# Back to being a student



## beanie86 (10 Dec 2008)

hi all, ive returned from travelling and am back in college (18 months masters), thing is ive got massive debt and very low income (im on a scholarship) now...i'll detail it below...

Age: 26
   Spouse’s/Partner's age: n/a

   Annual gross income from employment or profession: 10K
   Annual gross income of spouse:n/a

   Type of employment: Research masters student

In general are you spending more than you earn or are you saving? yes

   rent:  375 monthly

   Other borrowings – car loans/personal loans etc: personal loan approx 10500 i pay 255 monthly

   Do you pay off your full credit card balance each month? no
   If not, what is the balance on your credit card? E1435

   Savings and investments:none

   Do you have a pension scheme? no

   Do you own any investment or other property? no

   Ages of children: none

   Life insurance: none

my main question is should i get new loan to cover credit card or move to no interest card(but i dont have income to pay off loan within six months)
im on a fellowship which means i cant get a part time job, i dont know where i can make savings to get me through the 18 months...
any help would be greatly appreciated!


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## BoscoTalking (11 Dec 2008)

Can you do grinds?

You can't afford a credit card so get rid. 

Where are you renting? possibly 375 could be reduced (outside of Dublin anyway). Put up signs for babysitting in evenings and Saturdays. 

I think if i were you i would ask my parents for the money to pay back the credit card and just pay them back whenever you got the money. If they are reasonably afford it that is. My own parents would freak if I carried that amount of debt at a high interest rate (they would make me pay it back in full all the same). 

Make sure that your course will have good job prospects to pay back the €€. it may be something you like but if you can't get a job from it then what will you do with the loan? just a thought.


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## Rigoletto (11 Dec 2008)

pennypitstop said:


> Make sure that your course will have good job prospects to pay back the €€. it may be something you like but if you can't get a job from it then what will you do with the loan? just a thought.


 
thats a very good point. 
there are plenty of professional students out there that dont seem to ever want to work. degree, post grad dip, masters, phd/doctorate. you will eventually enter the workforce and it may well still be in recession i hope your qualifications are not in ancient russian literature or worse still Orts. have you thought about when you will get a full time job?


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## Padraigb (11 Dec 2008)

I hope that we have not come to the point where the only criterion for judging the value of an education is whether it can be converted more-or-less directly into income.

beanie86, your situation looks difficult. You need to change some of the numbers, but I don't expect that it is easy to do so. Most of all, I think you need to deal with the CC: get rid of the card and prioritise getting rid of the debt. Perhaps your other lender might arrange some temporary flexibility to help you do that.

How strict are the conditions of your fellowship, and how strictly enforced? Might they tolerate your taking a weekend job (if you can find one, of course)?


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## cancan (11 Dec 2008)

Padraigb said:


> I hope that we have not come to the point where the only criterion for judging the value of an education is whether it can be converted more-or-less directly into income.


 
When it is provided free by the government, it is a valid question to ask.


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## BoscoTalking (11 Dec 2008)

Padraigb said:


> I hope that we have not come to the point where the only criterion for judging the value of an education is whether it can be converted more-or-less directly into income.


Agreed however everyone has an obligation to themselves and i think OP needs to pay back the loan, then he/she needs to be clear on their expectations after the course is finished. I am doing an MSc for enjoyment and may branch into it in the future but i am funding my own lifestyle at the same time with a day job


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## beanie86 (11 Dec 2008)

thanks everyone for the replies, its a masters in engineering so should be ok for employment when i finish it.
the main reason i'm doing it is that it could've taken months to get a job (as happened to a friend of mine) so my plan is to be in college rather than on the dole!
as for work, the fellowship says i cant have an income. at the momnet i'm looking for cash in hand work, but its not easy to find. grinds may be an option when i get better at the topic i'm studying!
as fro taking money off the parents for credit card, i have already taken E500 for deposit on house and they paid my car tax, i cant ask for anymore, especially at this time of year


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## Pope John 11 (11 Dec 2008)

Is getting rid of the car an option....When I was in college not very many students had cars...just a bike in the city & make use of the public transport. Is this an option?


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## beanie86 (11 Dec 2008)

Pope John 11 said:


> Is getting rid of the car an option....When I was in college not very many students had cars...just a bike in the city & make use of the public transport. Is this an option?



it was the first thing i thought of! not really an option as i use it to bring my sister home from college at the weekend, and when she is on placement bringing her to work so actually saves money at those times. and in a years time i will need a car again for work and job interviews.


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## Mr DT (11 Dec 2008)

Don't see how you can justify having a car when you are in so much debt relative to income.

How much is the car worth if you got rid? Does you sister pay you when you are her personal taxi? Why can't you/she use public transport?


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## cole (11 Dec 2008)

As an engineering student you should be able to give ginds in Maths to secondary students (it just so happens that Maths is the most asked for grind and it's coming up to the Mocks!).


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## beanie86 (11 Dec 2008)

Mr DT said:


> Don't see how you can justify having a car when you are in so much debt relative to income.
> 
> How much is the car worth if you got rid? Does you sister pay you when you are her personal taxi? Why can't you/she use public transport?



the taxi runs are worth a few bob to me!, my parents give me about 50 euro each week i do it which more than covers petrol as i'm going same direction into college anyway (it just means going earlier)...there'll be four more weeks of it in january. and when i bring her home at the weekend parents give me few euro too. so it works out only slightly more than pulic transport on average


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## beanie86 (11 Dec 2008)

cole said:


> As an engineering student you should be able to give ginds in Maths to secondary students (it just so happens that Maths is the most asked for grind and it's coming up to the Mocks!).




i never thought of secondary school grinds! thanks! though its been a decade since i did my own leaving cert i'm sure i could brush up on it quick enough to give pass maths grinds anyway!
any idea of how much to charge for this?


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## PaddyBloggit (11 Dec 2008)

This should give you some info:

http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showthread.php?t=98886&highlight=grinds


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## beanie86 (11 Dec 2008)

PaddyBloggit said:


> This should give you some info:
> 
> http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showthread.php?t=98886&highlight=grinds




berlininvest sounds like he knows what hes at! i will definitely follow up on the grinds idea...thanks everyone, hopefully i can make E1435 from grinds and pay off credit card!


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## micro (18 Jan 2009)

Beanie- just to point out that fellowships usually say you can't have part-time job... but alot of research students work anyway (I know I did).  If funded by the college, you will send in tax form detailing stipend tax exemption... what you do with your tax credits at the weekend is your business. Besides which, most lecturers are fully aware of current conditions and will probably not mind you working as long as it does not interfere with your research work. Mine own supervisor was fully aware (but didn't love the fact) that I was working, but as I returned to college after working full time for a while I just explained that I had a working persons debt.. so needed to supplement my income.

Don't forget to sign up for invigilation and possible demonstrating labs etc (works out either a payment per hour or giving you half fees which increases stipend).

10k not great fro stipend btw- most coming in at 21k- fees= 17k/year.. no extra funding floating around?? 

Just my 2cents 
Good luck


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## ibaraki (20 Jan 2009)

You may not be entitled to a higher education grant this year because you lived outside the country for a year but definately try to get it for your second year


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