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Two years ago I had just transferred to a university from a community college, I was working a crappy retail job to pay for school, and had trouble finding money at the end of the month while my wife and I lived in a 600 sq ft one bedroom apartment. I was in an upper division course taking a midterm, and realized that I was not prepared enough for the test. After leaving the test, I sat down and calculated the net present value (ROI) of the decision to quit work and take out student loans to live on. My assumptions included: less time at work would lead to more time I could spend on schoolwork, I would get better grades and be more attractive to employers, I would be able to commit to internships next summer in my field (paid maybe?), and that the better prospects would yield, say $5k more on my first job offer than I would have received otherwise. I used the average interest rate of subsidized/unsubsidized federal student loans as my cost of capital (opportunity cost), assuming I'd take those out of if savings dried up and I came up short during the semester. The number came back at $85k, so I quit my job that day and never looked back. I sold my old, gas guzzling SUV and bought a cheap motorcycle for cash. I cooked (almost) all my meals and became really good at it. I spent more time with my best friend: my sweet wife. I happened to receive a $3,500 grant from my university three days later. I didn't apply for it, but they gave it to me on a repeating basis for the rest of my time there. I got great grades, stood out among my classmates, and landed a well-paid, very competitive internship with a fantastic company which led to a full-time offer upon graduation. I got so much more out of school not struggling to play catchup and the 'grades game', and got to have the time to master the material. We even saved enough money to pay cash for a weeklong vacation to South America upon graduation. The signing bonus at work was more than double my unsubsidized loan balance (now paid off), and I still have 4 months before I have to start paying on the modest subsidized loan balance (at 3.5%  ). Our car is going to be paid off in November, and I have enough cash for another modest, reliable car.This worked for me because I busted my hump working toward a degree in high demand that I was confident I'd be able to find work in. It still took a great leap of faith. I acknowledge that a great deal of luck played into this, but luck favors the prepared.
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Jul 11, 2012 05:18
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| # ¿ Apr 28, 2024 08:36 |
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Pollyanna posted:I'm hopefully starting a job in November or January, depending on what hiring period they wanna grab me in \ Cherish it. I had a few weeks between when school ends and work began, with some money left over. It was awesome.
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Oct 22, 2012 18:03
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That's awesome. 3 weeks transition from corporate slave to business owner.
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Dec 20, 2012 22:57
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dreesemonkey posted:Not all that exciting but we canceled our dish subscription. Saving $69/mo (after counting netflix) isn't too shabby! Congratulations! Since you mentioned it, I just bought a house and it has a satellite dish left behind. Are those worth a non-zero resale amount on Craigslist or eBay?
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Jun 11, 2013 00:17
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At my employer (an enormous company) we have annual review cycles where they rank you according to criteria and give raises. I also got a promotion, switching jobs in the company this year. I just got my annual review results in, and got the highest possible rating (5-10% of the entire company), and a total of 33% raise compared to last year  And I was already pretty well compensated. I've been out of undergrad for 18 months, and I'm earning more this year than both my parents combined.And the company is probably going to pay for my MBA (up to $50k). 
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Mar 24, 2014 20:01
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Just did a refinance (for remaining balance! no cash out!) on my mortgage. Appraisal came back with +50% home value since we bought 7 years ago. My 30 year interest rate of 4% felt super in 2013, but 2.5% today is even better! My breakeven on interest savings vs refi fees is ~18 months. I also paid off one of my student loans that was at 4.5% (and in forbearance for a year from COVID). Now my only debts are one student loan remaining (~$2500) at 3.5%, and a mortgage at 2.5%. Gonna free up some dollars for me to invest and save towards other goals. It also feels extremely good to fix things yourself. Both because you save the money, but also because I feel like in some way it makes you appreciate them more knowing how they work. My neighbor fixed my AC air handler condensation leak for me for a batch of cookies and a loaf of bread. I fixed my car's A/C for under $100.
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Jan 13, 2021 20:51
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| # ¿ Apr 28, 2024 08:36 |
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Lead By Example posted:I recently got my dream job doing convention event logistics for a board game company. Historically I've always bought and resold collectibles for a living, mostly gaming trading cards. (Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh, stuff like that.) I used to own a brick and mortar game store before 2020, and I would always get booths at gaming expos, sports shows, trading card conventions, etc to buy and sell collections of cards. Covid made the entire collectibles industry go absolutely bonkers, and with that has come a recent wave of startups and financiers looking to "take over the industry", so to speak. Way cool! That's a pretty rare job in that industry to be both well paid AND close to the product.
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Mar 29, 2022 22:08
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