So I (20yo) am enrolled in college FT and had a fairly decent pay at my 2 jobs, taking home about $4600/mo. I decided to get a much needed new used car a couple months ago and I just leased a new apartment last week so I could be on my own without roommates. Total expense of those two comes out to ~$2600. Unfortunately, I had to spend $3600 for move in costs (first + deposit equal to first as this is my first lease) which ended up taking most of my savings. I thought it would be fine as I made enough money, but I ended up losing my FT job days before I got my keys.

With me being in college, realistically I have two options. I get evicted, drop out and move south to live with my parents again. My only other option is to take out student loans, which I have been trying to avoid. My parents are trying to enjoy retirement so I wont ask them for help. I have gotten a new job but I don’t know how long the hiring process will take, and I don’t know if I will get enough pay by the next month. But when I do start getting pay, it will be less than before but still enough to cover everything, take home ~$4000.

Would student loans be a bad idea? What other options do I have?

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Casterial t1_iuj5cn4 wrote on October 31, 2022 at 6:49 PM

IMO - Take out the loan (student loans aren't bad when enrolled) and then pay it off slowly while in school. You shouldn't need to take out a massive student loan, maybe just one month, maybe two months of rent.

Student loans don't accrue interest while in school, usually. Be sure to check.

edit: Not paying that rent could cause you to lose credit, and dropping out is a horrible choice. I seen this too much while in school and most who did are jobless to this day.

CrazyJohn21 t1_iuj6fee wrote on October 31, 2022 at 6:56 PM

The key is to look for subsidized loans, private and unsubscribed accrue interest while in school

Bo-ohw_O_Wo-er OP t1_iuj92r4 wrote on October 31, 2022 at 7:14 PM

Yeah, that rent is whats worrying me. Id hate to drop out and move back in with my parents. Where they live theres no opportunity for anything more than minimum wage unless you work a govt job.

apismeliferaone t1_iuj8gbw wrote on October 31, 2022 at 7:10 PM

In addition to student loans, you could sign up for ride sharing (Uber Lyft etc) or deliver for Uber Eats and Doordash etc.

You have a car, you might as well put it to work.

LOGICpremium t1_iuj924g wrote on October 31, 2022 at 7:14 PM

I know you said you didn’t want to bother your parents as they are enjoying retirement, but do you think they would mind if you asked them for a loan? It’s a temporary thing, you just need to pay the months rent and then you can pay your parents back as soon as possible. Otherwise the student loan option would probably be the other best case scenario.

Bo-ohw_O_Wo-er OP t1_iuj9kgn wrote on October 31, 2022 at 7:17 PM

I will admit id have to swallow my pride quite a bit. When I told them I had gotten a new place, along with the new car prior, they told me to be careful and not to go into debt. Of course, I said id be fine not knowing id lose my job shortly there after.

Edit: Although moving back in and dropping out would be more embarrassing and a bigger hit to my self esteem, so I guess I shouldn’t be too picky about where the money comes from.

lefthandedlibrarian t1_iujuv51 wrote on October 31, 2022 at 9:44 PM

I donated plasma at least once a week in college and grad school to help pay for rent. You can make around 100 dollars a week and sometimes they run specials, especially for new donors. I still donate occasionally.

Bo-ohw_O_Wo-er OP t1_iujvfnn wrote on October 31, 2022 at 9:48 PM

My friend suggested that, which I completely forgot to set up an appt for. Thanks for the reminder!