growing or pull your savings out and pay your loan back with extra payments. Your decision will be based on your student loan interest. The interest rates are very low right now (compared to 8-10% when I was in school), so you may be better off paying your student loans back over 10 or even 30 years if the interest rates are ~4%. This barely keeps up with inflation.

The take home message is start good saving habits early as these good habits will serve you well when you make more money. Good luck!

Andrew Doan, MD, PhD

I am a neurosurgeon and make about $550,000 a year after taxes. Believe me, physicians should not worry about a subsidy. Get over the greed, you schmucks!

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anyone on this comment live in oklahoma? i am thinking of applying there to OU.
Also, like when in high school, The ACT, the only section, you had to know to do good was the math part. The other sections you couldn’t really study a lot for.
same way, what courses should i put a lot of emphasis in so that i can do excellent on the MCAT?
what courses do i have to have before taking it? hope someone can help.

I live mostly on loans. My summer jobs pay my living expenses for the summer. I have no parents to support me. My cost of attendance is way below the cost of living in my area. I can’t borrow more than my cost of attendance. That leaves credit cards – or one credit card with an incredibly high limit. They saw me coming.

The public service announcement above didn’t contain any new information for me. I started pharmacy school with no debt beyond student loans, but I can’t manage the cost of living in my area at this level of tuition without credit cards.

Saving money? I don’t have $20 a week to save. Eating out? My idea of eating out is Wendy’s twice a month. I have no car. I have no gym dues. I pay very low rent for my area. I wear clothes until they fall off my body (kind of). I get my hair cut every three months at $13 a pop. I avoid my PCP because I’m afraid it will cost me more money – fortunately nothing catastrophic has happened since I am, after all, 42 and my risk of illness increases by the minute.

Yes, it could be said that I asked for this by seeking a expensive training at mid-life. Some might even criticize me for not having savings. I answer that by saying that I was driven into this life by a sour economy. I moved in this direction to meet a dream. I have no regrets. However, I never worried like this about money when I was simply unemployed because there were savings available – there are no savings now.

America abuses the people it expects to serve them at a later date. I don’t expect to live the high-life while in school, but it would be nice if my basic needs were met while I’m in training. Student loan debt is part of what’s wrong with the American healthcare system. Platitudes like the ones above are not helpful.

It isn’t glamourous.