How to pay for living expenses in vet school?

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CalicoCate

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Hey guys,

So I just found out I got into Tufts (yay!), but after the initial excitement I'm really stressing about how to pay for the cost of living when enrolled. Everyone I talked to said that there is barely any time to work. How do you guys pay for rent, food, clothes, etc? Do you work or do loans cover it? Do your parents help you out? I have like zero savings so I'm hoping I can afford to go.

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Loans. Loans, loans, and more loans. :) Some students work extremely part-time, but mostly loans.
 
Yep. At Ohio State (and I'm pretty sure it's going to be similar at other schools) you are permitted to take out loans up to the entire cost of attendence, which includes tuition, rent, food, insurance, transportation, cell phone, laundry, clothing, personal items, etc.
 
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Find yourself a local significant other to help pay the bills. :)
 
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Loans, loans, and more loans. The little savings I had disappeared pretty quick, since I had to cover moving expenses, a deposit on the house, etc.

I would recommend not working the first semester, give yourself some time to settle in and adjust. I'm in my second semester now and just starting to look for a very part time job (2 overnight shifts a month hopefully to start, might add on more from there) just so I dont have as much of a bill crunch at the end of semesters when loan monay starts to run low.
 
I'm 51K in debt as of this first year. 38.5 for tuition and the rest for living... which is not much at all.... and where I live, I am paying the price for being cheap.
 
You guys are making me feel much better. I thought I was the only one that was completely unprepared to make this happen any other way except loans!

I'm going to try and avoid taking out loans for anything except tuition and directly related school expenses (school supplies etc.). Living expenses and gas, I'm going to try and pay for through savings.....I have some built up from working the past 5 years, and will probably try to work during the summers....I'm not going to have to pay rent which will be HUGE because I do have a local SO who's offered me a home. :)

The exception to the above will be my first year in school. I will probably take out loans for everything - including living expenses and not feel guilty about not working for my first year. I'll try not to dip too much into my savings - instead using it to fill in the holes at the end of the term - until I get a feel of how much money it's going to take me to live.....then I'll sit down and figure out a budget for the next 3 years of how I can avoid loans excpet for tuition.....and dig into the savings then.

I'll just have to see how it all works out. Thank goodness i dont' have too much other debt going into this. a minimal amount on a vehicle and a miniscule amoutn of undergrad loans.

Kinda OT - but onet hing I really really want - but of course is NOT the finacial prudent decision is to get a puppy this summer. *sigh*. I'm quitting my job in June and taking a few months to go on vacation, relax, and visit friends and family and it would be a perfect time to get a new dog. and really, when you consider it, in the grand scheme of things, the dog isn't going to add THAT much to my monthly bill, considering I already have a horse and 2 cats!
 
Kinda OT - but onet hing I really really want - but of course is NOT the finacial prudent decision is to get a puppy this summer. *sigh*. I'm quitting my job in June and taking a few months to go on vacation, relax, and visit friends and family and it would be a perfect time to get a new dog. and really, when you consider it, in the grand scheme of things, the dog isn't going to add THAT much to my monthly bill, considering I already have a horse and 2 cats!


Many vet schools offer free food programs :thumbup:
I got a SECOND dog this summer after moving out there for school. To date, I have spent: $65 on collar/leash/bed/ID tags for the new dog. $75 on his vaccines/hwt/microchip/deworming. $32 on the first dog's annual exam. Oh, and I spent $40 boarding the two of them for a long weekend. Heartworm pills and Advantix were free for the year. Food is free.
Works out to $26 a month for so far.
At a rough guesstimate, barring any unforeseen vet bills, the two of them together will cost me about $350 for a year. That's with leeway for new toys/bones and an additional long weekend of boarding.

So honestly, I think that expense is well worth having! It's great having those happy faces at home waiting for me, and having walking partners and foot warmers. And dog #1 has company while I'm gone!
 
So I heard that UCDavis discontinued their free food program and (if I understand correctly) any other programs where vendors give the starving students free stuff. i'm totally bummed. I was so looking forward to it.

That being said...the Sig other has 2 dogs - BIG dogs - I'm sure my little medium/small dog wouldnt' add that much to him food costs. :) Need.to.work.that.angle. LOL. I'm mostly kidding of course - i wouldn't get a dog if I couldn't afford to feed it. And if I can afford hay at $17/bale (I know - holy crap!!!!!!! - and yes I afford it because really there's no way i'm selling my tevis horse!!!!!!) than honestly, how am I to squibble about a bag of dog food or two during a month? Especially when I'm likely to be 150K friggin' $$ in debt by the time I graduate.....

I'm likin' this forum more and more - I can find people to help me justify all sorts of thing. LOL - I'm kidding...kinda
 
You could try and apply for job postings on www.contractxchange.com you work from home and you set your own schedule during the hours of operation.
 
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Like others... loans loans and more loans! I'm planning on mostly using Stafford loans (I think subsidized/unsubs cover up to 40K or something), and am working something out where my parents may loan me the other 20K I need at a lower interest rate. If not I'll probably go with Grad Plus loans.

My SO is currently IN med school so no money is coming from that direction :laugh:

What I was told at OSU (and I assume this is true for the entire US) is that subsidized Staffords (don't accrue interest during deferment) is up to $8000/year, unsubsidized Staffords (DO accrue interest during deferment) is up to $32,000/year, and you can get up to cost of attendance (at OSU basically the student "budget") from Grad+ loans--it covers what's left.

Talk to your school's fin aid office. OSU told us that if we're taking out too much, or we're not able to cover our expenses, it's pretty simple to get that cost of attendance modified.

And don't forget private loans. Depending on where you look and what the stipulations are, they may or may not be more favorable than federal student aid. It just depends.
 
Ok thanks guys this makes me feel better, I was scared that loans could only be used for tuition but its a relief that they can go to other things too. (although the thought of that debt is a bit scary lol)
 
Several of us were discussing this the other day at lunch. I don't know how long we are going to have subsidized loans. I guess there is a bill in the house that is proposing the elimination of subsidized loans. I hope they don't though. I am going to be able to graduate undergrad with no debt and like many other also plan on funding my further schooling with loans.

http://www.articlesbase.com/persona...-end-to-subsidized-student-loans-3698004.html
 
Several of us were discussing this the other day at lunch. I don't know how long we are going to have subsidized loans. I guess there is a bill in the house that is proposing the elimination of subsidized loans. I hope they don't though. I am going to be able to graduate undergrad with no debt and like many other also plan on funding my further schooling with loans.

http://www.articlesbase.com/persona...-end-to-subsidized-student-loans-3698004.html

President Obama's budget for this year (just released this week and has yet to be approved by congress) does eliminate subsidized loans for graduate students. So, I wouldn't count on having the opportunity for subsidized loans after this year :(

It is totally feasible to live on just loans, though. At least here at Michigan, they are VERY generous with how much money needs to be spent on living expenses, and even living in a (small) house by myself with no roommates, I have been able to avoid taking out the maximum in loans and still live very comfortably.
 
Kinda OT - but onet hing I really really want - but of course is NOT the finacial prudent decision is to get a puppy this summer. *sigh*. I'm quitting my job in June and taking a few months to go on vacation, relax, and visit friends and family and it would be a perfect time to get a new dog. and really, when you consider it, in the grand scheme of things, the dog isn't going to add THAT much to my monthly bill, considering I already have a horse and 2 cats!

I have four cats. Finding housing is going to be... fun. :laugh:

I desperately want a dog, but there's no vacancy around here at the moment. Full house!
 
President Obama's budget for this year (just released this week and has yet to be approved by congress) does eliminate subsidized loans for graduate students. So, I wouldn't count on having the opportunity for subsidized loans after this year :(

It is totally feasible to live on just loans, though. At least here at Michigan, they are VERY generous with how much money needs to be spent on living expenses, and even living in a (small) house by myself with no roommates, I have been able to avoid taking out the maximum in loans and still live very comfortably.

Epic. Fail. (the doing away with subsidized loans part)
 
Epic. Fail. (the doing away with subsidized loans part)

I guess it's all perspective.

As a student, sure, I was subsidized loans. But, if I were laying tile and making 35k a year, I'm not sure how'd I'd feel knowing that federal dollars taken from my check were going to help graduate students (IE - Doctors, Lawyers, and many other high-paying professions) avoid paying interest on their student loans.
 
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I guess it's all perspective.

As a student, sure, I was subsidized loans. But, if I were laying tile and making 35k a year, I'm not sure how'd I'd feel knowing that federal dollars taken from my check were going to help graduate students (IE - Doctors, Lawyers, and many other high-paying professions) avoid paying interest on their student loans.

"$2 billion in the coming fiscal year and $29 billion over 10 years" is a drop in the bucket compared to some of the other silly stuff we're spending money on nationally. That buys us about 4 hours in Iraq, or 30 seconds of interest on the national debt.

Coming from blue collar myself, I never remember looking at the taxes on my pay stub and being pissed about social programs like Americorps, Stafford and Pell. Hundreds of billions to failing companies and banks irritated me more than student loan subsidies.
 
For those of you already in vet school, how much loans do you borrow each semester? Do you normally borrow the estimated cost of attendance, or more, or less?
 
I also know that Sally Mae is a big loan company recently. Loan companies go in and out every couple years, but at my financial aid info session with RVC (London) in NYC right now, they said their American students take out some of these loans after the Direct Subsidized loans max out. I also like the idea of loaning from my parents/grandma haha. Hopefully zero interest! For those of you with lots of pets, it's really going to be difficult, and sad for you when you haven't given them attention in a month because of rotations/clinical/classes and what have you. International schools are pretty against bringing over pets, and going through the whole PETS scheme (UK pet travel scheme) because they'll be pretty lonely. I also have an SO who'll be there, but I know I'm going to feel bad. If I end up with my American school, I may get a second cat for my boy right now, he loves friends! Haha.
 
For those of you already in vet school, how much loans do you borrow each semester? Do you normally borrow the estimated cost of attendance, or more, or less?

You borrow as much as you need.... as I said before I got FASFA to supply my tuition and I got a private loan for living expenses. If you have 10 grand laying around for the use of school related stuff you can use it, but most people don't.
 
Unless you live extravagantly, or for the first semester have a huge expense for moving/setting up your living quarters, etc... you can definitely get enough loans to cover your living costs.

For the first year, I took out enough loans to cover tuition and living expenses.

I try to work enough so that I can at least cover all of my living expenses. Starting next semester, I'll reduce the amount of loans I take out for the amount I earned the semester before. This way, I have enough cash in the bank to live on for the semester, just in case I get fired or am unable to work.
 
For those of you already in vet school, how much loans do you borrow each semester? Do you normally borrow the estimated cost of attendance, or more, or less?

I take out everything they offer me. Originally, I planned to taper what I took out as I got an idea of what my living expenses would be like, but then it dawned on me after seeing the mistakes of a few friends that I should have enough money to cover emergencies (car accidents, emergency vet bills, hospital visits, etc.), that I will be paying for my own travel expenses to do the externships required by Mizzou (which includes continuing to pay rent/utilities on my apartment here, paying pet sitting fees while I'm gone, as well as paying for room and board where I'm externing and the gas it takes me to get there), that I also will need an entire new doctor-appropriate wardrobe for clinics and beyond, and that I need a buffer in case I don't graduate with a job.

A lot of people will tell you to take out as little as possible. I am one of the few who will tell you otherwise LOL.

Also, I work two jobs currently, and I make about $3500/year off of them. While I'm glad to have a little extra money, I wouldn't suggest working just for that minor buffer. I would, however, suggest working to further your clinical skills and knowledge, to keep a reminder of why you're putting yourself through the hell of vet school, or to have a break from all things vet school-related, depending on where you want to work.
 
(this is vaguely directed at MinnerBelle, but really anyone)

I feel like I must be missing something here... or perhaps I have been in the "real world" for too long and now have entirely unrealistic expectations for quality of life (and believe me, I am not rolling in dough as a public school teacher despite some comments over in that Wisconsin protests thread). But the school I expect I will be attending (CSU) has allotted approximately $10,000 for living expenses. That seems (staggeringly) low to me. Especially since Ohio State estimates $17,000-$19,000 for living expenses. I honestly don't know the comparisons on cost of living between the two places, but my gut feel is that they are comparable. Maybe I'm totally off on that gut feel, but from what I know about living in Ft. Collins, $830/month isn't really going to get me by. When I was in grad school (also in CO) I lived off a $1600/mo stipend, but just barely. And that was 10 years ago!

I know I am looking at some cut-backs on some expenses and luxuries but I guess I am just starting to panic that the cut-backs will need to be so drastic that I will not happy.

I guess I didn't have much of a point here, except to say that I am impressed with how frugally you guys manage to live!:thumbup:
 
Hey guys,

So I just found out I got into Tufts (yay!), but after the initial excitement I'm really stressing about how to pay for the cost of living when enrolled. Everyone I talked to said that there is barely any time to work. How do you guys pay for rent, food, clothes, etc? Do you work or do loans cover it? Do your parents help you out? I have like zero savings so I'm hoping I can afford to go.

So I'm also going to Tufts (yay!) and have looked a lot at my living expenses. Tufts loans you out to be about $60k/yr (tuition is about $42k) - you'll almost certainly you have more than you need to pay for living expenses. The financial aid office - who you should talk to - will fill you in on where literally every single dollar you get comes from. If you went to the interview day financial aid session, you might have a sheet of paper where they estimate living expenses - if not, it's online under their financial aid section in Admissions. They overestimate living expenses.

tl;dr: loans will cover living expenses.
 
(this is vaguely directed at MinnerBelle, but really anyone)

I feel like I must be missing something here... or perhaps I have been in the "real world" for too long and now have entirely unrealistic expectations for quality of life [...]
I know I am looking at some cut-backs on some expenses and luxuries but I guess I am just starting to panic that the cut-backs will need to be so drastic that I will not happy.

Oh I totally get you g2g! My entire family laughs about how poor my living standards are right now. And holy hell, if you're established with an income and a comfortable standard of living, you're in for a rude awakening. Even as a 24 year old, making only $30k/year I was living soooo much better than I am now (in retrospect, that was quite the luxurious lifestyle. I'm used to spending like $200 every grocery run with my ex, buying whatever yumminess I felt like sticking into the cart). The only reason why I can make do the way I am now is largely because I can act/think completely independently for myself (and just my cat). I'm not tied down by a SO, mortgage, etc...

I had built up a $7k savings while working for 2 yrs (I know... whoppin ain't it? but I'm pretty proud of myself for having anything), and I needed to dip into about $3,000 to move over, buy furniture, and get settled in the first month I was here. That was a move from Bos to here, but I only brought with me whatever would fit in my car. No Uhaul or anything. The rest I have sitting in my account for emergencies. I figure I should be able to make do with $4k + pretty large credit limit on credit card, should something happen to me in a given semester before I can take out more loans.

My rent + utilities combined is $475/month, which makes everything very doable. I live in a pretty nice house owned by a non-trad vet student. I have my own room + bathroom, and the common space is really big, so I got a really good deal.

Pet food is free, and I get my yearly vaccinations for my cat at the staff/student vaccine clinic for $4/shot. Only thing I need to pay for is a periodic dental, which over 4 years is not that big a deal. Should something happen to her, that will be coming out of my savings.

I spend a max on $100 a week on everything else I need in life. Usually about $50/week on groceries (and that is mostly fresh veggies/fruits). I fill my tank about once every 2 - 2.5 weeks, and that only costs about $35 to fill. That gives me ~$30 to spend on eating out and stuff, and that's more than plenty for me. I'm allergic to alcohol, so that's not a money drain.

I admit I don't pay for my phone, but I'm on a basic plan in a family plan with my sister. So even if I'd paid for it myself, that's only $10/month. Along the same lines, I don't buy much clothes and rely on hand me downs from my more fortunate/trendy siblings (one works at banana!).

The biggest money sucker for me is travel costs since my family's overseas and my boyfriend is in Boston. I have about 140,000 freq flier miles, which is enough for 2 trips to japan, or 5 domestic round trips, and that helps. SO is very generous about paying for my plane tix to visit him (and adds to my mileage).

So even counting school supplies and such (and I make sure I have all req texts), I don't exceed $1000/month in spending. I make between $800 - $1000/month during the 9 mos of school that the $11.4k in loans is supposed to cover, so that works out for me. Remember, you're allotted >$1250/month (including books and supplies), not $830... That may still sound itty bitty to you, but that's gives you 50% more than you thought you were going to have.

So yeah, no cable, no smartphone/data plan, no hobbies, no nice dinners, etc... But minus these extra things, I'm more than comfortable, and I feel like my standard of living is higher than a good portion of America. I don't ever feel like I'm in need.
 
Thanks for your response MinnerBelle! That is a good point that I was dividing the loan amount by 12, not 9, and that I was counting on that book budget being totally spent on books. $1250 is sounding a little better:oops:. Does sort of mean that I better find a paying job for the summer though.

I think the big thing is that I really hadn't quite processed what my new standard of living was going to look like, and now I have. I do have some savings, I won't have the big start up costs you did (other than physically moving), and I plan to keep a part time job I have now even thought it isn't terribly vet related (flexible hours, working from home 5-10 hours a week). The biggest thing for me is going to be finding a home (I would like to live alone) that will be in my budget and allow my 2-3 large dogs.

That free pet food is going to be fantastic though (sorry Davis people)! I spend over $100/mo right now feeding three dogs. Hopefully I can make a good size dent in that situation with the freebies, and I should be back down to 2 dogs by the time school starts. And knock on wood, the dogs have been healthy. I have a bank account set up just for them in case of emergency, but hopefully I will be able to save that for their senior years. They will both be considered "seniors" by the time I graduate :(.

But anyway, thanks for helping me put together a better picture of what things might look like next year! Even if I lose my luxuries, I am so excited to be going that it won't matter!
 
Thanks for your response MinnerBelle! That is a good point that I was dividing the loan amount by 12, not 9, and that I was counting on that book budget being totally spent on books. $1250 is sounding a little better:oops:. Does sort of mean that I better find a paying job for the summer though.

I think the big thing is that I really hadn't quite processed what my new standard of living was going to look like, and now I have. I do have some savings, I won't have the big start up costs you did (other than physically moving), and I plan to keep a part time job I have now even thought it isn't terribly vet related (flexible hours, working from home 5-10 hours a week). The biggest thing for me is going to be finding a home (I would like to live alone) that will be in my budget and allow my 2-3 large dogs.

That free pet food is going to be fantastic though (sorry Davis people)! I spend over $100/mo right now feeding three dogs. Hopefully I can make a good size dent in that situation with the freebies, and I should be back down to 2 dogs by the time school starts. And knock on wood, the dogs have been healthy. I have a bank account set up just for them in case of emergency, but hopefully I will be able to save that for their senior years. They will both be considered "seniors" by the time I graduate :(.

But anyway, thanks for helping me put together a better picture of what things might look like next year! Even if I lose my luxuries, I am so excited to be going that it won't matter!


Does anybody know if Illinois does the free food?! That would be amazing considering all my animals are on Rx diets and they are killing me! Also I am sure there has to be limits of how much... Does anybody know what they are?
 
The biggest thing for me is going to be finding a home (I would like to live alone) that will be in my budget and allow my 2-3 large dogs.

That might make it harder. You might want to keep the option of living with someone else open, you might be suprised at how well that can work out. I am a non-trad with a renter in my home. The design of my house means the only shared space is the yard, the dining/kitchen space. And there is still a spare bedroom to catch the occasional visitor. Realisticly, it would be possible for my roommate and I to nearly never see each other; she has her own spare room (2 nice sized bedrooms), own full bath, and own living room and own entrance. I live in the other story of the house and have my own living room, bedroom, bathroom. I know living on your own sounds so great when you have done it for a while, but realisticly the costs are pretty high, and my roommate and can fill in for each other with the dogs when schedules are long, share chores, etc. it makes all the costs go down.

Another option is to see if anyone is particularly looking for vet students as renters. We have lots of ads for that, but the costs can still be high. Often the landlords are also looking for assistance with their critters.
 
That might make it harder. You might want to keep the option of living with someone else open, you might be suprised at how well that can work out. I am a non-trad with a renter in my home. The design of my house means the only shared space is the yard, the dining/kitchen space. And there is still a spare bedroom to catch the occasional visitor. Realisticly, it would be possible for my roommate and I to nearly never see each other; ...

Yeah, I haven't entirely ruled something like that out... but it would have to be a situation similar to what you have as far as mostly separate living spaces. I am also looking at the possibility of buying a place (if the real estate market in my current city cooperates and I can sell my current house... it is going on the market at the end of this week:scared::xf:) and if I look at houses at all, it will be with the idea that I might need a roommate and therefore would need the house to be arranged in a particular way.

I definitely see benefits to having a roommate, especially if we can help each other out once in a while with the dogs!
 
I've had some pretty bad situations with roommates, but I gotta tell you, if you find the right one, roommates are AMAZING! First off, don't live with friends, and finding someone on Craigs list gave me the best results EVER. Seriously. I'm really outgoing and I hate being alone (even if I were living with SO, i need some company lol), roommates are awesome. I used to love coming down in the living room and flipping channels with my roommates, or working on a dinner together or even doing dishes together. I can't imagine living with just me and my SO, we're both really outgoing and would want to live with either another couple (or 2) or other singles. I've had some good luck as well as bad :p
 
Does anybody know if Illinois does the free food?! That would be amazing considering all my animals are on Rx diets and they are killing me! Also I am sure there has to be limits of how much... Does anybody know what they are?

We don't get "free" food, but you do get a pretty heavy discount on it. I get a big bag of Rx food for my cats for about $15. At a clinic it would be about $50 I think. There is a 40lbs/month limit.
 
So I heard that UCDavis discontinued their free food program and (if I understand correctly) any other programs where vendors give the starving students free stuff. i'm totally bummed. I was so looking forward to it.

That being said...the Sig other has 2 dogs - BIG dogs - I'm sure my little medium/small dog wouldnt' add that much to him food costs. :) Need.to.work.that.angle. LOL. I'm mostly kidding of course - i wouldn't get a dog if I couldn't afford to feed it. And if I can afford hay at $17/bale (I know - holy crap!!!!!!! - and yes I afford it because really there's no way i'm selling my tevis horse!!!!!!) than honestly, how am I to squibble about a bag of dog food or two during a month? Especially when I'm likely to be 150K friggin' $$ in debt by the time I graduate.....

I'm likin' this forum more and more - I can find people to help me justify all sorts of thing. LOL - I'm kidding...kinda
Yep no more free swag. Very sad. I was having such a good time getting $250 worth of z/d a month too!

A good handful of first years do the colony dog program, which is basically where you are given responsibility for one of the colony dogs that the school uses all year to learn procedures, techniques, etc. The dogs are all young intact yahoos from a local shelter who need a good dose of civilizing before being adoptable, so a year with a bunch of vet students generally does the trick. Colony dog walkers have to attend training classes and are required to exercise their dogs daily and such - I don't really know the fine details, but it looks pretty fun and I know a lot of the walkers adopt their dogs when the year is up. Anyways, might be worth looking into if you aren't quite ready to dive into additional debt from a dog.

I'm a bit meh on roommates, but my current craigslist roomie is amazing. I live in terror that my cats' phantom barfing will drive her away. I'm old and would rather not have a roomie, but I can't justify spending an extra $700 a month on a place that I don't spend much time in.
 
We don't get "free" food, but you do get a pretty heavy discount on it. I get a big bag of Rx food for my cats for about $15. At a clinic it would be about $50 I think. There is a 40lbs/month limit.

Thanks for the heads up =) I pay at cost now because the vet I work for is amazing and knows that I am a broke college student. But cheaper would be better and heck... At least I can have cheaper and at cost together if I need it... And of course we will because we have a mass quantity of animals 6 dogs and 9 cats... all rescues because of ailments and issues. So lots of meds and special diets. I am in love with this idea :love:
 
if I look at houses at all, it will be with the idea that I might need a roommate and therefore would need the house to be arranged in a particular way.

this is exactly what I did; I looked for a fixer upper that was ugly (bad paint/wallpaper) but structurally sound, did most of the fix up the summer before vet school, did a bit more last summer, and will do a bit more next summer. So everywhere I looked, I was looking for houses with 2 seperate living areas. I even looked at duplexes (but duplexes are harder to manage and harder to evict folks if you need to.) because it was ugly and had sat on the market for over a year, it was cheap, and we were fortunate to get the buyer's tax break. just remember that home ownership during vet school can be a huge PITA. we had 8 inches of rain in less than an hour that nearly flooded the house my first summer here (very unusual, nothing like it again) because a drain down the street blocked. my grass doesn't get mowed when it should (thank goodness no HOA) and occasionally we don't get the trash out...and I still need to finish raking leaves) and being home for repair men can be nearly impossible. but I wouldn't do it any other way given the option.
 
Oh I totally get you g2g! My entire family laughs about how poor my living standards are right now. And holy hell, if you're established with an income and a comfortable standard of living, you're in for a rude awakening. Even as a 24 year old, making only $30k/year I was living soooo much better than I am now (in retrospect, that was quite the luxurious lifestyle. I'm used to spending like $200 every grocery run with my ex, buying whatever yumminess I felt like sticking into the cart). The only reason why I can make do the way I am now is largely because I can act/think completely independently for myself (and just my cat). I'm not tied down by a SO, mortgage, etc...

So yeah, no cable, no smartphone/data plan, no hobbies, no nice dinners, etc... But minus these extra things, I'm more than comfortable, and I feel like my standard of living is higher than a good portion of America. I don't ever feel like I'm in need.


I decided to scrimp on apartments, and in BR they are EXPENSIVE for very cheap apartments... I ended up living in a bad area, and they won't even deliver pizza to my house past 5 pm :(

I'm moving in the summer because I hate where I live, and I now know what I value... you just have to see what you're willing to give up and what you value (safety is clearly not something I want to scrimp on!). I DO have cable, but it's basic and I eat in a lot. I go out to places with friends on the weekends, but only because I a) put most of my money towards social outings (no shopping for me!) and b) don't have a lot of time during the week to do much other than study, so costs stay pretty low. I also get a huge discount on vet services thanks to the generosity of some of the people in my vet school (and my dog is only 8 pounds ;D).
 
Find yourself a local significant other to help pay the bills. :)

Shared that comment with my b/f... and he seemed not-so-thrilled about that.... somehow the words "sugar daddy" came up in conversation....

...looks like more loans for me!
 
... that's when you know you live in the hood...

haha, yeah... my friend lived in a really shabby part of Philly. That's exactly what I thought when the cab driver was scared for me to wait outside her apt for just 2 min while she came down to open the door for me.

Cab driver: "so are you going to be okay?"
Me: "yeah, my friend's inside, she just has to come downstairs and open the door"
Cab driver: "i don't want anything happening to you"
Me: :eek:
Cab driver turns the meter off. "well just in case, i'll wait here with you"
Me: :scared:
 
haha, yeah... my friend lived in a really shabby part of Philly. That's exactly what I thought when the cab driver was scared for me to wait outside her apt for just 2 min while she came down to open the door for me.

Cab driver: "so are you going to be okay?"
Me: "yeah, my friend's inside, she just has to come downstairs and open the door"
Cab driver: "i don't want anything happening to you"
Me: :eek:
Cab driver turns the meter off. "well just in case, i'll wait here with you"
Me: :scared:

I guess I should say, I don't necessarily feel "unsafe," but I don't really go outside at night.... and it has just made me realize that I'd rather spend a little more on housing. Coming from my undergrad city where the cost of living was a frigging steal, and I had no debt, its tough to swallow. Luckily, my parents feel the same way and are helping me out somewhat... its still too damn expensive to pay for these crappy apartments!
 
I guess I should say, I don't necessarily feel "unsafe," but I don't really go outside at night.... and it has just made me realize that I'd rather spend a little more on housing. Coming from my undergrad city where the cost of living was a frigging steal, and I had no debt, its tough to swallow. Luckily, my parents feel the same way and are helping me out somewhat... its still too damn expensive to pay for these crappy apartments!


I'm coming from the same position :( Living in Western New York is CHEAP compared to every city with a Vet school. I was paying like 350 a month (all included) for a house with 2 other girls. Seriously a steal, and my landlord was AWESOME! I asked him for italian dressing one day (he lives on the first floor, we had the 2nd and third floors...still a huge apartment) and he said no but picked some up for me on the way home haha. I'll miss that when I go to vet school.
 
My issue with this whole "living on loans" thing is that, after much research, the best situation for me would be to buy a house rather than rent. However, mortgage companies don't count the money coming in from loans as "income" and thus, without a job (which I don't even know if I could handle with school yet) or a spouse who's bringin' in the bacon, I am left to find someone to co-sign for me. And of course, the one person who is most likely to agree to do this is my dad...who filed bankruptcy last year and would be a terrible co-signer! GRRRR!!:mad:
 
so maybe the answer to this question will become obvious to me once i'm actually in the process, but for now, i cannot wrap my head around how this works. when i had loans for undergrad, the amount just automatically went right into my student account. great. that part i understand. BUT where exactly does the loan money go that is designated for living expenses? do you just get a check? does it go right into your checking account? also, is it given out every month or is it at the beginning of each semester? i just can't picture how this works! thanks!
 
so maybe the answer to this question will become obvious to me once i'm actually in the process, but for now, i cannot wrap my head around how this works. when i had loans for undergrad, the amount just automatically went right into my student account. great. that part i understand. BUT where exactly does the loan money go that is designated for living expenses? do you just get a check? does it go right into your checking account? also, is it given out every month or is it at the beginning of each semester? i just can't picture how this works! thanks!


Mine is set up to directly deposit into my savings account. All the money goes to the school, the school takes what they need, and then send the rest off to your bank account.
 
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