The cost of medical school can be quite daunting and medical school debt over four years will most definitely seem overwhelming. That’s why I’ve decided to start budgeting ahead of time and figuring out where and how I can cut my costs. Here is a comparison of the estimated school budget created by my institution compared with my personal budget.

School Estimated Budget

You can see above the estimated costs given by my institution. According to these estimates, the tuition of $58,900 plus other living expenses adds up to $93,996 per year. If we multiply this over the four years of medical school, that results in $375,984 total cost for medical school at the end of four years.

I definitely think that their estimations are higher, especially for someone who can live more frugally. You can definitely reduce your rent and utilities by sharing an apartment and by cooking most of the time instead of eating out. So, let’s take a look at how I built my budget.

My Personal Budget

I have created a sample budget for myself for the first year of medical school. Of course, my numbers are only projections that I have developed based on the city I will be living in, and after speaking with current medical school there and analyzing their costs. Once I live through the first month of medical school I will be able to see the difference in my projections versus reality.

In my budget, I account for four main things: (1) income (2) school expenses (3) fixed personal expenses (4) variable personal expenses.

Monthly Income

In this section of my budget, I consider any money coming in. Personally, I won’t be working so I have no income from work. But if you have a scholarship or investment income or money from family, then this is something to input. My main income will be from student loans and potential scholarships from my institution or private scholarships.

School Expenses

School expenses are mainly composed of tuition and books and supplies. My institution has a tuition of $58,900 per year. I will also be using the health insurance provided by my school, which is why I placed this as a school expense. Some students can avoid healthcare expenses if they are still on a plan under their parents.

Finally, I have spread out the cost of books and supplies over the first year, but this will cover books like First Aid and Pathoma, and subscriptions like Sketchy Medical and UWorld Question Banks. You can keep book costs low by sharing PDF resources with classmates. Personally, I like having physical copies, but that is up to you.

Fixed Personal Expenses

For fixed personal expenses, I have included any items that fall into my living cost that will remain the same every month over the year. The rent really will depend on your city, but I have managed to keep mine low for my location by sharing an apartment with two other people. The internet, utilities, and renter’s insurance are also shared, therefore reducing our costs.

My phone and car insurance are on a family plan, therefore they will be covered by my parents and this is a cost I don’t have to worry about. I have several monthly subscriptions as well, which I could possibly get rid of if I need to minimize costs further.

• Netflix – you can lower cost by sharing one subscription with several classmates or sign up here to get one month free
• Amazon – you can sign up for Amazon Prime for Students (6-month free trial) at a lower cost
• Dropbox – you can sign up for free with Dropbox to get 500MB of storage space instead of carrying around an external hard drive or USB
• Canva – you can sign up for free with Canva to create templates, posters, presentations and more

Variable Personal Expenses

My variable personal expenses include any living costs that may differ from month to month. I will try to keep my food costs low by minimizing my grocery costs and refraining from eating out or ordering food. Household supplies like cleaning supplies, toilet paper, and others will be shared between roommates.

My car maintenance and gas will be kept at a minimum because I will be living about a 5-minute walk from my school. So, by avoiding a commute, I can decrease my fuel cost and increase my daily exercise. I also have given myself a budget for spending on clothes, personal care, and toiletries. I’m the kind of person who likes to get a haircut once a month.

Since we have laundry in our apartment, costs there will be zero except for the occasional dry cleaning of a suit. Parking is also free at my school and at my apartment, so that cost will be zero. As for entertainment I consider my Netflix subscription as entertainment. Otherwise, I have set aside a travel and vacation budget in case I want to visit family or go somewhere during the holiday breaks.

Budget Comparison

My school estimated a budget of $93,996 per year which is $375,984 for four years. After combining school expenses, and personal living expenses from my budget projection I get an estimate of $78,472 for one year and $313,888 for four years.

You can see that the school estimates are probably on the higher end and the difference in the end between their budget and mine is quite steep over for years. If you spend the time to create your own budget and analyze your costs you can save yourself $60,000 in medical school debt.

If you want to start planning for your medical school costs you can download my budget template –> click here