5 Ways to enjoy the holidays without destroying your budget

The holiday season usually comes with dedicated time off to spend with the ones we love. Instead of going into debt doing expensive activities or forgoing any festivities altogether, how about finding a middle ground? Here are some affordable ways to enjoy the holidays without destroying your budget.  

1. Explore low-cost activities in the city. Whether you live in a big city or a small town, there are usually several low-cost activities in the area to explore during the holidays. Check out winter decorations in the city and Christmas lights as you walk around your local area. Spend the weekend going ice skating at a park or visit an indoor rink. If you work for a corporation or are in involved in various community organizations, you can also check out company Christmas party or some holiday soirée filled with young professionals in the community. Search the internet, ask your friends, and skim your local newspaper to find out about various affordable activities in the city around the holidays.

2. Buy inexpensive, meaningful gifts for friends and family members. Gift giving is a great way to show our gratitude for others. Many times it can be quite rewarding. Instead of lamenting over the realization that we cannot purchase new Iphones, designer clothes, or hefty gift cards, why not purchase inexpensive meaningful gifts for the ones we love instead? If you need some ideas, try giving a Christmas basket filled with the person’s favorite desserts, a holiday stocking filled with pajamas, hot chocolate, and other trinkets they can use to relax and watch a holiday movie, or even gifting them framed photos of a happy memory, wine they’d enjoy, or a book they’d find intriguing.

3. Search for discounts on holiday travel. With the holidays usually comes lots of travel. Oftentimes, it’s the travel expenses that end up being putting a serious dent our budget. In order to prevent this from happening search for discounts. Look to see if you have earned any rewards points from credit cards or if you qualify for any discounts on transportation services like Uber or Lyft. You could also search Groupon for affordable travel packages and skim AirBnb for reasonably priced lodging options. Regardless of which route you take, spending a little time searching for travel discounts may be worth your while.

4. Enjoy holiday festivities on existing subscription services. In this current digital world, many of us have a variety of different ways we entertain ourselves. Whether it is listening to Apple Podcasts on the way to work, dancing to our favorite playlist on Spotify, laughing at the newest comedy on Hulu, or watching a popular movie on Netflix, we have a variety of subscription services we use for entertainment. The majority of them are either free or some inexpensive bill we pay each month. As we look for ways to enjoy the winter season in an affordable manner, why not make use of the things we already have? Whether it’s a Christmas playlist, holiday episodes of our favorite shows, or adorable Christmas movies from our childhood, we could all find ways to enjoy holiday festivities on the subscription services we already have.  

5. Participate in fun activities at home. If you’re looking for ways to enjoy the holidays without leaving the comfort of your home, there are several things you could try as well. You could decorate your home and Christmas tree as a family. If you’re like me and crave a good amount of social interaction, you could invite some of your close friends over to watch holidays movies and drink hot chocolate. You could even adopt the mindset of some of my coworkers by hosting a holiday potluck for some of your associates. Lastly, you could play fun holiday games, do puzzles, or bake cookies with your loved ones as well. Either way you spin it, there are fun and affordable things to do during the holidays at home.

Tell me, what are some ways you plan to enjoy the holidays that don’t require you to spend a lot of money?  

6 Meaningful Gifts for Family Members and Close Friends

With the holidays quickly approaching many of us may be brainstorming things to get our family members and friends for Christmas. As money savvy young professionals, we want to make sure we do this on a budget. Here are 6 affordable gift ideas for family members and close friends:

1. Christmas Eve basket. Instead of getting one large gift you hope they like, why not get them several small things you know they’d love? You could consider getting them a “Christmas Eve basket” full of items that will help them enjoy Christmas day even more. For your parents or siblings who spend the holiday surrounded by lots of people, you could fill the basket with pajamas, hot chocolate, candy, and a movie. For a close friend who uses the holiday to relax from stressful corporate job you could fill the basket with a large candle with a scent they’d love, book they’d enjoy, and a nice bottle of wine. If all else fails, you could always go to a bakery and get an assortment of their favorite desserts. Either way, filling a gift bag or Christmas basket with things they’d love could be a great gift that helps them enjoy the holiday even more.

2. Digital Photo frame/album for their home. Many of us love capturing family moments on our smartphones. Instead of keeping all of those memories on our phone why not display them in our home as well? I realize you may not want to go through the hassle of finding a place to print the photos so consider the alternative: getting a digital picture frame through which you can upload photos and display an 8.x10 slide show of some of your favorite photos and memories. I purchased one for my mom a couple years ago and she loved it. Instead of having to buy a frame for each photo, she had one nice frame that cycled through many different photos. Whenever I’m not in town or she misses my father, she sits on the couch and watches the digital photo frame cycle through some of her favorite family memories. Perhaps your family members and friends would enjoy that as well.

3. Custom kitchen or living room essentials. I love getting custom gifts for someone’s wedding or baby shower, but the Christmas holidays can be a good time to purchase them as well. Instead of buying your family members something you hope they like and haven’t already bought for themselves, why not get them a custom gift? If they like wine, buy some wine glasses with their name engraved on them. If they love to cook, get aprons with their name or photo displayed on the front. If it’s a close friend, you could even go to Walmart or Target and get a pillow or blanket with one of your favorite photos printed on the fabric. Whether it’s getting something engraved or getting a photo printed, you can usually find some home décor or kitchen item that can be customized or engraved to add a special touch for the holiday season.

4. Useful items they wouldn’t think to purchase themselves. What do you get someone who has all they need and can buy whatever they want? Something useful they wouldn’t think to get for themselves. As someone who has several family members with lucrative jobs, it can be difficult figuring out what the heck I’m going to get them for Christmas. Nowadays, I just think of affordable, useful items they wouldn’t think to purchase. For example, my father owns a small business and loves to read so one year I got him several of the highest rated business books. My brothers got tired of me complaining about how little sleep I got in med school so they chipped in and got me a super comfortable mattress topper so that the little sleep I did get was more restful. My uncles were always forgetting household items when they traveled out of town so my father bought them each travel kits filled with all the grooming items they’d need during trips away from home. Whatever it is for you and your loved ones, try to think of items they’d find useful but wouldn’t think to purchase for themselves.

5. Permission to reset. Sometimes the best part of the Christmas holidays is the break we get from our everyday lives and work schedule. Instead of gifts, your family members and friends may simply need help relaxing. If they love to read, consider getting them a novel they’d find interesting, a book written by their favorite celebrity, or a non-fiction piece on a topic of interest. If they have children or a stressful job, consider getting them a massage at the spa or a gift card to their favorite salon. If they enjoy fancy dinners or happy hour drinks, then consider buying them a bottle of bubbly or setting up a small dinner with food from their favorite restaurant. Sometimes the best gifts are those that help us relax.

6. Quality time doing things they enjoy. Some of our family members aren’t really the relaxing type. They are extremely extroverted and always on-the-go traveling or doing some activity in the city. For these people, consider getting them something to help them enjoy the holidays even more. Perhaps you can find discount tickets to one of their favorite sporting events or to a popular show at the theater. If they love to eat out or cook at home, you could consider booking a cooking class with a personal chef. If they are very creative, you could consider a couples painting class. If they are a lover of music, why not give them tickets for one of their favorite music artists. Sometimes the best gifts are ones that allow us to create new memories through unique experiences.

Tell me, what are some gift ideas you have for family members and close friends?

Affordable gifts for co-workers and associates

It’s that time of the year. Along with warmer clothes and holiday decorations, the Christmas season also calls for gifts. It’s the time of year where we buy things for others to show our gratitude for all they’ve done throughout the year. While we may be excited to purchase gifts for our family members and close friends, we may feel obligated to pick up a few things for our co-workers as well. Whether it’s a “Secret Santa” or organized “Gift Exchange,” you may be at a loss of what to actually buy that won’t break your bank. Aside from mugs that break before Christmas arrives, socks we lose the match to before the year even ends, or candles full of awkward scents we’d never want in our home, we may need some new ideas on affordable gifts for co-workers and associates. Checkout some ideas below:

1. A book they wouldn’t think to get for themselves. Everything isn’t for everyone. BUT…if your co-workers are like mine, they might enjoy a good book every now and then. Whether it’s a non-fiction piece that inspires them to be a greater, a novel that allows them to escape into another world, or Do-It-Yourself guides that turn them into better cooks or workout specialists, there is something for everyone. The key with gifting a book is to understand what that person would enjoy and buy them something they’d like but wouldn’t think to purchase for themselves. If your co-workers like NBA basketball, a book about Lebron James or Michael Jordan might be great. If they love movies, getting them a book written by their favorite actress or comedian might be good.

2. Wine they would enjoy. If your co-workers are anything like mine, they enjoy a nice glass of wine every so often. Although wine is a staple “dinner-party gift,” giving it away during the holidays is usually well-received. The key to buying a good bottle of wine is getting something that you yourself have tried and know is good. It’s not enough to buy any Chardonnay or Merlot, you have to get a wine type they’d like from a brand you trust. In my personal budget-friendly opinion, wine bottles under $8 are hit or miss and many wine bottles over $30 are over-rated. However, I can always find a good bottle for $10-15. If your co-workers tend to like sweeter wines, try a Riesling over a Moscato, it’s still relatively sweet and bubbly so it may be something they’d like but haven’t had before. If your co-workers like red wine, try giving them a “red blend.” It’s a combination of 3-4 classic red wine types that provide a rich flavor and a tasty finish. If all else fails, find a sales associate, tell them the type of wine you want, and ask him/her what the most popular bottle in your target price range is. 9 times out of 10 they will lead you down the path of success.

3. Custom cards with handwritten notes. While gifts can be great, it is often the thought and meaning behind the gift that counts even more. Many of my physician colleagues aren’t exactly hurting for money and can buy themselves whatever they like so I try to stay away from super expensive gifts and instead get them something more meaningful. In fact, my brother and I try to give out hand-written cards. I’ll buy a pack of blank cards with a cute stock photo or picture of my family, then write hand-written words of appreciation, detailing how special they are to me. While this may sound a bit cumbersome, they are well-received. We all love to be thanked and valued, these words of expression can mean more than you’d imagine.

4. Framed memories of happy times. I love to give photos. With things being so digital nowadays, many people have pictures on their phones but very few have actual prints. One of the things you can do is go to the photo booth at Target or Walmart, or even the local drug store and print out one of the photos on your phone. Then buy a cute picture frame and gift them a framed memory of some happy time you two shared. As my grandmother always said, giving someone a photo with a frame is not only proper etiquette but it virtually ensures that the photo will be displayed someone in their home or office. In other words, it has a more lasting effect. Plus, it’s pretty affordable. You can get a decent photo print and an 8x10 frame for under $15.

5. Intriguing desserts that delight the palate. One of my other affordable go-to-gifts for the holiday season is dessert! If you’re a great baker than put your skills to good use, but…if you’re like me in that you usually purchase pre-made mixes, hold that thought. Instead of baking something from a box, or giving someone pre-made cookies from the grocery store, why not give them a dessert they wouldn’t think to get for themselves. Use Yelp or Google to find some of the best bakeries and chocolatiers in your city. Purchase an assortment of some of the most popular items and have them put it in a little gift basket with holiday themed wrapping and some hot chocolate mixes. We all love sweet desserts around the holidays.

Tell me, what are some other affordable gifts you give for co-workers and associates?

5 Money Tips I Learned from My Parents

As we head into the holiday season, many of us will reflect on the things and people for which we are most grateful. For me, that’d be my parents. Not only were they kind enough to have me, their 3rd child after my two older brothers nearly drove them insane, but they also loved me unconditionally and attempted to teach me several life lessons that can be applied to my finances. Here are 5 money tips learned from my parents:

1. You don’t need to be rich to be happy. Unlike many of my physician colleagues who grew up in a family full of medical professionals, my upbringing was much different. With my mother working as a teacher and my father spending the early years of my life working as a non-tenured professor at the local community college, I didn’t grow up rich. Nevertheless, my childhood was amazing. I had plenty of friends in our neighborhood and school. I was extremely involved in our local church and a plethora of after-school activities. The bills were paid, my parents collaborated as a cohesive unit, and I had very few complaints. Finding contentment without being rich, isn’t that strange of a concept. A large analysis done a couple years ago showed that the ideal amount of money for emotional well-being is $75,000 per year. Most people reach peak satisfaction by making around $95,000 a year, but making more money than that can actually decrease your happiness.

2. Making more money may require you to sacrifice time with your family. Before my father started working as a professor, he was very involved in business. He was the general manager of a large department store by the age of 22 and was quickly moving up the corporate ladder soon afterwards. Despite the high pay and rapid promotions, 5 years later, he gave it all up.  He liked the work and got along well with his coworkers, but he quit to spend more time with his family. As he climbed the corporate ladder, he started spending more and more time away from home, away from my mother, and away from his children. He resented the fact that his own father was never home as he grew up and had vowed to more present with his own kids. After saving up a nice nest egg in a “transition account,” he quit his job. My father became a stay-at-home dad for 3 years while he launched his own small business and did some accounting work for his brother’s businesses. While I’m sure our family’s finances took a huge hit, my father will tell you it’s the best decision he ever made. He helped me do my homework each night, picked my brothers up from baseball practice each day, and ate dinner with us each night. He realized that quality time with family can make you happier than money ever will.

3. Live below your means. When I was about 12 years old, my father started working as an auditor within the federal government. With this job, came a substantial increase in pay. Within a few years he had paid off our home, our cars, and built up his retirement savings.  Despite this increase in income, our lives didn’t change much. My father only allowed us to get new clothes once a year, he refused to take us to restaurants with entrée prices over $25, and total Christmas gift spending was still capped at $150 per kid. We kept living in our 3 bedroom 2 bathroom house with furniture we’d had for well over 10 years. I thought this was crazy since we could afford to live more elaborately, but my father refused to budge. He believed in the art of saving for a rainy day and did not want his family to become materialistic or spoiled.

4. Invest in your kids and give to others. My parents wanted to make sure my brothers and I had a fulfilling childhood. We were involved in several sports, played band instruments, and spent a great deal of time forging strong bonds with our extended family. I’m sure many of these things were not cheap but instead of keeping it all to themselves, my parents choose to invest in their children. Along with using money on us, they were also firm believers in the virtue of generosity. As Christians, they gave 10% of their income to the church and donated additional money to various charities and organizations. Again, I’m sure this is money my parents could have used on a bigger home or fancier cars but instead they chose to invest in their kids and give to others. While my parents had fewer material things, they definitely gained more life satisfaction and appreciation for what they had by investing in their children and giving money to others.

5. Everyone’s definition of success is different. As I was deciding what field of medicine to specialize in, I faced a dilemma. The specialty I liked most (family medicine) wasn’t the one that was going to make me seem as smart and accomplished in front of others. It also wasn’t the one that was going to pay me the most money in comparison to other fields. After hearing me vent to him for nearly an hour about my “impossible decision,” my father said something I’ll never forget: “At some point, you have to let go of the opinions of others. At some point, you have to define happiness and success for yourself.” His words helped me see that success isn’t about having the most prestigious job and happiness doesn’t come from making the most money. We each have to determine what success means for us and find happiness in the simple things that fill us with joy, even if it looks different from someone else.

Tell me, what tips and words of advice did you learn from your parents or loved ones?

How I Prepare for Holiday Spending (and avoid credit card debt)

Now that the weather has started to cool and fall is almost over, the holiday season will be here before we realize it. While the winter holidays can be a joyful time full of new memories with loved ones, it can also be a source of stress and financial dismay. Many of us spend more money during the holiday season than other times of the year and it is this increase in spending that has the potential to negate all the progress we’ve made in previous months. In order to avoid credit card debt and maintain my financial goals I prepped for the holiday season by doing 4 things:

1. Look at how much money I spent in previous years. If I’m being completely honest, this is one of the first years I’ve gotten the courage to actually make and stick to a budget. In previous years I’d just buy what I felt I needed or wanted at the time and charge the extra on my credit card. Clearly this isn’t a winning strategy for financial success. In order to keep myself from making the same mistakes, I first needed to examine my spending. I looked back at old bank statements to see exactly how much I spent on gifts, travel, etc. Having a starting point for how much I spent last year helps me as I start thinking of areas where I can cut back and potentially save money this year.  

2. Estimate how much money I will spend this year. Once I have a starting point, I can then group my spending by category and anticipate how much I plan to spend this year. For example, last year I spent Christmas in Florida and had to factor in the cost of travel. This year I’m staying in my current city of Atlanta, so I know I’ll save some money this year on transportation. Last year I bought gifts for everyone in my immediate family and for a few cousins. This year I plan to do the same thing but may alter the amount I spend on each gift. As I continue to go through various categories of holiday spending (travel, decorations, gifts, food, clothes) I can determine a minimum and maximum amount I anticipate spending this year.

3. Create a savings account for holiday spending. Once I determine the max amount I plan to spend, I can then start planning accordingly. In previous years, I would run low on cash and be forced to buy things on credit. This year, I plan to avoid getting into debt by having saved up money ahead of time. About 4 months ago I started putting aside money into a “holiday spending savings account.” Since I know I’d be tempted to spend it on other things, I had the money automatically withdrawn from my main checking account so that I wouldn’t notice it was gone. I now have a nice little “nest egg” of money I can spend during the holidays without feeling guilty. It’s not a large sum, but it’s enough to keep me from racking up debt this holiday season.

4. Decide to stick to my budget and refuse to buy things on credit. As most financial gurus will attest: our financial status tends to be directly correlated to our habits. In order to put myself in a better position financially, I needed to alter my behavior and mindset around money. Instead of looking at credit cards as another way to access money and purchase things I can’t afford, I now view them as a monthly bill that must be completely paid off every 30 days. In other words, I try to not charge things on my credit card that I can’t afford to also pay for in cash. This shift in mindset has prevented me from accumulating credit card debt and helped me better prepare for holiday expenses.

Tell me, what ways do you prepare for the holiday season? What things do you do to minimize/avoid credit card debt during the holidays?

5 Ways I Maintain Some Work-Life Balance

One of the best things we can do for our careers is make sure we have work-life balance. Sometimes we can be so eager to “lean-in” and lead at our jobs that we fail to carve out time for family and life at home. While this may seem trivial, having balance between our personal lives and our professional careers can increase productivity and overall life satisfaction. As a resident physician who can work up to 80 hours a week, this can be challenging to accomplish. Here are some ways I’ve tried to muster more balance in my life:

1. Limit meetings and emails to business hours. As an ambitious medical professional who loves medicine, research, and health policy I am quite involved at work. There are several committees and organizations I’ve joined and numerous projects that require me to collaborate with other doctors. While these things bring me joy, they can consume my life if I’m not careful. One of the ways I’ve tried to handle this is by limiting in-person meetings and responding to emails during business hours. I might have to bend this rule on occasion for time-sensitive items, but for the most part I try to restrain from sending or answering work-related emails after 7pm. If I need to speak to someone on the weekend, I try to do it Saturday mornings so that I can have at least a day and half where I don’t have to worry about work.

2. Set expectations with patients/clients. As a primary care physician my job is to help manage a majority of the patient’s medical problems. This means I am constantly ordering labs, interpreting tests, and communicating with patients about a variety of different issues. At my residency program we even have a secure “patient portal” through which patients can send me messages, receive their test results, and ask me questions. While many patients love this system, it can lead to increased stress for physicians like myself. I am not given additional compensation for using the portal and often have to spend my “off-time” messaging patients and answering questions which reduces the quality time I have at home with my family. In order to achieve some sort of balance, I set expectations with my patients on the first visit. They know they can ask me questions on the portal but the response time will be 24-48 hours. All emergencies must go to an entirely different system. I will send test results but if patients have in-depth questions or medical concerns, they should schedule an in-person visit so that we can thoroughly address their problems. Setting these expectations make things clear for patients and allows me to live in the moment at home with fewer distractions.  

3. Have a reset day (or ½ a day) each week. Sometimes work can get so busy that everything else gets delayed. The dishes pile up, laundry isn’t folded, and the fridge starts to empty out. In order to minimize these times as much as possible, I schedule a reset day (or half a day) each week. For me, that day is usually Sunday. I get up, grab coffee and try to write blogs or articles for my website. I then get dressed and go to church. When the service ends, I go grocery shopping and come home to do laundry, sip a glass of wine, and watch a movie on Netflix. When the movie ends, I start to cook and meal prep for the week and usually end my day by reading part of book. This may sound trivial and basic but this is my reset day. For me, writing blogs is therapeutic and going to church helps me gain more optimism for my week ahead. The movie helps me relax and reading a book allows me to gain insight on things and temporarily escape from the stresses of my own life. This reset day is a must.

4. Maintain good personal health habits. The busier we get the easier it can be to forget about our own health. If we aren’t careful we can find ourselves constantly eating out, barely exercising, and mentally exhausted. To prevent this from occurring, I’ve tried my best to maintain good personal health habits. Before the week even starts, I take a look at my schedule and pinpoint days and times I might be able to fit in a run at the gym or a workout in my apartment. I spend the first 10 minutes of each day reading a small devotional and saying positive affirmations to begin my day as optimistic as possible. Lastly, I try to meal prep on weekends and prepare foods that are minimally processed with least 2 fruits/vegetables so that I ensure I’m getting most the nutrients I need to function at my best.

5. Schedule time with family and friends. As a person who loves to be social and interact with those I love on a consistent basis, I try to schedule time with my family and friends. At least once a month I try to have a Sunday dinner with my parents. Every other week, I spend time with my brothers either watching a football game or going to some sporting event. I even schedule time with my girl friends to go out to a movie or some social event in the city every few weeks. Since work can be demanding, I have to schedule time or it simply won’t happen. This means planning ahead and keeping things organized on my phone calendar.

Tell me, what are some things you do to maintain work-life balance in your career?

6 Affordable Ways to Practice Self-Care

As a doctor who works up to 80 hours a week, self-care is a must. In order for me to thrive in my career, it’s imperative that I avoid burnout by practicing good mental health. Since I’m still in residency and haven’t started making the “big bucks” just yet, I need to do this on a budget. Here are six affordable ways I practice self-care:

1. Prioritize “Me” Time. A few nights a week, I disconnect from social media, forgo optional meetings, and put my phone away to have time by myself. Sometimes I read a few chapters in a book, watch a movie on Netflix, or go for a run on the treadmill. Regardless of the method, this “me” time allows me to let my guard down and gives me a chance to recoup any energy I might have lost during the work day. Plus, it’s completely free.

2. Schedule “Self-care” days. Along with “me” time, I also have at least one “self-care” day each month. During these days I usually treat myself to a pedicure at the nail salon or get a massage at the spa. I also catch up on some personal grooming or schedule an appointment at the hair salon and zone out as someone else washes and styles my hair. When the weather permits, I’ll spend the afternoon reading a book by the pool or going for a walk in the park. These self-care days help me relax and are affordable things I fit into my monthly budget.

3. Have a “Ladies Night” As a self-proclaimed “social butterfly,” I love hanging out with my friends. Unfortunately, my work schedule as a physician doesn’t allow me much time for that. When I was a medical student, I would have a “wine night, ladies’ night” once or twice a month. We’d grab a couple bottles of Trader Joe’s wine and listen to music or watch a movie on Netflix. Now that I’m a doctor, it’s a little more challenging to schedule but I’ve tried other ways to make it work. Every few weeks on one of my day’s off, I make plans with some of girlfriends to go out to movie or a bar. Usually this is some free or relatively inexpensive meetup since we are also trying to stay within a budget, but scheduling time to dance or hangout with my girlfriends is definitely something I look forward to each month.

4. Indulge in “Simple Pleasures.” Sometimes am so exhausted that I barely want to leave my house, let alone socialize with others. During these nights, I find it helpful to ‘indulge in the simple pleasures” or find little things that will make me happy in the most trying of circumstances or stressful days. For me, that’s having glass of red wine with a piece of dark chocolate, taking a bubble bath with ocean sounds in the background, or even watching a cheesy Hallmark movie with freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. Before I started residency, I wrote down a list of 30 simple pleasures that make me happy and I indulge in one of these things on the days or nights I feel the most stressed.

5. Do an “Activity of the Month.” About 90% of my days consist of eating, sleeping and working, but every now and then I try to change things up a bit. When I finally get a full day off, which can be rare as a resident physician, I try to make them count. Once a month my friends and I plan an “activity of the month.” One month we all went to a Korean Sauna, in July we went to one of the city’s young professional social events, next month we’re planning to go horseback riding. These things are quite affordable, and we often use Groupon for discounts. Knowing I have a fun activity planned with friends helps me get through the week and gives me something to look forward to during those long hospital shifts.

6. ”Recharge” with people you love. Even with my self-care days, me-time, simple pleasures, and activity of the month, I can still feel drained. It is during these occasions, that I do other things to help me recharge. Usually this involves spending time with people I love. I’ll call my best friends in other states, watch a football game with my brothers or make time to have Sunday dinner with my parents. Whether you spend time with a significant other, see family, or talk to friends, sometimes the best way to practice self-care is to be around those we love. 

Tell me, what affordable ways do you practice self-care?

5 Pro Tips I'd Give My Younger Self:

1. Realize personal finance is important. Despite what we may have been told about our careers and future high incomes, how we manage our money now matters a lot more than we may think. A lot of us are falling into a danger zone of being okay with rapidly accumulating student loans, credit card debt, and never-ending car payments which is a very VERY scary place to be.

   How we spend our money today, can drastically alter our quality of life a few years from now. The last thing you want to do is be in your mid-40s still complaining about the student loan debt your friends and family forgot you had, picking up extra shifts at a job you hate to avoid racking up even more credit card debt than you already have. DO BETTER.

2. Figure out how much you spend each month. I cannot stress how much my life changed when I actually set down and tried to create a monthly budget. Regardless of how “simple” it is, I can tell you that 90% of my med school classmates didn’t have one.

   As a med student life was so stressful studying for organ systems tests, clinical rotation exams, or Step 1 of the US Medical Licensing Exam that you barely have time to wash dishes, let alone try to understand finance. Most of my us just filled out a FAFSA form each year and magically received money from the government that covered our tuition and basic living expenses. We’d pay our rent, buy the food we wanted, and then realize we’re suddenly broke when the semester was about to end and our account balance dwindled. We’d sweat it out for a month trying to make ends meet, then fill out another finance form (aka FAFSA) and “magically” more money appeared in our bank account. Rinse. Wash. Repeat.

   No one told me not to over-spend my loan money on the post-board exam vacation I felt I deserved. No one stressed the importance of resisting the urge to “treat yo’self” during happy hour or a colleague’s birthday dinner.

   I am not saying you can’t do these things, but I want to stress making a budget because I’d bet that most graduate students and young professionals have no idea how much money they are actually spending each month. I know I didn’t. I mean I knew I was broke because I kept filling out loan applications every year, but I honestly couldn’t tell you my overall loan balance. Heck, I couldn’t even tell you my debit card balance. Don’t be as naïve as I was, DO BETTER.

3. Minimize the interest rates on the loans you have. The money you borrow now will cost you much more in the future. Let that sink in. The higher the interest rate, the more money you will pay back later. When you borrow $30,000 for school, you pay back closer to $40,000 later (assuming a 7% interest rate that you pay back over 10 years). That’s $10,000 extra you’re paying just in interest.

   You can minimize this by not borrowing as much in the first place and by lowering the interest rate on the loans you currently have. If you have credit card debt, simply call your bank and ask if they can lower the interest rate on your credit card. Yes, it really is that easy.

4. Spend less! We all want to look good, feel well, and vacation like a champ. Trust me I get it. I get envious when I see the Instagram photos of my med school classmates or work colleagues taking another extravagant vacation I cannot afford. It’s hard not to let the positive balance in my bank account distract me from the big fat NEGATIVE sitting in front of my net worth.

   As a med student, the student loan money sitting in my debit account was fictitious. It tricked me into believing I was richer than I was or that I can afford things I knew I couldn’t. When I finally had to face the big fat loan balance alongside my car payment and expanding credit card debt, I realized I needed to make a change.

   I knew I didn’t have much self-discipline so I had to stay far away from the malls. I deleted the text alerts of new “sales” from my favorite clothing stores, resisted the urge to buy a new outfit for weekend outings, and started cooking more meals at home. Before I knew it, I had changed my spending habits and paid off my car.

5. Practice self-discipline and delayed gratification. For the love of God and all things man please break your expensive habits. Mine was wine and lots of it. I liked it red, aged, and expensive. It just tasted better. But man was it costing me.

   I was spending at least $15 a week on wine, which doesn’t sound like much but when spread that across 52 weeks a year that amounts to $780. I mean I was spending nearly $800 on alcohol! This was going to cost me closer to $1000 when I paid it all back, since I was buying the wine with my student loan money. What a waste.

   Every year for Lent I tried to give it up and the day Lent ended I picked back up the habit. Don’t be me. Curve your habits. Do not waste money you don’t have on things you don’t need. Granted there is a balance, but graduate school is not the time to be treating yo’self to wine and fancy dinners every other week. Face it. We aren’t rich…yet. Quit pretending you have more money than you actually do. Practice self-discipline so you can get out of debt and start building your net worth.

Tell me, what ways have you started practicing self-discipline? What things are you going to try to spend less on this month?