Med School is Expensive- $ Saving Ideas?

[seaside*bliss]

I thought this might be helpful to a lot of people here. What tips would you share on how you manage to save money, or keep expenses down?

[seaside*bliss]

We have recently moved, and I am trying to brainstorm some ideas on how to save money.

* Clipping coupons

* Recently dscovered Aldi's grocery store- $50 for a week worth of food!

* Doing my own pedicures =(

* Laying out on the weekends instead of tanning

* Eating lunch at home instead of going out with co-workers

* Planning menus to ensure food is used up

[medpedspouse]

I thought this might be helpful to a lot of people here. What tips would you share on how you manage to save money, or keep expenses down?

If your SO has not already done so, I would have him go by his student affairs office and find out what services are available for free or for a minimal fee for students. This is all presented during orientation but so is a lot of other information. When DH was in school, I learned that I could go to the "quack shak" (the med school clinic) and see a NP or doc for free, got BC for cheap, and if I ever needed a prescription, I usually got it free or at a very reduced cost. They also had a rec center that was far cheaper than joining any gym in town. I even got free nutritional counseling from a dietician when I mentioned to one of the staff that I was having trouble making healthier food choices. We got discounted internet and cell phone plans by being associated with the med school too.

Also, a student is a student no matter if you are in grad school. Make sure he carries that ID everywhere to get discounts on movie tickets, etc.

[DCJenn]

Some things we do:

If you drink wine, buy it by the case, the discount is usually 10-15%.

We buy most general groceries, pet food and gas at the Army base. (and gas is 3 cents off a gallon if you use the Military Star card, which we do and pay off each month)

The A/C is set really high during the day.

I shower at the gym as much as possible.

I use coupons whenever possible.

We belong to Netflix- and actually use it.

We try to utilize the library- breaking me of my book buying habit was hard but it's been worth it. Although I have to get better about returning the books on time.

We shop the Farmer's Market but I've learned to plan ahead and have some ideas so I don't buy food that will go bad before we eat it.

Jenn

[rainbabies]

Med school was much to long ago for me to remember. It's reidency that has kicked our financial asses. I recall living better in med school than we do now. How silly of me to think "making an income again" would be better.

[Chrisada]

Med school was much to long ago for me to remember. It's reidency that has kicked our financial asses. I recall living better in med school than we do now. How silly of me to think "making an income again" would be better.

Ok, you're scaring me! I have so been looking forward to when DH can bring home a check again.

[Vishenka69]

I remember a similar thread not to long ago but can't find it right now.

We lived in furnished student housing, didn't have a car, had free dial-up through school, used student discounts for movies and theater, only bought something if it was on sale (including food), went on vacations based on the exchange rate.

[SuzySunshine]

We also lived better during med school b/c it was only us. Now that we're in residency the check is nice because we're not gathering debt but I think we're living on less - of course we're in a much cheaper COL area.

We belong to the cheapest gym in town and DH joined the one at the hospital which gets cheaper the more he uses it.

I do all of my grocery shopping at Wal-Mart or Sam's which I hate but its by far the cheapest in town.

I shop at consignment and resale shops for myself and A.

I do lots of online research before any major purchases.

DH's check goes straight into the savings account, I take out what we need by the month and budget very carefully.

I'm sure I'll think of more.

[MarissaNicole]

Lots and lots of budgeting

Only buying Starbucks when we get giftcards as gifts

Only buying essentials (no impulse buys)

For groceries I check out the local ads and buy what is on sale at Meijer and Target, and then get the staples at Walmart

I buy mostly generic (except for a few things like mayonaise that you can't mess with)

I go to the beauty school to get my hair cut/colored (you can also get massages and mani/pedis)

We buy things used if possible (bikes, patio furniture)

Internet is included in our rent

We don't have a landline

We rarely go out to eat and we both bring our lunches every day

We charge all possible things to our discover card (gas, groceries, etc.) and then we get 1% from discover - we apply these credits for gift cards and use those to go out to eat (but we never charge more than we have)

I also use coupons.com

We belong to the cheapest gym in town

We put limits on presents for birthdays/anniversaries for eachother (ex: we only spent $5 on eachother for Valentines day this year)

We have agreements with friends about NOT doing Christmas presents

Make presents for family for Christmas (hobby lobby has good sales for crafting, I have also made homemade fudge sauce or cookie mixes in jars)

We go on vacation with our parents

If we are going to make a big purchase we compare prices online and in stores first

We try to avoid buying clothes all year and ask for these things for Christmas/Birthdays from our parents

We try and do things that are free/cheap when we spend time together (biking, hiking, renting a movie, going to DQ)

(We've never had money) We got married when we were both in grad school, and I've been working for a year now so although we are still taking out loans it feels better to be taking out a little less!

Keep a spreadsheet of all monthly expenses down to the cent and create a budget.

Make menus before shopping and eat out only about 2 -3 times per month and only one of those being a special or expensive meal.

Ditto budgeting! We have every.last.cent accounted for, and we sock as much into savings as we can.

Oh, and consider joining the military and not having any kids! LOL

ETA: Also, if you do have a baby, breastfeed and cloth diaper. In all seriousness, almost all the money that we spend on DS is elective right now since we don't have to buy any formula for him and we are pretty well stocked up on cloth diapers to get him though the first year. (Clothes- and toys-wise, he's the firstborn grandchild. Need I say more?

[ladymoreta]

Our main money-saver was waiting to have kids. I admire those of you who've managed it during medical school. Residency seems like it will be fairly easy to manage, since we've been living on almost the same budget as we did in medical school, so we've put back a big chunck of DH's salary into savings each month. I guess that would be another tip - we're not good at living frugally, so we put money into savings as soon as we get paid. Then we feel free to spend the rest without feeling guilty, and we really never had the money, so we don't miss it.

So, yeah, not really good with the day-to-day tips... Here's a few, though:
- I eat soup for most of my lunches during the week, so that's pretty cheap.
- I cut my husband's hair, and my mom is a barber, so she cuts my hair. I keep it long and really simple (no coloring), so it can go a couple months in between our visits.
- Both our cars are old but paid off, so we're hoping to keep those running until after residency.
- This one is kind of nerdy, but we play online video games. For $15 a month, that's a lot of hours of entertainment...

[HouseofWool]

I also cut DH's and DS's hair. Mine is a pretty simple cut so I tend to only get it cut a couple of times a year.

We rarely ever eat out. Mostly because it just isn't as fun with the kiddos.

We comparision shop EVERYTHING!

DH takes in his lunch most days.

I don't like the food at Aldi's, but can manage to feed our family for about $300.00/month. Lots of staples at Walmart and fresh produce at the grocery store.

I purchase all of our spices at the local co-op. Even though we aren't members, it costs 30 cents for basil versus 2 bucks for the same amount in the grocery store. And it is fresher.

[houseelf]

My children are my financial crack habit, so my challenge is to really watch expenditures I make on their behalf. I'm a sucker for kids' books and enriching experiences like summer camps or lego kits.

At the end of the day, however, kids really want to spend time with you. My kids love to go "creeking" in the woods, play board games, read together, or have mommy paint toenails.

For me, staying the hell out of any retail place is key. Back when I was more fiscally responsible, I would limit all trips to the grocery store, mall, and bookstore. The more that I'm in those places, the more I spend. You have to really be prepared to do this because if you run out of milk, it can upset the whole system by having to go to the store.

Fortunately, most of my habits include outdoor living like running, swimming, hiking, or going to the park, all of which are free. If you don't do these things, I strongly suggest allocating your time towards something like fishing or rollerblading. These are healthy habits and gets you out of the house for free.

Finally, I'm all about the "mini-goals" in life, be it dietary, financial, or otherwise. It is too overwhelming to do major life changes all at once, so I'll make a small change. When I master that, I add another minigoal.

For example, I'm committed to not buying a single cup of coffee or beverage out all month long. Beverages cost almost $2 with a meal now and my Starbucks habit is more expensive than I admit. This has been so easy to prepare the coffee pot the night before, keep a cooler with ice water in the van, and just drink the free tap water if we are eating out. I don't even notice a difference in my quality of life.

Best of luck!

Kelly

[diggitydot]

Keep a spreadsheet of all monthly expenses down to the cent and create a budget.

Word. This helped us a ton.