Budgeting in Medical School

I am the product of an impulse buyer (mother), a stingy saver (father), and an appreciator of the finer expensive things in life (stepmom). I was destined to be a financial wreck from the start. There were things coming out of college that I wish others had told me about:

• It takes a lot of start up money if you aren't living with your parents after college. Budget around $5,000 for a moving van, furniture, deposits, and small things that may come along. Advice: See if your parents can help you out here, I got graduation money to get me on the right foot. Or save as much as possible during college. 
• Your coworkers, friends, and random strangers will seem more financially sound than you. They aren't. Many people rely on their parents for constant financial help, others charge it all to a credit card and pay off only the minimum each month. Advice: Those who aren't wearing the expensive clothes or going on fabulous vacations are usually the ones with 401Ks and savings. Don't let the jealousy monster take over and fool you.
• It is difficult to grow up and stick to a budget. Don't get frustrated at yourself for not adhering to a plan 100% or having $1 in your bank account at the end of the month. Advice: It may take years to get on the right financial track. For others it may never happen to them. Don't beat yourself up over failure.

"Saving" (Cutting spending) money during medical school is a whole different beast. It's all about moderation and sacrifice. I am lucky to have a medical student boyfriend who feels the same way about his loans as me: they aren't his money. What I want to use my money for is all up to me - I can spend it all on shoes or save it for a house, and I don't feel guilty for whatever choice I pick because it is MY money. M's loans are not his, one day that money needs to be paid back to the agencies who lent it to him and it will have accrued an insane amount of interest over all that time. 
Taking that small idea into consideration, it baffles me to see medical students borrowing the max amount of loan money each year to maintain a lifestyle that I can't achieve with money that I have. Yes, hopefully one day they will be making a grand amount of money to pay off that debt, but who wants to accrue interest on that $20 cover at the bar you went to seven years earlier?? And what if something happens that they can't achieve that doctor salary? That extra $25,000 a year in addition to the $50,000 for tuition is going to be hard to pay off. Moderation!!!
So here are some tips to be a bit more frugal, M has taught me a few and I've picked up others. They are things you hear every day and can pick and choose to apply to your life. If you have any other tips let me know and I'll add them.

• Go to the library for books, CDs, and movies. It's usually free or close to free.
• Take public transportation if it is available to you. If you go to an out of the way place, most friends will pick you up and drop you off at the station.
• If you live in a city, take a shopping trip twice a month to inexpensive grocery stores in the suburbs. Special K in a city - $5.50, Special K in the suburbs - $2.50!
• Need to bulk up your wardrobe and like expensive stores? Buy a gift card for a reduced price at Plastic Jungle and then wait for sales.
• Happy hours are usually from 4 - 7pm, capitalize on them and meet your friends during that time. Invite them over for more drinks after!
• Meet up with friends for a coffee or a beer (see above suggestion) instead of going out to dinner or lunch. 
• If you have a party make it BYOB and if people don't bring anything don't be afraid to ask if they can chip in for alcohol. Most medical students will.
• Try to avoid malls and Target or you will buy something.
• For birthdays ask for gift cards from your parents. If you hate the gift card you can always sell it on Plastic Jungle and head over to Target with the cash. :)
• Rent your textbooks if you can. I have that option for grad school and saved $300.
• Some cities, like DC or Baltimore, have Restaurant Week. Take advantage of these offers for date nights and enjoy a really good meal for half the price. 
• Don't feel pressured into buying things. If you go to the mall with friends, don't feel you have to buy anything. Or if you go to a restaurant and realize it's too pricey - split an appetizer or just leave. M and I made this mistake once of walking into an overpriced place without looking at the menu, and as soon as we were seated we checked out the menu and politely informed the waitress we were leaving. Much better to feel embarrassed than pay $25 for an appetizer neither of us wants.
• Get a roommate
• Workout at home or go for a run. My coworkers invite me to Planet Fitness once a week for free, so I usually lift weights there..
• Try to only pay cash when you go to bars. You may not realize how much that beer or cocktail costs and regret it later if you use a credit card. 
• Cut out cable from your life. We have subscriptions to Netflix and Hulu - and all of our programs are always on one of these. For shows we absolutely can't miss, we use Amazon Instant Video, but that is rare. We only got cable at the insistence of our roommate and will be discontinuing it the day he leaves.
• For vacation stay with friends and family. This works perfectly for us since our family lives on the beach - yes we'd love to visit!

Other small things that have helped me: I transfer as much into savings as I can the day that I get my paycheck. I take out $60 for each weekend, even if I don't use it. This way I can treat myself to a coffee or lunch the next week. I am extremely honest about my finances with M and if I can't do something we have planned because I can't afford it - I feel fine telling him that. I have $150 of "cushioning" in my bank account in case something I didn't budget for hits my account, and it was only needed once over the past year! I check my bank account balance multiple times a day via text.
Hope this was helpful for my readers. Even as a CPA I am not perfect with budgets or saving money, but I'm getting there :)