I was contemplating the question, “Where do you see yourself in 10 years?” and I starting thinking, “Wait! Where am I now?” Here’s the breakdown of my finances… The Man With No Name style!
The Good: cash, checking, savings, assets, etc.
- Cash: $82.00 and a bunch of rolled change equaling $11 or more
- Checking: two accounts totaling $166.79
- Savings: two accounts totaling $14.19 (yeah, I know, I’m working on it)
- Assets: one 1996 Oldsmobile Delta 88, worth around $2000, and a single share of Kodak stock ($26)
- Etc.: I am owed $200
The Bad: debts with low or no interest rates
- Car loan: Interest free, $1900 still to be paid
The Ugly: debts with interest rates
- Credit card: $1731.54 with an interest rate around 17%. Painful.
- Student loans: $24,867.00, deferred payment for the time being, although the unsubsidized portion is wracking up interest as we type.
There. If anyone was thinking of suing me or asking me to buy anything… you might want to move on. There’s no money here!
I haven’t bothered posting the graph yet, because I only have one month’s data. So it looks like I had a huge drop off from $0 to -$25,579 from November to December. Once January is done and I update it, the graph should be accurate and I’ll post it.
It sure sounds like you have the intelligence, and now just need some income to get yourself to the financial place you want to be.
Just my two cents: Have you considered “settling” for another degree that you can use the first two years of your college towards? There are a lot of companies that you can get a job at that will also help pay for tuition. A lot of people I work with take one or two classes a quarter while they work. The other option might be just getting a job that will pay your bills and give you a little extra to cover tuition at a local college and then just be a commuter student. Not ideal, but I know a lot of people that have done it and it tends to be cheaper.
Don’t give up on college all together! Regardless of the degree you get, it really does make a huge difference in your earning potential throughout your life.
Thank you very much for the advice! Yes, I have been considering ways to go back to school, pretty much been thinking about it since the moment I left! I haven’t posted much about my future here yet, because I’m still trying to get caught up on posting about why I left, and what’s going on at the present.
In short, though, my school is very specialized, and if I don’t go back to them to complete my degree, the first two years and $25,000 in loans will be wasted. I’m stuck in a strange place because of that! Most of my classes wouldn’t even transfer within the school, since they are film credits. I’ll write more on this later – it deserves a whole post!
Man. It just blows my mind how expensive a degree is getting here in the States.
I lived in a culture overseas for four years where all university was free. They figure the citizens are bettering society as a whole by becoming more educated, so why charge and discourage it?. Plus, the government PAYS you to go to university so you can concentrate exclusively on your studies. Every week I’d receive a nice fat check in the mail as if I was working.
I was only able to attend the university overseas for one year, but I thoroughly enjoyed my time there. The students and professors were brilliant, extremely motivated, and very well-balanced.
I’m currently attending a $80,000 private school in the States to finish my B.A. The university and curriculum aren’t half as challenging as my free eduation in Europe. But I am getting a nice comfy scholarship for attending there, or else I’d absolutely refuse to. (I’ve thankfully managed to keep my loans under $5,000 and I’m halfway through my junior year).
Best of luck with everything. I know how it feels to be so absolutely broke right now.
I’m beginning to wonder how our society ever expects young people to get ahead in their finances when we’re struggling with outrageous fees like this upon graduation.
Then again, look at our country’s current deficit (trillions in hole?). Our noble leaders are in so much debt, it’s disgustingly eery.
I’ll definitely be nipping around your site more.
Jennifer, I’m so glad you came by! I love your blog!
I definitely wish I’d had an opportunity to go to school out of country, for lots of reasons. As far as cost, I looked into state schools as well (New York’s state school are exceptionally good), but only one of them offered a film program, and it was at the far end of the state, and without a car, it would have been difficult to travel back and forth for breaks.
I’d consider switching now, but it’s almost guaranteed that my credits would not transfer, and I’d have to start all over again. It looks like from any angle, I’ll have to suck it up and head back to my very expensive school.