Moving Out Advice

**bjl584** · 07-06-2012, 04:48 AM

Whether or not you can go to school and work at the same time depends on how disciplined a person you are. Can you handle the workload of classes and work at the same time? I did it, but not everyone can do it. It takes a lot of good time management skills. And you need to stay on top of things and not let things get behind. Prepare for a lot of sleepless nights studying. You two may be able to work minimum wage jobs and stil make the rent, but you will be living a bare bones existence. And, it depends how disciplined you two are with money. It also depends on how much other debt you two have. You will need to post more information if you want a better answer.

**snafu** · 07-06-2012, 05:01 PM

You didn't mention your current ages or whether you and brother are working this summer. First, most jobs for teens are through their own entrepreneurial efforts like lawn/holiday care or dog walking/pet care in their neighborhoods. It means operating your own business and requires determination and learning some business skills. Alternatively, teens get jobs by being recommended by family and parental friends. Who hires your age group in your community? Make a list of tasks you are willing to do and have the skills to carry out and go see anyone [in slow hours] who can at least talk to you about doing work.

I agree it takes a lot of determination, organization and good time management skills to work and complete all the requirements, readings, assignments, studying for the first two years of university since the expectations are so different from high school. Many universities require 1st year students to live in residence.
Living on your own adds meals, laundry and 100% personal care to the list. Try doing these for the family this summer to get some experience and understand the effort.

**MonkeyMama** · 07-07-2012, 10:39 AM

Agreed with the others.

I have been on my own since I was 18, always got As, etc., so it is very possible. In fact most people would say it is impossible to do so and to have any life. I strongly disagree. I don't want to paint a rosy picture, but certainly plenty of people have lived on their own through college, worked, and managed to do all the other college stuff (date, party, extra-curriculars, etc.). I personally had a very well-rounded college experience.

One thing that may or may not work for you is that I ended up taking 5 years to finish college - it just made the most sense giving my circumstances. I did have to slow down my course work to work and do everything else I wanted to do. For balance, I never worked more in the summers and rarely took summer classes. Working/schooling more in the summers and graduating faster is ALWAYS an option. Actually, my spouse was pretty smart - he had seasonal work that was very heavy in summer and not so much during the school year. This meant a pretty easy schedule overall, though I now know we were making the same kind of money at the time. I was working much harder year-round, but had more time in summer to travel and unwind. I think we both managed some good balance while making a decent living through school.

The best thing you can do is practice. Pay yourself "rent" so you get used to the expense (put it in a savings account). Figure out all the expenses you will need to cover on your own. Off the top of my head? Utilities, Food, rental insurance (is cheap), transportation costs, phone, internet, entertainment. No doubt your budget will be very bare bones and there won't be a lot outside the basics.

As an aside, I was never able to save any money in college for my future, BUT being able to live on so little meant I easily caught up once I got a degree. I probably saved more my first year out of school than I could have saved all through college in the best of circumstance (i.e. no rent). So I don't really see that as a downside. In fact, I have always found it easy to live well below my means due to my very financially tight college experience. The other thing was that I was committed to stay out of debt. & having to rely on a small amount of debt would have been fine (looking back), BUT you don't want to start your career drowning in debt, if you don't need to (i.e. if living at home one more year will save you that heartache).

You may want to postpone moving out until you have a semester of college under your belt - just to get a better idea of what you are getting into and how best to make it work for you.

**scubatim84** · 07-08-2012, 08:08 AM

Another thing you may want to consider is what kind of jobs you can get with very little schooling which may pay more than minimum wage. I worked as an EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) while in college and it was the perfect college job in my opinion. Basically, you respond to calls in an ambulance and help people when they get sick or hurt. The pay for EMTs is surprisingly low, but still, it's higher than minimum wage. The class to become an EMT is only one semester long. The best part is if there's no call, you're just sitting around waiting for one. What does this usually mean? Bring your backpack, keep it in the ambulance and get paid to study in between calls. EMT shifts are all over the place too so it's easy to work your schedule around school. Obviously it's not for the faint of heart, since you will see people in pain, see people die, see lots of blood, etc. but as with most things, you get used to it.

**Gina23** · 07-12-2012, 07:53 AM

�Is it possible for both of us to go to school and work a part-time job at the same time?
�If yes, what do we need to do in preparation?

1) Yes, for example... I worked full time, took a full class load, and was an NCAA Division 1 athlete. You can absolutely do it, and while you are young you should take advantage of the fact that you can handle it.

2) Just go for it... you have nothing to lose.

**MonkeyMama** · 07-12-2012, 08:22 AM

A good/relevant article with lots of other points:

Graduating College Without Debt

http://www.savingadvice.com/articles/2012/07/11/1011092_graduating-college-without-debt.html

Find out how Lisa managed to graduate college without any debt. Discover her secrets to saving money on tuition and graduating with honors.

**breathemusic** · 07-12-2012, 01:49 PM

There really isn't one straight answer. As you can see, different people on here have had different experiences. You can also see if there's a way to talk to current students and see what they think of the opportunities in the area.

It's definitely possible. I went to school full time and worked about 20 hours a week, and I didn't even work weekends or really even evenings. My college had a student employment website where both college offices and local businesses could post jobs for students. They ranged anywhere from crappy $7/hr jobs on campus, to professors who needed babysitters and tutors for their kids, to small businesses in the area who needed part time people to do office admin or data entry. I managed to get a job working for a woman who ran her own business and got paid cash, about $10/hr. It was great money, and I learned enough small business skills that the job was still worth putting on my resume after graduation (in addition to the legit internships I got during later summers).

It's possible, but it entirely depends on your circumstances. Does your school promote employment opportunities for students? What kind of local jobs are available? What is the class scheduling like? I was paying my own way through school, which meant occasionally sacraficing and not taking a particular class I really wanted to take, and signing up for a different one instead because the class I wanted was at an awkward time that wouldn't leave me enough open chunks of time to work during the week.

There really isn't one straight answer. As you can see, different people on here have had different experiences. You can also see if there's a way to talk to current students and see what they think of the opportunities in the area.

Moving Out Advice