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cannadpa
First Time Poster
Cash: $ 0.25
Posts: 1
Joined: 29 Sep 2009
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| Pre-proffesional seeking advice |
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Hello everyone,
I'm 23, mid way through medical school*, and have very little experience in handling finances. I grew up in a household that struggled to pay the bills, never saved, and didn't know really anything about investments or even banking for that matter. I'm trying to avoid this kind of pitfall and get ahead before I end up with money and do something really stupid.
*I'm on a military scholarship so I'm going to make it out of school without loans, and I've got 1700 / month fixed income (after taxes).
First, I'm looking for general advice, a book perhaps, that gives a guideline to basic debt-"free" living and investment.
Second, some more personal advice.
I've managed to accumulate about 6000$ debt, a comination of both medical bills and 1700$ in credit cards. In addition I'm recently engaged, and would like to try to save some money for our wedding. We are both rather absent minded and very busy, frankly we forget to pay bills sometimes, and end up getting hit with a lot of late fees. She also has a debt total similar to mine, and a lack of financial know-how (I manage the finances at any rate).
I was thinking about trying to get a 6-7K personal loan to consolidate some of our various bills (more mine than hers, try to get one of our credit scores straighted out), and canceling our credit cards. Making a single payment each month seems like it would be much easier than 15-20 seperate ones.
I'm not sure if this is a wise idea. In 2 years I'll be in residency making what I consider a lot of money, but I feel like I'd be better off if I start trying to manage this debt now.
Any advice, general or specific, is welcomed.
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Tue Sep 29, 2009 4:44 pm |
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coaster
Senior Advisor
Cash: $ 1356.80
Posts: 6681
Joined: 11 Oct 2005
Location: Wisconsin
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Congratulations on your scholarship, your engagement, and on your desire to do it all on a sound financial footing. And thank you for serving!! 
Before you do anything else, some introspection is a good idea. What is the root cause of your financial problems? I see a couple key words: "absent-minded" and "forget" leap out. I know some people are just naturally that way, me being one. But that doesn't mean it has to rule your life. Apply something the military does an excellent job of teaching:
DISCIPLINE
to this problem as your very first step. Once you realize you're lacking in financial discpline, then you can apply the disciplinary skills you learned in the service and get yourself organized with a plan.
I don't see any sense in making a plan until you know you can stick to it.
Best wishes and good luck and the career, the marriage, and everything else.
~Tim~
Eye Candy : Why Whimsy
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Wed Sep 30, 2009 4:26 am |
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JamesKim
Senior Member
Cash: $ 46.35
Posts: 216
Joined: 26 Sep 2007
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I absolutely agree with coaster. Failing to plan is planning to fail. I use Microsoft Excel to track with my spending and income, how much debt I have, how much left of that debt is to be paid, all on a spreadsheet.
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Thu Oct 01, 2009 11:36 pm |
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