I earned my pharmacy license in Canada in 2012 and started to work for one of the big corporate pharmacy. before i got my license i had a $20,000.00 student loan to complete the international pharmacy program at the University of Toronto. this was a great investment into my career. I also had to pay for licensing exams so I had credit cards bills on top of my student loan.
After i got my first job i purchased a new car as a gift to myself because i deserved to drive a nice new car after 3 years of school and exams. i worked for one year with corporate pharmacy then i lost my job because i was not meeting the targets set by head-office.
This was a big financial set-back because i had a young family and my husband was studying at the time. My debts including student loan, car loan and credit cards were approximately $60,000.00. This amount did not factor in my rent, utilities, food, gas and other expenses.
I was always a survivor so i couldn’t sit and cry over spilt milk. i remember speaking to a relief agency while i was working with corporate and i had saved their contact number. I called them and started doing relief pharmacy jobs in my area. Pharmacist are always in demand, you are needed to cover vacation time, sick leave, maternity leave, so i always had a part-time job. i was going to a lot of rural pharmacies to do relief jobs, this was a life saver.
I learned a few lessons from this experience and i would like to share them with young pharmacist just starting their career.
Know your net-worth determine how much debt you have including student loan, credit cards, car loan. Knowing these numbers help you to create a plan to pay them off over time.
Create a budget, this shows how much money you earn and how much you spend on your needs and wants.
Automate bill payments and your savings. Save at least 10% or more of your salary.
Talk to a financial planner and start investing in stocks, real estate.
Start a retirement fund, the sooner you start the better
Save 3 to 6 months emergency saving in a high yield savings account in case of job loss.
