On Becoming a Physician with a Heart: To Save Money (Part 3)

Without much introduction and further ado, here are other ways to save some money in your freshman year in CIM:

Uniform. Emphasis on "form"

Look for a small-time seamstress or a tailor to sew your uniform because they do not charge as much. You just have to take a copy of the uniform's pattern from the administrative office at the first floor of CIM and show it to him/her. The sewing shops within CIM's vicinity charge to as much as twice the price because they know that there is a high demand for their product. 

I know that you want your figure to show even with the uniform on but for practicality's sake, you may want to leave some "room for growth". Admittedly, med students tend to stress eat, and it is very likely for us to gain a few (O.K., a lot) of pounds before the school year ends. Needing new uniforms because you can't anymore fit in the old ones doesn't sound appealing for our self-esteem and our budget, right?

Borrow your lab gown for dissection

Initially, Dr. Suson and the rest of the anatomy lab faculty will require you to wear lab gowns for dissection. Initially. You can forego buying a new lab gown and use your old one or borrow from someone who owns one instead. Just make sure you do not skip laundry days for your lab gown to rid of the formalin scent.

Use the cheaper alternatives

I used to joke early in the school year that medical books feel like a level up version of coloring books. We use highlighters like crayons, with "coloring within the lines" replaced with "highlight only what's important"- only to end up highlighting 80% of the page. A cheaper alternative of highlighters are dermatographs. They work pretty well especially for photocopied notes.

Speaking of photocopied notes, you may use the flip side of the old ones for note-taking and bind them together. 

Choose to go paperless as much as possible. For books, try downloading e-books. Notes usually have soft copies so go ahead and ask for those. Some people say they dislike the eye strain from staring at a gadget's screen so they opt for hard copies instead. It can be solved by adjusting your screen's brightness, color, and contrast. Most gadgets have the reading mode. Apparently, if you stare at anything for so long, you will develop eye strain so try developing a habit to rest your eyes every 30 minutes.

Enjoy your student discount

Did you know that we can still enjoy our student discount? Hey, it's not like we're off earning our own bucks in medical school, so we might as well grab the chance to use it. Use it as much as possible: in paying for fares, getting freebies, etc. 

The study niche

No blackout can stop them from studying in the library.

Instead of burning your money at coffee shops, you can go for alternatives like:

• Making the most out of the 8 AM-7 PM library time
• Going to your local public library
• Designating a study spot in your home. This may be a bit tricky at first but you have to make your brain believe that the spot is dedicated solely for studying. Therefore, do not eat, sleep, or even surf the internet at that spot. You can mimic coffee shop conditions (lighting, ambient music, mug of coffee) if you want.

Saving money in coffee shops

You can do the following to save some cash whenever you're in coffee shops:

• Latte: Order espresso shot on ice and go to the condiments area to pour milk on coffee. Instant latte for a lesser cost
• Two grande frappucinos: Go with a friend, order a venti frappucino, and ask for an extra cup. Divide the venti frappucino equally into two parts- now you have two grande frappucinos
• Coffee press: share with a friend. This is cheaper than buying individual cups of coffee
• Brewed coffee: buy a pack of coffee. At Php 450 a pack (in Starbucks), it may cost a lot in one go but for your next 12 visits, you can take it with you and ask the barista to brew it instead of buying a cup of coffee each time
• Bring your own cup: this means Php 5 off your drink

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Do you have other money-saving tips up your sleeve? Share them below.

Up next are some study tips to ease transition to the CIM PBL life.

Until the next adventure,

Dena