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3 Month Debt Free Journey Update
Three months ago, Mark and I made the decision to start our debt-free journey in earnest. At the time, we had about $15,000 in credit card debt, about $100,000 in student loan debt between the two of us and $150,000 left on the mortgage. We traded in both of our Nissans (one of which was still being financed) for a fully paid off 2017 Toyota Prius, which reduced our car insurance costs, reduced our gas costs and got rid of our car payments. I will share more on our car purchase in an upcoming post. We stopped using the credit cards and planned to have them all paid off…
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Cinnamon Rolls
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Reflections on a Lab Rotation
I have just completed my second lab rotation of the program. Because we are dual degree candidates pursuing both an MD and a PhD, we rotate with different labs before we choose which ones to join, like other PhD students, but only during the summer breaks. Medical School studies remain largely undisturbed for the most part. We have journal club meetings, lunch seminars and MSTP dinners during the school year, but those commitments are minimal so that we can focus on Med School Stuff. I completed my first rotation the summer before M1 (last summer) with a PI (Principal Investigator) that I really liked. His research was everything I wanted…
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Baby Step #2: Debt Snowball
Baby Step #2: Debt Snowball If the title didn’t give it away, we have officially hopped on the Dave Ramsey bandwagon. https://www.youtube.com/user/DaveRamseyShow Mark and I are getting married in December with plans to start a family in the next couple of years, but being in debt makes me uneasy. In addition to the mortgage we just acquired a few months ago for our condo, we have student loans and consumer debt to pay off. I am not as worried about the credit cards because we usually pay those off pretty quickly. I am, however, worried about the more than $100,000 in student loans that we have in total (yay! Master’s…
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Cinnamon Rolls
It is irrelevant that it was both hot outside and less than six months until I need to wear a strapless ball gown on my wedding day. Mark and I wanted to make Cinnamon Rolls yesterday, so we did. We made them a little healthier by adding crushed walnuts and flax seeds in the filling for healthy fats, along side a heavy helping of butter, cinnamon and brown sugar. The icing was also present in full force. Who cares if I want to eat two cinnamon rolls for breakfast? I will just have a kale smoothie on the side, eat two balanced meals, skip dessert and everything balances out.…
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3 Month Debt Free Journey Update
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Apartment Hunting in Chicago
Apartment Hunting in Chicago. Mark and I are officially renters! We visited Chicago a few weeks ago to check out the city and find a place to live. Since Mark is still busy with school and far away from me in Georgia, I took the lead on researching great areas to live and locating two bedroom apartments within our price range. I started looking at apartment listing websites in January for an April/May lease, so I guess you could call me eager or excited. I heard about how the rental market is competitive in Chicago, and it made me a little bit anxious. Down here (Florida), there are mostly apartment…
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Visiting Chicago
Visiting Chicago. Mark and I are entering into a new and very exciting phase of our life together. We are transitioning from an almost three-year long-distance relationship to a no-distance relationship. I am moving to Chicago to start medical school and Mark is joining me in the third largest city in America! We are moving at the end of May, so we have about five months to get organized, find a place to live and move. I have been doing some looking around on those apartment search websites to get a sense of what we can get for our money. We have student loans to pay off and our income…
