well, after being anxious for weeks, we finally found out if we are to receive any financial aid for this upcoming school year. we didn't. nothing at all! i was kind-of surprised. i was so counting on it. even just a little would help. and we made a whole ten thousand dollars less than the year before and we received almost a full scholarship then.
i suppose i sound completely selfish and ungrateful right now. after all, we've been able to get bryan through three years of school without any loans. that's not something a lot of people can say. but, all the same, here i am complaining about how we didn't get any free money. boo hoo.
well, i'm only human, i guess.
so, for those of you who have been reading a while, and know that our main financial goal right now is to pay cash for college, i'll tell you what we're thinking. we have a little over $1,000 saved up just set aside for tuition. all of bryan's income over the summer will also go straight into the tuition fund. thankfully, we think that should cover almost all of the first semester of tuition. we're not sure what we'll do for the rest. i might start giving plasma alongside bryan to earn some extra money, maybe i'll actually sell some crafts for profit too. bryan may get a part-time job while still in school too, but i would like to avoid that if at all possible.
although it's even less desirable, we may have to take out a loan for the second semester, but we would definitely get a loan that doesn't accumulate any interest for six months after graduation. they still have those right? is it obvious i know nothing about student loans? we'd almost surely be able to pay it all off within 6 months, but it would set us back a bit, especially as we'll likely need another car when bryan graduates. i don't even want to think about coming up that money as well. arg.
if you have any encouragement for me, i'd be so thankful for it. sorry for the not so humorous post, perhaps i'll have a sense of humor about finances soon, but i tend to take it all very seriously right now.
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I hear ya on the money stress. I don't think anything makes me stress out or want to give up so quickly! I think it's so awesome that you have a goal of getting through college without a loan. I wish Mike and I would have had that kind of wisdom. You don't even want to know how much we have in student loans (seriously, you don't want to know!!) Second semester next year is still a long ways away. Since Mike and I have been married, there have been many times where God waits until the last minute to provide. I think it's sort of his way of making sure we can't try to steal his glory. It's hard, but keep praying and trusting for God to provide. And even if you do take out a loan for one semester, I still think you guys are awesome.
ReplyDeleteone good thing is the education tax credit: $1000 is refundable, and if you filed taxes right away you could get it back in january, february. that would hopefully help with the some of the spring costs. you can also get an additional $1500 credit that is non-refundable (if you owed any taxes it would offset those costs).
ReplyDeleteI know I am stating the obvious but here it is again...Run to God! He loves you and wants to take your burdens and hear your heart's cry. At the very, very least He will give you peace that passes all understanding! :) Love you and am soooo proud of you and Bryan with the way you have handled your finances!
ReplyDeleteAlex,
ReplyDeleteThe credit you're referring to is the American Opportunity Credit and this year is the last year for it.
HOWEVER.
There are still OTHER education credits that will help you receive a bigger return next year that will help supplement the second semester tuition! The fact that he didn't get scholarships means you'll be able to claim his fall education for your taxes which is SO GOOD!
You'll make it, LisaGrace! Jehovah Jirah loves to take care of us and He'll provide exactly what you need when you need it. You and Brian have done fantastic so far with finances, but none of it would have been possible without God's provision. Trusting in Him during this time of uncertainty will only make your faith in Him stronger! If the Christian life was a walk in the park, everyone would want to do it. But we're called to something more challenging, but much more satisfying!!
To all of you, THANKS SO MUCH FOR THE ENCOURAGEMENT!
ReplyDeleteI appreciate it so much! Bryan and I have talked a lot about it these past few days, and I'm surrendering it to God.
We are going to buckle down where we can, but God will provide if He chooses. It's not me or us or how awesome we've been with our money, it's only God!
I need that reminder often. : )
Thanks again!
Thanks for your comment on my blog the other day! Dexter has told me lots about you--I'm excited to meet my future best friend!
ReplyDeleteI could definitely relate to this post! Our goal is to be out of debt by March 2014, and according to our current calculations, we'll be a few months late, if not more. It's a hard thing to realize that God's plans for us might not match up exactly with our goals, even if our goals seem good.
We'll be praying that God allows you to come up with the money to keep yourselves out of debt. As a current debtor, I can tell you that you won't regret all the work it's taking to stay out of debt!