Budgeting in Medical School — What You Should Know

By Sarah Netter | Published on October 21, 2025

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Rice and beans are a lunch and dinner staple for Sean Kiesel. He knows which station sells the cheapest gas. And the temperature in his house stays between 62 and 65 degrees in the winter to save on heating costs.

Kiesel, a fourth-year medical student studying osteopathic medicine, and his wife have become pros at cutting costs wherever they can to be able to afford the massive bills and six-figure debt that are par for the course in obtaining a medical degree.

“It is incredibly tough. My wife and I were very lucky enough that we were really strict with budgeting and we kind of had a real good financial sense beforehand,” he said in an interview with Earnest.

Setting a budget right out of college is a crash course in adulting for any young professional. But med students and residents face extra financial burdens of paying off costly medical school loans, undergraduate loans, exam fees, and interview costs — all while juggling a high-pressure residency.

The cost of a medical degree

The average cost of attendance for medical school at a public university is around $52,000 per year, including tuition, fees and health insurance, for an in-state resident. The average cost for private, non-resident med students runs more than $65,000 per year. That’s a massive cost for a medical education.

The mean student loan debt for doctors is around $283,483. That’s more than seven times higher than the average national student loan debt,which is currently up to $40,681 per student.

Then there is the medical residency, which lasts for three to seven years, depending on the type of medicine you’re studying. After finishing med school, aspiring doctors are also on the hook for the thousands of dollars it takes to interview for residencies, plus their licensing fees.

“Nobody really understands how much every step of the way costs,” said Kiesel. “I think it’s just all the extra little things that people don’t realize, beyond just tuition. It’s not built into your loans and you just have to make it work.”

Kiesel, who was in Arkansas for his third year of med school, moved back home to Utah for this fourth year of med school so that he could be within driving distance of residency interviews in Utah, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, and Arizona. He is planning for about 15 residency interviews.

Typically, each interview costs hundreds, if not thousands of dollars in travel costs between airfare, gas, hotels, and food. But by driving and staying as local as possible for interviews, Kiesel said he’s hoping to spend around $200 per interview, or about $3,000 total.

“A lot of people end up taking out personal loans to cover the cost of residency applications,” he said. “I know somebody last year that took out a personal loan to the tune of about ten grand to cover all these expenses.”

Kiesel estimates he will begin his career with upwards of $300,000 in student loan debt. While he will pay what he can to cover the interest during residency, Kiesel said he plans to start tackling the debt hard once his residency is over and try to knock it out as soon as he can.

Budgeting tips from doctors

The median salary for a physician in the U.S. is $239,200, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. But medical residents earn, on average, around $63,000 per year. While residents in family, internal and emergency medicine bring in less — between $58,000 to $61,500, on average — specialties such as plastic surgery and pathology can bring in as much as $69,500 per year on average.

There are numerous financial aid options. Many med students use federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans and Direct PLUS Loans to cover their medical education. Private student loans are another option, as are medical school scholarships. You can use funds from most of these sources to cover living expenses while you’re in your medical school or residency. But the most effective way to keep your cash flow in check is to build yourself a budget — and stick to it. Here are a few tips for smart money management while you’re in medical school.

Track all your expenses

If you’re new to budgeting, the first thing you should do is sit down with your credit card statements and bank statements and tally up everything you spend in an average month. (If you haven’t started school yet, ask your financial aid office if they have any tools to help you estimate living expenses for the coming academic year.) See what categories tend to be your most costly — likely rent, groceries, and transportation — and what categories you can cut back on. Can you cancel subscription services? Eat out less? Take on an extra roommate to cut back on rent costs?

“If you do things like pay for lattes daily, have a pet, get your hair blown out for job interviews, fly out to friends’ weddings, buy extra lives on video game platforms, use Amazon Prime, and other personal expenses, you have to have line-items for these in your budget,” said De, another medical student, in an interview with Earnest.

Come up with a goal amount you’d like to spend in each category every month. You can record all these amounts in a budget worksheet (such as the one offered by AAMC) or in a DIY budget spreadsheet. You can also use an app to help you keep track of your spending. Many modern budgeting apps will let you connect your credit card and debit card accounts and give you real-time updates to let you know if you’re overspending.

Be smart about your borrowing

If you’re still taking out new loans for medical school, be smart about where those loans are coming from. First, max out your federal student loans. Then look into private loans.

Keep in mind that private graduate school loans are sometimes less expensive than federal Graduate PLUS Loans, though private loans don’t offer the same borrower protections. Make sure to shop around among lenders to make sure you’re getting the best deal possible. If you don’t qualify for low interest rates on your private student loans, consider looping in a cosigner to help you secure a lower rate.

Look for scholarships

Contrary to popular belief, scholarships aren’t just available to first-year med school students. Many organizations offer med student scholarships to all kinds of medical students. So, keep applying for scholarships throughout your medical school career. Also consider asking your school’s financial aid office about institutional scholarships and other forms of financial aid you might qualify for.

Keep your credit card spending in check

It can be tempting to open a bunch of new credit cards while you’re attending medical school. It can also be tempting to put all your purchases on your cards to take advantage of perks, points, and bonuses. But excessive credit card spending is a big personal-finance no-no, especially when your income isn’t keeping pace. Be careful only spend what you have the cash to pay off right away. Pay off your cards in time and in-full each month, too — otherwise, you could end up paying off credit card debt on top of your student loan debt.

Spend money wisely on food and groceries

Food is a major place to cut back on spending, Kiesel said. In addition to his rice and bean meals, Kiesel bought meat in bulk and then stretched it out between recipes. De saved money by forgoing alcohol most of the time and couponing. Both avoided eating out whenever possible.

Take advantage of residency perks

“I lived in grad student housing with roommates,” De said. “Good residency programs also have a smartphone allowance. You need it for work because someone might call you with a question about your patient.” Taking advantage of these perks can help you save on rent and phone bills — two recurring expenses that might otherwise eat away at your budget.

Get creative about travel costs

In addition to driving to his residency interviews, Kreisel said he’s planning on “couch-hopping” with friends and family as much as possible to avoid paying for hotels.

De, on the other hand, took advantage of travel rewards to help pay for her flights. “I am very good at leveraging regular bills to generate frequent-flier miles,” she said, “so that helped with any travel.”

Be smart about life’s little luxuries

It’s easy to get carried away by making extreme cuts to your budget, but not everyone can live on just rice and beans for every meal. The important thing is to make sure your budget feels sustainable — not to sacrifice your well-being by getting too severe.

“If you consistently break a budget category and that item makes your life easier or happier, try to restrict another one,” De said. “Perhaps keep the Lyft rides home from the lab for safety, but ditch the cable bill. You can split YouTubeTV with five people, and it works out to almost nothing.”

Look into student loan forgiveness options

There are also several options for medical loan forgiveness programs, including service and employer-based programs, as well as those through the government and military. During the job-search process, be sure to ask hospitals or practices what kinds of employer-sponsored repayment plans they offer, if any. Or consider the American Association of Family Phsicians (AAFP) program list.

Consider refinancing your loans

If you’re struggling to afford your current student loan payments, you may want to consider refinancing¹. Refinancing can help you lower your monthly payment, which can help you free up room in your budget to cover other monthly expenses². If your financial situation has improved since you first took out your loans, you may also qualify for a lower interest rate. That could help you save money over the long term and potentially pay off your debt more quickly.

If you have federal loans, you might want to consider consolidating them instead of refinancing. That’s because federal student loan consolidation will help you maintain eligibility for student loan forgiveness, deferment, forbearance, and other federal perks. But if you don’t expect to use any of those programs, and saving money is your number-one priority, refinancing could be the way to go. Kiesel, for example, said he plans to refinance his high-interest government loan with a lower-interest private loan when he graduates.

Think medical loan refinancing might be right for you? Your first step is to start shopping for lenders. Look for lenders who offer low or no fees, have stellar customer service, and offer the kinds of repayment options that will work for your schedule. Earnest, for example, never charges late fees or prepayment penalties of any kind. Want to see how much you could save? Check your rate for free today.

About the Author

Sarah Netter

Sarah Netter is a writer whose work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and ABC News.