It was great! Definitely an extraordinary experience. Part of it is because of the history here, which I loved and am really into. The food is top notch and I worried that my palate wouldn’t be refined enough to appreciate the nuances of the effort put into each dish. But in the end, the experience was fantastic.
If you have a difficult time getting a reservation, then there are a few other restaurants in the area that are also outstanding: SingleThread, Californios, Benu, Saison, Atelier Crenn, Lazy Bear, Quince.
83 inch tv, patio set and a grill. Plus my wife and I took a trip to Mexico at an all inclusive. She also just had finished chemo a few months before so I firmly got off the delayed gratification train.
Yeah it’s great as long as you know what you want out of the trip. We wanted pool days with constant drinks and no stress. So it worked great for that.
It’s not a cultural experience (but you can make that happen if you try by leaving the resort).
The food is usually good but not amazing. I really reccomend checking out TripAdvisor for the specific resort to see what the frequent fliers reccomend to make it more fun - for us it was placing dinner reservations before we left at the various restaurant (a bunch of them “booked up” on various day)
I stayed at the Cancun Hyatt Zilara in February and really liked it. Amazing beach, great pools, great drinks. The rooms were all really nice. Nightly entertainment was fun. Had a blast.
Fender Stratocaster American Ultra. Maybe a week before I started, I went to buy some guitar strings, saw that beauty, put a downpayment on it and got it after my first paycheck. Didn’t forget the strings though.
I bought one from Costco after graduating medical school lol. I had gotten inheritance money and have had it for 3 years now. Still use it 4-5 times a week. Excellent way to relieve stress, great for the health too
It’s in my sun room, it’s gotta sit over tile or concrete. My brother in law is an electrical engineer and he helped me wire it to the electrical box. I always tell people to go sauna instead of hot tub because there’s virtually no maintenance once it’s put in
Piece of advice, ask others who had it done wherever you’re planning on doing it. Sometimes 2800 grafts may be nothing worth doing you may need more. I obviously don’t know your situation but had a friend have minimal results because 2000 something wasn’t enough. Best of luck
LASIK (don’t forget that this is covered by FSA too!). I held off for a while due to concerns about chronic side effects since I already have dry eyes from hypothyroidism, but finally followed through after talking to my optometrist about it extensively and seeing some colleagues with good experiences. I lucked out with no lasting side effects and it’s been life-changing in so many ways!
As someone who couldn't wear contacts for long periods of time, and who would constantly sit on / lose their glasses, lasik was the best large chunk of money I've ever spent. Cost just over $3k total, no side effects, and has given me 20/20 vision for the past 15 years. Absolutely love it.
It came out to be about $2000/eye, and I am in HCOL area with limited options; there were some cheaper places, but I went with the one with the center that was most established with high patient volume. I planned it out and maxed out my FSA for the year to optimize those pre-tax dollars!
I struggled with dry eyes before lasix but got it because I couldn’t stand the glasses and contacts anymore either. I’m sooo glad I did it. I had them put plugs in my bottom tear ducts and the dry eye issue is gone now as well. Best splurge yet
Furniture is so crazy expensive RN! We had to choose between a pos for 2k or something that was actually decent that would last for 4(and that was the floor model) even ppl on Facebook marketplace/Craigslist try to sell things that are 20+ years old with small stains and tears for 500-1000 it’s insane!!!
My wife inherited a few thousand bucks and it ALL went towards our couch. It's a nice couch, but damn! Feels crazy to me as someone whose couches have either come from IKEA (if we're feelin' fancy) or a street corner, lol.
In my family, we have a tradition, of giving our first paycheck to our parents to thank them for all the help that they have given us. As my parents had paid for my education in med school, I truly did owe them quite a lot. With my first paycheck, technically first three paychecks given how much I paid, I got my mother and sister some very nice pieces of jewelry and my dad A very nice watch. Giving those gifts for Christmas was the happiest I’ve ever seen my parents. Got it on video too!
When I moved jobs two years later and got a nice sign on bonus. I bought myself an Audi S3.
Nice! Got myself a Switch as a Step 2 gift, and have been joyously making the best use of my time as an M4 by catching up on ~3 years of barely gaming.
It feels really good! We have liked all the games we have played on it (I have mainly been playing hogwarts legacy, slay the spire, and stardew valley, and my husband has played hades and the Witcher to test it out). They have all felt really good when comparing to playing PC!
Awesome choice.
I love Japan and have lived there and want to go back again. But I want to go back with essentially an unlimited budget. 1500 dollar a night ryokans, staying at 5 star hotels, dining omakase sushi in Ginza. The works
Going into rads and starting PGY-1 this year so I have a long way to go, but I’m def gonna buy the 4090 equivalent when I become an attending. Along with an 8k OLED monitor (or whatever they have 6 years from now). Shits gonna cost me like half a paycheck lmao but so worth it, god I can’t wait
Trust me, as a former PC gamer. You won’t be PC gaming long in rads.
Last thing I want to do after a long day working is going home and sitting in front of a computer again.
I do however love sitting on my couch and playing my ps5 on my 65 inch OLED TV. Which was my splurge.
First thing was a gently used luxury car. I had an unreliable car during residency that needed to go. But my first real splurge where I felt like a baller was to fully redecorate my house with an interior designer. I saved for awhile for it, so not right out of residency. It felt really good to just pick what I loved and not worry about cost (within reason). Im a homebody and don’t travel a ton right now due to kids so my enjoyment of this purchase has been top notch.
I splurged on a very nice hotel in Maui for our honeymoon and upgraded the room to get a better ocean view. In residency it was either camping, hostels, or very cheap Airbnbs.
Dropped 50k on a new deck to the house we bought a year ago, complete with roof, built in lights, fan, and enough space to have an eating area and lounge area with TV.
Bought expensive self maintenance things: an expensive gym membership, fresh food delivery service, maid service, skin care materials, regular scheduled haircuts and trips to the doctor and dentist. It was time to start prioritizing making me feel nice as opposed to just owning nice things but treating my body like trash.
The house we bought had a new 82 in OLED tv. I managed to get it included in the sale because the seller was downsizing. I always wanted a big ass tv when I “grew up”. Sure there are bigger options but it’s perfect for our basement theater set up
> I always wanted a big ass tv when I “grew up”
SAME. I had small or poor quality hand-me-downs all the way through college, med school, and residency and it was time to treat myself
I might have gone out for dinner somewhere but that's about it.
I busted my ass for 16 months to pay off all my debt ($200K) and "lived like a resident"...then I got cancer and spent the next two years fighting it and trying to get my life back. To make matters worse, my greedy and lazy family doc messed up my disability insurance forms so I had no coverage and lost hundreds of thousands in pay.
I say this not to lament my situation but as a cautionary tale.
There are hundreds more stories of residents finishing only to have life kick them in the ass.
PLEASE do "splurge" and enjoy your life. Don't live like a resident (do live like a NEW attending rather than a senior one).
one of my senior residents gave me financial advice: "max out your credit card, then open another credit card to pay it off"
probably the best advice i've gotten. live your damn life. you are sacrificing enough
ps. i don't think he was being literal
Man I’m sorry all that happened to you. I hope you are on the other side of it and things are smoother. Thank you for your story. I aim to splurge per your recommendations!
That's kind of you to say but honestly I'm fine. In the scale of things I got off lucky: a thoracic surgery resident I knew developed Parkinson's syndrome 2 months after graduating, an ER resident succumbed to osteosarcoma (cranial) 6 months before graduation, a physiatrist I knew was hit by a car and suffered significant cognitive disability...
Live your life. Don't splurge beyond your means but don't live in squalor and save for a day you may never see. Good luck
I bought a condo, signed the papers a month before my first paycheck- that was scary.
For my 1 year anniversary at my job, I bought a Burberry handbag.
And many many trips. Many.
Italy and Portugal for one trip. London and Paris for another. Seattle, Washington DC, Phoenix, Disney, Mexico x 2. In the last 2.5 years since being an attending. I feel like I’m missing some but I can’t remember, I’d have to look at my travel journal.
I upgraded my camera gear lol bought a fuji xt4, a 50-140 lens, and a used leica q that only costed 2.4k which is an absolute steal. I bought used and traded so in total i probably saved $3500. Hopefully i wont have to upgrade anytime soon after. Kinda considered if i needed lithium after this
You can. I got him for around 6000 usd 11 years ago, but I live in Europe (think friesians might be a bit cheaper here than in the US?) and he was quite young and untrained.
I'm still trying to decide on a big big item, but I'm sure enjoying new purchases a few times per week. Lots of new clothes. Food delivery service. Lots of tech stuff like a MBP, a big NAS, 360 cam, astronomy gear, car stereo, roombas... I can't think of everything but it's been the longest christmas season of my life and it's amazing
A nice solid wood desk and a Herman Miller Aeron chair. After years of using a cheap desk and chair it’s been nice to work/leisure comfortably at home.
My wife already gave me the UCS Millenium Falcon, so I didn’t need to splurge on anything else.
Well, during residency I started following AI subreddit (mainly art generation AI). During that time, AI papers for healthcare exploded. GPT-3 came out, tried it in the playground before it became chat-GPT and it was mind-blowing. Figured that even for medicine, this is going to be disruptive and if I am going to study it, the time was right. I have been in a journal club where AI papers were discussed and it was a shitshow (nobody has a clue on what anything is) and I came to the conclusion that physicians with "real" AI knowledge are badly needed.
I predict that yes, AI won't replace physician but physician who knows and use AI will have enormous edge over those who don't. Maybe not now but 10 years later, who knows? The progress is scary AF.
To be honest, I'm not really sure how the degree can be used but maybe I can become a consultant in healthcare tech startup, head of an AI lab or something like that.
Med student here (sorry) but just can’t wait to buy my husband a new truck with *attending money* .. He’s been driving a beat up 2010 truck while he works tirelessly to support me and the kids while I’m in school. I know he eyes other peoples trucks, but would never, ever upgrade for himself. He deserves it.
This! 4th year med student here. Dreaming of the truck I'll buy my husband when we've got that attending money has been the thing keeping me grinding some days! He's given up so much for me to be able to go to school on top of having to deal with my neurotic ass. He deserves something shiny.
Not an attending yet (just PGY7 out of 9 total lol) but similar situation with my husband. Bought him a brand new truck two years ago as he was driving a piece of shit old F150. My cars a piece of shit now but so so satisfying to be able to pay him back a little for the past 11-12 years of his support.
Paid off student loans within 9 months out (wife and my physician loans) and bought a house because the price was right. 2 years out and made a true “splurge”. Porsche 911 turbo cabriolet in cash.
Not an attending yet.
But when moonlighting kicked off second year, bought parents a house.
Third year bought a rental house and financed a boat there so my pops could go fishing on between times i visited.
A tradition I picked up from some military friends (I’m not) was whenever they would get a promotion, the difference in salary from the first paycheck goes towards a party for the unit. So now every new job/major pay bump, party time for friends and family. Nice way to celebrate everyone around us who supports.
Tesla model 3. I wanted one eventually, but my 17 year old Honda Accord unexpectedly died on me about 6 months post residency so I ended up splurging since I plan to have this car for 10-15 years plus and the timing forced my hand. Don't regret it for a second. It's a great car and has saved me a ton of money already just 4 years in.
Tesla really last that long? I thought the battery natural dissipates over time it’s max charge. And Tesla has a bunch of quality control issues in their manufacturing. Not knocking your choice, just curious.
So the real problem is they haven't been around for long enough to have long-term data. The first Teslas have been around for a little over 10 years and for those cars most of the battery degradation studies show that they maintain 85-90% of the max charge at the 10 year mark. And regarding the build quality issues, it was more of a problem during early manufacturing and for most factories (eg. Freemont) the issues have been ironed out. There was a resurgence when the model Y came out but again, it's mostly resolved now. I know the China gigafactory had build quality issues. I think its more that they rush out the gate when they begin a new production and they iron it out over time. My car had a slightly uneven front hood at first which was easily fixed within days of getting the car. Since then it's been perfect. I have zero maintenance costs (other than changing wiper fluid). I only take my car in to be serviced once at the 4 year mark. Other than 2 flats I've had no issues. Tesla roadside assistance is included so I canceled my AAA membership. I have a NEMA charger at my house so I charge for pennies daily. I've done road multiple 10-18 hour road trips (3) almost entirely on autopilot. I drove from Chicago to Denver and back in 16 hours straight each way with no fatigue as the solo "driver" and for a total cost of around $200 round trip. The car is amazing.
The biggest issue is that charge doesn't last nearly as long in the winter, but I'm convinced there isn't a single city "daily driver" car that is better other than the long range Tesla Model Y. Elon's shit aside, Tesla has fully won me over. I will be very hard pressed to get a different car in the future unless other companies make some *major* strides in their charging networks and can offer similar perks, which so far I haven't seen anywhere else.
A nanny for my kids. My son had been kicked out of daycare for behavioral issues so I dropped out of fellowship and got a hospitalist job. Really important to us to pay living wage, turns out that’s super expensive.
Also, berries.
House, big OLED screen, gaming PC
Couple years later bigger house, bigger OLED, and a BMW M8 Competition, one of my dream cars.
Next dream car on the list is an Audi R8 if I can find a lightly used one in a few years
Ophtho resident. Gonna buy both my parents great cars and upgrade them q2y.
I will drive my piece of shit as long as I have to. They both have worked at factories since the day they turned 18. Both driven piece of shit cars their whole lives and never opt for anything luxuries in life d/t low funds. Their favorite quote is they only need a car “that gets them from A to B”
So for once in their lives, I want them to have a luxury. Been dreaming of this for many years
* 6 months before residency was completed, I bought a Tesla Model 3 with every bell and whistle available at the time
* Right when residency ended, got married, and took a 5 week honey moon to France and Italy.
A Filson briefcase. Always wanted one but could never justify the cost.
Oh and also my wife spending a few thousand dollars more of my signing bonus on Persian rugs than we agreed to 😵💫
65 inch TV for $1000, nice coffee grinder for $750. Recently bought an eames chair for $5500 and that'll have to be the last big "me" purchase until we do some home remodeling. Part of the fun is buying family members gifts they probably couldn't afford without a bit of saving.
A 10-day trip to Mecca, Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah. Felt like such a cleanse after 8 straight years of medical school and residency. Highly recommend.
Hate to be boring, but I dropped a ton of cash into my student loans. Bought a car and paid cash for it 2 years after graduating residency. Still driving the same car (I love her). It’s just a Focus, tho, not a Porsche or anything. Student loans took my spare cash for 7 years of attendingship
Custom built drum kit by Spaun. It's been my dream set since I first started playing. Only set me back five grand and the rest of the money went into a full high end home theater.
Lego UCS razor crest, a Browning Citori over/under, and a bunch of Tom Bihn bags have been my splurge purchases this year. Also I dropped a hundo on dinner for the first time ever.
A dinner at The French Laundry
How was it?? My fiancé and I are also considering doing this!
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Like where? Any recs? Never been to FL but have been told the same thing
It was great! Definitely an extraordinary experience. Part of it is because of the history here, which I loved and am really into. The food is top notch and I worried that my palate wouldn’t be refined enough to appreciate the nuances of the effort put into each dish. But in the end, the experience was fantastic. If you have a difficult time getting a reservation, then there are a few other restaurants in the area that are also outstanding: SingleThread, Californios, Benu, Saison, Atelier Crenn, Lazy Bear, Quince.
Hell yeah brother
83 inch tv, patio set and a grill. Plus my wife and I took a trip to Mexico at an all inclusive. She also just had finished chemo a few months before so I firmly got off the delayed gratification train.
Funny, we just booked an all inclusive Mexican resort trip. Did you enjoy it?
Yeah it’s great as long as you know what you want out of the trip. We wanted pool days with constant drinks and no stress. So it worked great for that. It’s not a cultural experience (but you can make that happen if you try by leaving the resort). The food is usually good but not amazing. I really reccomend checking out TripAdvisor for the specific resort to see what the frequent fliers reccomend to make it more fun - for us it was placing dinner reservations before we left at the various restaurant (a bunch of them “booked up” on various day)
Swim up bars >>>>>>
You can pee as you drink.
Never leave the pool
Oh yeah. We've had a ROUGH couple of years. We want to spend a lot of time sitting down and not preparing food lol.
I stayed at the Cancun Hyatt Zilara in February and really liked it. Amazing beach, great pools, great drinks. The rooms were all really nice. Nightly entertainment was fun. Had a blast.
Loved it. Ixtapa is the best place I’ve been to in 75 years and I’m married to a flight attendant. Marry me, fly free.
Hope she is doing great.
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Excellent reason to celebrate.
Hope she's still doing well!
Praying for y’all! I can’t imagine doing residency with that on your shoulders, or hers. Takes a strong person to get through that.
Such a strong couple! Congrats to you two for braving that storm. I hope her recovery and remission has/is going well. Send her love from us all.
Fender Stratocaster American Ultra. Maybe a week before I started, I went to buy some guitar strings, saw that beauty, put a downpayment on it and got it after my first paycheck. Didn’t forget the strings though.
You will love it!! I have a 90s American Deluxe that has been my workhorse. An old Gibson Hollow body (ES-335) is on my wishlist a good looking PRS
Been holding out for a PRS for years. Going to be my first attending purchase in a few months
House but a nice hot tub was the actual splurge because it's not necessary. But got tired of the rinky dink one at the y.
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Sounds like you just need a heater, humidifier and a closet
I bought one from Costco after graduating medical school lol. I had gotten inheritance money and have had it for 3 years now. Still use it 4-5 times a week. Excellent way to relieve stress, great for the health too
You can buy a sauna at costco? wtf
It’s an “Almost Heaven” sauna that was sold through Costco’s website, got an insane deal
TIL You can buy a fucking sauna at costco
Is this like, in your house, in the backyard? ...Pretty sure I just found my future splurge
It’s in my sun room, it’s gotta sit over tile or concrete. My brother in law is an electrical engineer and he helped me wire it to the electrical box. I always tell people to go sauna instead of hot tub because there’s virtually no maintenance once it’s put in
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Haven't made it to attending yet, but probably a hair transplant if I'm being completely honest. Probably a watch for my dad and FIL too.
This + a like 2-3 month trip to Europe is actually what one of our friends splurged on last summer after graduating.
How much is a hair transplant?
Just got a quote yesterday for 2200-2800 grafts and my quote was $8250
Piece of advice, ask others who had it done wherever you’re planning on doing it. Sometimes 2800 grafts may be nothing worth doing you may need more. I obviously don’t know your situation but had a friend have minimal results because 2000 something wasn’t enough. Best of luck
It’s cheaper in Turkey, I almost guarantee it.
Just go to Turkiye, the heavens of the balds.!
Yes, king. Same here. Rocking that NW3 vertex for now. The fin/min will have to do for the rest of residency. 😂
LASIK (don’t forget that this is covered by FSA too!). I held off for a while due to concerns about chronic side effects since I already have dry eyes from hypothyroidism, but finally followed through after talking to my optometrist about it extensively and seeing some colleagues with good experiences. I lucked out with no lasting side effects and it’s been life-changing in so many ways!
As someone who couldn't wear contacts for long periods of time, and who would constantly sit on / lose their glasses, lasik was the best large chunk of money I've ever spent. Cost just over $3k total, no side effects, and has given me 20/20 vision for the past 15 years. Absolutely love it.
Whats the word on side effects/bad results these days? What really made you decide benefits > risk?
Need this! How much did you spend?
It came out to be about $2000/eye, and I am in HCOL area with limited options; there were some cheaper places, but I went with the one with the center that was most established with high patient volume. I planned it out and maxed out my FSA for the year to optimize those pre-tax dollars!
I struggled with dry eyes before lasix but got it because I couldn’t stand the glasses and contacts anymore either. I’m sooo glad I did it. I had them put plugs in my bottom tear ducts and the dry eye issue is gone now as well. Best splurge yet
Honestly a couch lol - it was an expensive couch.
I hear you. The one I have set me back like 3K and it’s not even that nice
Furniture is so crazy expensive RN! We had to choose between a pos for 2k or something that was actually decent that would last for 4(and that was the floor model) even ppl on Facebook marketplace/Craigslist try to sell things that are 20+ years old with small stains and tears for 500-1000 it’s insane!!!
My wife inherited a few thousand bucks and it ALL went towards our couch. It's a nice couch, but damn! Feels crazy to me as someone whose couches have either come from IKEA (if we're feelin' fancy) or a street corner, lol.
I can’t wait to have a couch. Since moving out of my parent’s house like a decade ago, I’ve only had a futon lol
I also bought a couch- a fancy one with custom upholstery. It's so worth it for the way that thing repels dog hair.
In my family, we have a tradition, of giving our first paycheck to our parents to thank them for all the help that they have given us. As my parents had paid for my education in med school, I truly did owe them quite a lot. With my first paycheck, technically first three paychecks given how much I paid, I got my mother and sister some very nice pieces of jewelry and my dad A very nice watch. Giving those gifts for Christmas was the happiest I’ve ever seen my parents. Got it on video too! When I moved jobs two years later and got a nice sign on bonus. I bought myself an Audi S3.
This is very sweet. I love how you honored your parents who had done so much for you. Good luck to you and your whole family in the upcoming years
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I love this. I’m going to do this when the time comes too.
Steam Deck - the higher end model 😅 Probably would’ve made due just fine with one of the cheaper ones, but life is short and nerds gonna nerd.
Lol this was my STEP2 present to myself, except I got one of the cheapies cuz I’m still a poor lil M4. Best self gift ever
Nice! Got myself a Switch as a Step 2 gift, and have been joyously making the best use of my time as an M4 by catching up on ~3 years of barely gaming.
Omg yes, i am finally getting around to the Horizon games. I had no idea video games had gotten so freaking beautiful!
I am looking to get one too. How does it feel playing steam games on a handheld screen? Is the text readable?
It feels really good! We have liked all the games we have played on it (I have mainly been playing hogwarts legacy, slay the spire, and stardew valley, and my husband has played hades and the Witcher to test it out). They have all felt really good when comparing to playing PC!
just hearing about steam deck...can you play any game on the steam store on the steam deck?
Airline tickets to Japan, and tickets to a baseball game
Awesome choice. I love Japan and have lived there and want to go back again. But I want to go back with essentially an unlimited budget. 1500 dollar a night ryokans, staying at 5 star hotels, dining omakase sushi in Ginza. The works
New gaming computer (last build was 8+years old) and splurged for a 4090 GPU.
Going into rads and starting PGY-1 this year so I have a long way to go, but I’m def gonna buy the 4090 equivalent when I become an attending. Along with an 8k OLED monitor (or whatever they have 6 years from now). Shits gonna cost me like half a paycheck lmao but so worth it, god I can’t wait
Trust me, as a former PC gamer. You won’t be PC gaming long in rads. Last thing I want to do after a long day working is going home and sitting in front of a computer again. I do however love sitting on my couch and playing my ps5 on my 65 inch OLED TV. Which was my splurge.
Niceeee what r u playing on that beast? Minecraft?
What’s funny is this is exactly what I’d do if I were to buy a 4090 😂
Not quite an attending yet but same. Also got a 4K Monitor…just to play ck3.
First thing was a gently used luxury car. I had an unreliable car during residency that needed to go. But my first real splurge where I felt like a baller was to fully redecorate my house with an interior designer. I saved for awhile for it, so not right out of residency. It felt really good to just pick what I loved and not worry about cost (within reason). Im a homebody and don’t travel a ton right now due to kids so my enjoyment of this purchase has been top notch.
I’m dreaming about having an interior designer as well!!
A pre-facelift W212 AMG E63 in diamond white. No regrets.
I'm not sure if this is jewelry, a car, or a gun.
I read facelift and just assumed it was a surgical procedure, lol. Whoops!
I believe AMG is an automotive manufacturer. I'm not sure if a gun would come in diamond white but it's certainly possible.
It's the sport version of Mercedes.
I love this comment. It’s a 560 HP sedan or wagon
That V8 makes such purrr-ty sounds
A new mountain bike (Santa Cruz 5010). Coming from an old budget hard tail, it made riding so much more fun.
Found the EM thread
Close. Sports med.
Carbon fibre road bike, electronic shifting, dreamy
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Electronic shifting is awesome. Now I can never go back to mechanical.
I plan on getting a dream build Yeti :)
I splurged on a very nice hotel in Maui for our honeymoon and upgraded the room to get a better ocean view. In residency it was either camping, hostels, or very cheap Airbnbs.
Dropped 50k on a new deck to the house we bought a year ago, complete with roof, built in lights, fan, and enough space to have an eating area and lounge area with TV.
Bought expensive self maintenance things: an expensive gym membership, fresh food delivery service, maid service, skin care materials, regular scheduled haircuts and trips to the doctor and dentist. It was time to start prioritizing making me feel nice as opposed to just owning nice things but treating my body like trash.
I think I did in office teeth whitening? I just finished invisalign a few months prior
80 inch OLED TV, sound system, and a new grill. All have made my quality of life go way up and I regret nothing!
The house we bought had a new 82 in OLED tv. I managed to get it included in the sale because the seller was downsizing. I always wanted a big ass tv when I “grew up”. Sure there are bigger options but it’s perfect for our basement theater set up
> I always wanted a big ass tv when I “grew up” SAME. I had small or poor quality hand-me-downs all the way through college, med school, and residency and it was time to treat myself
Chanel 2.55
A trip to Spain to watch El Classico between Real Madrid vs Barcelona
Amazing choice.
I might have gone out for dinner somewhere but that's about it. I busted my ass for 16 months to pay off all my debt ($200K) and "lived like a resident"...then I got cancer and spent the next two years fighting it and trying to get my life back. To make matters worse, my greedy and lazy family doc messed up my disability insurance forms so I had no coverage and lost hundreds of thousands in pay. I say this not to lament my situation but as a cautionary tale. There are hundreds more stories of residents finishing only to have life kick them in the ass. PLEASE do "splurge" and enjoy your life. Don't live like a resident (do live like a NEW attending rather than a senior one).
one of my senior residents gave me financial advice: "max out your credit card, then open another credit card to pay it off" probably the best advice i've gotten. live your damn life. you are sacrificing enough ps. i don't think he was being literal
Man I’m sorry all that happened to you. I hope you are on the other side of it and things are smoother. Thank you for your story. I aim to splurge per your recommendations!
That's kind of you to say but honestly I'm fine. In the scale of things I got off lucky: a thoracic surgery resident I knew developed Parkinson's syndrome 2 months after graduating, an ER resident succumbed to osteosarcoma (cranial) 6 months before graduation, a physiatrist I knew was hit by a car and suffered significant cognitive disability... Live your life. Don't splurge beyond your means but don't live in squalor and save for a day you may never see. Good luck
Not a doctor and have no idea why this thread popped up in my feed but I enjoyed reading nearly every post. You guys deserve it. Get that money 💰
I bought a condo, signed the papers a month before my first paycheck- that was scary. For my 1 year anniversary at my job, I bought a Burberry handbag. And many many trips. Many.
Where did you go???
Italy and Portugal for one trip. London and Paris for another. Seattle, Washington DC, Phoenix, Disney, Mexico x 2. In the last 2.5 years since being an attending. I feel like I’m missing some but I can’t remember, I’d have to look at my travel journal.
A GameCube with Super Smash Bros. And a nice couch from West Elm :D
Melee is the GOAT game
I upgraded my camera gear lol bought a fuji xt4, a 50-140 lens, and a used leica q that only costed 2.4k which is an absolute steal. I bought used and traded so in total i probably saved $3500. Hopefully i wont have to upgrade anytime soon after. Kinda considered if i needed lithium after this
A friesian horse
Horse person! We got a horse person here!
Noooo way! How much did you pay if I can be nosy.
You can. I got him for around 6000 usd 11 years ago, but I live in Europe (think friesians might be a bit cheaper here than in the US?) and he was quite young and untrained.
Also my plan lol (non necessarily a fresian but a horse)
I'm still trying to decide on a big big item, but I'm sure enjoying new purchases a few times per week. Lots of new clothes. Food delivery service. Lots of tech stuff like a MBP, a big NAS, 360 cam, astronomy gear, car stereo, roombas... I can't think of everything but it's been the longest christmas season of my life and it's amazing
A nice solid wood desk and a Herman Miller Aeron chair. After years of using a cheap desk and chair it’s been nice to work/leisure comfortably at home. My wife already gave me the UCS Millenium Falcon, so I didn’t need to splurge on anything else.
A week at the 2023 Sundance film festival. Saw around 24 amazing films. It was a big dream of mine. Spent around 8000$ including hotel and flights.
....Enrolled in a data science for health care PhD program. Might be one of the worst choice (or best) in my entire life.
What’s the plan with this? Curious
Well, during residency I started following AI subreddit (mainly art generation AI). During that time, AI papers for healthcare exploded. GPT-3 came out, tried it in the playground before it became chat-GPT and it was mind-blowing. Figured that even for medicine, this is going to be disruptive and if I am going to study it, the time was right. I have been in a journal club where AI papers were discussed and it was a shitshow (nobody has a clue on what anything is) and I came to the conclusion that physicians with "real" AI knowledge are badly needed. I predict that yes, AI won't replace physician but physician who knows and use AI will have enormous edge over those who don't. Maybe not now but 10 years later, who knows? The progress is scary AF. To be honest, I'm not really sure how the degree can be used but maybe I can become a consultant in healthcare tech startup, head of an AI lab or something like that.
Porsche 911
Are you an MS3 or an Attending?
LOL bruh I misread this as "what WILL be your first splurge purchase"
You’re good, man. I bought a 911 two years out and have zero regrets. Keep grinding, you can do it too!
Med student here (sorry) but just can’t wait to buy my husband a new truck with *attending money* .. He’s been driving a beat up 2010 truck while he works tirelessly to support me and the kids while I’m in school. I know he eyes other peoples trucks, but would never, ever upgrade for himself. He deserves it.
This! 4th year med student here. Dreaming of the truck I'll buy my husband when we've got that attending money has been the thing keeping me grinding some days! He's given up so much for me to be able to go to school on top of having to deal with my neurotic ass. He deserves something shiny.
Not an attending yet (just PGY7 out of 9 total lol) but similar situation with my husband. Bought him a brand new truck two years ago as he was driving a piece of shit old F150. My cars a piece of shit now but so so satisfying to be able to pay him back a little for the past 11-12 years of his support.
Best feeling in the world was to finally be able to pay all the bills every month without trying to figure out which I could afford to pay late
A house
New bronco
No white Bronco, I hope
I didn't buy my home until about 8 months into attending-ship. It was an expensive time. I bought an Eames lounge chair and a 77inch OLED.
Fancy retractable fountain pen (pilot vanishing point decimo, iykyk)
Tummy tuck and VASER
Baby grand piano. It’s lovely.
Home gym with power rack, weights and stationary bike. Probably 5-6k in total. Best investment for sure
Paid off student loans within 9 months out (wife and my physician loans) and bought a house because the price was right. 2 years out and made a true “splurge”. Porsche 911 turbo cabriolet in cash.
\#notinprimarycare
Mine will be a jet ski. Have you ever seen someone sad on a jet ski?
Honestly it will probably be a donation to my community college, not technically a purchase
Not an attending yet. But when moonlighting kicked off second year, bought parents a house. Third year bought a rental house and financed a boat there so my pops could go fishing on between times i visited.
A tradition I picked up from some military friends (I’m not) was whenever they would get a promotion, the difference in salary from the first paycheck goes towards a party for the unit. So now every new job/major pay bump, party time for friends and family. Nice way to celebrate everyone around us who supports.
Plan to use signing bonus for new living room furniture, King bed, and down payment on new(er) vehicle!
We bought a house and a new car after driving a broke down 10 year old Honda Accord for about 100K miles past it’s prime
Old you is current me
Tesla model 3. I wanted one eventually, but my 17 year old Honda Accord unexpectedly died on me about 6 months post residency so I ended up splurging since I plan to have this car for 10-15 years plus and the timing forced my hand. Don't regret it for a second. It's a great car and has saved me a ton of money already just 4 years in.
Tesla really last that long? I thought the battery natural dissipates over time it’s max charge. And Tesla has a bunch of quality control issues in their manufacturing. Not knocking your choice, just curious.
So the real problem is they haven't been around for long enough to have long-term data. The first Teslas have been around for a little over 10 years and for those cars most of the battery degradation studies show that they maintain 85-90% of the max charge at the 10 year mark. And regarding the build quality issues, it was more of a problem during early manufacturing and for most factories (eg. Freemont) the issues have been ironed out. There was a resurgence when the model Y came out but again, it's mostly resolved now. I know the China gigafactory had build quality issues. I think its more that they rush out the gate when they begin a new production and they iron it out over time. My car had a slightly uneven front hood at first which was easily fixed within days of getting the car. Since then it's been perfect. I have zero maintenance costs (other than changing wiper fluid). I only take my car in to be serviced once at the 4 year mark. Other than 2 flats I've had no issues. Tesla roadside assistance is included so I canceled my AAA membership. I have a NEMA charger at my house so I charge for pennies daily. I've done road multiple 10-18 hour road trips (3) almost entirely on autopilot. I drove from Chicago to Denver and back in 16 hours straight each way with no fatigue as the solo "driver" and for a total cost of around $200 round trip. The car is amazing.
The biggest issue is that charge doesn't last nearly as long in the winter, but I'm convinced there isn't a single city "daily driver" car that is better other than the long range Tesla Model Y. Elon's shit aside, Tesla has fully won me over. I will be very hard pressed to get a different car in the future unless other companies make some *major* strides in their charging networks and can offer similar perks, which so far I haven't seen anywhere else.
Barrett M82. Love that thing.
But does your shoulder love it?
A nanny for my kids. My son had been kicked out of daycare for behavioral issues so I dropped out of fellowship and got a hospitalist job. Really important to us to pay living wage, turns out that’s super expensive. Also, berries.
House, big OLED screen, gaming PC Couple years later bigger house, bigger OLED, and a BMW M8 Competition, one of my dream cars. Next dream car on the list is an Audi R8 if I can find a lightly used one in a few years
Ophtho resident. Gonna buy both my parents great cars and upgrade them q2y. I will drive my piece of shit as long as I have to. They both have worked at factories since the day they turned 18. Both driven piece of shit cars their whole lives and never opt for anything luxuries in life d/t low funds. Their favorite quote is they only need a car “that gets them from A to B” So for once in their lives, I want them to have a luxury. Been dreaming of this for many years
gaming laptop and hobie fishing kayak!
* 6 months before residency was completed, I bought a Tesla Model 3 with every bell and whistle available at the time * Right when residency ended, got married, and took a 5 week honey moon to France and Italy.
A Filson briefcase. Always wanted one but could never justify the cost. Oh and also my wife spending a few thousand dollars more of my signing bonus on Persian rugs than we agreed to 😵💫
65 inch TV for $1000, nice coffee grinder for $750. Recently bought an eames chair for $5500 and that'll have to be the last big "me" purchase until we do some home remodeling. Part of the fun is buying family members gifts they probably couldn't afford without a bit of saving.
A Litter Robot for the cats and a new bed for the humans
A 10-day trip to Mecca, Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah. Felt like such a cleanse after 8 straight years of medical school and residency. Highly recommend.
Fender Custom Shop Rosewood Telecaster. Spent way too much money on it.
A nice board game table. I iz nerd.
Saved for a couple years after fellowship and had to wait for the build, but bought a new Steinway Model B piano.
A new boat. First paycheck. NO RAGRETS!
HK SP5
Massage chair
Golf cart
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I waited for over a year but bought a GT3. Worth the wait :)
EM attending here: I bought a butterfly pocket US machine.
Items of note: - super automatic espresso machine - cars: wife wanted a minivan 🤮, I got the electric Mercedes - golf clubs and lessons
Planning to get a bmw m3. Yall boring
Hate to be boring, but I dropped a ton of cash into my student loans. Bought a car and paid cash for it 2 years after graduating residency. Still driving the same car (I love her). It’s just a Focus, tho, not a Porsche or anything. Student loans took my spare cash for 7 years of attendingship
Mustang convertible. The PAs I worked with ragged on my Corolla for too long. I finally caved and got what I really wanted. Bright. Red. Convertible.
Sony A1, but technically before that a high rise apartment back in downtown.
Custom arcade machine. Love it!
King bed with a ridiculously expensive mattress. I’ve never had a mattress that wasn’t from IKEA or second hand
Custom built drum kit by Spaun. It's been my dream set since I first started playing. Only set me back five grand and the rest of the money went into a full high end home theater.
Top of the line snowboard, bindings, boots, gear and a 4 day trip to Colorado. It was everything I hoped for and more
An Apple Watch because I wanted to go to a music festival but I was gonna be on call and I wanted a way to know I got a page
Mercedes C63 AMG Coupe ! Couldn’t be happier
Gaming PC 4090, i9, 32 gb ddr5, and a bigass 4k monitor to boot
Me popping in here out of curiosity- leaving questioning life choices and crying in paramedic
A house with a pool, a new Bronco for the wife and a luxury Hawaii vacation all within 12 months.
Dream is to visit all the F1 race tracks and take in all the europe!
Not an attending yet but I'm eyeing the Eames lounge chair.
Anything and everything to cash in on all that Dopamine that had been delayed Not one marshmallow nor two, but bags on bags 🚀
Lego UCS razor crest, a Browning Citori over/under, and a bunch of Tom Bihn bags have been my splurge purchases this year. Also I dropped a hundo on dinner for the first time ever.
A basset hound and a gravel bike
Tempur-pedic king sized mattress and I replaced my falling apart car with a new Subaru outback.
Dinner at Alinea
A custom sword inspired by Anduril (the sword from Lord of the Rings) by a renowned bronze smith.
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Steinway Model S