I’m coming back to you for more comments. This may seem to be juvenile but I assure you that it is important in my household.
Most people think of full-time students as being broke and needing help family or working in the fast-food industry, etc… as a non-trad (older, family, career, etc)how realistic is it to consider a normal life for my family?
Things such as buying a house, family trips, outings to the city, etc… are these desires realistic during school years?
Many thanks in advance,
Nick & family
No way to answer this question because of all the variables which include
– working partner? doing this with mom at home and little kids is a whole different ball game from having an employed spouse.
– pre-med vs. med school? most of us have been employed part-time, at least, while doing pre-med. It is not possible (in almost all cases) to be employed while in med school
– current finances? no, of course you can’t buy a house if you don’t have an income, but if you’ve already purchased one, you may be able to figure out ways to keep it. But it depends on your cashflow and indebtedness - all of these can be very different from one family to another. If you’ve already got a lot of credit card debt, you want to work to GET RID OF IT before starting med school.
– how risk-averse are you? Med school is a good investment and I personally think that you aren’t risking that much to go way into debt if you end up with an M.D. or D.O. Others may feel uneasy at taking this plunge. Assuming you’re willing to go into debt, you can borrow both tuition/school expenses AND living expenses while in med school. There does come a point where it would be stupid to borrow (if you’re borrowing $50K per year just for tuition/books, and you then borrow another $30K per year to live, that’s stupid) but each person’s break point will be different.
– living within your means? some people just have to have vacations that cost money, or other things that they find valuable. A daily trip to Starbucks will set you back sixty dollars a month. Some of us think that’s worth it, others think it’s a huge waste of money. You need to figure out YOUR priorities and then determine whether you’re spending money wisely.
Bottom line, med school and the $$$ to get there / get through is nothing to fool around with financially, but most folks cobble together some mechanism for getting it done. Whether it can be done while maintaining a ‘normal’ life depends on what is normal for you.
Mary
Thank you Mary. It is helpful and reassuring to hear from someone who has succeeded in their endeavors.
Since Starbucks has twice the caffeine as regular coffee, perhaps only half the cups are needed 
In todays world of diverse family arrangements, a major investment is made by the partner, IMHO. The investment includes not only time but also the perks that are ‘lost’ for a number of years.
I’m not an executive with private jet allowances and a second home in Aspen… but the thought of a modest lifestyle becoming more modest for med school years is probably easier to grasp when it is closer. I need to focus on premed before worrying about that but the imagination can run wild especially since many of our friends suffered through grad school - without kids.
What is ‘normal’ anyways?
Have a great week!
Nick
- medicnick Said:
Since Starbucks has twice the caffeine as regular coffee, perhaps only half the cups are needed ;-)
Wrong.
you never get the amount of coffee it seems you need in college, lol.I'm somewhat of an expert on Starbucks though because I'm one of those people who visit it nearly everyday, and unfortunately, it actually sets you back closer to $80 a month, not $60, if you get a 3-4$ drink. I've recently switched from caramel macchiatos to regular coffee, which still tastes fine if you put enough sugar and cream in it, which still runs you about $1.75 or so. Honestly, just go to the store and get a bag of Starbucks coffee. I did that, and for the half-gallon of half-and-half cream and starbucks coffee, it cost about 14 bucks and I guarantee it'll average out to be a lot less than $2 per coffee. Depending on how strong you like your coffee, it'll end up costing you less than a dollar per cup of coffee. And there's a lot more selection, since generally if you get regular coffee at an actual Starbucks, you're being served whatever they brewed...which may be the same damn thing every single time. If you do go get your own Starbucks coffee from the store, I'd recommend the Italian Roast...I was actually surprised by how good it tastes, and it's "extra bold" so I'm assuming that means it's strong.
And yeah, there's my essay on coffee. <3 coffee.
Sumatra Extra Bold (decaf) is the best. And splenda instead of sugar. Other than that, your analysis is spot on
Well Tim, I’m a little disappointed in you. You are in Cali yet you only mention Starbucks? What a waste. Peets is where its at for chain type places and Cafe Abir in the Western Addition of SF is the best coffee. I lived two blocks from there so parking wasn’t an issue until I moved to Walnut Creek but it was well worth it. They serve beer and lasagne later in the day.
If you are drinking the $4-5 coffee’s you are taking in half the daily caloric limit without any of the flavor.
Get a ‘red eye’ or whatever the coffee house may call it… its a cup of coffee with a shot added. That should set you back for less than $2 in most places.
BTW, on the east coast people actually get their coffee from Dunkin Donuts!!! I’m too ashamed to do it. It is worse than McDonalds but there aren’t too many options here, or for anywhere east of the continental divide really…
(someone please prove me wrong)
As for blends, the Italian roasts are just roasted longer. That makes them darker and gives them stronger flavor. I have not researched the caffeine levels but I come from the pre-coolness coffee drinking society, having provided Starbucks, Seattles Best Coffee, and Millstone with their first coffee machines back in the 80’s.
(I already had a cup of good coffee this morning, can you tell?)
Nick
Or…have your mom who lives 20 miles from the Columbian border bring you fresh beans every time she comes to visit her grandson. Nothing beats the ones bought straight from the “bodega”.
In response to the question though, I think that you always make time for the things that are important to you. I’d rather give up an hour of sleep at night and be able to see my wife and son, play a game or go get a bite to eat. Take it from a Veteran…it could be worse. No 80 hour work week restrictions in the military. There’s nothing like being deployed for 6 months working 16 hour days because your gear is from the stone age and perpetually down.
Take some time to sit down and prioritize your time. I find that having a plan helps me out a lot. Granted, I’m just pre-med right now, but my life is pretty “normal”. I work 40+ a week, take 12+ credit hours a semester, own a house, have a dog, wife, 18 month old and #2 on the way…
In between that I somehow manage to have some “me” time to read, play fantasy football (winning my league this year btw) and occasionally hang out with some friends. As long as I don’t get greedy with my personal time and attend to my responsibilities FIRST, I find that there’s not much I can’t do.
There will be sacrifices though. When I start med school I will have to either give up the house or spend a year as a geo-bachelor away from my family. I’ve planned it out, talked with my wife and we know it’s coming. We know she’s going to have to work when I get into med school. Having a plan helps us cope.
When it comes right down to it, being happy in your profession is priceless and worth some sacrifice. If medicine is really for you, then you’ll think it’s worth it too.
- medicnick Said:
Well Tim, I'm a little disappointed in you. You are in Cali yet you only mention Starbucks? What a waste. Peets is where its at for chain type places and Cafe Abir in the Western Addition of SF is the best coffee. I lived two blocks from there so parking wasn't an issue until I moved to Walnut Creek but it was well worth it. They serve beer and lasagne later in the day.
If you are drinking the $4-5 coffee's you are taking in half the daily caloric limit without any of the flavor.
Get a 'red eye' or whatever the coffee house may call it... its a cup of coffee with a shot added. That should set you back for less than $2 in most places.
BTW, on the east coast people actually get their coffee from Dunkin Donuts!!! I'm too ashamed to do it. It is worse than McDonalds but there aren't too many options here, or for anywhere east of the continental divide really...
(someone please prove me wrong)
As for blends, the Italian roasts are just roasted longer. That makes them darker and gives them stronger flavor. I have not researched the caffeine levels but I come from the pre-coolness coffee drinking society, having provided Starbucks, Seattles Best Coffee, and Millstone with their first coffee machines back in the 80's. ;-)
(I already had a cup of good coffee this morning, can you tell?)
Nick
If you are drinking the $4-5 coffee's you are taking in half the daily caloric limit without any of the flavor.
Get a 'red eye' or whatever the coffee house may call it... its a cup of coffee with a shot added. That should set you back for less than $2 in most places.
BTW, on the east coast people actually get their coffee from Dunkin Donuts!!! I'm too ashamed to do it. It is worse than McDonalds but there aren't too many options here, or for anywhere east of the continental divide really...
(someone please prove me wrong)
As for blends, the Italian roasts are just roasted longer. That makes them darker and gives them stronger flavor. I have not researched the caffeine levels but I come from the pre-coolness coffee drinking society, having provided Starbucks, Seattles Best Coffee, and Millstone with their first coffee machines back in the 80's. ;-)
(I already had a cup of good coffee this morning, can you tell?)
Nick
Yeah I figured the $4-5 drinks weren't exactly low calorie. ;P hmm, I'll have to check Peet's out sometime then if they're that good...I was actually thinking of getting real, gourmet coffee from somewhere (authentic import, not the fast food coffee), but I have no idea how expensive it'd be.
Coffee at dunkin donuts? Oh I can already see how I would clash with easterners....yuck!
Good advice, thank you. In reality the time factor is not as much of an issue in our house, where my work requires around 50% travel and lots of hours. I’m looking forward to being home more often.
Nick
My problem has not been finding good coffee beans but the machine. I have yet to experience a home coffeemaker that doesn’t brew total crap. Anyone find different?
Our Krups machine makes a mean brew. Of course I use 6 or so scoops of coffee… per pot. You can’t see through it either.
It has an espresso machine built in but after the first week of ownership I found the jitters lasting most of the day to be quite annoying.
Nick
Find the oldest, crappiest looking coffee pot you can. Garage sales are great spots to find em. Clean it up and you’ll be happy with the results. I don’t know why, but these newfangled coffee makers always make crap coffee. I think they spent more time building alarm clocks into them than they do thinking about making coffee.
Matt -
Have you tried a french press or a stove top espresso maker? I really loved the coffee in Spain made with the stove top espresso maker, and french press aficionados rave about them.
As for Dunkin’ Donuts - I have tried their coffee while in New England and all I have to say is “yuck”. Colored water comes to mind.
Personally, I really like the various Gevalia coffees. It’s a little pricey, but far cheaper than Starbucks or the like.