GREEN I$ THE NEW BLACK

Bye, bye, School Fund

2013-05-11T10:06:00.001-04:00

Well, I officially have $5 in my savings account! I pulled out my $2,300 school fund to pay for my last semester of nursing school. Combined with my $5,000 tuition reimbursement, I will pay for school in full without taking out additional loans.

So, as this milestone has finally been reached, my goals are shifting and I have to get on the ball regarding to spending. "School fund" has turned into "future fund" and my new goal for 2013-2014 is to save $10,000 towards my future.

My old student loan is almost gone - it is $2,200 and shrinking every month. I hope to get rid of it before the end of the year and apply the same principles to my new student loan and hope to balance aggressive saving with paying down the new debt I have.

I'm thrilled to say in 12 weeks I will be finished with nursing school. The first two months of summer are going to be extremely stressful with me attending school and trying to meet wok demands and attend family events like weddings and graduation parties.

As the summer rolls on, I'm going to be working on focusing my energy where I need it most and trying to enjoy my favorite time of year.

Fees, fees, fees!

2013-04-27T09:42:00.001-04:00

Phew, becoming a RN is expensive!

The past five months have been a continual effort by me to stay on track with my credit card bill. Pretty much my entire paycheck pays off all my living expenses plus my credit card. There have been so many surprise expenses that have popped up since I started winding down school....it is mind boggling!

First, I had to pay a $200 "graduation fee" which includes me being able to get my cap and gown "free" from the bookstore. Once I was cleared to graduate this fee suddenly popped up on my account and I had to pay it this week before I am allowed to register for my final semester. At a school where I pay $900/credit for classes, you would think it would be free to graduate. Alas, it is not!

Now that I'm graduating I have to think about taking the nursing licensure exam: the NCLEX. Testing companies really tap into your anxiety of "passing" the exam. So, I was invited to watch a presentation by Kaplan in which they gave our college a "great deal" on their NCLEX review program: instead of the normal $499, we only had to pay $379! Yippeee. So there goes another bunch of money down the drain. The program guarantees I'll pass on the first try, so it should be worth it.

As I register for my final semester, a whopping 8 credits, I have to pay for them upfront. I'm not taking out any loans for the summer, so I will be putting $7,200 on my credit card and paying it off with the remainder of my savings and my tuition reimbursement from my job ($5,000). I'm also going to have to buy my final set of books (so sad) which will probably set me back $120. The strategy of using my credit card to pay for my tuition has allowed me to use my reward points every semester to buy my books. It is a great way to get "free money" as long as you are able to pay the tuition bill right away and not allowing it to incur interest.

Once I finish my summer classes and my school puts my diploma through to the board of nursing in NY, I will be eligible to sit for the NCLEX! Which means...MORE MONEY! I will have to pay $143 for my application for licensure in September when I mail my forms in.

Phew. It's going to be a rough road financially, but lucky for me I will be working throughout the summer and picking up full time hours once I finish my last nursing classes on August 3rd. The light at the end of the tunnel is finally appearing!

The End is Near

2013-03-26T20:07:00.000-04:00

The light at the end of the tunnel is slowly showing itself to me: I will be finished with nursing school on August 3rd!

It's so amazing that when I started this blog, I was in a completely different place in my life professionally and financially. Although I will be finishing school with more debt than ever, I feel it was worth the investment. I ended my old job making around $65K and starting salaries for nurses in the hospital where I work are $85K.

Because I am finishing school in the middle of summer, I will get to participate in the graduation ceremonies in May. I am probably not going to walk in the big school graduation ceremony, but I will be attending the "pinning" ceremony where you go through some rituals to enter the world as a new nurse. I am excited to get it underway and start my new career!

Financially it has been a tough couple of months with me using my entire paychecks to pay my credit card bill every month. A couple of bridal showers and other financial commitments have been straining me, but I am still able to pay my credit card in full. I'm lucky to be getting $5K from work towards my tuition and I know if I didn't have that coming to me I would be under a lot more stress to save and/or find a loan that would cover my last summer semester.

I've been very consistent with going to the gym that I joined at the end of December, and as a result I have lost between 10-15 pounds (depending on which starting weight I use, and my weight fluctuates a lot). I've been going to spinning class 1-2 times a week, lifting weights on my own three times a week and doing some home workouts on the days I get back late from school. I think just like paying off debt, if you make exercise and eating healthy a priority in your life, you'll be successful.

Anyways, I hope to come back and start posting more often, but until then....keep on keepin on!

Success!

2013-01-11T10:41:00.001-05:00

I've been stressing about getting my tuition paid for by work for a few weeks now.

Yesterday I had a super short meeting with the head of nursing education and she was quick to approve me for my tuition reimbursement - score!

This means I get $5,000 back towards the Spring semester after I submit my grades in May. The money will be direct deposited into my account and I will be able to apply it towards my final semester of nursing school, which costs $7,200.

....

Wahooooo!!!

....

Just because I'm getting this money doesn't mean I'm going to scale back on my savings goals. I'm still going to try and graduate with $5,000 in the bank. Whether I will put it directly towards my federal unsubsidized loans or maybe keep half in savings for the future and the other half towards my old school loan, I'm going to do something good with the money!

This news has been a huge weight off my shoulders, and a final affirmation that I am doing exactly what I should be doing to get ahead in my education and career. Working part time has been a complete dream and I hope the next seven months continue that way!

Making the most out of my gym membership

2013-01-02T11:29:00.000-05:00

I thought long and hard about signing up for the gym again. My past track record with the gym has not been the best. For several years I was paying $70/month for a New York Sports Club that I only went to maybe twice a week AT BEST. When Planet Fitness opened near my apartment, I ditched NYSC for their cheap $20/month membership. Again I barely went and ended up cancelling when I moved for school.

Since I've been in school I've been using the meager gym located on campus, but it really hasn't motivated me to really get into shape. Staying fit while being in school has been HARD. The combination of sitting all day in class, going to early morning clinical rotations at the hospital, and working evenings on the weekend left me with no energy for workouts by myself.

I've been noticing a lot of aches and pains in my body that were not there before. I feel like being out of shape is contributing to this, and I know that I have time for one hour a day of exercise when I can sit in front of the television for hours on end watching Scandal or Revenge!

So when I got an email to get the NYSC "Alumni" membership - $60 for a Passport level membership for life - I was ready to jump back in! This is a pretty hefty investment so I have to make sure I really make the most of it. What I really like about NYSC is their CLEAN, NICE gyms and great classes. This is the plan I have put into place starting last week:

Sunday - Rest Day
Monday - Total Body Conditioning (55 minutes)
Tuesday - Incline treadmill workout
Wednesday - Spinning (45 minutes)
Thursday - Boot Camp (55 minutes)
Friday - Spinning (45 minutes)
Saturday - Ultimate Conditioning (55 minutes)

Spinning class is basically my foundation and I am adding in conditioning classes and trying to do something for at least an hour every day. I find that working out in group classes so much easier than working out on my own. For example, yesterday night I went to the gym and did a 1-hour incline treadmill workout on my own and it was like torture! I am extremely sore from Monday's total body conditioning class, which was most weight lifting exercises. I liked it a lot except for the fact that it was full of women who only want to "tone" themselves and therefore using maybe 2 lb. weights the entire time! Here I was with 10-pound weights and 20 pounds on my bar and even that seemed like a cop out. The only thing that saved me was the extended reps - it seemed like we did 30 reps of each exercise so even with 10 pound hand weights I was burning most of the time, but nothing was impossible for me to do with the heavy weights.

NYSC also has a new class that is modeled after CrossFit called UXF Burn. I'm going to try and do that class too but it hasn't been offered when I am available yet. I would like to ultimately sign up for a Crossfit gym but with most of the monthly memberships costing $200 or more, I simply can't justify it compared to $60 at the gym.

If I end up going to classes 5 days a week, my gym membership will end up costing me $2.40 a class! Compared to the expensive spinning classes near me which cost $30 a class, I feel like it's a great deal.

Since I'm off from school until January 22nd, time will tell if I can keep up this routine during my break and continue while I'm back in classes. I know I will have to adjust my schedule according to class and clinical time, but I'm hoping if I make my health and fitness a priority, I will be able to keep up the schedule!

See ya later, savings

2012-12-31T10:01:00.001-05:00

Another semester is over and that means the next semester must be paid for!

It hurts a bit to see all my savings from the past year go out of my account so fast, but I feel accomplished in what I've been able to do since starting school in September 2011.

This semester I paid $5,800 for tuition. This brings my out of pocket expenses on tuition to $22,000 for 4 semesters. My student loans for this time period are $25,000.

After transferring the money out of my account for my tuition, I have $500 left in my school savings account and $450 in my emergency savings account. I'm hoping to boost my school savings quickly by continuing to avoid shopping and extra expenses.

I did add one expense for the new year which I am happy about - a gym membership. The last two months of the semester, I barely exercised at all. Working out by myself without a competition coming up has always been a challenge. When I was offered a great deal for an Alumni membership with New York Sports Club, I jumped on it. In my area there are three NYSC within a 10 minute drive and they all offer great classes. So far I've gone to two spinning classes and am going to a Total Body Conditioning class this afternoon. I'm hoping the fact that I have a class to attend will help me keep my motivation. I'm paying $60 for a passport membership which allows me access to all of the NYSC gyms in the country. It's also month to month, so if it really doesn't pan out the way I think it will, I can cancel the membership if I think it's a waste.

Happy New Year's everybody!

The Holiday Season

2012-12-27T11:41:00.001-05:00

Happy December! Well, end of December, really.

This month has been a whirlwind for me - final exams and studying took up much of the two weeks before Christmas with my exams going right up until December 20th. I did very well in all my classes and am finishing this semester with a GPA of 3.7 (3.8 if my professor is a generous rounder...we'll see!)

I'm relieved to be finished with the first semester of school and working part time. There were no problems with working on the weekends and going to school during the week. I think I had plenty of time to study during my off time from school and while my personal life suffered and I spent almost every single Friday and Saturday working at the hospital, it was worth it.

Next semester will be my last "full time" semester where I take 13 credits. My last semester, which I hope to complete in June and July, will only be 8 credits. And then I'm done with nursing school! It's amazing how time has flown by and how much has changed for me since just last year.

I made it through the holidays with no more credit card debt than I normally do, which is signaling to me that I have to tone it down if I want to save as much as possible before June. From Christmas money I was able to save $500 into my school fund, which puts me only $100 away from paying for the Spring semester bill in full.

I'm scared that I will be draining my entire savings account to pay for this upcoming semester, but I have been working a lot of over time and anticipate being able to save about $1,200 in January towards the summer semester. I'm feeling nervous about asking for tuition reimbursement and am afraid I don't qualify. In some of the literature at my work it says it covers "classes" others say it only covers your "course of study" that BEGAN six months after your hire date. I have to ask my boss if she will approve it and am preparing myself for the worst-case scenario which would be not getting $5,000 tuition reimbursement for the summer semester.

If I don't get the reimbursement, I need to come up with $7,200 to pay for my summer semester in full. It seems to me I will be able to save $5,400 from January-July if I follow the schedule of saving one entire paycheck every month ($600). My projected tax return is around $1,000 so I will save that also, bringing me up to $6,400. Finally if I am still working as a Tech in August while studying to take the NCLEX, I can save the additional $800 to cover it completely. I know BF will help me with the money for school if I really need it, and he doesn't want me to take out a loan on the last semester (if I don't take a loan, I will graduate with $25,000 in loans). So I am going to try and save as aggressively as possible, cut back tremendously on my dinners out and lunch take out, and suck it up for the next eight months!

I'm hoping and praying that I will be able to stay at the hospital I am working at to work as a RN when I graduate. Everyone I work with is very confident that I will get a job "if I want one" and I always say OF COURSE I want a job here! It's a great facility and I already see the positive benefits of their employee retirement plans and insurance. It is a place I can see myself developing and growing my nursing career. Fingers crossed!

I'm going to try and update more as I find out about my work situation, things get so busy sometimes that I literally don't sit in front of my computer for longer than 10 minutes at a time!

Happy holidays to everyone, and Happy New Year!

Savings Update

2012-10-20T12:14:00.003-04:00

I was filling out a budget sheet today and it hit me: all the money I have in my savings account right now has come from my savings since I quit my job and started school. Before I started school, I had saved almost $10,000. This means I saved $15,000 towards school overall!

BF and I have been talking a lot lately about buying a house in the next few years. When I am working full time as an RN, I can potentially start at $80k/year or more. With our combined income we'll be making well over $150,000 a year. What we want to do is save 20% of a down payment towards a house, and we're thinking we will be able to afford a house that is worth $500,000. That means we'll have to save $50,000 each to put towards the down payment. At first I scoffed at the idea, but seeing how I was able to save $5,000 working part time and odd jobs, I am convinced we'll be able to save the money within three years of me working full time again.

It's exciting to think about the future, but today I was focusing on the past. This is how my savings broke down, September 2011-September 2012:

September	$825
October	$0
November	$100
December	$0
January	$400
February	$2,000
March	$0
April	$0
May	$0
June	$500
July	$500
August	$300
September	$350
Total FYE	$4,975

You can see my most active months of saving were when I started my summer internship. I'm proud I was able to save $1,650 from my internship money. It was a tough summer shadowing an actual RN schedule, but the experience was priceless in my mind!

The rest of my savings, $825 from receiving my security deposit back and $2,000 from my tax returns, is basically money that had been mine all along but just in limbo. I'm glad I could save it all instead of blowing it on something stupid.

Which brings me to my next confession: I am shopping too much for stupid things. I put a stop to my mindless spending. In a lot of ways, I thought I was getting great deals: buying everything on sale and extra percentage off. But really, did I need another pair of jeans? A new raincoat? A new tote bag? No. I am stopping myself now by banning all shopping until I finish school. I have everything I need. Enough shoes, purses, jeans, jackets, etc. to last me a lifetime. In fact, I have been culling my wardrobe and donating my clothes to charity and STILL have too much in my closet. It has to stop. My credit card bill crept up to $1,300 for the month of September/October and it's just not OK. I'm not going to let my spending get in the way of my saving, so I am keeping myself on track by saving $600/month, which leaves me with a little over $100 a month for frivolous expenses. I'm hoping the tighter budgeting will keep me on track and my free time will be spent exercising, visiting with friends, and most importantly, STUDYING!

My credit score, credit/debt ratio

2012-10-01T12:07:00.000-04:00

I got a free credit report from my American Express card today, and it was fun to look at.

My Experian/Equifax score is 770 while my Transunion score is 782!

According to the breakdown, the only negative factor in my score is the fact that I do not have a mortgage! That seems kind of silly, like owning a home is the most important thing in the world. I'll take it though.

The more exciting part is my credit-debt ratio, which was 98%. I have $33,500 in available credit and $1,089 in "debt" aka the credit card bill I pay in full each month (yes it is high, but I use the card for everything, groceries, gas, medical bills, school expenses, parking, etc. etc.).

I was looking back on my old posts and my credit to debt ratio had been 24% in 2009. My how things change!

I'm guessing my score will likely stay the same until I actually pony up and buy a house. I don't think that will be happening for at least five years...so my focus will be continuing to keep my debt at zero and attempting to take on the least amount of student loans possible during my last year of school.

The grind...

2012-09-30T23:08:00.000-04:00

No one said balancing time between school, work, family, friends and your significant other is easy! It's been a month since I started back up with nursing school and things have been going very well so far.

I've managed to make it through my first month of working part time at the hospital during the "evening" shift, which is 4pm-Midnight. My school schedule allows me to have Mondays off, so I have worked out a schedule that gives me Sundays off every other week, giving me a pseudo weekend, just one day off! In making the choice between giving myself off on a Friday or Saturday night, I decided it was more important to me to have two full days off, one with BF home too, so that I could feel refreshed and recharged for the week. It's been a while since I've really "gone out" on a Friday and Saturday night anyways, and all of my friends have been understanding and flexible with me - instead of drinks on the weekend, I've made plans for brunches before work, movies in the afternoon, and coffee whenever possible!

The reality is I only have one more year of this madness, so I'm going to try and make it all work to the best of my ability. This means that yes, I have to say no occasionally to things, but I also have had to prioritize who I want to spend my time with and that's made my life a little easier.

I've been really enjoying my time working at the clinical sites for school this year. I go to a pediatric hospital on Wednesdays and a small community hospital's Maternity ward on Fridays. I love working in maternity and dare say I enjoy it more than oncology sometimes. I also think that as I get older I enjoy being around babies and the idea of pregnancy more than I ever thought I would, so I am keeping my emotions in check when considering where I'll want to work when I graduate.

On the money front, I've done well for September, saving $650 to my school fund! I need to save another $900 to be completely covered for the Spring semester, and figure I should be able to accomplish that before Thanksgiving. I know I have to curb my spending. It seems like every day there is a new expense. I'm setting a goal for myself to not shop during the month of October. If I can break the cycle of being "okay" with spending on every little thing I feel the need for, I will be able to save even more than I am now. It all starts with commitment!

Revealing your debt to the world

2012-09-11T18:12:00.002-04:00

I am an avid reader of the website XOJane.com and today they have a story about women revealing how much debt they are currently struggling with: XOJane Debt Gallery.

The reaction has been interesting: some people are shocked by how much everybody owes, many commentators are very judgmental about certain people's debt, and others go on to reveal their own debt situation.

I find that talking about money can be a very touchy subject with people. It automatically becomes awkward when someone asks me, "so, when are you and boyfriend getting married!?" I usually reply with "when we can afford it!" to which they usually respond with surprise that I would say such a thing. I then remind them that I am currently in nursing school which costs $25,000 a year ($50,000 total), the price of two average weddings in the New York area!

Seeing how much people owe in this gallery made me feel relieved that I will only be taking on about $25,000 in student loans, and that I have no credit cards, car loans, or personal loans that I owe on.

The mortgage debt really scares me, because it seems more and more likely that it will be very difficult for me and BF to buy a house in a neighborhood that we find desirable. We recently discussed renting a home in our chosen neighborhood and then buying a sweet vacation home. He actually agreed with me on it! Who knows if we will actually pursue it, but here's to hoping!

One Year Down, One Year to Go

2012-09-04T08:13:00.001-04:00

It's hard to believe it's been one year since I left my old job and returned to college! So much has changed for me (in a good way) and I am so excited to think that one year from today, I will most likely have graduated nursing school, be starting my first job as a Registered Nurse, and will have moved back to my beloved neighborhood in NYC!

This summer was crazy and it really flew by. My internship lasted 10 weeks, and one week before I was supposed to finish, I started my part time gig as a Patient Care Technician. This job pays me $20/hour and $30/hour overtime. I've been working full time all of August so I've been able to save a good amount of money so far - this summer alone I saved $1,300 towards my school fund. My next paycheck should be enough for me to save another $700 making my summer savings total $2,000!

Along with my part time job I receive excellent health care - I pay $40 a month for medical, dental and vision coverage through Aetna and MetLife! I am so excited about this, because paying $90/month for horrible insurance caused me to avoid any and all doctors appointments and end up paying for nothing in the end (but it was a piece of mind).

I will also have the chance to apply for tuition reimbursement for up to $5,000 for my last semester of school. With my current savings sitting at $4,600, this means I have to save another $1,300 in order to pay for my Spring Semester, and then another $2,200 to pay for my Summer Semester in full (no loans). If I keep up with this plan, I will end up taking out $25,000 in student loans. OUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am taking the student loans in stride. The average starting salary for RNs at my hospital is $80,000, and I ended my last job at about $60,000/year. This would be a $20,000 pay increase, so the $25K in loans to me feels like a good investment into my future. If I make an aggressive loan payout plan, I will be able to throw $500 a month at them, and reduce them by $6,000 in the first year, and will put me on schedule to eliminate them in about 4 years.

It is going to be a busy year - this semester I have classes Tuesday-Friday and will be working a combination of Friday-Saturday-Sunday evenings every week. I have to work 5 evenings in a two week block, so that works out to working 3 times one week and two times the next. This won't leave me much time to socialize, but it is a necessary sacrifice I need to make in order to (hopefully) guarantee myself a job at my hospital and allow me to make enough money to save some additional money for AFTER graduation.

My goal is to save $400 a month. With my salary and working on a part time basis, I will be making $1,600/month before taxes. If I can save $200 per paycheck, that will put me on track to have saved $2,800 by May.

Well, this turned out to be a longer post than I thought it would be! Let's see how I can do with all these plans - school officially starts Wednesday!

Good Bye, HSBC Savings Account

2012-08-26T18:35:00.001-04:00

I've had HSBC online savings for probably more than four years. When I first signed up, the interest rate was over 2%. Over the years, the interest rate has been lowered and now I don't even know how much it is.

I've always stuck with them because they were on par with all the other online banks...but now I'm finally saying goodbye. I received an email with the following notice a few days ago:

The following account fees will change as of September 23, 2012:

Funds Transfer-In, per incoming transfer - $12 each (the transfer of funds from another person's account, or another financial institution to your HSBC account)

Foreign Currency Draft (DD Commission) - $25 each* (official bank check purchased in another currency)

US Dollar Draft- DFT (Commission USD) - $10 each* (official bank check)

$12 for every time I transfer money INTO MY ACCOUNT!? To me that is just outrageous. I plan on transferring a ton of money INTO my savings account, which is what a person who is trying to save would naturally do. I cannot afford $12 each time. I am shocked that this is happening and starting to do research on new online banks - but most likely will go with Ally or ING Online.

Anyone else still use HSBC Online and receive the same notice? What are you going to do about it!?

Moving On, moving up

2012-07-18T14:48:00.002-04:00

My summer internship as a nursing assistant is beginning to wrap up: I have six more shifts with my preceptor and will officially end on July 28th.

The good news is, I will be continuing to work with the hospital as a Patient Care Technician starting August 1st!

During the beginning of my internship there was a lot of talk about "staying on" as a PCT after you finish your time as an intern. The talk then changed to being a "Per Diem" PCT and now the role is described as being available during holiday breaks.

I emailed my boss (who is intimidating) almost a month ago letting her know I was interested in an PCT position. Last week, she brought me into her office and told me if I was interested, a Part-Time PCT position is available and the "job is mine."

I accepted the job, which will require me to 2-3 8 hour shifts a week during the evening shift (4pm-Midnight). My boss went on to tell me that be accepting this job, I will officially be hired by the hospital as an employee and with that comes BENEFITS! I will be allowed to enroll in their health care plans (which are the best in the city) and, after six months I will be eligible for $5,000 of tuition reimbursement!

In my wildest dreams I never imagined that things would work out so well for me. Not only have I been offered a "real" position above the other interns at the hospital, but I will be able to have good health insurance and tuition reimbursement at the same time. It's like I've died and gone to heaven!

After thinking it through and feeling nervous about the possibility of being overwhelmed with school and work, I decided that working Friday and Saturdays from 4pm-Midnight will not affect my schoolwork. What work do I really get done during those times anyways?

I am more thrilled about the health insurance, because I have been paying $90 a month for crappy insurance that didn't even cover a basic yearly physical with my GYN. I'll also have dental insurance, so I won't have to worry about buying dental appointments on Groupon anymore!

I'm sure I've said this here and I say it often to my friends, but the way things work out for me, I know there are people looking out for me. Whether they are in the afterlife or simply sending me good thoughts, I consider myself to be extremely lucky to be healthy, happy and given opportunities that many people are never able to consider. Working at a cancer hospital has exposed me to grief, suffering and death, but through each experience I have gained insight into what life is really about and how we all should take every opportunity to live our best lives and choose to be happy with what we have. It's a lesson I'm not sure I would have learned anywhere else, and I feel grateful for all the help I've received up until this point. From my parents, my boyfriend, my friends, colleagues and peers. I say it at work often but it really is true: Team Work Makes the Dream Work!

:-)

Learning and growing

2012-06-27T14:11:00.000-04:00

One month into my nursing internship and I honestly feel like a "real" junior nurse! I have been having incredible experiences with my preceptor, my patients and their families. It feels weird to me that just a year ago I was still working in my old PR job, worried about telling my bosses I would be leaving at the end of August. Now I am working at one of the best specialty hospitals in the country. It is bizarre!

Money has been tight, mostly because there have been so many expenses that I just didn't really think about when I was planning my summer "saving bonanza." I was able to save $500 of my first "real" paycheck towards my school fund, and I'm hoping my next check will be split in half (500-500) towards my savings and my current credit card bill.

My schedule mirrors my preceptors, so I work either 3x/week or 4x/week. This week I worked Sunday, then Thursday-Saturday. It gave me a nice three-day break, on two of those days I worked 6 hours a day at my lifeguarding job. Today I feel relaxed and have gotten some errands done and a tiny bit of shopping. Most days the most stressful thing I worry about is making sure my scrubs are/will be clean for my next set of shifts!

I have also decided I definitely want to stay at my hospital during the school year and work as a per diem patient care technician. The PCTs work 8 hour shifts, either 8am-4pm, 4pm-12am, 12am-8am. I could definitely see myself working 1-2 shifts a week for the hospital while I'm in school. I think maintaining my connection with my nurse leaders and those on my floor is going to be very important when I come back around next summer looking for a job.

Which brings me to my exciting revelation: I think I have found my specialty! When I started nursing school, I was bouncing back and forth between Labor and Delivery and Critical Care. Now working at my specialty hospital, I am confident to say I want to be an Oncology Nurse. It was never on the forefront of my mind, but being with my floor and experiencing how dedicated and intelligent these nurses are, I can see myself being "one of them" next year!

I still have six weeks of my internship left, so I am not trying to rush through my experience, rather, I want to enjoy it, my fellow interns, and continue to learn every single day what is means to be a great nurse. :-)

Catching up...

2012-06-05T10:36:00.000-04:00

The past week or two have been crazy for me. Last week I was at the hospital for a week-long orientation, and this week I start my shifts as a nursing intern!

My time at the hospital was amazing. The nurses and other staff were so friendly and enthusiastic about their jobs. They made me feel great about my upcoming summer and also made me feel like this hospital could be the right fit for me when I graduate!

I get paid $15/hour at this job and last week I logged 30 hours during orientation. I'll get my first paycheck this Friday. It should be $450, minus taxes, so probably $400 when all is said and done. I have a lot of expenses coming up and am trying to hustle and make enough to cover it all.

This week I added two days of working at the pool, which will make my paycheck $120 next week when I'm paid. Here are some of my expenses:

- $280 for 3 months of health insurance
- $200 for my train pass for the month of June
- $100 for a drug test and background check (required by my school)

I'm hoping once I pay these bills, I will be able to start my summer saving plan. The way my schedule breaks down, there are some weeks I'll be able to work at the pool and some weeks I can't. It is going to be a lot harder to save than I originally thought, but I think if I put my mind to it, I will be able to do it all!

It's Over!

2012-05-17T12:01:00.000-04:00

My second semester of nursing school, that is! I took my last test on Monday. It was a dosage and calculations test, which I have to take at the end of every semester and score at least a 95%. I studied a minimal amount and was a little nervous, but I ended up passing with a 100% :-)

Now that I am done with school, I am just waiting for my grades to post and my internship to start. I am working at my lifeguard job 20 hours a week (the max allowed) in the meantime. It's kind of nice having a pretty relaxed schedule. I do have to wake up every day at 7:30 to bring BF to the train station, but most days it helps me get an early start to the day.

I think I mentioned I have several weddings coming up this summer, and last night I took advantage of a crazy sample sale on KateSpade.com and bought this dress:

I spent $150 on the dress + shipping, which I thought was a great deal for a dress that is originally $400. I will wear it to at least 3 weddings this summer, not to mention any other fancy events I might have to attend! The dress cost me 15 hours of work at the pool, but I needed to get something to wear soon (the first wedding is over Memorial Day weekend) so I am happy with my purchase.

You'll also see I updated my old student loan debt - it is now at $5,500! Pretty exciting to get it below $5,000 in a few months.

Keeping my head above water

2012-05-04T09:13:00.003-04:00

As my semester comes to a close, I've had time to reflect on my past year of school and anticipate the coming year and the costs that come along with it. Reading this article in the Wall Street Journal made me think about how I've paid for my school versus what I was anticipating.

After two semesters, I have spent $10,000 cash on my tuition. I took out $12,500 in federal loans. I saved $500 of my own money, and $2,000 from my tax return.

On average, I make about $1,000 a month between lifeguarding and freelancing. My bills are as follows:

Fixed Costs
Cell Phone: $75
Utilities: $80 (average)
Netflix: $8
Home Insurance: $10
Prescription: $15
Health Insurance: $90

Variable Costs
Food Budget: $300
Gas & Travel: $50

Total: $628
Leftover: $372

I did some math before and calculated that after next semester's bill ($6,900) I will have about $2,000 left in my savings. My Spring semester should cost me the same, $6,900, and my last semester (hopefully summer 2013) will cost me $7,500 (all cash - NO LOANS!).

So, over the next year or so, I will spend $21,500 on tuition. After subtracting my current savings (about $10K), I will need to save $11,500 over the course of a year. Here's how I plan to do it:

Summer Savings: my summer internship will pay $15/hour and I am working full time. I plan to save (and I mean put my paycheck directly into my savings...literally) every. single. penny. If I do that successfully, I will save approximately $6,000. I will make this happen by working at my lifeguard job while interning. This will put me at working 60 hours a week, which will make for a very busy summer, but hey, you gotta work it while you can!

This leaves $5,500 left for me to save from September-May, about nine months. This breaks down to $600 a month. As you can see above, I have $372 leftover. I could push it to $400 a month. Leaving me a $1,800 gap missing if I follow the plan religiously.

So why have I not saved this money already? Well, I have to be brutually honest with myself, I am just not putting myself in a position to save. Even though I have reduced my spending, I still go out shopping from time to time, "treating" myself to new clothes. There also always seem to be holidays, large bills, and unexpected expenses popping up. I think for at least the past three months, my Chase card bill has been about $500. I go through the charges and sometimes, yes, there are things I needed to spend money on. But most of the time at least half the money spent was frivolous. If I can pay off a $500 credit card bill every month, I can DEFINITELY save my money.

I am going to do a better job of anticipating big expenses coming up and make saving a priority. It means the difference between graduating nursing school with only $25,000 in loans versus over $30,000. I will feel so proud if I can say I took out the minimum amount of loans and stayed away from dreaded private loans.

April Recap

2012-05-01T11:04:00.000-04:00

I haven't done a monthly recap in a while so I figured since it is May 1st (yayyy, May Day!) I will do one. April is still very fresh in my mind, so I think I can do a good job of recapping.

Income. According to Mint.com, I made exactly $1,006 this month! My goal is always to make $1K. I made $639 through my part time lifeguard job. I made $420 freelancing and am expecting another $180 check from freelancing to come in this week. I also made $100 cash through my sometimes coaching job. I didn't deposit that, so it doesn't show on my income numbers. I basically lived off that money for about a week and a half.

Spending. This month was expensive for food. Last week I spent $75 on groceries, this week $35 (so far...) and another $104 for the rest of the month. That brings my grocery totals to $214. I was pretty good about eating out every day EXCEPT Wednesdays, when I'm in the hospital for clinical. I usually spent about $10 a day on lunch and snacks, so I'm going to round to $50 for clinical snacks/lunch. Finally ordering take out has been minimal, so I would say I spent about $50 on that for the month, making me just over budget at $314 for the month of April. Not too shabby.

School: I only have one more week of classes and then finals next week! I am doing well in two of my classes and am on the borderline for my pathophysiology class. The grade is only made up of two exams and a final, so there really isn't any room for error. I would like to try and get the highest grade possible in all my classes, but I'm thinking I'll be closer to a B average this semester. I'll aim high and hope for the best :-)

Fitness: I've been working out pretty steadily. The first week of April I did the Insanity workout every day. The second week, life happened, and I quit Insanity, BUT I decided to recommit to lifting weights. Since I have a wonderful weight room/cardio room at my work that I can use for free and am basically alone in it the entire time, I know I have to take advantage. The second and third weeks of April I rode my bike to school (5 miles round trip) at least four times a week. Then the third week it was freezing cold/raining, so I didn't get as many rides in as I would have liked, but I kept up with the weights and now have a pretty good, 3x a week schedule I am following. I build muscle pretty easily so I am already seeing results :-)

Friends: I got to see some old friends this month by going to a former co-workers Bridal Shower. I also saw my mom and her friends at a charity event two weeks ago. Thanks to Easter I saw my and BF's families and this past weekend I got to see my best friend and BF's friends during an outing to one of NYC's best beer gardens. Overall, I would say I had a pretty good balance of work-life-friends-family.

The Bad...I signed on for next semester's student loans...which will total $12,500 for the Fall 2012 and Spring 2013 semester. It could be worse, I know. My bill for next semester, with 13 credits, will be about $6,800. After subtracting that from my savings, I will be left with only $2,500...meaning I have to save at least $4,000 over this summer in order to pay my Spring tuition in full.

With that considered, I have decided I am going to work part time at the pool in addition to my internship at the hospital. I will make $15/hour for about 40 hours of work at my internship, which will be three days a week, and if I can work 2 days a week at the pool for an average of 15 hours a week at $10/hour, I will be able to bring in an additional $600/month, which is basically all of my living expense, which will allow me to save all of my internship money. Here's to hoping that plan will actually work!

Compromises

2012-04-30T08:44:00.001-04:00

Yesterday after I wrote my post about fighting over money with BF I felt really guilty. Reading the comments it's clear I presented a one sided story and painted BF to look like a bit of a jerk. Which he's not!

One of the hardest things a couple will experience is trying to come to compromises on things. BF and I are both stubborn, set in our ways, and we've been together for seven years! We talked a lot yesterday about my feelings and his feelings and came to an agreement that he feels happy with: we will have a budget of 2 take out meals a week or one nice restaurant meal a week.

He said he understands that always scrimping and saving puts the most strain on me, and days like my Wednesday clinicals he understands I don't want to be cooking after being awake since 4:30am. I am trying to get through to him about his perception of our situation. He grew up in a family where money was not always in excess, and although I did not either, my parents never shared with me the details of their financial situation. I don't think I have any specific "issues" about money other then I like to spend it. BF on the other hand has been and continues to be privy to his parents' financial status and it causes him stress. He told me he doesn't want to end up like them...to which I have to point out...we're not! I think he is afraid if he always says yes to me, we will lose everything, which is a bit dramatic.

I feel lucky that this is only a temporary situation, and when I graduate I am looking at starting salaries that are in some cases $10,000 more than what BF makes now. Not that making more will give me more power, but it will alleviate BF's fears. This also gives me a nice preview of my life when we have kids together, as I want to take an active role and work part time so I can raise my own children. Having these kinds of disagreements is frustrating but sometimes the only way to make changes is to have the hard talks that you are avoiding and dancing around. We both need to change, but I feel confident if we both hold up our end of the bargain, we will come out stronger after all of this.

Fighting over money

2012-04-29T09:37:00.005-04:00

Lately, BF and I have been fighting over money a lot. I always knew we were opposites in terms of our relationships with money, but since I've been back in school and he has shouldered a considerable amount of the financial responsibility, things have gotten more heated.

One of the most frustrating things about BF is that he always makes everything about money. Whether he comes home from a night out with his friends and says to me, "guess how much I spent tonight" or is complaining about how expensive a particular weekend was for him, cost is usually the first thing that comes to mind whenever he is planning anything.

I, on the other hand, recognize that "doing stuff" in life costs money. I don't sweat the small stuff when it comes to paying for things. I feel frustrated because in a way I am at his mercy when it comes to doing things. Most of the time, he will pay for a take out dinner, or for the movies, or any number of other activities we might take part in. With him paying, he also assumes he has control over what we do, how much we spend, etc. It can feel demoralizing to be constantly put into the lower position just because of money.

The way our joint finances break down, BF pays for rent ($1,200/month) cable ($85/month) car insurance ($100/month) and I pay for the electric bill ($80/month average) Netflix ($8/month) EZpass ($25-50/month) and groceries ($300/month). We both pay for our own individual bills ourselves. I feel very fortunate that I can pay for my own bills and be responsible for some of our shared costs.

Many times during our disagreements about spending money, BF will say something like, "we are a one income household" or "I am the only one making money," which really upsets me. I usually work 20 hours a week at my lifeguarding job, which only pays $10 an hour. I constantly remind him that I am working as many hours as I am allowed to and freelancing when it's available in addition to going to school full time, but somehow he always forgets that I bring in money and pay for things too. I may not be paying the rent, but lately I have felt like it would be worth it to just split the rent with him so that I don't feel like he has this constant burden of paying the rent hanging over me. I hate hearing him say he doesn't feel appreciated by me, and that I am always wanting to do things that cost money. It feels like a lose-lose situation for me, because I am trying to live a normal life with him while I am still in school. If I completely focused on school and work and neglected to spend time with him (and sitting around watching TV doesn't count, in my opinion!) I feel like our relationship would suffer.

So what is the solution for all of this? This summer I will be making more money but trying to save every penny I can because I want to reduce the amount of loans I am taking out (with my goal for graduation to be less than $30,000, less than $25,000 being my dream amount). I know I can just suck it up and not ask to do stuff like order takeout, go out to dinner, go to the movies, spend a day doing something that "costs money," but I hate feeling like I'm walking around on eggshells and because I make so much less money than he does, he's always in control of what we do. I have to fight tooth and nail to go to dinner at a cheap diner once a week. Is this too much to ask for? Should I just not say anything and only do things when he suggests them? Make more money so I can feel more in control?

I just don't know what to do. It's so true that one of the main things couples fight about is money. Even if you don't mean to.

Updates, money talk and more!

2012-04-20T09:07:00.001-04:00

Wow, I have been horrible at keeping up with my blog! I visit it nearly every day, checking out the other websites I follow on my sidebars, but I haven't had the motivation to write a new update.

In some ways, it's been hard to keep my blog updated now that I am out of credit card debt and not making any payments towards my old student loan while in school. Saving money has been extremely hard while in school, with so many events and expenses constantly popping up.

I only have three weeks left of my semester and I'd like to say it flew by. I guess it did, but it also felt like a long, drawn out process some days. The weather is warming up in NY and I've been able to ride my bike to campus four days a week, cutting down on gas costs (average gas price in NYC: $4.20!). Biking has also helped me to get into pretty good shape, and I have added in a pretty substantial weight lifting routine since reading this article on XoJane. I don't want to be a competitive power lifter, but the article reminded me of the "good old days" when I was swimming competitively in college and in the weight room four times a week. My gym at school is no where near the amazing athletic facilities of my old college, but I can still rock the free weights and weight machines like a pro! I did about a week and a half of the "Insanity" DVDs but my schedule was just too hectic the past few weeks to actually commit to doing the workout every day. I know that is pathetic, but I literally would have no time to fit in a workout and the showering, changing, etc. that comes along with it (you get REALLY sweaty!) so I've resigned myself to biking 4x a week (about 6 miles round trip each day) and lifting weights 3x a week. Hopefully once school ends and I am only working 3 days a week, I will have more time to work out and know what my schedule is going to look like so I can prepare myself.

Money-wise, I've been struggling thanks to a Bridal shower last weekend and lingering bills I had to pay. Luckily a day or two after I posted about not getting any freelance work, I got some freelance work! I have a $180 check coming to me (the other part of being a freelance that sucks....waiting for your money!) and my normal lifeguarding paycheck to pick up today (probably $300) and once I get those, I will finally be back in a "good place" with my money.

I've been thinking about my summer goals, and I'm hoping to save $5,000 by the end of the summer. I should be making about $600 a week, with my 10 week internship, I should make $6,000 total by the end of the summer. If I can save 5 out of the 6 thousand dollars, I'll be stoked! Honestly though, any savings, even 3 or 4 thousand, will make such a great difference (and allow me to pay for my final semester of college).

So those are my updates so far. I'm also setting a goal to blog more often! Hopefully I can make good on that one :)

So this is what it's like to be a "freelancer"

2012-03-23T12:12:00.001-04:00

I have been working "freelance" for my old company since I left in September. So far I have had a pretty steady income coming in from them, and usually work at least twice a month, which means I got paid twice a month on average.

Cut to this month, and I haven't had any work come my way since the end of February. It was a big project and I did pretty well on it, but now I'm feeling kind of anxious about all my bills and whatnot solely depending on my lifeguarding job.

Today I got paid $318 for two weeks of work, meaning I only worked about 33 hours in two weeks. The max I can work is 40 hours in two weeks, so if I max out every week, I will be making $800 a month.

I had a sort-of expensive competition last week during Spring Break, where I went to a swim meet in Boston. I paid for almost everything on my credit card and that bill is due on April 14th. I also have to pay for the interview suit I bought, which cost $210. Add on to that a stupid $60 expense at the Gap a few weeks ago, and a $75 bill for a physical for my summer internship.

Right now I have about $50 sitting in my checking account. Once I deposit my $318 and a $25 check from my grandma, I'll have almost $400. Minus my immediate bills (interview suit + physical exam), I will be left with $125 to get through the next two weeks, and next week I have to pay my cell phone bill and Netflix bill ($86), so that will leave me with $39 excess cash. I'm planning to max out my hours so I will be paid $400 in two weeks, in which I will pay my CC bill (~$300) and my Gap card ($60). That will only leave me with $40 again.

Ouch, it's going to be a tight month of April, that's for sure!

I will probably have to dip into my emergency fund if I can't make ends meet, especially when it comes to groceries. I should be back on track to be living comfortably once I get these big bills out of the way and hunker down (aka, not take any more trips or buy and more expensive clothes!)

If things turn around and I get my freelance income, then I should be sitting pretty. I guess this is a lesson to me that freelance income is not guaranteed and since I'm not actively seeking additional work, I am only relying on it as additional income at this point. I'm hoping things will even out for me and I will be able to save starting in May, with the steady income of my full-time summer internship starting at the end of the month.

"Write your own ticket"

2012-03-09T10:06:00.003-05:00

When I was growing up, my Dad used to tell me that if I focused on my swimming career and performed well, I would "write my own ticket" to college. What that phrase most instilled in me was, with hard work, you can achieve what you want in life.

Starting "over" with a new career in nursing hasn't been easy. Between the long pre-nursing classes I took on the weekends and at nights while I was working full time, and the down right depressing application process, I felt like my dreams had come true when I was accepted to nursing school.

Now in school and halfway through my second semester, the reality of the economy and job market is constantly being drilled into our heads. Our instructors warn us there are "no jobs" for new grads. I don't know why they are so negative....but it can be scary to hear and makes everyone almost paranoid: we all look around at each other thinking, "who's going to get that golden job over me??"

I always knew the value of internships: when I was in college the first time, I did three different internships before graduating and then interned for the entire summer before being hired at my old company. When setting up my new nursing career, I knew I was going to have to build a new foundation from scratch and was excited that I would have the summer off from school so I could try to do an internship at a hospital.

After two great interviews, my final internship interview was my most important. I first met with the HR in charge of the summer nursing program. We had an amazing meeting and she told me she hoped I would work for the hospital when I graduated (!). I then interviewed with the nurse managers on a floor and I thought it was OK...they were more critical, tough and less warm and fuzzy than the other nurse managers I had met before.

I was convinced I didn't get the job - the HR lady told me I could hear back as soon as the same day. Well, that day came and went. So did day two, and day three. I had all but given up...when during my clinical on Wednesday I got a voicemail I listened to during my lunch break.

I GOT THE JOB.

I am overwhelmed by excitement, nervousness and disbelief. I can't believe I landed an internship with one of the best specialty hospitals in the country. What crossed my mind that day when I was thinking about getting the job was what my dad used to say. Write your own ticket. Getting an internship doesn't guarantee me anything, but the nurse manager told me the internship is essentially a "10-week job interview."

Now that I have an internship locked in, I am going to return my focus to my courses and making sure I am prepared to do the best I possibly can during my summer internship. Getting the internship proves to me that even in a difficult economy, you can create your own path to your career. And maybe with a bit of luck and the right attitude, I can write my own ticket once again.

What do you think of discount sites (Groupon, LivingSocial, etc.)?

2012-02-18T11:45:00.000-05:00

I was talking with a friend the other day about using discount coupon sites like Groupon and LivingSocial, and we both agreed that the sites are awesome, but make us uncomfortable in certain situations.

I admit my belief of "you get what you pay for" is probably a main reason I landed in almost $10K worth of credit card debt a few years ago. If I want to get something of quality, I'm willing to pay the price.

This has all changed since Groupon, LivingSocial, Gilt and RueLaLa have come into my life. Sure, I use coupons when buying clothes ALL THE TIME. In fact, I rarely buy clothes unless I am getting at least 20% off. I recently bought my interview suit at 30% off + 15% off, and was pissed when I noticed the Ann Taylor site started a new sale offering 50 percent off suits just a few days later.

Anyways, I have used Groupon and LivingSocial to buy discounts on food and for spa services. But when I was getting ready to plan where to get my next haircut, I've felt some serious unease when thinking about buying a haircut deal on one of the aforementioned sites. What started this thinking for me reading this article about a bakery that was almost put out of business because of a Groupon deal.

In fact, I believe in fair tipping, and fair paying, for services. I think it is wrong to try and bargain with someone for something they made - it cheapens their skills and their profession. It would always make me so mad when my old boss would offer our PR services for next to no money, just to score the account. We would be working on an account that paid 1/4 or less than many other accounts, but still had to provide the same services, results and so on for them. It made me feel horrible as a professional.

I found a deal to pay $44 for a haircut at a salon that would normally charge $100 for those services. "Sweet!" I initially thought. But then I thought, why do they need to offer this deal? Are they not getting enough customers? Will they stick me with a stylist who needs the extra money? Will they resent me for being cheap? Yeah. Stopped me dead in my tracks.

I can see how Groupons can be great for a business that is struggling or just starting out. But at the end of the day, I want to choose to go to a salon because they have amazing referrals and I know they will give me great service and they will deserve to get the full price for what they do because they did such a great job. It is going to cost me more money, but in the end, I want to support people who are talented at their craft and do what is right by them.

So I will scour the web, ask my friends, and decide upon the best stylist for me and my budget. And I will tip them well if they do a good job.