"Live like a student while you're in school...

... and you won't have to live like a student later."

As Matt and I were filling out the endless financial aid paperwork, the always super fun FAFSA form, student loan promissory notes, and entrance counseling online classes, we found a ton of information on medical school and debt. We punched numbers into this loan repayment calculator, searched Federal Stafford Loan interest rates (6.8% for graduate school), and made spreadsheets detailing living costs, tuition, books and lab fees. Ok, he made spreadsheets :) I'm planning to write a more complete post on the finances of medical school, but the point is, medical school = debt. But, I'm one of the lucky ones because my husband has a good job and we can decrease our loans by living off of his salary! I still need to pay for tuition... but I won't need to take out loans for rent, cable, or electric.

This past weekend we took the first step as a "single income family" and moved from a lovely rowhome with 900 square feet of space to a brand new apartment with a footprint of 550 square feet. When we told our rowhome neighbor we were moving he said, "Well you can't get much smaller than these houses." In unison Matt and I replied, "yeah... ya can." We spent the weekend putting boxes into three piles: apartment, goodwill, mom & dad's basement (they thought they got rid of Matt's things when he moved out... sorry!). It will be like Christmas when (in 4 years) we open the boxes of all the things we don't have room for now! By getting creative with storage (like an ottoman you can put blankets and pillows in), putting up shelving in closets (all 2 of them!) and agreeing to remain organized and put things away, we are transforming into apartment dwellers. And I must say, I love our new place! It's cozy and comfortable and us.

Ok, so it's not exactly the college lifestyle :) We still need to get pictures on the walls, but our dishes and furniture match, there are no stains on the carpets or empty beer bottles or pizza boxes to trip over. It's a little tight, but we are making it work now so we don't have crazy debt later. Thanks to Matt for "living like a student" with me.