Debt Anxiety/loc Repayment

[PurpleS]

On average, how long does it take to pay back people's LOC/student loans? Am I alone in the shock I feel every time I look at how much money I owe? How does one deal with the anxiety of being in so much debt? ):

[InstantRamen]

Sometimes i look at how much I owe and almost vomit. Don't worry. Even if its just us, we have each other! <3

[ellorie]

The best way for me to manage my anxiety has been budgeting.  In medical school I sort of tried to watch my spending but I didn't write stuff down and I was intensely anxious about money.  At the end of 4th year, I got a budgeting app on my phone, sat down with my salary, and added everything up.  End result, I can pay my interest and a chunk of my principal every month, and I haven't used anything else from my LoC since starting residency.  The debt itself doesn't feel great but I feel good about how I'm managing it.

 

You can also meet with the MD Financial people and they will do various projections of how long it might take to pay off your debt and budgeting and such.  I forgot what they projected for me but I did do it with them at one point.

[ralk]

On average, how long does it take to pay back people's LOC/student loans? Am I alone in the shock I feel every time I look at how much money I owe? How does one deal with the anxiety of being in so much debt? ):

 

If you want to, once you get a full-time job (after residency/fellowships), you could pay back your entire LOC within 2-3 years while living quite comfortably. Possibly in less time, depending on your specialty, your family, and your spending habits.

 

Many people pay their debt off much more slowly than that. Some have other funding priorities, such as buying a house. Others realize that they can grow their money faster by investing their early income, rather than paying off debt - with our LOCs at the prime rate, taking on a small amount of risk can lead to investment returns above the cost of maintaining a balance on the LOC for longer. Some are just terrible at money/life management and carry that debt needlessly.

 

Point is as long as you don't spend frivolously, marry the right person (so you don't lose all your money in a divorce), and make reasonable, safe investment decisions, debt should not be an issue for you. The way to control your anxiety about your debt is to realize that for your situation, the amount of debt you have isn't really all that high.

[PurpleS]

I did meet with MD Financial and they were very helpful about debt management. I'm in a 3-year program, and suddenly losing summer income is pretty difficult. In undergrad, OSAP would cover my tuition + a bit spending money and I would earn more money in the summer. But not that I can't work in the summer, I've been taking from my LOC.

 

... Weird how I'm not really stressed about OSAP even though that's debt as well haha

[Cyclosarin]

I've often thought about how I'd manage those kinds of loans, and they've actually been a major deterrent to seriously applying to medicine over the years.  Partially because I've never been in debt before.  But I also worry about not being able to secure a residency, matching but a lack of staff positions after completing residency, or potential cuts to physician billings that make loan repayment even more challenging.  I definitely understand how it could be overwhelming.

[shikimate]

Since it's difficult to alter income during med school + residency, the spending side is usually where the saving comes from. Aside from necessary ones like tuition and housing/food, a big chunk later in school is electives and CaRMS (plane ticket, housing rental, interviews). If you want a competitive specialty or must apply broadly, then it's a necessary expense. But if you are inclined to match to your home school or noncompetitive specialty, then you can save quite a bit on this. I know it's tempting to do electives at exotic places but in retrospect I would've saved quite a bit had I traveled less for electives and CaRMS interviews for places that were low on my ranking list.

 

Other big ticket expenses include USMLE/LMCC exams.

 

In early years try not to splurge on books or fancy equipment you probably won't need (eg. ophthalmoscope).

 

Definitely should shop around for banks that have good deals for med students.

 

Also learn about taxes and what you can write off from your resident salary. 

[robclem21]

I was shadowing a paediatrician a few months ago and asked him this question. He said that when finished residency he was 180K in debt (I think reasonable and similar to what most of us will experience). He said, living the same way after he got a full-time job, he paid it all back in 18 months.

 

Obviously if you want to spend more after you start working it will take longer, but he had no kids and his wife was working as well so they were able to get by and have it paid off quicker.