I remember when I started medical school, the Financial Aid Officer continually reassured me that although the student loans were paying for my education now, it was truly “my future income” that was going to allow me to one-day become debt free. I managed to get a few large sum scholarships ($15,000 here, $10,000 there), yet I still graduated with about $140,000 in debt. I have only been out of medical school for 2 years and I have already accrued over $20,000 in interest!
It’s crazy because the rules changed and instead of being able to defer my loans (no interest accrues), I had to forbear my loans (interest accrues). Of course, these things conveniently changed when I was finishing up medical school. My school had a meeting for us with a financial planner who recommended at least paying on the interest while in residency so that the principal balance would be the same at the end of residency as it was at the end of medical school. However, that is much easier said than done…
Since finishing medical school, I just haven’t found the extra cushion to start paying these loans. I spent about $800 for USMLE Step 3 and it’s $125 a year for my resident training license. I was planning to wait to pay my Alpha Omega Alpha lifetime dues. However, once I saw that the lifetime dues increased from $425 at the time of graduation to $750 two years later, I figured I should just dish out the money before it’s $1400 for a lifetime membership!
At this point, I’m just ranting. I say all of this to say I truly hope with all of the changes in our healthcare system and reimbursement that my future income will set me free… debt free that is. It may be time for me to have a 1-on-1 meeting with those financial planners.
