Save $9,000+ per year - live at home

I have plenty of friends going through med school while living with the 'rents. They love it! Free food, reduced chores, a loving family. Just what every med student needs while stressing out about seizure etiology.

Plus, they save ooooodles of monay.

Maybe this is just a Vancouver thing. My Toronto/Montreal friends have long since flown the coop and would never think about moving back home. Here in Vancouver, however, it seems to be quite the trend.

I can think of three reasons right away:

1. Rent prices. Vancouver prices are insane. And no self-respecting, zero-income medical student in their right mind (okay, except for THE MAJORITY OF MY FRIENDS!) would spend $1,500/month for a beachfront downtown apartment just to escape the insanity of family life. Right?

2. Asian parenting. I'm allowed to say this because I'd say my family is pretty similar (applicable to anyone with Failure to Launch-nurturing parents), who love it so much when you're at home and never want you to leave. Ready-packed lunches every day and hot piping dinner waiting for you when you get home? Yes please.

3. The obvious: this saves you a hell of a lot of money.

Rent in Vancouver is about $750/month for a shared place with a roommate, and $1000+ for a one-bedroom. Generally downtown this goes up to $1500.

Let's say, being the frugal Student Sophsticate, you decide to share a place with a roommate.

$750/month x 12 months = $9000

Yikes.

I think this one is really up to you.

Financial case study: post-graduation, new doctor

Let's look at an example of a friend of mine, D.

All medical students dream of the day when they finally start "making the big bucks". This is not entirely because everyone wants to run out and buy a Mazzerati - it's more because everyone wants to finally climb out of the deep hole of debt that we willingly dig ourselves into.

So D went to a school where his tuition was low - around $7000 per year.
During medical school D tried to cut down on expenses and worked to pay off some loans in the summertime.

By the time D graduated, he had $25,000 in loans.

That's really, really great.

He paid off his loans during his first year of residency. Now he's living the life - but he's in Kamloops!

So where's the logic? What is the point in having all this money if you're not able to go and spend it where you want to - when you're away from friends, family, and everyone you know?

Given the tough job market, D had two options upon graduating:
1. Go into a fellowship (continue making residency-like salary)
2. Go work in a rural community (make big bucks, have lots of choice where you work)

So it wasn't really tough for him to decide. But I can understand where the issue comes in for a lot of other people.

What does medical school mean?

Here's what I just found on Urban Dictionary:

"Medical School: The place Biology majors go to have their dreams of becoming an ethical physician brutally slaughtered whilst simultaneously getting into insummountable debt."

"I have a 4.0 GPA, 10 years of my life I'm not doing anything with, masochistic tendencies and the desire to owe an unforgiving financial institution $200K at 24% interest...I know! I'll apply to medical school."

A place where one wastes the prime of his youth studying ridiculously long, hard, tedious, dry, and unbelievably boring subjects, which he will totally forget about after the exams. Most likely going suicidal and severely depressed in the process, the stress will eat his life span like fire through wood, his hair starts to fall quite early, said subject's diet consists of energy drinks and caffeine.

Not only is one expected to be an academic genius, and a a God-like clinician, society demands that you become a social angel, smiling at everything and everyone, treating everyone like a king/queen, excellent with small talk, ..etc. Basically you have to be the enslaved incarnation of Mother Teresa.

If you manage to pull it off, you will then discover a fact that will shake the boundaries of your life, and either drive you mad, or causes the return of the suicidal thoughts ... The fact that Medicine is the absolute most inaccurate science on the face of the earth, and I mean light years more inaccurate than chaos math; each case presentation will make the text book seem like a fairytale book.


Wow, talk about nihilistic!
Now, bearing in mind that that UrbanDictionary is not the best place to get your advice, I don't think the situation is necessarily that bad. At the same time it definitely makes me think about what I'm doing here. Maybe I'm just a mover at heart.

November Budget

Woohoo! $600 scholarship.

Current bank account $1688.26

Current debt:
BCSL $4730
Canada SL $25,403

Expected expenses:
Still owing uni for this year: $2826.53
Other expenditures: $1000

Expected income:
December $500
January $500
February $1500 grant
$5720 BCSL

Total debt @ August: $35,853
Total cash @ August: ~$8000

Medical students can't manage money

I've noticed that there are extremely few blogs out there addressing what it takes to get out of debt quickly on graduation.

Like I said in a previous post, physicians and surgeons are notorious for being poor money managers. There's this myth that entering the pearly gates of medicine brings you all the wealth in the world.

But take me as an example: I'll be 26 when I graduate, with about $100,000 in debt. Due to low pay in residency, I'll earn only $45,000-$65,000 gross until I'm at least 31! That's standard, whether I become a family doctor or a neurosurgeon. Neurosurgeons earn these paltry amounts for between 7-10 years.

Talk about sacrificing our youth.

I'm dreaming of travel, living abroad, and being debt-free while still in my 20s. And I'm wondering whether any of that is still possible.

Makeup essentials

Girls love makeup.

It makes our eyes look bigger, our face look brighter, and can make our demeanor more seductive and sexy.

Some surveys suggest that men take women more seriously in their jobs if they wear at least a little makeup.

Personally, I believe girls should wear a little makeup. If you live in a big city and go out at night time, you already know that makeup is an essential for looking good at nighttime.

But go into a Sephora and you'll find everything costs $20 or more! Plus drugstore cosmetics sometimes just don't cut it, like for mascara, foundation, and eyeliner.

A look into a girl's makeup cabinet can reveal purchases totalling easily $300 or more. Budget-conscious beauties are going to wonder: What do you really need?

*Note: this is for my individual case, everyone should do this exercise for themselves.

The bottom line is that you should have the BASICS with a little FLEXIBILITY, and one DAY look and one NIGHT look.



1. Eyeliner ($15-20). Pencil, gel or liquid, and black or your color of choice.








2. Versatile 4-shadow palette ($15-20) with:
a) Black for blending eyeliner
b) Brown for shading, doubles as brow powder
c) White for highlighting
d) Color for fun





3. Concealer ($20). Some people don't need it but I have some rosacea (a red nose) so I need this cover.

4. A good eye makeup remover ($35)- to prevent clogged eye glands and nasty infections

If I go anywhere, I bring along these things and I will be fine. Sometimes I like to play around with other colors or combinations, but realistically, you don't need much else.

NIGHT LOOK EXTRAS

95% of the above makeup should also cover you for night. For smokey eyes, I shadow and define more with the darker colors. For the other 5% I like to add:

1. False lashes ($10). They just add that extra oomph, especially on people with smaller lashes like me.









2. Lipstick (Cheap to free). Bold lips work well with less-defined eyes, and soft pink lips with big shadowy eyes. I don't use lip liner, lip prep, lip gloss over lipstick or any of those other frills - I find I do very well with a moisturizing lipstick on its own or tinted lip gloss on its own.







3. Mascara ($20). If you're wearing falsies, wearing mascara is almost a must.










Assuming you are starting from scratch, this makeup basic set costs you $110. Let's face it, most girls have most of this already. If you go with drugstore brands (Maybelline, Rimmel, Revlon, Cover Girl, ELF, NYX), it should be even cheaper, almost by half.

I hope this helps as a guide for some of you, and for others to encourage you to cut back on your beauty-junkie habits.

Secrets to maximizing your hotel dollar

Ok, not really a cheap hotel.

I'm writing this from Las Vegas, where we're staying at the Palazzo, the Best Hotel in Las Vegas as ranked by Travel and Leisure magazine. On Saturday we're going back to Miami.

Although I'm a student, I'm a big big traveller. My family never took me anywhere, but I've managed to go to 21 countries on my own, finding money from external sources that allowed me to have a great time while spending very little of my own resources.

I'm travelling with friends who work in the hotel industry on Miami Beach. They're the best of the best. Here's how to get the most of your time in the hotels:

1. Forgot your toothbrush? Ask for a free one at the front desk. They stock extra toothbrushes, toothpaste, mouthwash, floss - everything you need.

2. In-suite refrigerator not included, and they're charging you $20 per night for a fridge? You can ask for a free one if you need it for health reasons. For example, if you're diabetic and you need to store your insulin in a cold place, this is a great place to store it.

3. Negotiate upgrades! Just a bit of discussion with the front desk got us a free upgrade to bigger beds, a view of the Vegas strip, and a higher floor - FOR FREE. If it's not high season, hotels should have no problem giving you an upgrade.

4. Stock up on water and night-time snacks. Hunger and thirst are what rack up the hotel bill. Save yourself some money and plan ahead.