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Archives for November 2015

How Leases Trap College Students

By Frugaling 5 Comments

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How Leases Trap Students

I live in a nice apartment. The bathroom is large, kitchen is brand new, ceilings are high, and my roommate and I have held many parties. When something goes wrong, the maintenance promptly fixes things – often the same day. It’s been a refreshing experience, but it’s come with a price and harbinger for higher education in general.

When I first entered graduate school, rent was about $400 with Internet and cable (not including utilities). I lived in Soviet-themed (unintentionally) barracks the university built in a flood zone. The entire area had flooded repeatedly (including many of the buildings). They weren’t necessarily up to “code,” but they were utilitarian and met my needs.

After two years of living, they decided it was time to tear them down and build up new buildings. I couldn’t blame the university. Unfortunately, there was a catch: private construction and land management companies would now control the buildings. Flirting with private and public lands (as I go to a public university), the university sold the building rights to the company. Now, my apartments are owned by a private company and the public land is leased to them.

While the apartments were brand-spanking new, it came with a flashy price: $550 per month with a roommate. I found a great one, and we’ve been living here ever since. From around $400 to $550 was a tremendous leap. But I justified it because it would keep me “on campus,” on the free bus route, and rentals are regularly expensive in the city. The old price didn’t really exist in the city, as it was university subsidized. Additionally, it would limit my moving expenses, as I would carry my stuff across the block.

Then something strange happened last year. Half way into my lease, a brochure was placed in my door frame. It said, “Take advantage of a great opportunity to renew your lease…at a discounted rate!” That first sentence sent off alarm bells in my head; I thought, “here comes a sales pitch.”

If my roommate and I renewed early, we’d receive this so-called discounted rate, but it was made worse by a bold-faced exclamation, “The first 100 residents that renew will get a discounted renewal rate!”

Both of us eyed the brochure and looked at the rate. At first I thought we’d actually be saving money because the table outlined “annual savings.” More closely, we realized they would be charging us $10 more. Despite all the rhetoric about savings, we’d be paying $120 more a year, each. Then, the company had combined it with a time-sensitive offer. They had clearly read some awful business books that encourage these tactics at the expense of consumer hatred.

The kicker was a third element: information about how expensive and difficult it is to move. As a skeptical reader I wondered why they were including information about “truck rental,” “utility transfers and deposits,” and “application fees.” Simply put, they wanted to psychologically implant loss potentials by using classic business techniques. The company wanted to reduce the likelihood of a move.

Despite my hate for the technique, it was true. Because we were graduate students, on tight schedules, and fearful of awful landlords (the city is full of them), we accepted the $240 total increase.

A year passed without much concern. Yesterday, I came home to an updated brochure. It was entirely the same except for the amount owed and leasing year. All the same rhetoric was used: “annual savings,” “the first 100 residents,” and information about moving expenses.

Another increase stared back at me: $480 per year per person. I was stunned. Over two years, the private land management company hiked the price $600 for leases annually. And horrifically, it’s even worse for new leases. Now, my roommate and I have a major decision to make.

This story is about more than one rental company’s tactics. Rather, this article is about the wicked decline of public institutions. What used to be highly subsidized, affordable housing for graduate students, quickly declined to a gentrified area (all the families and international students left). The university no longer needs to manage the land and they receive leasing payments, but they have little control of the land management’s prices and sales tactics.

By understanding these tactics and the privatization of public university property among rising student loan debt is a recipe for resentment. Raising prices $600 per year for each person becomes a formidable sum. Think about how $600 each year over the course of a five-year graduate school career equates to $3000 in extra housing costs, which are often at 6.8% interest with federal aid. That adds up, as do the future payments.

While people could move out, year round schedules and limited savings become a trap for many students. With strict budgets that limit freedom to afford truck rentals, rent cleaning products, and pay for utility transfers, we are a vulnerable population. Many are restricted by these methods.

The privatization of public property might be an omen for continued demises in higher education. By pushing towards a business model, students will bear the brunt of these horrid policies.

We’re at a tremendous precipice in academia. As we play limbo with students lives, I cannot help but wonder when we’ll find the bottom because we’re walking straight towards it.

Filed Under: Save Money, Social Justice Tagged With: academia, apartments, campus, college, housing, leases, Students, university

How Many Hours Per Week Could You Work?

By Frugaling 16 Comments

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Finding balance on the ferris wheel of life

Reviewing the average workweek

There are 168 hours in a week (unless you live on Mars). If you sleep an average of 7 hours per day (49 hours per week), you’re left with 119. After sleeping, work usually takes the second most amount of time at 40 hours. That leaves 79 hours to shower, eat breakfast, read the news and your favorite book, travel to work, see friends, spend time with family, cook dinner, and get ready to repeat it all day after day.

Let’s take a look at my schedule, as an example. Monday I work about 8 to 9 hours, and when I come home I usually need to put in another 30 minutes. Let’s call Monday 9 hours on average. Tuesday I work about 7 hours — that’s an easy one. Wednesday is a 10-hour day. Thursday is an 8-hour day. Then, Fridays are reserved for meetings, appointments, interviews, etc. It’s a “free” day, but I tend to fill it with work. Let’s call it 5 hours. The weekends tend to be dedicated to grading assignments and working on materials for the courses I teach. That takes up about 2-3 hours. Additionally, there are often homework assignments to be completed. That ranges from about 3-6 hours a weekend. If my math is correct, that means my workweek (including weekends) equals about 45 hours.

The variable graduate school schedule

There are peaks and valleys in graduate school schedules. Over the last few weeks I was working nearly 60-70 hours per week to write my dissertation proposal and complete all the homework assignments. As I previously mentioned, that pressure and intensity felt fantastic. I was energized and passionate. I cared about the final product.

On average, I’m looking at about 74 hours of non-scheduled time. Now, a lot of that gets lost on tedious chores and cleaning. One thing I’ve noticed about living frugally is that I need to account more time for cooking and cleaning. Eating out really is more convenient from every standpoint. By eating in, I control my spending far better and usually reduce expenditures by hundreds of dollars, but there’s added time expenditures.

Then, there are the trips to the grocery store. Errands like these eat up quite a lot of time, as the stores are large and quite a distance from where I live. It’s easy to spend about 30-45 minutes per week in the store. Slowly, as these tasks add up, my schedule gets eaten away. For the most part, it works though. I have time for everything I need to do, and usually can sit back and watch a TV show every now and then.

Upping the commitments, time at work

Now, I’m contemplating adding some commitments. Over the last few weeks I’ve been pursuing, applying, and following up regarding various work opportunities. There’s a little debt left that I need to clear out to be completely clean when I graduate, and I’m eager to get rid of it. And there are some fantastic opportunities to do just that.

In the spring semester, I could potentially increase my income by $10,000 through two additional responsibilities. But I’m struggling to wrap my mind about the loss of time. One would require a full day — 12 hours, and the other could potentially be 6-8 hours per week. Together, they might add 20 hours to my current schedule. As in, my regularly scheduled routine would now be about 65 hours per week — scheduled.

Balance between life and money

To all the doctors and entrepreneurs out there, you might know these hours exceedingly well. But as I contemplate taking on these added commitments, I can’t help but think, what will be the quality of my life? Will I actually have time for those I care about? Will I be able to complete everything that’s asked of me? Will I be able to spend time on what I’m most passionate about?

The financially minded side of me relishes the prospect of extra funds. That kind of money would revolutionize my budget and jumpstart my retirement savings. Similarly, the activities could bolster my work experience, which would help for future applications. With dollar signs in my mind, I can’t help but think these are opportunities I cannot refuse. But at what cost to my sanity?

Time and money are intriguing variables. On one hand I preach the importance of fulfillment and moderation in work. I believe that life shouldn’t be all about work – it becomes somewhat empty if that’s the case. The other side makes me think money today means less work tomorrow (should I desire it). Compounding interest and savings can turn 40-year into 30-year plans for retirement. The initial time lost could be replaced by time gained in later years.

Today, I don’t have a decision to declare – only questions about the balance between work, life, and money. How many hours per week do you work? If you were faced with the opportunity to pad your wallet at the expense of your balance, would you do it? What would you consider?

Filed Under: Make Money Tagged With: balance, hours, Income, Life, money, time, Work, workweek

Lose Track Of Time To Find Your Career

By Frugaling 6 Comments

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Looking out at my future

Graduate school consists of a series of races – from place to place, hour to hour. Today, I was a student, counselor, teacher, and technical assistant. Every day requires a series of hats, as I run from activity to activity. Sometimes my mind feels like it’s in a million different places at once. It’s hard to slow down.

Thankfully, I’m nearing the end of my tenure as a doctoral student, and ready to think about next steps. I’ve segued to future-oriented questions. The most important one has been: How can I make the greatest contribution to society, while continuing to be excited to work each day? This question propelled me in the first place to study counseling psychology and acquire a Ph.D. But next steps beget a reevaluation of how I can best make a difference. I can’t stay in graduate school forever!

As a counseling psychology student, I have the privilege of multiple career paths. Some go directly into private practice (seeing clients), hospitals, teaching at universities, researching psychological concerns, and/or informing public policy. Alone, any one would be nightmarish; I’d get itchy, looking for diversity in my daily routine. Doing a sole activity all the time scares me. I don’t want to become an automaton. Frankly, I’ve envisioned being most happy with a blend of research, teaching, and counseling.

Questions abound: Would I like to be a university professor? How about a counseling psychologist at a VA? Will I work at a community college or research institution? How much of the job will include teaching, practice, or research? Where will I find a new home – East, West, Central, another country?

Answers are nearly impossible to find, as the job market is constantly in flux and increasingly competitive. I won’t magically be handed a career because of my advanced degree. Surprising as it may be, having a Ph.D. only gets you into an interview – not in the door.

Future career prospects are also tempered by concerns of stress and overwork. In this field, I’d venture to say many academics put in 60 to 80-hour weeks. There are numerous employers that work people mercilessly. Too many treat their employees as replaceable “human capital.” These practices leave individuals prone to burnout and contribute to this country’s greatest killer: heart disease.

Where does that leave a soon-to-be Ph.D.? Like much in life, I’m seeking a balance between my wants and needs. The 30-hour workweek for an academic probably doesn’t exist unless you’re near the end of your career. But 80 hours per week for years frightens me to the core.

The secret for me is pursuing passions, which can often result in “flow.” This psychological concept centers on how “just-manageable challenges” tend to make employees feel purposeful and needed — in between anxiety and boredom. When this state occurs, people become hyper-focused, productive, and generally happy. It’s a mutually beneficial state for employers and their underlings, but not often made possible due to overscheduled weeks or monotonous responsibilities.

Researchers have presented six symptoms of flow:

  1. “Intense and focused concentration on what one is doing in the present moment.”
  2. “Merging of action and awareness.”
  3. “Loss of reflective self-consciousness”
  4. “A sense that one can control one’s actions…”
  5. “Distortion of temporal experience.”
  6. “Experience of the activity as intrinsically rewarding…”

Essentially, people are focused, active, forget their struggles, feel autonomous, lose track of time, and are internally motivated. From artists to scholars to writers to mathematicians, flow is an incredible place for creativity and excellence.

The greatest moments of my life have been here, when I lose track of time and become engrossed in an activity. For instance, when I started an endowment, Frugaling.org, and wrote my dissertation proposal, each were madly written, advocated for, and created. Despite the time to establish each, the pleasure of feeling purposeful made the hours fly by. They didn’t feel like work. I lost “reflective self-consciousness” and became the activity at hand.

While constrained by a society that values money over health (again, look at our health costs associated with being overworked and underpaid), I have the opportunity and privilege to pursue my own route. As I envision my “perfect” career, I imagine a series of part-time style gigs. I want a sprinkle of supervising counselors’ work, seeing clients, conducting research, and teaching future generations. The hours might become irrelevant when I’m tested, pushed, and encouraged to focus on helping others.

Two Novembers from now, applications will be due. I have time to find the right home, but I’m eager to fulfill the values gained over 26 years of my life. Right now, it feels like a professorship, but I’m open to change. I need to find my flow; without it, any job would be unbearable long term. Additionally, I need to be able to shape ideas, work, and daily activities in a manner that helps others directly.

How will you find your flow? What activities make you lose track of time? When do you feel purposeful, action-oriented, and passionate? Could these activities ever become a part of your work?

Filed Under: Make Money Tagged With: Autonomy, balance, Career, counseling, flow, Income, jobs, Life, professor, time, vocation, Work

I Deleted All The Ads. Now I Regret It.

By Frugaling 41 Comments

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minimography_056_orig

The last two months have been tough. While crafting my dissertation proposal and beginning to finish my Ph.D., I’ve tried to maintain Frugaling and prepare for career plans. Balancing everything has been difficult; thankfully, writing on this site has been a wonderful respite from my normal obligations.

Frugaling has always been for fun. See, I established this site as a creative outlet, break from academic writing, and source of additional revenue. It was never a charitable writing endeavor; albeit, I wanted it to be for good. In the process of writing about my journey to zero debt, I did pretty well for myself. I hustled and was rewarded for it. I paid off five figures of debt in no time.

Eventually, as the site aged and my debt waned, I started to question my values and decision to advertise. With the release of my new book in August, I thought it might be an opportunity to censor the ads. I took a gamble and deleted them.

In the place of ad revenue, I decided to rely on donations and book sales. It never made up for lost ad revenue, but it made a difference. Without those pesky intrusions, I felt free to talk without shame, fear, or question. Heck, I even wrote some scathing critiques of advertising since then!

Cleaning up my site from advertising made me feel good. I felt like I was honoring a value to reduce the urge for consumption. Unfortunately, revenue soon petered out. Despite growing traffic to the site, the revenue continued to plummet. What used to be a stable side hustle, which helped me save and earn despite a tiny graduate student income, was now non-existent.

Over October and November, I paid careful attention to the earnings, and now felt pigeonholed. I had railed against ads, and yet the business might be unstable and unsustainable without some extra revenue from visitors. Perhaps I had gone from one extreme to the other too rapidly?

This week, I reached out to other bloggers and friends to talk about this revenue problem. Most all of them recognized the need and importance to earn something for all the writing and extra work. Simultaneously, they seem to empathize with the wonderful ideal of going ad free. I admire people like Joshua Becker, who go without ads and potential revenue. But I entered an unstable level of revenue for Frugaling. Deleting these felt freeing and exhilarating in a new way, but the revenue loss didn’t allow me to save and earn.

Recently, I talked with a blogging friend of mine about this conundrum. I finally expressed the crux of the matter: I have two values, which are precariously unbalanced right now. One states that I should go ad free and resist anything that potentially encourages consumption. The other focuses on the very real need to earn some revenue from what I do here. Despite trying, donation buttons and book sales haven’t filled the gap.

One value is fulfilled while the other wanes. What’s the solution for this imbalance? This puzzle has led to a surprising number of doubts, questions, and nerves. I’ve felt guilty thinking about backtracking and placing the ads back on the site. I’ve felt nasty about engaging in affiliate marketing. And I don’t have time to create a class, campaign, or course that could potentially bring in additional revenue. School must take priority, but Frugaling shall be an integral, secondary part of my life.

For now, I’ve decided to bring back the ads. They’ll be basic Google ads, which won’t distort my voice or manipulate what I decide to promote. These ads aren’t my favorite, but in an effort to strike a balance between making money and reducing consumption, I’m taking the middle path.

Because of this backtrack, I’ve refunded and repaid everyone’s donations, too. Although their support was deeply appreciated over the last two months, I would feel slimy keeping them. As readers of Frugaling, I’d love to know what you think about this decision. Your support and readership is what keeps my site going. Thanks for listening.

Your friend,
Sam

Filed Under: Make Money Tagged With: ads, Advertise, advertising, frugaling, Google, Marketing, money, revenue, Writing

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