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Debt levels per year?


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Average seems to be about 100k by the end of med school, but if you have no support and no savings, 150k is common, and 200k isn't unheard of either. If by "aim to reach" you mean what level of debt is reasonable, that also depends on your situation. Schools differ in terms of cost of tuition and cost of living. My advice is to figure out your fixed costs (e.g., tuition, rent) and variable costs (e.g., recreation, food) and find ways to reduce both (e.g., cooking at home vs. eating out, renting a cheaper place, cheaper car, etc.). 

Although you'll make it all back later, I think some students go overboard with using their line of credit irresponsibly, such as getting a nicer apartment than required. The lower your debt at the end of med school, the more you can use your resident and staff salary for yourself. So, try to find a balance between comfort and frugality during med school.

Finally, be very persistent about scholarships. I wasn't eligible for many of the ones at my school and had to go through a bunch of administrators and email them reminders over 5 months. In the end, I got ~$7500 from funding that wasn't advertised on the scholarship page of my school. If you're persistent, you can probably find scholarships to offset costs.

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You already got a great answer above. Assuming minimal scholarships/other income, I would say you can easily end up spending 50K$/year, all included. I would honestly try hard to minimize spending during pre-clerkship. You can do that by: having roommates, not owning a car or sharing a car, cooking at home, etc. I think it’s super easy to start buying your convenience, and that is NOT cheap. Small things like buying coffees, eating out, grocery delivery services, Uber, etc. will add up quickly if they become a habit. Not saying to cut them all out, but it’s a good idea to think about what is more important to you, and cut some items out. You’re not a doctor yet, so don’t spend like one! :)

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I think $40-50k year is a good estimate. Tuition is in the 20s and living costs in the 20s for an entire year isn't unreasonable depending on where you live. Some provinces have lower tuition too so be aware of that but I'm not surprised when I meet Ontario students who have ~200k in debt. You can pay it off as a staff but it never hurts to be fiscally responsible. Don't compromise too much on convenience as clerkship/residency can be hard enough without the stressors of normal life.

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Rent in major centres (where most schools are located) can range from $1000-$1500 a month for a single occupancy rental. That's 12-18 K right there. Even if your rent is cheaper there are LOTS of other expenses to consider. 20 K on top of tuition doesn't seem realistic to me.  

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28 minutes ago, anonymouspls said:

imo It really doesn't matter what your debt level is as long as 1) you don't run out of LoC and 2) you get a residency position

I would say it matters. I may be assuming here, but if you're in your early 20s and just starting med school, you may not care. But once you hit your late 20s/early 30s and are a resident with 100k-200k in debt, and you see that your friends who started working out of high school/undergrad are married, have kids, and a house, you'll really want to rush to get started on your life. If you limit your debt during med school, you can get a down payment faster, then house, etc. Of course, your staff salary will be nice, but it takes time to raise a decent downpayment and catch up to your non-physician friends who have been working for ~10 years already.

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39 minutes ago, sportyrichmeia said:

How much are folks spending on personal/fun/extra stuff with this amount of debt per year? Trying to create a budget :) 

I think it would be quite hard for anyone on this forum to help you with this. Every individual has different spending habits. What you consider “fun money” might be considered essential spending by someone else.

i suggest you look into a couple things: 1) your spending habits prior to med school (unless you have a reason to anticipate a drastic chance?) 2) ask friends and family how they budget, how much they allocate funds to different categories to get some ideas 3) search on YouTube for budget videos and see how different people in different cities budget 4) look into the cost of living of the city where you’ll be attending med school (again, based on your current/anticipated habits to get a rough ballpark of what to expect)

I’m not sure what you consider discretionary spending so can’t help much more. Hope this points you in the right direction.

 

 

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On 7/14/2020 at 12:03 AM, sportyrichmeia said:

How much are folks spending on personal/fun/extra stuff with this amount of debt per year? Trying to create a budget :) 

Where are you going to school? That plays a big part in how much debt you'll have because a big chunk of your money is going towards living expenses. Rent for UoT med is not going to be the same as rent for me living in London for example.

I can't answer how much people spend, but from what I've seen your lifestyle definitely scales u a bit when you have that LoC. It might not be the best thing but it happens. I just finished my 1st year and I'm about 25K into my LoC (Remember OSAP gives you a lot of grants, and there are a lot of scholarhips and bursaries to apply for). I also have a research grant this summer and next summer which pays $4500 each year. I have a car lease and insurance that I pay for, but if you don't have a car you save even more money. I really don't worry about money, and I'm not living frugally at all.

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7 hours ago, anonymouspls said:

Where are you going to school? That plays a big part in how much debt you'll have because a big chunk of your money is going towards living expenses. Rent for UoT med is not going to be the same as rent for me living in London for example.

I can't answer how much people spend, but from what I've seen your lifestyle definitely scales u a bit when you have that LoC. It might not be the best thing but it happens. I just finished my 1st year and I'm about 25K into my LoC (Remember OSAP gives you a lot of grants, and there are a lot of scholarhips and bursaries to apply for). I also have a research grant this summer and next summer which pays $4500 each year. I have a car lease and insurance that I pay for, but if you don't have a car you save even more money. I really don't worry about money, and I'm not living frugally at all.

I'll be living at home, so my living expenses are generally paid for by my parents (no rent, no food, we share the car/they're paying for car insurance, etc.). Pretty sure all my expenses are tuition and fun things. But OK I'll try to chill about money haha

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  • 5 weeks later...
14 minutes ago, thesupreme said:

 I have about 23k in student loans and 0k in loc debt right at this moment, just finished second year. I was wondering if I should pay off my entire student loans with my LOC right after I graduate since the student loans are at a higher rate of interest than loc? 

Yup, do that within 6 months of graduating (after grace period ends). 

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38 minutes ago, thesupreme said:

 I have about 23k in student loans and 0k in loc debt right at this moment, just finished second year. I was wondering if I should pay off my entire student loans with my LOC right after I graduate since the student loans are at a higher rate of interest than loc? 

Actually depends on where you are in Canada (for access to different provincial programs) and your residency. For example, family medicine residents and physician can have up to $8,000 per year of student loans forgiven up to $40,000 if they complete up to 400 hours or 50 days a year in a rural location (https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/canada/employment-social-development/migration/documents/assets/portfolio/docs/en/student_loans/forms/forgiveness.pdf). If you pay off your student loans on your LOC you would not have access to this forgiveness program. Make sure you consider your unique situation prior to making any financial decisions. 

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1 hour ago, CGreens said:

Actually depends on where you are in Canada (for access to different provincial programs) and your residency. For example, family medicine residents and physician can have up to $8,000 per year of student loans forgiven up to $40,000 if they complete up to 400 hours or 50 days a year in a rural location (https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/canada/employment-social-development/migration/documents/assets/portfolio/docs/en/student_loans/forms/forgiveness.pdf). If you pay off your student loans on your LOC you would not have access to this forgiveness program. Make sure you consider your unique situation prior to making any financial decisions. 

that is true you should look at those - particularly if your 100%, and I mean 100%, sure you are going to stay in the same province for many of them. Unfortunately many of the are overly restrictive but some still can work. 

in general most of us do pay off our gov students loans with our LOC because yeah the interest rate is really quite a bit less actually. Plus you have more control of your cash flow (since the gov loan does require both principal and interest payments but the LOC does not). Keeping somewhat flexible is usually the goal in residency - you really, really don't want financial pressures added on to the rest of the general stress you are under!

Edited by rmorelan
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25 minutes ago, premed72 said:

I'm not sure how people finish med school with 100k debt only. Ottawa tuition alone is like 28k a year or something 

Only way I can see someone finishing with “only” 100k in debt would be by living with parents, parents providing substantial financial support, spouse providing substantial financial support, and/or substantial savings from previous career... (Ontario specific, because tuition = crazy expensive). Very much doable in other provinces that have way cheaper tuition.

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yeah probably some form of help - and you that isn't totally unusual. Some people live at home still at medical school as well cutting down costs quite a bit. The grant part of osap can cover living expenses in such cases, leaving just tuition. Throw in a few bursaries, some personal prior savings, the money Ontario students get in their last year, and sure parent support and you can really narrow things down etc - 100K is a bit less than the total tuition in the end. 

 

Edited by rmorelan
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1 hour ago, rmorelan said:

yeah probably some form of help - and you that isn't totally unusual. Some people live at home still at medical school as well cutting down costs quite a bit. The grant part of osap can cover living expenses in such cases, leaving just tuition. Throw in a few bursaries, some personal prior savings, the money Ontario students get in their last year, and sure parent support and you can really narrow things down etc - 100K is a bit less than the total tuition in the end. 

 

Sorry, the money Ontario students get in their last year? Pray tell xD 

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8 minutes ago, IMislove said:

Sorry, the money Ontario students get in their last year? Pray tell xD 

what was it called - some sort of OMA bursary for final year students. It actually wasn't bad as I recall - really helped with the CARMS expenses. 

I think it was 3000 dollars - I mean that is often enough to offset all of CARMS travel and housing expenses for many people. 

Hope that is still going on!

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1 hour ago, rmorelan said:

what was it called - some sort of OMA bursary for final year students. It actually wasn't bad as I recall - really helped with the CARMS expenses. 

I think it was 3000 dollars - I mean that is often enough to offset all of CARMS travel and housing expenses for many people. 

Hope that is still going on!

I think it’s $9k now if you’re talking about the stipend from the Ontario government 

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