How do you get by? I must vent.. :/

[cotillion]

Be thankful you're getting an education. Both my wife and I were forced to move out of our parents as minors so with a combined income of 3500 monthly and a 6 year old I wonder if we will ever stop living paycheck to paycheck. I'm 29 now and I remember even in my early teen years my friends parents flourished off manual labor and construction work, now you gotta bust your butt for 9 bucks an hour or some Mexican will replace you ( no racism intended )

 

[ejmpnu92]

You are on the right track.

From experience, try to stay on a cash only basis, stay as far away from credit as possible. Or if you do use credit...make sure you can pay it off soon after.

Housing and roommates....I bought a house when times were good, figured I would rent a couple of rooms to give myself room to play with. Things did not go exactly as planned, and one roommate almost burnt down the house, and almost forgot to tell me about it.(I was away for a rare weekend). Then came the unemployment of them. That hurt worse than anything else, because I also became unemployed, 2 times between 2005 and 2008. Never again shall I ever share a house with anyone else except for my future bride...whomever she is.

I did loose the home, but I now believe it was for the better.

Living within ones means and sacrificing now will pay off in the future. I am doing better now because I am on a cash only basis (still paying off the student loans) and have been for about 7 years. It can be hard at times, but is well worth it.

 

[sandman1212]

You are on the right track.

From experience, try to stay on a cash only basis, stay as far away from credit as possible. Or if you do use credit...make sure you can pay it off soon after.

.

In this day and age, unfortunatly, most are living paycheck to paycheck. I am 37 and just getting to the point where I can be comfortable. stay away from credit and you will be fine. most people bury themselves in it and lose everything because they stretch themselves too thin. You are on the right track, but it will take some time. IMO too many people also spend money on the "wants" misbelieving that they are "needs"...internet, cell phones, cable t.v., all undeeded bills that have become nessesatated by laziness and a glutonous attitude toward entertainment. Unfortunately the business sector has also fed into this belief and has made these things mandatory to be in thier employ. These items were not around when I was a kid...and I lived.

 

[22many]

+1 on the credit issue. Alot of people these days are doing away with credit. Just the other day I was reading how college attendance is at a all time low because our youths don't want to start out in debt.

Which brings me to another point. It hs been a long time saying that if you go to college you will make more money then someone who didn't. These days that is not true but In a small percentage of fields. 4 years ago I was working in a job that i hated and had no plans for the future. Not wanting to be a slave for the rest of my life I made some major decisions in my life and now at the age of 39 I am retired. Be smart with your money and make it work for you, not you work for it.

 

[The Quiet Man]

I don't think it has ever been easy to attend college full time while supporting yourself... unless your parents helped you out. My friends and I attended college in the 1970's and all of us worked full time (minimum wage or just above) and attended school full time. There was none of this five or six years to get through a four-year program unless the military interrupted the sequence with a draft notice. Most of us really couldn't afford the tuition so it was four years and out. There was little time for socializing and no money to do it anyway. We didn't go to campus events, games, or dances. We didn't go to movies. Our clothing was second-hand or cheap stuff from JC Penney... and there was so little of it that we washed clothes a lot. Few of us had cars that ran very well... or we took the bus. Buying a six-pack of beer or a bottle of Boone's Farm wine was a big deal and didn't happen every week. Those of us on the GI bill had it a little easier financially... and many of us prior service guys joined the Reserves or Guard for extra money at the same time. Between work, school, and the military, most of us slept fast. Some people lived with their parents, some had roomies, and I don't recall any of my friends living in their own apartment alone. I learned to eat macaroni with ketchup on it, rice and beans, and any leftovers I could talk relatives out of if I was a guest for a meal. I was happy and frustrated at the same time... but mostly happy with prospects for the future. I think my friends and I were pretty much the norm at the time... and we all did just fine after college. You will too. Hang tough and knock it out. You will be financially independent if you major in something useful.