Let's talk about spending money. Specifically, spending money we don't have. Even more specifically, spending money we don't have on college. Because I have a unique situation and I'd like to talk about it.
Student loans are, for most people, inevitable. Chances are that you want to go to college but you don't have $100,000 waiting around for a good cause. So what do you do? You take out a student loan. And then one day you're 35 years old and you literally still paying for a decision you made when you were 18. Doesn't that sound like the kind of thing our parents always tell us not to do..."Don't get that tramp stamp, you'll regret it when you're forty"..."Don't take out that loan, you'll be stuck with it forever". And the thing is, you actually will be stuck with it forever. Student loans are unique. They are completely interest free until 9 (I think?) months after you graduate. This means two things; A) If you plan on doing post grad work, don't wait. The loans will roll-over unless you take time off, in which case you'll have to start paying for them, which will be difficult if you're still in school. And B) You should put all extra money (once basic living expenses are taken care of) into paying off as much of your loan as possible within those first 9 (?) months because the lower the loan is once interest kicks in, the less extra money you'll end up paying.
So, why do I not have to worry about this?
I got a NROTC scholarship. If you don't know what that is, it stands for Reserve Officer Training Corps. It is a full tuition scholarship where the Military, in my case the Navy - that's where the "N" comes from - pays for your schooling and in return you owe service upon graduation. I don't want to get into too specific detail right now because I'm not 100% sure of all my facts, but I'll talk about it more in the upcoming year once everything gets rolling.
So that takes care of my tuition, but there's more. I have a twin brother and he also won't have to pay for college. My parents must be the happiest people in the world. Liam is going to West Point, the Army academy. I know right, Army v Navy, ironic. So we're both set.
I can't advise anyone whether or not they should try for an ROTC scholarship or academy appointment as that's a very personal decision. I can tell you, though, that if you are interested, get your act together. Applying for a ROTC scholarship is extremely involved and from what I saw with Liam, trying to get an Academy appointment is even worse.
One important thing to note! The NROTC website will tell you that the application isn't due until the end of January 2014 for fall 2014 scholarship applicants. While that is true, get it in sooner! I filled out most of my application in October and received a call from the local Navy personnel wanting me to schedule my interview that week. The interview is part of applying but what I didn't realize is that the reason they reached out to me was because they liked what they saw so far on my application and wanted me to get it in that night so I could be included in the first round of decisions, during which it's easier to get a scholarship because they're all still available. I got home from my interview at 4:00 pm...they gave me until 8:00 pm that night to write three essays. Talk about time crunch. But I did it, I got it, and I'm very excited to see what happens next.
Sunday, May 26, 2013
Thursday, May 9, 2013
The Economics of Prom
As I mentioned in my first post, I'm taking an honors economic course this year. I find it really interesting and I enjoy most of the debates we have in the class. A couple of weeks ago we had our senior prom, and in class our teacher had us go over the economics of how much prom costs to each individual. It was actually pretty interesting, I'll break it down for you.
Our teacher defined the "cost" of prom as anything that we wouldn't have to pay for if we weren't going. For boys the standard list consisted of the tickets, a tux rental, flowers, dinner, and transportation. The girls' list was a little more involved, depending on how high maintenance the girl was. The all encompassing list was, a dress, shoes, hair, makeup, nails, flowers, tanning and tickets depending on whether or not they had a date. I was definitely more on the low maintenance end of that spectrum.
The class average cost came in just under $300, which our teacher said was lower than the usual class averages. He'd only done it with one other class at that point and their average was almost $500.
Now I'll go over how much I spent:
Dress: I bought my dress on ebay. It was brand new, still with tags, and 100% silk. The tag said $600, I got it for $10. I'm a pro. It was floor length but I hate floor length dresses so I got mine shortened to tea length. Alterations cost $50.
Shoes: $20. I also got a free chip clip with the purchase because I could answer the trivia question (what is the plastic thing on the end of the shoelace called - an aglet).
Tickets: $70. I did have a date but he doesn't go to my school so I had to buy the tickets, which were $35 each. Jon did offer to pay, but I told him he didn't have to since it was my prom.
That's it. I didn't go tanning because it's terrible for you and doesn't even look nice anyway. I did my own hair, makeup and nails. I didn't buy Jon a boutonniere because I didn't think he was buying me a corsage. I told him not to because I don't think he should have to pay for something that's already dead and I'm inevitably going to lose somewhere. He got me one anyway though, and it actually matched my dress perfectly even though he hadn't seen it before, which was really sweet (and it made it home safely! It's currently in the fridge next to some yogurt).
With tickets my total was $150, without it was $80 (because in a hypothetical world Jon would have paid). $80 was the cheapest in the class, $150 was second cheapest. I win.
Some people spend entirely too much on prom. There were two girls in my class who paid near about $600 - and they didn't even have to buy their tickets! Maybe I'm just a cheapskate, but seriously, I had just as much fun - maybe more - than people who spent their whole life savings.
Our teacher defined the "cost" of prom as anything that we wouldn't have to pay for if we weren't going. For boys the standard list consisted of the tickets, a tux rental, flowers, dinner, and transportation. The girls' list was a little more involved, depending on how high maintenance the girl was. The all encompassing list was, a dress, shoes, hair, makeup, nails, flowers, tanning and tickets depending on whether or not they had a date. I was definitely more on the low maintenance end of that spectrum.
The class average cost came in just under $300, which our teacher said was lower than the usual class averages. He'd only done it with one other class at that point and their average was almost $500.
Now I'll go over how much I spent:
Dress: I bought my dress on ebay. It was brand new, still with tags, and 100% silk. The tag said $600, I got it for $10. I'm a pro. It was floor length but I hate floor length dresses so I got mine shortened to tea length. Alterations cost $50.
Shoes: $20. I also got a free chip clip with the purchase because I could answer the trivia question (what is the plastic thing on the end of the shoelace called - an aglet).
Tickets: $70. I did have a date but he doesn't go to my school so I had to buy the tickets, which were $35 each. Jon did offer to pay, but I told him he didn't have to since it was my prom.
That's it. I didn't go tanning because it's terrible for you and doesn't even look nice anyway. I did my own hair, makeup and nails. I didn't buy Jon a boutonniere because I didn't think he was buying me a corsage. I told him not to because I don't think he should have to pay for something that's already dead and I'm inevitably going to lose somewhere. He got me one anyway though, and it actually matched my dress perfectly even though he hadn't seen it before, which was really sweet (and it made it home safely! It's currently in the fridge next to some yogurt).
With tickets my total was $150, without it was $80 (because in a hypothetical world Jon would have paid). $80 was the cheapest in the class, $150 was second cheapest. I win.
Some people spend entirely too much on prom. There were two girls in my class who paid near about $600 - and they didn't even have to buy their tickets! Maybe I'm just a cheapskate, but seriously, I had just as much fun - maybe more - than people who spent their whole life savings.
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