Cautionary tale of debt from a Harvard lawyer

A lot of people I know in medical school are spending a lot of money right now.

J just bought a brand-new car, to drive to a 9-5 rotation at a clinic 15 minutes' commute from his house.
M wants to live downtown VANCOUVER, spending around $1500/month for a beachfront view.

Everyone does this thinking there's going to be a lot of money coming down the pipeline a couple years down the road.

But is there?

Here, a really interesting post by a Harvard-trained lawyer speaking about his view on debt a couple years down the line:

http://abovethelaw.com/2010/01/debt-the-silent-killer/

October

Debt: $30,000 (not counting January instalment of funds)
September expenses: $50 cell phone bill, $150 eating out, $100 during time in Saskatchewan for conference.
Current bank account: $6800

Crap - I still have to buy a plane ticket for my trip to Europe. Splitting it still brings the cost to about $800. Craps!

Update on the phone bill

My phone bill for the last 3 months:

July: $11.40
August: $26.54
September: $9.79


Ahh, peace.