GREEN I$ THE NEW BLACK

And it begins....here we go!

2012-01-26T09:22:00.002-05:00

Well, I'm back in the swing of things, school has officially started. I have classes Monday-Thursday. Wednesday I have my Med-Surg clinical where I will be going to a major NYC hospital that I am super psyched about. I met my group and instructor yesterday and am so thrilled about getting started doing "real" nursing stuff!

My plan for this semester is to continue working at the pool but stacking my workweek towards Thursday-Sunday so I have my schooldays free to study and focus on school. I got approved to double my Work Study money (wohoo!) so I can work more hours than last semester.

I can only work 20 hours a week, but if I max that out, I can potentially make $800 a month, not including my work on the side. I'll be coaching swimming twice a week @ $30 a practice, giving me a potential income of $240 cash. And I'm continuing with my freelance work with my old company. Last week I did some work for them that will bring me $240 to start this semester with.

I started my tax returns (I'm waiting for my W-2 from my current job and a 1099 for my freelancing income and I'll be done). So far with all of my other stuff computed in, I should get back $3,000! I am super excited about this, because it basically pays for my semester, which was $4,000. So I will only lose $1,000 from my school fund! I am so happy about this, because last semester really did show me how difficult it was going to be to actually save a lot of money during school. There always seems to be some new bill popping up (such as my insurance) and my fixed monthly bills.

I think my student loans for this semester are going to be posted in the next few days, so I will (gulp) add the new amount to my new student loan bar. It's going to hurt to see $12K on that list....but I must remind myself if I only took out $12K in loans for this year, I'm in pretty good shape. I wish I could pay this all in cash, but that's just not going to realistically happen.

On the internship front, I am nervous I am not qualified for the internships I applied for. My fellow students told me some of them require us to have our Med-Surg experience before applying. I don't think it's fair, since I will have completed my clinical rotation before beginning the internship. I'm glad I sent in my applications already, because the old saying goes, "nothing ventured, nothing gained." At least I can say I did all my due diligence and put myself out there as much as possible. If nothing comes through for me, I may consider taking summer classes to accelerate my degree. There's no sense in just sitting around all summer not getting any experience. This is all still up in the air soooo...I'm not going to freak out just yet!

Hopefully I'll be blogging about my full tax refund soon :-)

Double Whammy

2012-01-18T10:24:00.000-05:00

Well, I finally bit the bullet and bought my books for this semester....ouch! The total for 7 textbooks (mix of used and new, all bought from Amazon.com) was $330.

Not bad, I guess. I'll be applying $90 to my credit card account as a credit to offset the cost of the books, bringing my out-of-pocket cost down to $240. Ahh, that's more like it! I am so happy I buy all my books online now. I can't believe how much I had to spend when I was in college "back in the day" when my only option was buying from the Co-Op. I definitely save $100+ through buying online. I would do even better if I sold all my books back.

Unfortunately I am hesitant to sell all my books back right away since there are some I feel like I will need to use in the future for reference. Now all I need to do is invest in a good bookcase (since all my books and notebooks are currently stacked up on a desk in my living room).

I also sadly must report that my new student loan has gone through, I have my online account set up and can see the damage right there on the screen. So, I'll be adding my new student loan debt to the "my debts" list on my sidebar. It's crazy that in one semester, I have just amassed almost the same amount of debt that I have left on my old student loan. I'm hoping I'll be able to keep up my plan of paying my college costs 50/50, cash/loans and only graduate with $25K in loans. Once I graduate, the goal is to payoff those loans within one year of graduating. I know it's a steep goal, but I think I can do it if I put my mind to it.

With less than a week before I start classes again, I'm relishing my moments of laziness and leisure as much as I can. And enjoying reading non-nursing books for once :)

What would you do if you failed?

2012-01-14T12:11:00.001-05:00

This post is going to be specifically about my experience in nursing school, but really, you can apply it to many areas of your life!

It took me a lot of blood, sweat and tears to get into a nursing school in the NYC area. I had many nights where I felt completely hopeless, like I would never get in, admissions people telling me I wasn't good enough, or those who simply used numbers like my 5-year-old GPA as a way to disqualify me (after I paid my application fee, of course). I spent hundreds of dollars applying to nursing schools and I was extremely lucky (even today, I feel that way) to get into a program just a few miles outside of NYC in a suburban area that was easy for BF to commute from.

I thought once I got into nursing school, I wouldn't let anything hold me back. I thought getting in was the hardest part. Well, I was DEAD WRONG on that assumption. As were many of my classmates. When classes started, we were informed that a "passing grade" was a C+ and a "failing grade" was a C or below. This shocked me, as in my previous life, a C would have been perfectly fine to sail by on. In some of my classes, a passing grade was a 90 or higher. Wow, I thought, this is really different from anything I've ever known.

My school does not take "failing" grades lightly. Any time you get below a 77, you get the dreaded paper handed to you notifying you of an unsatisfactory grade. Lucky me, I only got the paper twice this semester, and I had to answer for it to my adviser. I've never felt so embarrassed (they hand them out in front of every one) or discouraged.

There were moments where I thought, "oh my god, I'm not going to pass Nursing I". I really did think these thoughts. At a turning point in my semester, I hunkered down and really hit the books and nearly memorized my textbook for my most difficult course, Nursing I, aka, Fundamentals of Nursing. I aced my last two exams, did very well on my written work and group projects, and barely squeaked by with a....B! I was shocked and so happy. Compared to my other grades (all A's), a B was a black mark on my record, but I was so happy to have managed a B. My good friend who had done better than me all semester, tanked her last two exams and ended up with a B-. I would have never guessed.

I also never would have guessed more than HALF of my friends in my program had FAILED Nursing I. Yep, they have failed, will not pass go, will not collect $200. Maybe two of them are going to repeat the whole course over again this Spring to try and pass it. The others are done with Nursing school and are not coming back. I am so crushed that this has happened to them, and shocked at the same time - the amount of money they lost, the amount they now have to spend to just attempt to move ahead...it is a scary realization that getting into nursing school was not the hard part....getting through nursing school is.

During the semester, everyone had moments of feeling like our experience was "so unfair". Many people said that because it is a private school and we pay a lot of money for the classes, they shouldn't be allowed to fail the students. Others (me, sometimes) believed Nursing I was a way for the school to weed out unacceptable students and make sure those that progressed were really worthy of becoming nurses. Still others thought the school was a scam and they were just taking everyone's money and failing students because they don't have enough room for all of us in Nursing II.

I honestly don't know how to feel about my friends failing Nursing I. I am horrified that they have lost their money and now have to try and repeat the class to be able to move on. It scares me that failing can happen to "anybody" and I have to make sure I stay on top of my game to successfully graduate from this program. It shows me just how much is on the line for me - I am using my "life savings" to pay for some of my schooling and taking out student loans on the other part. If you fail a class, there are no refunds, no forgiveness on your loans, you are responsible for that bill.

For the girls who are repeating Nursing I, I really respect their decision but also feel dread for them - this class was not easy the first time around and now to have to repeat it all over again, with the same difficult professor is going to be torture for them. The ones who have given up and dropped out of the program, I feel so disappointed that they have to give up their dream to become a nurse.

I don't know what I would do if I failed a class and had to repeat it. I guess it depends on how far along in my courses I was - the girls who are giving up after Nursing I aren't really that far into it to begin with. For me, I have given up everything to be here - my great job, amazing apartment, and put my life plans on hold to make this happen. I'm not going to give up on my dream easily. But the part that I have to make sure of is that I DON'T put myself into the same position by putting school first always. There were times during the semester where I got my caught up with working at the pool and coaching. Towards the end when I really put my nose to the grindstone, I didn't marry myself to coaching and working the way I was previously. Yes, the money is great, but $60 cash is not worth throwing away $4,000 on a single class!

I guess time will only tell what these girls who failed are going to do. I would support them either way and I wish them well on whatever journey they take on.

Growing and growing!

2012-01-11T10:03:00.002-05:00

My savings account, that is.

I was able to put $400 into my savings today after getting paid last week and from some of my Christmas present money. I am happy that I made it through the holidays without really losing any money, and thankfully BF paid for a portion of the gifts we gave to my family.

I've been working 20 hours a week during the winter break and have one and a half more weeks until school starts back up again. I have also been focusing on applying to summer nursing internships during this time. As of right now, I have four different hospitals that I am applying for, and hoping that I will be chosen for several of the programs and be able to have my pick of where I will spend my summers working. All of the programs are paid positions, so I will be able to make a good amount of money by working at the internship and at my regular lifeguarding job.

I am going to have to pay a $4,000 bill in February for this upcoming semester, and was hoping I would be able to use some of my tax return towards it, but in case I can't, I will be able to pay via my savings account and then replenish the money I lost with my tax return.

Since I've been in school I've only been able to save $500, but am hoping that if I can keep the slow but steady progress, I will be able to save $1,000 by the end of this semester. I have to reign in my eating-out activities and curb spending on shopping (which I really haven't partaken in at all over the winter so far).

Holiday Cheer (and Drear)!

2011-12-27T16:53:00.000-05:00

Happy Holidays, everyone!

I wish I could say yesterday I got home after a long weekend of enjoying delicious holiday dinners and desserts. But alas, I have been battling a stomach virus since Thursday night/Friday morning. This may be the only holiday I have not touched a single dessert (okay, except for one tiny slice of raspberry almond tart that made me ill immediately) and have not had a single cocktail or sinfully decadent dinner. Such a waste!

Anyways I was able to suck it up and go to my family's holiday party on Sunday afternoon and I am really glad I went. My cousins and I are all grown and the older ones are starting to have kids....my parents and uncles and aunts are getting older....and we're all coming together more than ever. It made me really happy and made me want to renew my same old New Year's resolution of spending more time with my family.

I cleaned up pretty good from the Christmas holiday, getting cash gifts of almost $500 from various family members. I am going to be putting that money straight into my savings.

Last week I did really well work-wise, making $250 in cash from helping run swim meets and $330 from freelance projects with my old company. I'll be starting 2012 in a "good place" financially and have successfully completely my first semester back at college without accumulating any debt!

I had final exams all the way up until the 23rd of December, which was really annoying, but now I have off until January 23rd, which gives me some time to relax, read non-nursing books, work on my internship applications and hopefully make some good money working at the campus pool.

I paid my bill for next semester - it came in just under $4,000. I put the amount on my MasterCard which will not be due until February, so if I am lucky and file my taxes early enough, I may be able to use some of my refund to pay off this semester bill. I still haven't seen my back-pay or my money I am owed for agreeing to work as the college swim team's assistant coach, and they are so slow on these matters (this is back pay owed to me since September), I am not going to count on that money to pay this semester's bill. If anything maybe I will get it midway through and will be able to use it to replenish my savings account since it will be depleted quite a bit.

I'm still on track to be "okay" through two more semesters, but my final and last semester may have to be paid out in all cash by me. This means I have to step it up financially and try to save every dime that I can. Being sick over this holiday has really taught me that eating yummy, take-out food is really just a momentary convenience and enjoyment. It is over practically before it starts. I still spend too much (I think) on take out and feel like I could save more if I just cooked at home every night. Hopefully this stomach bug will help me turn that corner for good!

Until the New Year, happy holidays to all!

Two weeks...

2011-12-11T11:14:00.002-05:00

Until the end of the semester and Christmas!

This coming week is my last week of class and next week is finals week. I can't believe I am at the end of my first semester of nursing school. Things have been extremely busy since I last wrote a blog post (hence I have not updated my blog in over a month - sorry!)

Money-wise, things are a bit tight for me this month. I had to renew my student insurance which is $270 every three months. BF has paid almost $1,000 to fix some minor things wrong with our 18-year old car. It still runs great (knock on wood) and we are hoping it will last till I graduate school (at least).

Once my semester is over, I am going to be working full time at the campus pool. At $10 an hour, I should be able to make $1,600 in the month I am out of school.

Yesterday I had an "ah-ha" moment that I probably should have had a while back. I went over to the Marshalls/Homegoods that is near my apartment and was aimlessly shopping for who knows what, and I stopped and thought - "you are only making $10 an hour. You can't afford any of this stuff." It's a harsh reality but it's helped me come to terms with my spending habits. Since I've been in school I haven't really had time to shop or buy a bunch of "new things" but the feeling that I always need something new has really gone by the wayside since I've been busy with school. My bill for next semester just came, and it is going to cost me about $4,000 out of pocket.

I was hoping I would get paid the $2,500 I should get for signing on to be the assistant swim coach at my college, but the school has been really slow to move on everything. Because of that, I am going to have to front the $4,000 from my savings. If I get the $2,500 in 2012 and am able to get the full education tax credit of $2,500, I should have my spring semester completely covered with room for books.

It has been really hard to save since I started school. It seems like every time I am ready to put some money away another big expense comes up. I am hoping that I can stay on track to save $100 this month and will save any money I might get for Christmas too. During January I am going to be applying to a nursing student internship that is paid. If I get it, I will be working three 12-hour shifts a week during the summer. The position pays $15 an hour (which isn't too bad!) and I will also be working at the campus pool during the summertime as well.

I hope I'll be able to check back in over the next two weeks, luckily I have been able to put all my credit cards away and can live off the money I make working as a lifeguard and coach. Although saving is super important, not going into debt while I'm in school is even more important to me. So far, mission accomplished!

Making saving a priority

2011-11-05T10:09:00.002-04:00

Yesterday I got my first paycheck for November, and it was a little more than I expected: $310! I also got my $90 from my freelance gig so I deposited $400 into my checking account so far for November.

I decided I really need to start making saving a priority, so instead of letting myself have extra money "floating" in my checking account, I transferred $100 into my savings account - the first money I've saved since starting school!

I also got some exciting news yesterday: my boss offered me a job as the assistant swim coach at the college! Unfortunately this is just a part-time position, so it doesn't pay much, but it's a great amount of money to me: $2,500 for three months of work.

I will hopefully be the assistant coach next year to at the same rate, giving me an opportunity to bank $5,000 right there. This is going to help my goal of saving $9,000 before graduating so much. If I earn the work study money I have been allotted, which is $2,500 per year, I will have $5,000 a year that I can possibly try to save towards my educational expenses. Combined with the potential $2,500 tax return coming to me in February, I should be able to easily reach my goal and maybe go beyond it by the end of next year.

I also met with my academic adviser and made the decision that I am not going to accelerate my studies by going to college this summer. I have a person at a local hospital who has been very communicative with me about their student nurse associate program, which is a paid 10 week summer internship. I am going to apply to more internships, of course, but I feel very optimistic about the potential for landing a summer internship and getting "ahead of the game" when it comes to graduating with my bachelor's degree in nursing.

While the assistant coaching position may be more time commitment, I think it will be a really rewarding job and any chance for extra money is a good chance for me!

Finish early....or do internships?

2011-11-03T09:30:00.002-04:00

Today I am going to meet with my adviser to discuss my Spring 2012 semester classes. I am also going to try and talk to her about doing a summer session, but I feel very conflicted on what I should do.

The way my school is set up, I have to do 5 semesters of clinical classes. If I follow the "traditional" plan, that means I take classes Fall, Spring, Fall, Spring and one last Fall. This gives me two summers free to do internships and also extra time to save up money to pay for the last semester.

There is an option to apply to take summer classes and therefore accelerate my study to Fall, Spring, Summer, Fall, Spring. I would end up graduating six months early and not have any time to do internships before I graduate. I will also not have extra time to save up money to pay for the extra semester of school, so I might end up taking out more money in loans this way. The benefit is I will be done with school in Spring 2013 and able to work even earlier.

But the big question is: will I get a job this way? I like to think I am a very ambitious person and I would like to apply to work at some of the best hospitals in New York City. I know most of them have waiting lists for new graduate nurses and others require experience before hiring. If I can do an internship this coming summer I will be a bit more experienced than my classmates who chose to take summer classes instead of interning. I guess the other option would be to try and take my last semester during the Summer of 2013 so I graduate three-four months early.

Coming from a business background, I know just how important internships are, especially in this down economy. I want to have the best chance at getting a good job, the job I want, when I graduate. I don't know if graduating early would help or hurt my chances. I have to pay the same amount of money either way, so why not allow myself a chance to save more money towards that last semester rather than rushing through it?

What's making me think twice is some of my friends in my program all want to do the summer session. I know at the end of the day, I have to look out for myself and not worry about what everyone else says...but it's hard not to want to be in the same sequence as the people I know I work well with.

I am going to seek out my adviser's advice and also ask my cousin, who is a Midwife, what she thinks. I'm also asking my cousin if I can attend some of her Midwife appointments this winter break, so I can start building my experience even earlier than the summertime.

October Recap

2011-10-31T10:23:00.002-04:00

Happy Halloween! Since it's the last day of October, I figured I would post my recap today. It was an interesting month for me, as it was the first full month of being "in the thick of it" with school. I took 5 exams this month and had three group projects and one paper to work on as well. So far I think I'm doing very well. I have an "A" average in my health assessment class, an "A-" in my pharmacology class, and a B+ in my fundamentals of nursing class. I'm not sure about my transcultural nursing class, since the grade is 50% written work and 50% final group project. I handed in my paper, so hopefully I will get an "A" on it...I'm just not sure when I will find out!

Anyways, my freelance work as slow this month. I only made $90 from that side, however I received my $330 payment from my September 30th invoice on October 7th, so I guess I can count that towards October income. Luckily, my coaching and lifeguarding work was good. Here's how it breaks down (money deposited into my checking account):

Lifeguarding: $540
Freelance Work: $420
Swim Meets/caching: $240 deposited

Total Earned: $1,200

I have to be better about saving all the cash I made from coaching and putting it into my checking account or recording what I made that week/month. It's hard when you are handed $30 cash at the beginning of the week...it ends up just being my spending money for that week.

I did pretty well this month, staying under my groceries budget of $200 per month, and eating out less often. I think November will be a good month, because I got some expenses out of the way: I needed to buy new sheepskin boots for wintertime. I chose to buy these boots from L.L. Bean instead of the typical "Uggs" boots I usually wear. I love L.L. Bean because of their lifetime guarantee policy. They cost $100, but will be worth it because I will be able to wear them in the mornings when dropping BF off at the train station and throughout winter time. I also had to spend $75 on all white shoes for my nursing clinical. The shoes were more expensive than some other all white nursing shoes, but they are good quality and should last me the five semesters I need to use them for.

I'm imposing a "shopping ban" on myself for the month of November and BF and I are also trying out a primarily "plant based diet" after watching the movie Forks Over Knives this weekend. Shopping for this kind of diet was much, much cheaper than my usual grocery shopping. I bought what I think will be one week's worth of food, and it only cost me about $40. I usually spend $60 at Trader Joe's for a weeks worth of food. We'll see how long this food will last, as it is my first time trying to cook mostly vegetarian dishes.

Well, that's it for me....Happy Halloween everyone!

New Flair for my Apartment from Thailand!

2011-10-27T09:23:00.007-04:00

A while ago, I was contacted by a representative from NOVICA, an artisan website affiliated with National Geographic. They offered me a gift certificate to buy something from one of their artisans, and I jumped at the chance to add some flair to my new apartment!

Here's some information about NOVICA:

NOVICA is one of the leading fair trade artisan websites. We work with National Geographic to give talented artisans around the world a place to express their artistic talents and provide access to the world market. We have thousands of top fair trade corporate gifts, accessories, jewelry and home decor items on our website.

Specifically, NOVICA has a new home party division, NOVICA LIVE where you can host a party in your home and earn extra money!

If you are interested in becoming a home consultant, NOVICA Live is currently expanding across the country and signing up new consultants every week. Getting in early is a big opportunity for direct sales. You'll be able to make some good money and support artisans worldwide.

Consultant starter kits are $199 and contain over $400 worth of samples and $150 in business materials. NOVICA Live has a lot of promotions going on for their early consultants, including anyone that becomes a Director this year will go to Bali next year.

You can also simply shop at the main website, www.novica.com. I ordered the Celedon Ceramic Vase which is so pretty in person! It was made by hand by an artisan in Thailand. At the time of my ordering, NOVICA was donating 10% of the proceeds to Thailand Flood Relief. It looks like that specific promotion has ended, but the website is really neat in that it lets you buy different products from artisans all around the world.

There are some really unique home decor, jewelry, clothing and dinnerware items...so much so that I had a hard time choosing something to buy for my apartment! If you are looking to support artisans worldwide, this is a great opportunity to be exposed to beautiful art from around the world!

Visit www.novica.com for more information, and here are specific links for different sections of the website:

http://accessories.novica.com/
Keyword: accessories

http://accessories.novica.com/womens/
Keyword: womens accessories

http://accessories.novica.com/mens/cufflinks/
Keyword: cufflinks

http://accessories.novica.com/mens/scarves/
Keyword: mens scarves

http://accessories.novica.com/mens/
Keyword: mens accessories

It's time to revisit my goals

2011-10-16T10:34:00.002-04:00

It's been almost two months since I left the "real world" to go back to school (nursing school) full-time. In that time I've done pretty well for myself money-wise, thanks to a freelancing gig with my old company, an on-campus work-study lifeguarding job, and side gigs coaching for cash.

I was able to pay off my $1,000 Chase card balance in full thanks to those jobs, and the fact that it was my birthday in September and I received several cash gifts from family members. Now that my credit card is at "zero" I'd like to keep it that way. One of the things I think I have to remind myself is that I am not making as much money as I used to be, and I am more dependent on BF than I realize.

I used to be able to save between $500-$1,000 every month while I was working full time. Flash forward to now, and I have saved ZERO dollars. I know I need to change that and with my credit card zeroed out, I feel like I can make a plan to do so. One of the challenges for me is the fact that I'm saving so little compared to what I used to save when I was working full time. I need to remind myself whether it's $50 a week, or $200 a month, any savings will make a difference for me!

My "school fund/future fund" is sitting at $11,320 right now. After the Spring semester, that fund will be depleted to $6,220, which will pay for my next Fall semester and leave me with a little more than $1,000 left to pay for the next Spring semester, and leave about $4,000 open to be paid for somehow....then my final semester, which will cost probably $5,000 must be accounted for somehow as well.

So...this leaves me with a pretty huge new goal: save $9,000 while I'm in school, over the course of two years. That is $4,500 a year. Or $375 a month I need to save to be on track. When I break it down that way, it doesn't seem so bad.

Here's one way I'll reduce that figure:

-Saving my entire 2011 tax return. Last year I got back almost $2,500 and I expect to get the same or more, since I stopped working in September and probably way overpaid my taxes to a higher bracket. I also have my education tax credits which will give me almost all the money I spent on my prerequisites back.

If I do get back $2,500, that would bring down my goal to $6,500 over two years. Which would be $270 a month for two years.

Theoretically, if I kept my current lifeguarding job for the whole time I'm in school, I will make an average of $400 a month in paychecks.

From that $400, I use about $300 a month to pay for my fixed expenses. That leaves me with $100 a month for groceries (not really enough...)

Okay so then my variable earnings includes a potential for $240 cash a month through coaching (2x a week @ $30 a practice). Freelancing probably will also bring in between $200-$500 a month, depending on how busy my old company has been.

I think the smartest thing for me to do would be earmark my fixed earnings (lifeguarding) for my fixed bills. I know I will always have to pay those, so I always have to have the money available. Things can change with my coaching schedule or freelancing projects, so I can't count on that money. But, if all goes to plan, I should be able to take the money I make from coaching and freelancing, and save $300 a month (during a good month).

I am going to try and put this into motion in November, and focus on finishing out October without any new debt and living within my means. It's not a difficult goal, but when you're "in the thick of it" the easy road is sometimes just too darn convenient to take.

Success! I got a new knife!

2011-10-13T09:30:00.003-04:00

About a month and a half ago, I mailed my broken J.A. Henckles Chef Knife back to the company with a letter hoping they would replace it.

Well, about a week ago, I received a brand new knife in the mail! I am so happy that J.A. Henkles honored their lifetime guarantee even though my damage was to the wooden handle, not the steel. Regardless, I finally have a chef's knife again!

Lesson learned: if something breaks "before it's time," contact the company and try to get a free replacement! During these tough economic times, it does a company good to make positive connections with loyal customers. I love J.A. Henkles knives and will use them for life. They are really worth the investment. Score one for my cooking skills!

Umm....you want me to do what?!

2011-10-11T09:48:00.000-04:00

So I finally completed my 401K rollover into an IRA. My money (just under $5,000) came to me in two checks - my contributions and my earnings. I earned a whopping $800 in 5 years, contributing 3% of my income after tax, with no employer match. I sent my checks to ING Direct, I opened a Roth IRA with them probably a year ago and never funded it, so I decided to just fund it and move on with my "retirement" savings.

Well, I was surprised when I signed onto the Sharebuilder website and discovered that yes, my funds were all rolled over, and now I'm being asked to "choose my investments"! I have no idea what I want to invest in. I barely did any research with my last 401K, because the company had a choice called "Future 2050" or something like that, where they invested you appropriately depending on your estimated retirement date.

I feel pretty lost with sooooo many choices in front of me. It almost seems like Sharebuilder just considers this an investor account and not a retirement account. I haven't done enough research to figure out what I'm going to do, but it seems like I'm going to need to learn a little bit about investing to make sure my money grows even just a little bit while I'm in school.

Finally, payday!

2011-10-07T14:05:00.002-04:00

After working for almost a full month, I finally got my first work-study paycheck!

I worked 29.5 hours in two weeks, and got paid $295, or $286 after taxes.

I also got my second freelance payment for the month of September, for $330. This money plus the money I made during September, pays for my monthly bills and my credit card bill, which has gotten kind of high because of so many additional expenses I had at the start of school.

Now that I will have my credit card paid in full, I shouldn't have any additional charges, which leaves my monthly income free for saving and bills!

This week I worked 10 hours lifeguarding, helped run the timing system at a swim meet ($50 cash) and coached one hour ($30). I think I've been doing pretty well with budgeting, spending only $50 per week on groceries at Trader Joe's. BF agreed to have two "eat out" nights where I don't have to cook dinner. I had to call in one of those two nights yesterday, because I had an exam this morning and an exam last night. I was going crazy studying for both of them.

So far I think I've been doing well with my time management skills. My other students are shocked at "how much" I work, but in reality, I am not overextending myself. School is very challenging, and I don't think I'd be able to do it if I was working full time, but working 10-15 hours a week pays my bills and also helps me structure my days so I stay on top of all my assignments and studying goals.

I'm hoping October will be a "good month" for me and I'm able to do well on my all exams and stay motivated. I always considered Columbus Day the first marker for how far into the semester I am, so I can't believe Columbus Day is already here!

I got a $50 gift certificate from my brother and his girlfriend for my birthday in September, so this weekend I am using it to buy my "all white" shoes for my clinical assignment. I've been pretty good with holding back on shopping and eating out, and adjusting to my new "lower income" lifestyle pretty well. We'll see if October continues the trend!

September Recap

2011-09-30T22:50:00.003-04:00

So, the first month of school is officially over!

Also, the first month without a "real" full-time job is over!

So, how did I do? Well, school-wise I'm doing quite well. It's very intense, demanding and sometimes frustrating, but I feel confident that I will be able to excel in nursing school and possibly become a really good nurse!

Working and going to school has been challenging, and incorporating social time has been even more challenging. When you feel like you are juggling multiple things, something eventually is going to fall. I would have to say I neglected BF a bit this month, and he's been very understanding of my emotional ups and downs through an uncertain first month. I feel more stable than I did when I started. I'm taking that as a good thing.

Work-wise, I think I did very well for myself. Here's the breakdown:

Freelancing for old job: $500
Coaching: $90
Scoring Swim Meets: $50
Part-Time Lifeguarding: Approx. $300 (pre-tax) + $200 (pre-tax) back pay due

Total: $1,050 (subtract approx. $100 for taxes)

I feel pretty good about those numbers! Normally I think I will make $240 a month from coaching (twice a week @ $30 a practice) and maybe freelancing might have been higher this month than usual, but who knows! Lifeguarding has been a little bit of an adjustment, but I will be working a steady 10 hours a week starting in October. That should bring me $400 a month before taxes. I also have the opportunity to make $100 scoring two swim meets in October. If I can make $1,000 between coaching, lifeguarding, scoring and freelancing, I'll be sitting pretty!

When to spend and when to save

2011-09-22T08:24:00.002-04:00

When you are not bringing in the typical paychecks every two weeks, it is more difficult to decide when you should go for it and buy something you need and when you should just "make do."

I definitely don't feel the freedom to spend like I did when I had a regular income coming in. Now I feel like all of the money I make just keeps me afloat until I can make some more money.

There is one thing I feel like I really need: shoes. I have no shoes to wear to class that are comfy slip-ons, like shearling Uggs or something of that nature. I was thinking of buying Birkenstock Clogs, but after a little price shopping I think I am going to buy these shoes from American Eagle. They are only $30 and while I'm sure the quality might not be as good as real Birks, they have the look I want and appear comfortable. By buying these shoes, I leave myself a little bit of wiggle room in my budget to possibly save up for my "real deal" Ugg boots once the weather turns a little colder.

In other news, BF got a great job offer, and then a great counter from his current company! So after about a week of back and forth, he decided to stay at his current job with a 28% raise. This raise helps us so much and makes BF feel more comfortable being able to save a little bit of his money during this time where he is contributing more towards our living expenses than before.

I am just about to finish my third full week of school and I love it. I am already learning SO MUCH and feel like my program is really going to prepare me to become a great nurse. I do have to work on my priorities and time management skills to make sure that I am able to succeed in my classes and graduate with a stellar GPA.

Balancing my work/school/relationship life

2011-09-16T14:50:00.002-04:00

Wow, it has already been a week since I last wrote!? I guess that's what being in a nursing program will do to you!

Everything has been going relatively well so far, except for a horrible, awful cold I've had all week long. I feel like I am finally getting over it, but Monday and Tuesday were probably the most sick I've felt in YEARS. Maybe all the stress of starting school got to me. I feel like I have a handle on my schedule now.

Luckily I've had steady work and freelance work pop up! So far, this is how I've done money-wise this week:

Monday - worked 7am-2:30 (7.5 hours @ $10/hour)- $75
Wednesday - worked 7am-12:30 (5.5 hours @ $10/hour)- $55
Thursday - Freelanced 9 projects for work - $270
Friday - work 3:30pm - 9pm (5.5 hours @ $10/hour) - $55
Friday - coached (1 hour @ $20) - $20

Total money made this week: $475!

I'm not sure when I'll see any of this money, since I think I am in between paychecks at my work study job on campus and my old job must mail me a check for the freelance work. This money helps a ton because I had a bunch of extra expenses pop up with school - buying my student nurse uniform, nursing kit and extra books/supplies cost me nearly $500.

Anyways, I'm off to work my last 5.5 hours this week and then I can relax until I start work again on Sunday!! No rest for the weary!

Hope for the best, plan for the worst

2011-09-09T16:55:00.003-04:00

Ever hear that age-old wisdom? Well, it's definitely a good saying, because it's true!

I found out some of the real details of my upcoming jobs, and on one hand, it's great! On the other hand, I am silly to think I could make over $1,000 a month.

So, here's the real deal:

Lifeguarding - pretty much holding true to what my boss told me. I'm on the schedule and signed up for 45 hours this month, which breaks down to about 10 hours/week with a few extra this upcoming week because I will be overseeing the pool while a movie is filmed there!

Coaching - I don't have the free time I thought I did, so I can only coach on Tuesday and Friday nights. And the pay is much less than I was told: $20 per practice (not $60...) I'm on for twice a week practices and still twenty bucks an hour is great! Maybe next semester I will be more available if it's doable.

Freelancing - I should have expected this would be completely unreliable. Haven't heard anything from my old job about doing this for them, so I am going to just wait it out and see what happens. And not count on that money.

So where do I stand?

For the month of September I will make $400 after taxes lifeguarding and $100 cash coaching. If I play my cards right, I will make the same amount lifeguarding in October and $160 cash coaching.

This makes my monthly income $560, which is a little less than my "worst case scenario" but....the really good news: BF got a new job! With an over 35% raise! So He can take some of the burden off of me, such as the money for groceries I was going to cover, he can now split with me.

I also finally figured out my health insurance. Because I live in NY I get kind of screwed over, so I will be paying $90 a month for health insurance that is decent. All of my primary care is free from the college, so it's mostly for accidents and other stuff. I'm satisfied with this price.

If I play my cards right, with my $560/month salary I can cover all my personal bills and have almost $300 for food/entertainment/savings. It will be a little tight, but with BF helping, I should be okay.

Finally, classes are finally done for the week! I can't believe I'm really in nursing school. It's already a lot of work and overwhelming, but I am so happy I finally made it here. Now the real work begins :) The challenge will be to see if I can work 10+ hours a week and still get very good grades. A "failing" grade here is less than a C+, which were sometimes my average grades the first time around in college! I've matured a lot since then, so here's to hoping I will be able to excel rather than just squeak by!

My Updated Budget

2011-09-05T08:32:00.006-04:00

Since I received my last paycheck this past Friday, it has really hit home that I will be without a full-time income for the next two years. Luckily I have made good connections through my old job and through my time as a college swimmer, and have a few things lined up for me.

I met with an old college coach of mine, who is now the college coach at my new school. Unfortunately I can't swim for them on a scholarship, but I can do the next best thing: work as a lifeguard at the pool! I am meeting with a club coach this Wednesday to get my lifeguard re-certification and talk about part-time coaching opportunities with the youth team. I probably won't be able to start a full work schedule until Mid-September or October, because the pool is being closed for two weeks to shoot a movie! Very swanky indeed.

I've also agreed to do some part-time graphic design for my old company, which probably will bring in an average of $60/week.

So, with these projects lined up, I've created a new budget for myself.

Here are my projected expenses each month:

Fixed Expenses
Rent - $0 (BF pays for it
Cell Phone - $71
Electricity - $80~
Home Insurance - $13
NetFlix - $8
Prescription - $35
Health Insurance - Unknown (for now)
TOTAL: $207

Variable Expenses
Gas - $50
Groceries - $200
Entertainment - $100
TOTAL: $350

TOTAL EXPENSES: $575/month

"Best Case Scenario Income"
Income
Lifeguarding - $500 (after taxes, assuming $10/hour, 15 hours a week)
Freelance Graphic Design - $240 (assuming an average of 2 projects a week)
Freelance Coaching - $480 (two practices a week)
TOTAL: $1,220

"Worst Case Scenario Income"
Lifeguarding - $350 (10 hours at week at $10/hour)
Freelance Graphic Design - $120 (average of 1 project a week)
Freelance Coaching - $240 (one practice a week)
TOTAL: $710

So as you can see, in my best case scenario, not only am I covering all my bills and variable expenses, but I have room to save nearly $500 a month. In my worst case scenario, I will be just breaking even. Doing this breakdown really shows me how crucial the freelance coaching will be, but I also thing this might be the most unreliable. I haven't met with the coach of the team yet and am not sure if she will pay me the rate my boss/coach told me ($60 per one hour practice) or if she will even want my help! Without that side job, I will need to push to get 15 hours/week at work and hope for the best case scenario with my work projections. I've been doing this freelance work for them for more than four years, and I can say with some confidence that two projects a week is a modest estimate, but you never know what will come up in the future!

Of course I can always try and cut out the "entertainment" budget and reduce the grocery budget if needed. The great news for me is that there is a Trader Joe's right down the street from me, so last night's groceries (including a sixer of beer....luxury) was only $40. If I can shop there exclusively, I will be totally find for a $200 monthly grocery budget. It will mean a more plain diet for BF and I, but it will be worth it in the long run, as their food seems healthier and fresher than the local Stop & Shop (not to mention cheaper!)

My budget feels doable and very bare-bones. I have to stick with it and remind myself the opportunity to save $500/month while I'm in school could put me in the position to have $4,000 in my savings by the end of May. That nearly pays for my last semester at school!

Shufflin' Money

2011-09-02T15:01:00.002-04:00

Well, it's been five days in our new apartment, and BF & I feel almost totally settled in!

We've gotten everything finally unpacked and set up. The only thing left to do is hang some pictures on the wall and convince BF to paint! It was a super hectic week of no cable, no internet, and running around like crazy to get all the little things done that needed to be taken care of. There are just a few last loose strings to tie up, but for the most part, we are in like flynn just in time for Labor Day Weekend!

Some fun updates:

- I officially secured my job for the semester! I have a former coach who is the aquatic director on campus and she offered me a lifeguarding job. I went by this morning to meet her and set everything up. I will be doing my job as part of my "work study" financial aid, which is great! Hopefully I will start in the next two weeks. If I work only 12.5 hours a week, at about $10 an hour I can make $500 a month. Which would cover all my bills and then some :)

- I also was offered a job part-time coaching for a club team that swims at my college pool. The practices are one hour long and might pay something like $60 per practice...sweet! This is under the table cash and I am definitely going to take advantage of it!

- I locked in my freelancing gig with my former job, charging $30 per project, with 2-3 projects typically coming in a week, that puts me at possibly making $240 a month through them!

All total, I think I have a very good chance of making about $1,000 a month for pretty easy work! It will be hard to juggle school and work, but I will be smart about it and remind myself not to overextend if I cannot commit to something. School comes first.

- After we moved out on Monday, my landlord went through our old apartment and deemed it "perfect." So BF picked up our security deposit check and I now am $825 richer! My new apartment security deposit was only $600 each, so I'm $225 in the green on that one, score!

- I also opened up a CapitalOne Online Checking account with direct deposit and got a $200 bonus. I have been dropping $50 bi-weekly into that account through my old job so it accumulated to $400! I am going to let it sit for a little while and eventually deposit it into my "future fund" which is now at about $11,300.

- I also transferred an additional $300 into my Chase savings account, which I have instant access to, in case of an emergency (my HSBC Online account takes 3-4 days to clear a transfer, not good in a pinch). I am keeping about $400-$500 floating in my checking account for this first month or two of school just in case there are expenses I didn't account for (such as an additional $150 book fee....ugh.)

I'm feeling pretty good with my first class starting on Wednesday. I think I am in a position to save up enough money to pay for my education and take out minimal loans...which was always my goal.

And in case you were wondering (I'm sure you were...) if I had not paid my first month tuition, my cash accounts would be just about $9,300...just shy of my $10,000 goal! I'm proud I was able to save, but even more excited I secured some jobs and prospects that will put me in the position to save money towards upcoming semesters.

Stay tuned for (hopefully) some more exciting updates after this weekend ;-)

The eagle has (finally) landed!

2011-08-31T07:30:00.002-04:00

Well, after a tumultuous few days, BF, cat and I are FINALLY settled into our new apartment!

We had planned to do our move on Saturday, but thank you Hurricane Irene for ruining all our plans! We were all packed and ready to go, but my parents, who were our only helpers, told us that we couldn't try to move the day before a crazy hurricane. I was upset to have to wait out the storm in my completely packed apartment, but in hindsight, a leisurely (somewhat, at least)move on Monday was a better choice.

So, now I'm blogging from my new headquarters! We moved from Queens, NYC to Westchester County so I can go to nursing school here. I can't believe my semester is starting in only one week! It's been a long journey to get here and I'm filled with thoughts and emotions, but mostly just very relieved the move is over and we can enjoy a week of vacation in our new home!

We did a pretty good job of budgeting (mostly thanks to BF's strict, yet annoying frugalness) for the move and didn't spend that much. We paid $180 for a large U-Haul that came with a furniture dolly and hand truck (those were crucial) and I feel pretty good about the price. However, next time I am hiring movers to get us out of this third floor walk up! We had to order take out pretty frequently because all our food was gone and it was hurricaning, but I was smart and bought half a dozen bagels and cream cheese which served as our breakfast every day we were rained in.

Since being in the new place, I've only spent $30 to buy a new towel rack, shower caddy, peppermill and cat food dish! We live in a very dangerous neighborhood: there is a HomeGoods/Marshalls combo just across the stress! I have to stay away. I could shop there ALL DAY. I'm not sure if we are going to try and paint the place now that we're all moved in. The walls are an off-white/grey color but are all the same. We are only allowed one color, Benjamin Moore Antique White which is sort of creamy, off-white. It is pretty close to our old apartment's color. Paired with the white trim, it looks good with all our furniture and gives the room a little more warmth. The only problem is the fact that we have all our stuff moved in, and sometimes it's hard to get motivated to paint when you've got everything set up. I have a feeling once the pictures are hung, there's no going back. So I only have a small window!

We are having a bit of trouble with our mail, as our landlord has not given us the key and the super simply said, "ask the lady." to get the key for the mailbox. I was very flustered at the time and didn't think to ask who the "lady" was. Now we have no key, our landlord isn't being very responsive, and I've got a text book coming my way! I'm going to try and call the post office to see if they can set me up with a new lock/key in the mailbox. I'm also stalking the mailperson to see if they can help me on site and give me my mail!

I'm currently blogging on borrowed internet, so I don't think I'll be able to come back until Saturday when our internet/cable is set up. Until then, I leave you with one picture of our new place!

Putting a "Lifetime Warranty" to the Test

2011-08-23T11:01:00.002-04:00

Hmm...I wonder what's in this package?

When I emailed my mom this photo, she knew immediately what it was: my J.A. Henckels Chef Knife!

Yes, my J.A. Henckels Chef Knife is broken, and I am trying to see if the company will honor their "lifetime warranty." Now, the part that is broken is allegedly not covered under their warranty, but since the knife is basically useless to me now, I figured it was worth a shot to mail it to them and maybe at least they would fix it for me at a discount. I've only had the set for maybe 3 years, and many months ago, the wood handle broke off the steel handle. I have babied my knives ever since I got them, mostly because I don't own a dishwasher. But I have washed them by hand, stored them in their knife block, sharpened when needed. Basically, I did not abuse it! I used it a lot, I mean come on, it's a Chef's Knife! But I was shocked when the wooden part of the handle separated from the steel. It looks like it was just shoddy craftsmanship and the glue holding the wood to the steel disintegrated over time.

I shipped my knife off this morning after much careful consideration on how to appropriately and safely mail a giant chef's knife. My solution: put knife into empty Swiffer WetJet box, fold in half, place into bubble wrap envelope, fold into three's and tape up A LOT! I hope no one gets stabbed in the process ;-)

Hopefully I'll have a resolution or update soon!

Last week of work....EVER!

2011-08-22T12:34:00.003-04:00

I think I am slightly delusional, but at this moment, I don't have any feelings about my last week of work. I'm happy, don't get me wrong, but I just sort of feel neutral about it.

Two weeks ago, my boss very unprofessionally introduced me to my "replacement" that they had hired on the spot, and I felt embarrassed and angry. And a little jealous? At that moment I realized I still was a little attached to my job, and sometimes, especially when you are making big changes, it can be really hard to commit and follow everything through. The process of going back to nursing school has been long and drawn-out, mostly because I had to spent a year and a half taking part-time classes in order to be accepted into a program. During that time, my goals seemed so far away, and in some ways, just like a dream. Now, I'm starting classes in two weeks and moving in one week, and everything has become SUPER REAL.

I definitely am starting to feel some money anxiety, and I know BF is feeling it too. There are some costs associated with moving and updating all our old addresses and information. The fact that I won't have a paycheck coming in after next week is starting to hit home to me....no longer will I be able to justify buying clothing or gadgets...there simply won't be money available for that.

I haven't completely nailed down my lifeguarding job at my school, so right now there's no guarantee of extra money coming in. I know I will have a job, but I'm just not sure yet how much money I will actually be making the first few months of school.

I do feel relieved that I will be getting $1,000 by the end of September back as part of my financial aid, and I should be getting a $200 bonus from Capital One sometime in September, in addition to $250 freelance income from my boss. So while I feel somewhat secure, I know BF is really starting to feel the pressure of being the sole provider of the household and knows how much is riding on him keeping his job and continuing to earn more money. It's not easy to allow someone to pay for most of your life expenses, especially when you are very independent (like me), but I know in the long run, everything balances out and this is just a small blip in time compared to the rest of our lives :)

Hopefully I will be able to write in some more updates (probably from work as my workload continues to decrease to practically nothing ;)

Moving Checklist

2011-08-21T10:36:00.002-04:00

Well, it's official, BF and I signed our lease on Friday!

Our new landlord is letting us move in a few days early, so our official moving date will be Saturday, August 27th, but we'll probably stretch out the process for a few days. My mom is helping me do a total clean on Saturday and BF's twin brother is helping us move the "big stuff" on Sunday or Monday. I can't believe we're finally leaving our wonderful apartment. It's been more than four years, and I've loved every minute of living in the City. But, it's time to move on, and I feel like we are upgrading!

So now that we really and truly are "in" with our current place, I've got a lot of things to plan for, hence, a moving checklist!

The top things I need to plan for

-Change my address
-Update driver's license and car registration
-Patch holes in the walls of our current apartment
-Buy new coffee table for new apartment
-Reduce my closets/donate old clothes (this one is going to be hard but fun)
-Perform a "hard clean" on my old kitchen and bathroom, and then new kitchen and bathroom
-Vacuum old apartment/dust moldings
-Measure new apartment windows/buy or reuse window coverings
-Pack old apartment/collect moving boxes (from work)
-Use up all food in old apartment
-Maybe paint and refinish old dressers

Hmm, I think that's it! I've got a lot of work to do this week, and it's my last week of work on top of it all. I'm sad to leave my job...but so excited to start the next chapter of my life.