Since Michael Thomas will be talking at this Friday's IDEX about what the current financial crisis might mean for college students, let's start talking about it here. What has the current economic crisis meant for you?
I know I am consciously cutting back where I can and worrying more when I have to use my credit card for something. Stock that I had counted on as my emergency fund has gone so far down that it would no longer fund any emergency. So, there goes all of my savings/emergency funds. Other than these, I'm holding up OK.
But, what about you? Has the current state of the economy affected you much at this point or not?
3 comments:
I can seriously sympathize! When it comes to the mortgage crises I frequently encounter angry taxpayers who don't think (slightly paraphrased) "a bunch of irresponsible idiots" should get bailed out of their bad mortgages.
Well I'm not an irresponsible idiot. We bought a home out in Rio Rancho when values were good and equity was growing. We are right down the street from where the UNM/CNM campus is being built. It's like we were manuevering ourselves into the new "Nob Hill." The decision was strategic, not hasty or irresponsible. Now, the situation is totally different. Because there were bad loans/scams, Sandoval County now touts the biggest foreclosure rate in the state. Home values are plunging and it is threatening our mortgage.
So as a family of three (2 in school full time) we have drastically cut back. We do not have television service...just hulu and netflix and you tube. We do not have cell phones (too expensive, leave a message on my home phone or get me on facebook or gmail) and unless we can pay cash or barter, we will not buy it.
Hopefully things turn up. I want to improve my cozy lil' home on the windy mesa.
Even those that are just starting the financial trial that is college feel the burden. Being in the process of graduating, I am scrounging for scholarships and grants. The Presidential will pay for most everything but even so I am feeling the instability in the economy. It's frightening to think that I wont have any absolutes in my financial future.
Bye the bye, I will be an incoming freshmen and just received my acceptance letter from UHP today. I'll be joining the actual forums come the fall.
Well said, Trevor. And thanks for joining us online! I think incoming freshmen do face some rough challenges that I probably didn't face when I came to college. I had scholarships to pay for tuition, but what about living expenses? Back in the 2000s work study and student employment were a lot more plentiful than they are going to be...unless more federal money comes to the rescue.
Next year our office and so many others will not be able to offer as many student employment jobs. We'll have to turn to workstudy (which means we pay 30% of the wages and the workstudy grants/awards pay the other 70%). So this means students will have a harder time finding work on campus.
And I don't know about you guys, but I'm tired of doing more with less.
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