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Parents are cutting me off, advice?
Lardalish
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Ok, so my parents are cutting me off the cash flow and putting me completely on my own.
My current situation: (no idea whats relevant so Imma just go for broke)
22yrs old
Male
Living in Charlotte, NC
currently have an apartment ($390 a month plus utilities(well, thats my half))
In the process of dropping out of UNCC and applying to the Art Institute of Charlotte for a degree in Culinary Arts
I have a car
I have a cell phone
No job currently, however I have a short thing over thanksgiving break, and a job lined up for christmas break both back home in Cary (these were set up before I learned about my parents cutting me off, or else I would have found something full time up here)
The Art Institute has some sort of program that will help me get a part time job "in the field" when I get in. I guess for culinary arts thats a job being a Waiter.
Ok, thats all I can think of right now. Im about to leave for a meeting with someone at the Art Institute (admissions advisor or somethin? I dunno what her title is) and she's going to help me get started with my application and signing up for grants / loans / scholarships and such. So I'll be getting some info from her, but I am assuming that its going to be mostly for school. As in it wont help me get money for living expences (food / rent).
So really, Im just looking for any advice you can possibly think of. This has come as kind of a shock, but I think I can make it. Thanks guys.
My current situation: (no idea whats relevant so Imma just go for broke)
22yrs old
Male
Living in Charlotte, NC
currently have an apartment ($390 a month plus utilities(well, thats my half))
In the process of dropping out of UNCC and applying to the Art Institute of Charlotte for a degree in Culinary Arts
I have a car
I have a cell phone
No job currently, however I have a short thing over thanksgiving break, and a job lined up for christmas break both back home in Cary (these were set up before I learned about my parents cutting me off, or else I would have found something full time up here)
The Art Institute has some sort of program that will help me get a part time job "in the field" when I get in. I guess for culinary arts thats a job being a Waiter.
Ok, thats all I can think of right now. Im about to leave for a meeting with someone at the Art Institute (admissions advisor or somethin? I dunno what her title is) and she's going to help me get started with my application and signing up for grants / loans / scholarships and such. So I'll be getting some info from her, but I am assuming that its going to be mostly for school. As in it wont help me get money for living expences (food / rent).
So really, Im just looking for any advice you can possibly think of. This has come as kind of a shock, but I think I can make it. Thanks guys.
Lardalish on
0
Posts
You are on the right track, just make sure to get a job that works with your school schedule. And budget your money.
Once you've done that, cut back on all of your unnecessary expenses. I don't know what your savings are like, but it looks lke you're going to have to rely on them for a while. Find a job; it doesn't matter what it is, so long as it brings in enough money to cover most if not all of your basic needs. You do not want to run out of money and start stiffing your roomie(s).
You may have to sell your car. Insurance and gas are two expenses you can probably do without. At the very least, be prepared to do a lot less driving and a lot more walking or taking public transit.
Also, get a job in the place where you live immediately, working the most normal and consistent hours you can. Universities often assume you will be able to do big projects during the holidays, so don't assume you will just be able to do a few hours in term and loads in the holidays. Plan for the most balanced working hours you can budget for, it might be a bit harder during term time but during the holidays you will appreciate the time to get big projects done and the fact you actually kinda do gt a holiday rather than holidays being the busiest part of your year!
- Make a budget. That means listing all your expenses in one column, and all your revenue (including your student loan, grants, etc.) in the other column.
If, after adding up both columns and subtracting your expenses from your revenue, you come very close to zero, or in the negative, you'll have to try and find things you can cut from your budget, or, alternatively, find extra sources of revenue.
Unless you can absolutely justify the expense of a cell phone, that would probably be the first thing I would get rid of, assuming you still have a land line at your appartment. At the very least, you should look into modifying your package by taking out as many services as possible, and using your cell phone less, so as to insure that you won't be going over what your basic package offers.
Depending on where you live, you could probably go without a car for a while, if public transit is available. It can be hard to do once you're used to the freedom of having your own car, but it will definitely cut your expenses down by a significant amount.
Considering you say you're sharing the rent, the amount you're paying seems high to me. If your place can take it, consider bringing in another roommate, or else you might want to look for a cheaper apartment (after all, if you're going to be studying and working, you're not going to be home all that much, so why spend more than a couple hundred for a place to sleep?)
Also, a warning: a lot of the jobs you get as "internships" while in school tend not to pay all that much, unless you're very lucky. You might have to get another job just to keep afloat.
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OP-
All you NEED is food and shelter. Think fightclub. Drop the phone and sell your car. Cancel your cable and internet. hop a bus to the library if you want some fun. Get a job now - any job - in retail or whatever until you find something better. This is a great time for that as the christmas run-up is in full swing. Cook vegitarian food at home.
If you can hang with this you can live well on very little and impress the people that struggle paycheck to paycheck making 10 times what you do.
If you have real talent for flavor combinations, a vision for combining unique things, a desire to give people an experience they can get no where else, and the passion to sacrifice your friends and family to make the same 12 perfect dishes over and over and over and over, by all means, go into the kitchen and start creating.
Do not go to school. Work. Study books on cooking, and even some cook books. I can give you some names if you wish.
I can spend all day ranting about the kitchen. PM if you want my thoughts.
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As far as the money goes.
Get a close job. Aim for a place that will be able to supply you with food at a discount. Grocery store first, then fastfood, and so on.
If you have no debt and good self control, your life will be that much easier. If not, you will not to control yourself and starting unwinding your debt.
Someone mentioned selling your car. Be careful with that. Sometimes your time, punctuality, and convenience is more valuable than the payment.
Biggest thing is getting a job, fast. Apply everywhere. No job is beneath you.
Also, it's amazing how little you can get by on when you try. When I was in grad school (about 3 years ago), I was in a similar situation. Figure out how you can get what you need for the lowest amount possible. For example, I budgeted $20/week for food. This means most of my meals cost less than $1. This is the kind of budgeting you're going to need to do. Also, you will want to actually start saving for when you get out of school. You won't necessarily have a job right away and having some cash on hand for at least the first three months can be a lifesave.
Don't eat out.
and yeah, ditch the incidentals like internet and game subscriptions. Keep the mobile, but maybe switch to a pre-paid if you're on contract and think you could spend less that way. you need to be contactable by employers and landlords! Don't even think about clothing or new things until you've got accommodation sorted, that's the most important thing. Definitely get any old job - nightfill at a supermarket is pretty rad for school, I've found, although it can mess with your sleep patterns. money > fulfilment, because at your stage of life, money is fulfilment.
My roommates bitch girlfriend kicked me out of my house once with no prior warning. I had bought a car maybe 3 weeks earlier, had worked my entire budget around paying 300 dollars of rent (3 other roommates). Suddenly i had to find my own apartment, and in toronto that means basically paying 700 dollars a month, for a bachelor. So i sucked it up, stopped buying fun shit, ate on less than 10 dollars a week for almost 6 months. I didnt go out, i didnt get takeout, i didnt eat fast food. Bought instant noodles, frozen burritos, mini pizzas and anything else where one meal would costs less than 50 cents, drink included.
I basically broke even each month, my bank account hovered at a constant 100 dollars the entire time. And it fucking sucked, a lot. But, youll get through it. It just takes discipline. You really need to realise that, hey, if you go out and get 2 beers, you wont be eating next week. It sucks to think about, and sucks even more to live through, but its a good learning experience. Youll learn to appreciate the little shit in life, like actually eating a good meal and wearing freshly washed clothes. Youll also get better at shopping, and making a budget, and having your money go farther. Youll also get really, really good at finding ways to do things for free, whether its eating, getting "new" stuff, free services, anything.
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The thing is, though, that areas with a higher cost of living tend to have jobs that pay a little more too (otherwise the cost of living would gradually go down since there wouldn't otherwise be enough people to support it) but it's rarely a perfect ratio. I guess the main point, here, is if your current rent is a good deal and you couldn't easily find something smaller but bearable for less, stick to your current place, but make sure you don't settle with a minimum wage job if you can help it.
Check out my new blog: http://50wordstories.ca
Also check out my old game design blog: http://stealmygamedesigns.blogspot.com
Health insurance. I know your parents cut you off and all, but you should still be covered under their health insurance while you're in school. That shit's expensive if you aren't getting it from an employer, but even more expensive are hospital and ambulance bills. Ask your parents about it.
Pretty sure most schools provide cheap health care insurance for students as well. Actually, I remember my university required me to be medically insured, whether through them or on my own. Your school may have a similar policy.
I wanted to note how much of a big impact your food budget can have. Cat's advice on it is solid. I never thought I'd be in a position where I'd be pricing things down to the penny, but in the long run it helps tremendously. The hard part is doing it for the first time; after that, shopping trips are basically repeat. To throw in additional advice, no soda. Buy juices, and think about investing in a water filter.
You can get them as cheap as 33 cents each sometimes. That is cheap for food.
I would keep internet for sure esp. if you want a job that isn't retail or fast food...
I've never been poor poor but I have gotten by on far less then i make now.
It gets easier.
And to paraphrase the movie PCU "Someone has a car, make friends with them" because even if you have a car you will always need a friend with one.
And I would like to hear rants about culinary schools. You should start a "Rant about specialized education" thread! Anyone over the age of 20 would love to comment I bet on all sorts of education. I have a particular fascination with the "must pass a computer skills aptitude test" path to making $60,000 a year as a certified microsoft professional ads that run on the radio now;
Edit: Temp agencies can provide you with temporary work assignments.
Have you worked in an industrial kitchen? Are you sure you want to do that for a long time? Really consider this, as Chefs tend to be underpaid and severely overworked.
Yea, in Richmond I was able to get a place for $380, and maybe could've gone cheaper if my standards were less. Now that I'm going to school up in NoVa, I'm having to live at home because everything up here is twice as much, and tuition & bills already eat up my income.