Comments on: Finances 101: The Truth About Debt

By: Jeff

Jeff — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:16:55 +0000

You and I are actually in similar situations, I personally still have a large amount of credit card and student loan debt from my undergrad years and I’m working my own plan to get rid of it as fast as possible. I’m not pursuing medicine, but I have started a business. However, because of my hatred of debt, I’ve started and will continue to run the business without borrowing anything. It makes the process harder, but it will eventually be my saving grace.

It’s unfortunate that medical school is so expensive and that nearly every doctor ends up with debt exceeding $100k. Your situation is like many others, needing an education but lacking the necessary money. Fortunately, you have the potential to earn a large enough income after school to pay off the loans within a few years. The danger for doctors is to avoid living the wealthy lifestyle while still in debt. I would recommend keeping your expenses as low as possible throughout school and especially afterwards. Make a plan to live on the least amount possible and throw the rest of your profits at the debt. That way, once you’re debt-free, you can begin to reap the financial rewards of saving lives that you’re most likely looking forward to.

You have an amazing opportunity to help people and earn a great living at the same time. Medical school and the loans are the price you’ll end up paying for greatness.

By: Med Student

Med Student — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 21:09:48 +0000

Sorry, I’m just a bit touchy about this issue. I used to follow a lot of money blogs during the time I was working, but now that I’m a medical student I’m finding very few resources that speak to my situation. Your post certainly was well written and valid, it just doesn’t speak to me, and it’s a bit offensive to read “debt is dumb” when I’m getting into debt to learn how to take care of people and I honestly didn’t have any debt-free options.

By: Jeff

Jeff — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:06:39 +0000

That’s awesome that you have no debt from undergrad and that you are smart with your money. I agree with you that the world would lack many fantastic doctors if they didn’t take out loans to get their MDs. My overall point with this article and my overall view on debt is that it’s highly risky. As long as you are willing to take 100% responsibility for your entire loan until it is paid off, and fully understand you are at a higher risk of bankruptcy because of your enormous school debt, then the loans may pay off for YOU in the future. But this is not the case for most people. Most people are dumb when it comes to debt. Some people can intelligently leverage large amounts of debt, become wealthy, and never experience finanical trauma. Unfortunately, there’s a reason why Credit Card companies and banks are so ridiculously rich.

With this article I want to show people that living debt-free is an option, and it’s a good one. If you decide to go into debt, do it intelligently, and make a plan to get out of it quickly. It’s as simple as that.

Thanks for the Comment!

By: Med Student

Med Student — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:47:11 +0000

We would have very few doctors if only those who could afford it outright went to medical school. So sure I could have zero debt right now. I didn’t have any from undergrad and when I worked, I was good with my money, but I want to be a doctor and the only way to do that was to take out the loans.

By: financial advisor

financial advisor — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 17:17:03 +0000

With the credit crunch, many people will actually be forced to start living without debt, obviously a good thing! Buying things with cash used to be normal and will become so again.

By: The Other Jeff

The Other Jeff — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 16:07:57 +0000

As a CPA I can fully attest to the truthfulness of Jeff’s post. Too many people in our generation fall into the trap of just “putting it on the card” and taking on debt not really realizing exactly what they are getting themselves into. Unfortunately, for most of us at a young age debt is inevitable if you want to do something like buy a house or a car, but those types of debt are fine, especially if you take Jeff’s advice and have a plan to pay them off that you are working towards. Financial freedom is a reality but it is something that will require you to work for it. Well done Jeff!