Thrifty Medical Students

During 2008, our students were asked how they saved money. Here were their responses:

• "I go clothes shopping at the thrift store. I especially like finding stores in wealthy areas because their donated merchandise is in better condition. I like Village Thrift of Ohio and also one across the street on Cleveland Ave."
  
• "I do most grocery shopping at Aldi. There are several throughout the city. They have a number of ways to reduce their costs, and the savings are passed along to the customer."
  
• "If I'm going to a movie, I always go to the dollar theater. If I'm going to rent a movie, I pick it up free from the library instead of from a movie rental store."
  
• "I like thesimpledollar.com - it's a blog with some good ideas. We buy meat on sale and freeze it in individual portions for easy use, and make soup once or twice a week in big batches - non-cream based soups can be frozen for lunches, and don't require refrigeration (because they're usually still somewhat frozen at lunchtime). Muffins also freeze well."
  
• "Opening windows at night and keeping blinds or curtains closed during the day to keep out sunlight can cut air conditioning costs - conversely, opening blinds on the sunny side of a room can help to warm it, cutting heat bills in the winter. Space heaters are great if you use one room more than the rest - you can keep it warmer without paying to heat the whole house (or apartment)."
  
• "Half Price Books is awesome, and they carry some medical books - you can usually call ahead to ask if a certain branch has what you're looking for."
  
• "If you save your change, at the end of the year you can take it to Coinstar and exchange it for a gift certificate without paying the fee they charge for changing to cash - Amazon.com has everything you could want to buy for Christmas presents."
• "Pack lunch everyday."
• "I love slickdeals.net for getting good deals on clothing, electronics, etc. They also have a coupons search that’s nice for pre-grocery shopping. Those coupons usually save me a few dollars per trip, more if the store doubles the coupons. It might not be good for compulsive shoppers though because the good deals can make people buy things they don’t need."
• "I give myself a cash budget each week to cover groceries, eating out, and dates (I get the money from my ATM each Friday). During the week I just look in my wallet to see how much I have left to spend and can easily limit my spending to a fixed amount each week."
• "Regular movie theaters are so expensive now, so I opt for the dollar theaters or redbox or itunes rentals instead. One is at carriage place on Bethel Road (Cinemark Movies 12, 2570 Bethel Road)."
• "Right away I think of cooking vs. going out to eat and always taking advantage of farmers markets to get cheap fresh produce. I cook huge meals when I have time and then either have leftovers for future meals or quickly add ingredients to rice or pasta I cooked the night before to make quick meals. This beats spending 5-20 dollars per day eating out."
  
• "Bike instead of driving, once you get in the habit not only is it easy but it makes driving seem like a ridiculous idea. "
• "I cook almost all of my own food. Cook large amounts of pasta, stirfry, soups, bean/rice which can cook in crockpot while at clinics. Then, I put leftovers in serving size microwavable containers.  Then just grab one in the AM and take it with you to clinic and microwave it. If you freeeze it, you don't even have to worry about refrigerating it."
• " I like snacks that are smaller meals to not make you tired and keep you going through the day"
• "I use the Giant Eagle fuel perks a lot to save money on gas. You can buy gift cards in the Giant Eagle stores for countless other stores (including Barnes and Noble for books) and they give you 20 cents off per $50 you spend in Giant Eagle. You have to redeem the “Fuel Perks” discount at their gas stations (GetGo) but there is one in Clintonville and one on 5th so they are not hard to get to. Whatever discount you have accumulated gets applied to the gas price so you pay less than the market rate for your fill-up. So far, with my best discount, I paid 17 cents per gallon for a fill-up (I used a lot of gift certificates to buy furniture and such for my apartment!)."
• “I keep all receipts and writing EVERYTHING down to keep myself accountable for what I spend. Shopping for clothes at the 3 or 4 consignment stores on 5th avenue...good clothes for really cheap. Here are some of the stores: 
  
• One More Time, 1521 W 5TH Ave.
  
• Alternative Resale Shop, 1806 W 5th Ave
  
• Second Chance Consignment1803 W 5th Ave 
  
• There are also a bunch of consignment furniture and house good stores right next to these locations...it's 2-3 blocks of 5-6 shops."
  
• "I take the bus to school instead of paying for gas or buying a parking pass.”
• "Books: Half.com, Amazon.com (used), or other online retailers (far in advance so shipping doesn't cause problems). Groceries: Super Walmart is the cheapest in town and places like this even have delis and produce sections. Furniture shopping on Craig's List. Shopping for anything else on Craig's List. Selling unwanted items on Craig's List (I like CL, if you can tell). Selling books to M1s during their first weeks at school. Pack lunches, use refillable water bottles. 
• "Silly thing, but I get walmart.com free samples every week. Shampoo, soap, razors, cereal samples, pet food, etc. Saves me a few bucks here and there...and always a fun surprise...you can sign up online."
• "Don't have cable TV...who has time to watch any how?"
• "Get an electronic thermostat (not that hard to install, even if you are in a rented apartment) so you can program it to turn off the heat/AC when you aren't around. Make a budget and stick to it. If you can't stick to it, withdraw your monthly allowance in cash and divide it into your respective budget categories...and then once it is gone, it is gone."
• "If I am going to buy a big purchase at a store I always check to see if they sell gift cards at Giant Eagle and if they do I buy the amount I will need beforehand from Giant Eagle in order to earn free gas."
  
• "If a person eats out frequently with another person, Prestige dining club offers a buy one get one free dinner card at all sorts of restaurants (some high class ones like G. Michael's and Wothington Inn) around Columbus.  I've found this to be really good. It is regularly $70 but I found a promotion on the website for buy two for $80 and I split if with another med student and spent $40 for mine."  The entertainment book has pretty good discounts."
• "Restaurant.com sells gift certificates to certain restaurants around columbus at reduced prices. ($25 for $10)  There are some restrictions on their use but I've found it to be a good website.  If you sign up for their e-mail list they will send e-mails with discounts. I frequently buy $25 gift certificates for three or four dollars for Trattoria Roma or Old Bag of Nails. Their selection for Columbus isn't great but for some other cities (Chicago) it can be really good."
• "Buying food from farmers market....the north market, on high street by the arena district. It's every Saturday, morning and afternoon."
• "Farmers market....Worthington has one from 9-12 on Saturday mornings (high and 161). Northmarket has one Saturdays (not sure of times) (park st.) These are open from last week in April to first week in November."
• "A big way to save money is to find roommates. This is possible through the OSU off-campus housing website, craigslist, or even the class facebook group page. Sharing space won't work for everyone, but it does cuts down on rent and utilities. Plus, you'll more likely live near campus, so you can save on commuting."
• "Do all my shopping in one trip every three weeks. Fewer trips means better planning, less impulse buying, and less gas use. I make a list of what I need and stick to it UNLESS there is something I KNOW I will use that is seriously on sale. I also know which stores have the best prices on the things I buy regularly." 
• "Utilize Explore Columbus for cheap tix to concerts, movies, sports, theatre...all kinds of events.Shop at grocery stores like Marc's or Aldis or religiously cut coupons out of the Sunday paper. Share textbooks with friends during third/fourth year rotations. No one should ever buy new books for each rotation. By the second or third rotation, most have been covered and you can just exchange amongst your classmates/friends. Carpool with other students on your service.Attend the book sales hosted by AMSA and other student organizations."
• "Don't drive when you don't need to.  Use COTA buses!  They are free with your Buck ID!  Gas is one of your biggest costs lately."
• "Only use as much loan money as you really need!  My husband and I keep loan money and "real" money in separate accounts so we know how much is borrowed and how much we actually have.  It helps to not decieve yourself into thinking you can spend more."
• "Movies - the movie kiosk at Krogers is $1.49 for new releases"
• "If you run out of medication insurance coverage, columbus area libraries have Franklin County medication discount cards.The top of the card says "Free Prescription Discount Card" - they are cards you can pick up at the Franklin County libraries. Franklin county has negotiated rates on prescriptions so residents of Franklin County who have minimal or no medication coverage receive a discount. They do not accept the card at the Student Health Center, but they do accept it at Kroger pharmacies and the Walgreens in the hospital."
• "I get all of my books off of OhioLink, which is a library service that allows you to check out books from any college in Ohio. The link can be accessed on Prior's web page. The only books I've needed to buy in all of med school have been board review books."