Hello I just leased a 1 bedroom and have no family etc. I am living in Las Vegas and am working full time and going to school full time. I was told to get involved with any financial aid programs I am eligible for, wether it’s social security or FAFSA, etc. I got my FAFSA, but I am not going to be able to make ends meet, just barely. What are some programs I can sign up for to get aid with housing, food, school, etc wether it’s through the govt, a grant, a loan, etc
Go to your school’s financial aid office and talk to an adviser. They can point you to other grant and loan programs. Also check into Medicaid and food stamp eligibility.
Is there a program that gets you wifi? Or where should I look for decent cheap (ie 25 a month) wifi
Since the OP is looking for advice, let’s move this to IMHO.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
I don’t know about food stamps, I hear once you get on its hard to kick.
Are you working full time, or was that a typo? If you ARE working full time, you should be able to eke out an existence of sorts to get you through your student years, surely?
I’ve never heard of a college campus without free wifi for students.
Whatever you do, don’t lick the backs of them; they’re coated in pure LSD.
I’m working full time but it barely covers rent. I just got hit with a 3k bill to cover my late start classes and I need to see if my grant can be adjusted. Are there any names of programs you know, like adult social services?
There honestly isn’t a lot out there. Your best bet is to speak with your school’s financial aid office. You may be able to find the odd charity that will provide help.
Can you get a roommate? It’s not fun, but beats not eating. If you don’t have a compelling reason to be at your particular job, consider one in food service that will provide cheap meals.
To be more extreme, consider connecting with the Freegans in your community. They are people who try to live without money. They (obviously) tend to be a bit ragtag. But when I was fresh out of school and broke as a joke, the Freegans helped me out a lot with scavenged food.
Another super basic question: are you taking out student loans? So far you’ve only mentioned grants. If you’re pretty sure you’ll be able to finish the degree, and the degree will definitely help your employment prospects, it’s not a bad idea to take out a few thousand in student loans per year. The FAFSA will say how much you qualify for in government-subsidized loans, like the Stafford, loan, which are available at low rates and are interest free while in school.
I checked the Stafford loan, I was offered this semester but declined. I’m specifically looking for programs where I receive monthly checks for rent and utility assistance, whether paid back or not.
Plus the Stafford loan wasn’t significant enough, the Pell being 1500, just enough to cover 2 classes, with the Stafford being about either 2 or 4k. My rent for a 1 bedroom apt is 800 alone, water and trash included. I make about 1500 every month after taxes and healthcare. I’ve got 120$ in monthly car insurance and 80$ in a cell phone. I’m also paying 250 a month for the next 9 for truck repairs. Does it sound like I can live off what I make if I budget heavily?
It sounds like it would have paid off those car repairs and left you with a month’s extra salary on top of that. What the hell do you mean it wasn’t significant?
So wait, you got offered a loan and turned it down? And now you want other people to pay for your living expenses?
Get a roommate. That’s $400 extra dollars a month right there. See if you can get your loans back, that’ll be another $300 a month or so. With $700 extra dollars a month in your pocket, plus your current surplus, you’ll be better off than s lot of people.
$1500 a month
-$800 rent
-$120 car
-$80 phone
-$100 gas
-$100 electricity
-$200 food
I didn’t count the truck repair expense, because that should be paid off by your loan this semester. That still leaves you with an extra $100 every month, plus the extra from this semester’s Stafford loan. Plus the $4000 Stafford loan each semester gives you almost an extra $1000 each month starting in January. And you are looking for handouts?
I am asking because I’m trying to find things that don’t have to be paid back, like a grant. I’m not sitting on this money or pissing it away, I work hard for my 12 an hour and every cent goes towards necessary expenses. Thanks for your answer and breaking down expenses
Unless you have a road warrior job that takes you into a lot of rural areas, $80/month is too much to pay for a phone. Do you have Boost Mobile or Consumer Cellular in your area?
Yeah, I have a Skype number and Skype subscription, as well as a cheap pay-as-you-go phone for when I’m not near my computer, and I probably pay less than $200 a year for phone service. It’s not glamorous (I don’t have a smartphone with a data plan), but it’s cheap and it works.
Other than Pell grants and whatever is directly offered by the school you attend, there really isn’t much free, no-strings-attached money out there. You can ask your school’s financial aid office about other options, but chances are they’ve already made their decision about whatever aid they’ll give you.
As a single guy working full time, you’re probably making way too much to qualify for food stamps, housing assistance, or any other kind of welfare programs. It doesn’t matter that you’re using a big chunk of your income to pay for school.
At this point, student loans are probably your only reasonable option. Like I said earlier, if you’re confident that you’ll get a degree that will improve your employment prospects, moderate borrowing is a good idea. If you take out $1500/semester for eight semesters, you’ll end up with a total debt of $12000. Standard repayment for subsidized Stafford loans would total $123/month for 10 years. That’s not a trivial commitment, but if you get a job that pays $15 or $20 per hour after graduating, you’ll come out way ahead of where you are now even with student loan payments.