Budget slice, May 15-June15

This last 30 days I spent:

1. Only $53.61 on eating out, miscellaneous drinks and muffins. Still a lot?
2. Yoga: $33.06. Best $33.06 ever spent.
3. Postage: $11.52.

Total spent: $98.19.

Income:
$462.13 from our stipend.

Net income: $363.23.

Not too bad!

Current bank account: $908.10.
$91.90 away from saving the $1000 extra fund goal I had for August!

Expected expenses rest of June - end of August:
$130 book recall
$200 plane ticket to Boston
$100 other misc expenses
$100 phone bill
=$530

Expected income rest of June - end of August:
$924.26 stipend

= will net $394.26 extra, putting me definitely over the $1000 mark.

Ahh, such is the savings life of a med student.

Being rich rather than getting rich

For the first time, I'm quite content with knowing I'll graduate with $60,000 of debt.

Not stressed, not feeling out of control - content.

I've been in a constant worry cycle over the past 2 years, feeling out of control over my life, my career, my finances, everything. But I'm finally able to say that I feel like things are working out.

So bring it on, debt. If it means not becoming a millionaire right until I'm 40, so be it.

How expensive is med school?

WOW!

I just saw a University of Toronto Medicine financial aid webinar out of interest here.

This is a typical budget for Year 1 of the MD program.

Tuition and fees $20,386.00
Books $1740.00
Accommodation/Food $9580.00
Other $7160.00

Total Year 1: $38,866.00

How is this possible? Who would pay that much? And what the heck is this other that students are spending $7160.00 on?

I'm in year 3 of my MD program, and my yearly expenses run at around $20,000 total. And $15,000 of that is my tuition.


The other thing is that average graduation debt for the class of 2010 is $88,000.

This is pretty average for my school as well ($80,000).

Still dumbfounded.

How to get the cheapest flights to Amsterdam

I'm a huge traveler. A large part of my small student budget is spent on travel - last year alone I spent over $5000 going to:

Buenos Aires and Ushuaia, Argentina in January

Toronto, Guelph, and Newfoundland, Canada in May

China (travelled to multiple cities) in June and July

Saskatchewan, Canada in September

Miami and Las Vegas in November

Switzerland in December

Air travel especially can be incredibly expensive, but smart planning can allow you to get the lowest price possible on your trip to Europe.

For example, I got a flight from Vancouver to Amsterdam for $640, taxes included. This route typically costs $950.

Ways to getting the lowest airfare possible

1. Earlier purchases don't necessarily equal cheaper. Knowledge is the key. The best way to do this is find out the airfare trends for your flight. This is where Bing Travel's remarkable services come in handy. They have a historical price tracker for every flight within the last 6 months, and can show you how much your flights cost. So you can go online and search for your flight, then see how prices have changed in the the last 6 months.

2. On Bing Travel, search for similar flights to yours (the same departure and destination cities) but for a date very close to today, and a date very far away. That way you can "predict" how your flight prices will increase or decrease as you get closer to your departure date.

3. Most flight companies change their prices on Tuesdays. Therefore, don't buy your ticket on a Sunday, or you might find yourself regretting the $300 lower fares that appear a couple days later.

So using these tips, I saved over $300 off my flight to Amsterdam.

Good luck!

Get your clothing fixed for $0 - pull out the needle and thread

Forget the tailor's - you can do most mending and sewing yourself, and all you need is a needle and thread.

A week ago, my favorite red dress ripped. It's a beautiful knit jersey dress that I wear in the winter. A huge gash of a line from the shoulder down to the sleeve.

So what did I do?

I took out my sewing needle, thimble, and red thread, and fixed it.
For free.

If I were to take that to a tailor, it would have cost me at least $20.

You can get needles/thread everywhere - many hotels have them readily available. I got a great set the last time I went to Las Vegas, right beside the packaged soap and shampoo sets.

Got a couple of loose buttons? Fix them yourself for free - or get them fixed for $6 each at the mall ($6 x 5+ buttons = $30+). I always reinforce my buttons when I buy a new jacket, because the jacket manufacturers almost never do a good job themselves.

Got a rip in your favorite jeans? Cut a piece of fabric, loosely sew it inside and then take it to a sewing machine for free - or spend $25-$35 at the mall. This has saved my favorite pair of Club Monaco jeans from sure destruction. For a great how-to, go to www.ehow.com.

The slip of your dress is 2 inches too long? Pop it on the sewing machine and in 2 minutes you've got a nicely tailored slip that won't ever peek out from under your dress.

Bringing a needle and thread set with you on your travels is always useful for those on-the-road mishaps. I find this incredibly useful.

For another how-to, check out how to make yourself fashionable high-waisted shorts for $0.

Total money saved: about $50/year.

You're welcome!

Miss Dior Cherie for $0

There's nothing like the smell of an alluring perfume to subtly attract attention.

For me, the smell of the moment is Miss Dior Cherie.

Image Credit: Dior

Francois Demachy, the perfumer who conjured up this smell, says on the Miss Dior Cherie website that this is "a fragrance that smells like spring".

Other places like Sephora describe the smell like this:

Miss Dior Cherie combines pure couture spirit with the audacity of youthful, playful notes for a fresh approach to a timeless classic. Notes of chic, green tangerine, violette, and pink jasmine mingle with soft patchouli, musk, and delectably sweet strawberry leaves and caramelized popcorn.

Caramelized popcorn? Yes please!

Now Smell This, my favorite perfume blog, thinks that this is perfect for the younger 20s generation (where I am right now), and I have to agree.

But the perfume starts at between $60-70 for 50mL. I don't like spending so much money just to smell like a bunch of caramelized popcorn (and I'd rather eat it).

Three ways to get Miss Dior Cherie (and other perfume) for free

1. Ask at the nearest department store like the Bay in Canada. If carded samples are available (the sample vial attached to a paper card), the salesperson would be happy to give you one. If they don't have it right then, sometimes they'll have a sample of something similar that you can try, which usually works out really well.

2. Usually when a new perfume comes out, there's a lot of promotional material around it. Miss Dior Cherie came out in 2008, and the website was mailing out free samples for over a year! Keep your eyes open for more opportunities like this.

3. Sephora or Nordstrom are two stores which will not only give you carded samples, but will also make you samples if the carded ones are not available! This is a little-known secret, but the salespeople are so helpful and always glad to give you a sample of anything they have in stock.

Using these methods, I now have a nice little collection of perfume samples, which I use when I go out or want to smell nice at work.

Note that Sephora and Nordstrom don't stock Chanel perfume, which is too bad because they have some of the nicest fragrances and are one of the best-known perfume houses besides Dior. But other than that minor loss, I get my perfume for free. Sorry, LVMH.

Further reading:
Cuffed, high-waisted shorts for $0
Are you spending too much on makeup?
Why high-savings department stores are not your friend

Are you spending too much on makeup?

Some girls look great with makeup on.

Others just look like they overdid it.

Know what I mean?

I was helping a woman deliver a baby the other day in the middle of the night. The pregnant woman looked great - glowing skin, the full, fresh look that mothers have. But her sister was standing beside her, looking SO obviously made up with a full set of false eyelashes, dark smokey grey eyes, lipstick - the works.

At her sister's delivery?! Give me a break!

So, besides the obvious social detriments of looking like an Andy Warhol painting (and not the good kind), let's look at this from a financial and time perspective. Are you spending too much money and time on makeup?

Here are some things I think cause this kind of epidemic:

1. WEARING FOUNDATION. It makes you look so cakey. This applies to both liquid foundation and mineral foundation, both drugstore products and high-end products. Foundation makes your skin look ... leathery. And it's so obvious. Foundations cost upwards of $15, and I say save your money and buy a good concealer instead.

2. TOO MUCH MAKEUP. Period. Don't overdo it for the occasion. It will deplete your paint pots faster than you can say "cougar-like pedo-hooker".

3. BLUSH: Many people have naturally rosy cheeks, so this doesn't make sense at all. If you do have a blush, make sure you can double it as a rosy eyeshadow or a bronzer. Not worthwhile otherwise. Natural colored blushes also run quite expensive (like the Benefit blush boxes for $30!!).

4. "Brow kits". In my opinion, the perfect brow only requires three items: a tweezer, a brow color that matches yours (likely a light grey or brown) in powder or pencil format, and an angled brush (if you want to get fancy - otherwise just use the brown pencil). This together should cost you less than $10. You don't need designer brows.

5. Doubling up on concealer, eyeliner, etc. Do you own more than one tube of mascara? Ask yourself why. Products have an expiration date, and you're not helping yourself by buying more than one. You should treat your beauty products like you treat your groceries - respect the expiration date and increase longevity by buying only what you need. Would you buy 3 cartons of milk to sit in your fridge?