How to Get Money for Moving Expenses

It’s late spring. This means lots of med students and physicians are preparing to start new jobs or hoping to advance forward in their current one. This is an exciting time, but it can be stressful as well, especially when it comes to finances. Gathering money for moving expenses, housing costs, as well as basic living expenses can be quite daunting. As someone who is moving across the country to start a fellowship myself, I completely understand the sentiment. When people ask me about ways to get money for all these expenses here are the 4 things I tell them:

1.     Moonlighting. As a physician one of the things we know how to do is work. Moonlighting is when we as doctors work extra shifts for added pay. Some people work in the hospital, others work in the urgent care, some even take call from home. Each employer has their own set of rules or stipulations regarding moonlighting but if your program allows it, working a little extra to cover the cost of moving expenses can be a great way to earn extra cash. 

2.     Uber/Lyft/Doordash/Amazon. Some folks, especially med students may not have the credentials to moonlight or work extra shifts. If that’s the case for you, there are other options to consider. You can try driving for Uber or Lyft or even sign up for food and package delivery services like Amazon and Doordash. While these jobs may not be the highest paying, the flexible hours may be a great fit for your busy schedule. 

3.     Monetize your talents. I’m a huge fan of having multiple income streams and encourage all young professionals to do so as well. Perhaps there’s a skill you have that other people would pay you to learn? For example, some of my friends are good at tennis and charge others for tennis lessons. I also have friends who are great at cooking and charge their friends for meal preps or who are great at photography and charge others for headshots. Can you think of a skill you have that you can monetize? If so, let your med school classmates or co-residents know and get started!

4.     Get a side hustle. Side hustles can be great. They are jobs that we do for others or passion projects that we make money from. For example, some people have started a blog or podcast and charged companies for ads. Other people do some consulting on the side. Some folks make money from social media or act as ambassadors for other companies. Think of ways to leverage what you know or who you know in order to bring in some extra cash.

5.     Personal Loans. When all else fails and you need some money quickly, you can always consider a loan. I’m not a huge fan of taking out debt you don’t need, but even I had to borrow money at some point, especially when I was waiting on my first residency paycheck. Moving can be expensive and trying to get money for housing and living expenses can require cash that you may not have on hand. As long as you don’t take out more than you need, getting a personal loan at a low interest rate can be quite beneficial. While there are several companies that may offer relocation loans, Doc2Doc is a company for physicians by physicians that offers loans at low interest rates to graduating med students and physicians. If you have a pressing need for cash, these types of personal loans can be a great option as well.

Want a Side Hustle? Try these ideas

Of note, this blog was initially written and published on Doximity Op-Med and can be found here.

It’s 2020 and many of us are more motivated than ever. We want to get fit, eat healthier, and continue to survive residency. While these are noteworthy goals, consider one more thing: making money doing something you love…outside of medicine. Aka, start a side hustle. If you’re unsure of where to start, here are a few side gigs to pursue as a resident: 

Start a Blog

For those who love to write, consider starting a blog. Doing so has relatively low startup costs, if anything at all. Once you get a unique website domain, you can use a pre-formed template via platforms like Wordpress or SquareSpace to create a website or blog for little to no money. Although it can be daunting initially, starting a blog will allow you to create a platform and accumulate a following through which you can express yourself. I was very nervous when I started my own blog Career Money Moves, but I’m so glad I did. Doing so allowed me to garner a unique list of email subscribers that I can market to directly and communicate with on a regular basis. Plus, I eventually got approached by sponsors who offered to pay me for advertisements, allowing me to make money doing something I enjoyed. 

Launch a Podcast

It’s 2020 and many people believe podcasting is the new blogging. There may be limited times where we are free enough or focused enough to read an entire book or blog post, but there are plenty of places where we can listen to a podcast. Since you can record episodes on the smartphone you already own, the startup costs are quite low. Why not launch one of your own? Doing so will allow you to curate an audience of people through which you can share your views on a growing platform. There’s no rule dictating how frequently you have to record. You can do it on your own time, whenever you have time. AND, you can talk about whatever you want, whether that’s your career, your hobbies, or your personal take on various issues and life events. 

Write a Book

If publishing blogs or recording podcasts on a regular basis sounds like too big of a commitment, why not consider an alternative: writing a book. Although this can seem impractical, it may not be as difficult as you think, especially if you break it up into sections and have a goal of writing one chapter a month. Some people have found it manageable to work on a book during their down time at work or late at night as they unwind from their day. Writing on a topic you enjoy will likely make the writing process even more enjoyable. If you’ve managed to find peace in your life despite many commitments, write about work-life balance. If you managed to stay sane while raising toddlers, write about parenting in medicine. If you’ve managed to successfully create a business, build a high net worth, practice medicine through locums, or do something unique in your specialty, write about that. Being able to author something you love and sell the finished product may result in an additional income and lead to other lucrative opportunities such as paid speaking engagements, television appearances, or exclusive business groups.

Leverage Business on Social Media

If writing isn’t your thing and launching a podcast seems like too much work, consider making money from social media. Many of us are on Instagram or Facebook for free already, so why not get paid to use these platforms? If you like making videos, consider starting a YouTube channel. If you love beauty and fashion, why not review products on Instagram? If you’re passionate about a particular industry or topic, consider setting up your own Facebook group to discuss various topics of interest. Either one of these ideas allows you to create a platform by which you can build a network of people. You can then leverage that network to attract companies or advertisers that will pay you money for access and influence. 

Start Consulting

A consultant is someone who charges a fee to provide advice or guidance in a particular area. While you may not consider yourself an “expert,” you certainly have life experiences and higher education in areas others do not. Why not leverage that knowledge in a way that brings you more income? As a doctor, you can tutor pre-med students taking the MCAT or charge to proofread personal statements. If you are good with technology or have studied computer science, create software programs or website templates for new business owners. If you work in sales, provide specialized marketing strategies for new authors and young entrepreneurs. 

Freelance Work in the Arts

I’m very analytical, but there are many people who are extremely creative. If you are one of those people, use your creativity to establish an additional revenue stream. Maybe you like to paint and can create art to sell at various shows and exhibits. If you like to cook, consider hosting cooking classes for young couples, selling recipes on various forums, or even making your own cookbook. If you love to take pictures, you could become the go-to photographer for your colleagues’ holiday functions, weddings, or family Christmas cards. If you love to do hair and makeup, you can lend your services to those of us who struggle with our hair or desire different looks for fancy events. 

Moral of the story? Find something you’re interested in and enjoy doing outside of medicine. Then figure out how to leverage that interest in a way that brings you money. Although many people could work overtime at their job to make more money, doing so may not be as enjoyable and may even cause them to burn out from their career unexpectedly. The great thing about establishing a side gig or lucrative hobby is that oftentimes it’s something we enjoy. When you are paid to do things you love and enjoy, the “work” is less stressful, you’re happier, and your pockets are fuller.

4 Reasons you should start a side hustle

As young professionals we have a lot on our plate. We work crazy hours under high-stress conditions with limited time off. Although getting better at our jobs and making time for our families can be a feat in and of itself, I challenge you to consider 1 more thing this year: start a side hustle.

Starting a side hustle allows you to:

1. Explore one of your interests which may add balance to your life.  Outside of our careers, many of us have hobbies we enjoy and other skills we are good at. Instead of keeping these interests a secret or putting them on the back burner, why not explore them even more? Many of us know people who were working full time in their career, but launched a successful podcast on the side or started a coaching business. Perhaps some of our colleagues also work as weekend photographers or hair stylists in their free time. Some of the people we knew in college may have even dabbled in real estate, become public speakers, or authored a book. You can do something like that too. Whatever it is you choose, these additional things, outside of our careers, allow us to explore other interests and may add more balance to our lives.

2. Relieve stress and prevent burnout. As our careers become even more demanding and the work hours pile up, we can find ourselves feeling over-burdened. Although no job is completely void of stress, there are things we could do to decrease the stress we feel or at least lower its impact on our overall health. Oftentimes exploring our other interests, whether its art, photography, music, writing, speaking, or even exercising allows us to gain a new skill or explore a hobby that can decrease the stress we feel at our job.  

3. Standout from other young professionals and make yourself more marketable. As we enter this new decade in the age of social media and internet marketing, good branding is essential. While being competent at your day job is important, having multiple skills and things that you do well can help differentiate you from others. As you begin to stand out, you will likely garner more interest from other clients and patients which can lead to even more opportunities and higher levels of influence in both your main career and your side hustles.

4. Add additional revenue stream(s). One of the best things about exploring other hobbies and become skilled in multiple areas is that it could put extra money in your pocket. With the proper marketing, these skills and hobbies can open up additional doors for us and lead to lucrative opportunities and sponsorships that could be a reliable second or third source of income. Although your day job may pay you well, creating an additional revenue stream from a hobby or task you enjoy can increase your monthly income and make you less reliant on your day job. Plus, getting paid to do something you enjoy, and are good at, can make you even happier and increase your overall life satisfaction.

My point? Although our jobs are noble and can be rewarding in and of themselves, consider branching out a little. Think of other hobbies you enjoy or skills you possess and explore them even more. Doing so might add more enjoyment to your life and prevent you from burning out in your career. It could also help you stand out from others and may even lead to bigger and more lucrative opportunities in the future.

Tell me, would you consider pursuing a side hustle in 2020?

Money Moves I Should Have Made As a Grad Student

As the saying goes, “Hindsight is 20/20.” Looking back over my time as both a grad student and a medical student there are a few things I wish I would have done differently to put myself in a better position financially.

1.     Set up automatic withdrawals for recurring monthly payments. This may seem obvious, but as a female in her early twenties who did not have much experience paying bills, this was not common sense to me. I didn’t like the idea of money coming out of my account automatically and always feared that an if an emergency occurred I might need the money that had already been automatically deducted.  As a result, I would often rely on my memory and attempt to pay my credit card bill, car note, and cable bill on time. Unfortunately, that didn’t work too well.  

I would occasionally forget to send a payment in by the due date and have to call the company in a panic to pay over the phone and beg to get the late fee removed. After a few months, I started setting alerts in my phone to remind me of the payments. This worked well most of the time, but I still missed a few payments. Not because I did not have the money, but because sometimes I would be busy doing something else when the alert would go off. I would then silence the alarm notification and forget to pay the bill later. Finally, I let go of my pride, saved up a small emergency fund to ease my worries, and set up monthly automatic withdrawals. The moment I did that, my life got so much easier. I started doing that about 3 years ago and I don’t think I have missed any payments since then. I paid off my car shortly afterwards and my credit score improved. It’s amazing how much better things got when I relied less on my memory to pay monthly expenses.

2.     Cancel unnecessary [cable] subscriptions. You may be already doing this, but I’ll be honest and say I was not. Many people do not rely on cable and would rarely use it if they had it. I am NOT that person. I love tv. Not because I have an abundance of time to watch it, but because when I can spare a few minutes watching it, I’m better able to relax. I love being able to come home and marvel at the homes on HGTV, watch old comedies to get my mind off of a stressful day, and cheer on my beloved Duke Blue Devils during basketball season. Cutting cable was never something I even remotely considered. From my perspective, it was a necessary stress reliever and source of enjoyment.

Instead of just accepting this as fact and sending Cox Cable $100 a month, I should have done more research. It wasn’t until I was a 4th year medical student that I learned about services like YouTube TV which would allow me to watch live TV for around $35 a month. It also wasn’t until I was 4th year med student that I learned Hulu was free with my $5 student-Spotify account and had a live TV option that was cheaper than cable. If I had simply done more research sooner, I could have saved hundreds of dollars and still maintained my same standard of living. If only I could go back in time...

3.     Consider side hustles for additional cash. As a medical student I could not work. In fact, I think they made me sign some form agreeing to not accept any full-time positions as a student. As a 4th year medical student, I had much more time than I had the previous 3 years of medical school and should have considered side hustles or other ways to increase my cash flow. When I graduated, I desperately wanted to travel the world and make the most of my freedom before starting my first hospital job, but I also needed money for moving expenses. Having money saved from babysitting or some other side hustle would have been very useful.

Ironically enough, some of my friends who had already started their respective careers, told me about things they were doing to supplement their income and fund their tropical vacations. One was getting paid to test out new hair products on Instagram. Another was teaching English to kids online and tutoring current students on academic subjects she had mastered. A few others had created online blogs that were starting to gain traction, offering personal training services to people trying to get fit, and making diet plans for clients seeking to change their eating habits. I even knew of someone who charged people for consulting advice on how to manage finances and invest in the stock market. Regardless of the route, I wish I started thinking about my potential side hustle earlier. Even though I am starting my career as doctor, the high-paying salary is still years away and I needed cash sooner rather than later. Having a side hustle is a great solution to that problem.

4.     Make friends with people who are good with money. We pick up habits and emulate the behavior of our friends. Although the people in my life are amazing, I did not have anyone close to me who was “money savvy.” Most of us were in the same boat with similar spending habits. In fact, with my background in finance and passion for investing, I was the person all of my friends went to whenever they had questions about money. I wasn’t necessarily lacking in knowledge, I simply needed someone to help me implement some of the wise money practices I wanted to create.

I wanted a person around me who had actually created a budget they could stick to without getting discouraged. Someone who would caution me to think twice before splurging on a dress I didn’t need and advise me not to purchase overpriced food from restaurants that I could make at home. Since I didn’t have this ideal person, I decided to seek it out in the people closest to me. I started talking to my brother who showed me a few budgeting tools and apps that could help keep me motivated along the journey. I then let my friends know about my savings goals and we all made a pact to save and invest a similar amount of money each month. Having this kind of accountability and support has helped me so much. I wish I had thought of this sooner.

Tell me, was this helpful? What money moves do you wish you had made as a college student?