Attending medical school is an expensive venture. It is an investment you have made in yourself and it will pay you many times over in the long run. On the average most physicians come out of medical school six figures in debt, and they do not start making six figures annually until after residency and maybe fellowship. But once you have completed your training the prospects for future earnings are excellent and will make this debt burden a pie that could be tackled one piece after the other.

To eliminate your medical school debt in 365 days, it will take a lot of commitment from the physician, a lot of motivation and will power. It could mean denying yourself some luxuries today, but giving you the opportunity to live a debt free life in the future. Imagine having your salary for you and your family’s desires alone and not to have one bill or the other reaching for it. Below are some strategies that will have you taking out big bites out of that debt pie and have it gone as soon as possible.

• Maintain Residency Budget
• Live Within Your Means
• Locum Tenes
• Do Not Take On New Debt
• Pay High Interest Loans First

Maintain Your Residency Budget
As a resident or fellow you have perfected the art of frugal living and you do not spend money unnecessarily. You have a budget that you stick to and rarely shift from. Ideally your first job outside your training will be two times or three times your salary as a doctor in training. If you maintain your expenses at your residency level, you will then have more resources to throw at your medical school loans which will reduce it drastically.

Live Within Your Means
Getting a job after your graduate training gives you the extra resources to do those things which have only been distant thoughts. You could buy a new car; new cloths take a vacation or get a bigger house. However, to pay off our debt in the least possible time it is important that you only take care of important needs and not wants. Do things you need to do and live your wants for layer when you have eliminated your medical school debt.

Locum Tenes
Having an extra steady salary coming in could do a lot of good for your bottom line. Find out if the policies of the present place you are working for allows their physicians to get extra outside work. Once you get the green light find a few hours and add some extra income to your salary, increasing the tools you have to tackle your debt.

Do Not Take On New Debt
To eliminate your debt as soon as possible it is important that you do not take on any new debt. Taking on new debt will start to compete directly with the resources you have available for tackling your medical school loans. Debts like buying a new home, a new car and other major expenses should be put off until your loans are done.

Pay Smaller Loans First
If you have more than one lender, you could consolidate your loans and have one monthly payment. However, if you got your loan from one lender at different times with different rates, it is not necessary to consolidate. Start paying off your loans with the smallest amount first while paying the minimum for the other loans. What this does is that it gives you small victories early on and encourages you to keep on going. After each loan you pay off, add that amount to the next smallest loan amount and keep o going at it. In no time you will have a huge amount to channel to servicing your debts and will have it done in no time.

Getting rid of your medical school loans can be done in 12 months or slightly more depending on the amount owed and the physician’s commitment. Lenders normally give about 6 month grace period before they need you to start making monthly payments after you graduate from residency training. Do not wait for those six months, call them up and start servicing the loans as soon as your paycheck starts coming in. Money is one of those things that does not like to stick around with any one person for long, if you do not give it to Aunty Sallie right away, it will find its way to Uncle Lexus. The choice is yours.

Mon has been writing articles about debt and personal finance. One of his other interests include making the job search process easier and less stressful for doctors. Take a moment to look at current Emergency physician jobs and Gastroenterology Jobs for worthwhile opportunities and excellent pay packages. Jobs in other specialties are also included.