Minimizing summer earnings' effect on financial aid Forum

[Renzo]

Have you lived in New York, DC, or SF? Fine. 5-8k. Still doesn't affect fin aid, but you made a really excellent point that added to the thread.

You're gonna spend $12-15K in less than 3 months? On what?

I've lived in NY/DC, so I'll break it down very very conservatively (e.g., 200/month on going out in a major city...riiiight).

Rent: 2000
Bills (cable/electric/gas/etc.): 200
Groceries: 400
Transport (train/cabs): 200
Fun (aka bars/clubs): 200
Dining Out: 300
Misc (clothes, museums, mags, books, iTunes, giving to street musicians, whatever ppl spend money on): 300

You will start in May and so you'll need to live there for at least 3 months. 3 x 3600 = 10,800. My list is far from exhaustive.

I currently live in NYC, I have a family with small children, and I spend less than that a month for all of us. You have a problem.

[MrKappus]

Edited so as not to further derail. The pro bono idea's interesting, OP, but it looks like you're stuck b/t a rock (giving up earnings) and a hardplace (using those earnings on tuition). G'luck.

[Anonymous User]

Edited so as not to further derail. The pro bono idea's interesting, OP, but it looks like you're stuck b/t a rock (giving up earnings) and a hardplace (using those earnings on tuition). G'luck.

Well, if I were the poster above you, it would make sense to fund my kids' education at 13% of the price. For those of us bachelors, an IRA (or probably better, Roth IRA) would serve a similar purpose at some schools.

[swc65]

Again, have you done your taxes before?

Assuming you're not a dependent, there are various exemptions and deductions you can claim that will reduce how much money you owe.

Including a 10k education deduction and a 5700 standards deduction. So you only pay taxes on half of your earnings and are in a lower tax bracket.

[tome]

Serious advice to kappus: don't go into corporate.

[MrKappus]

Thx bro. Your post has changed my life.

P.S. But my mom says I'm smart enough to do anything I put my mind to.

[Kohinoor]

I've lived in NY/DC, so I'll break it down very very conservatively (e.g., 200/month on going out in a major city...riiiight).

Rent: 2000
Bills (cable/electric/gas/etc.): 200
Groceries: 400
Transport (train/cabs): 200
Fun (aka bars/clubs): 200
Dining Out: 300
Misc (clothes, museums, mags, books, iTunes, giving to street musicians, whatever ppl spend money on): 300

You will start in May and so you'll need to live there for at least 3 months. 3 x 3600 = 10,800. My list is far from exhaustive.

I think the sticking point here was that you called this conservative. You can easily spend this much in a big city, but it is by no means conservative. For one thing, 2000 a month for rent is easily double what you could realistically be paying. If you're paying 400 a month for groceries as a single male, you literally must be working to find and consume only the most expensive consumer goods in existence. I could literally eat prime steak every day for a month and have a markedly lower grocery bill than your projection. Literally.

[IAFG]

I think the sticking point here was that you called this conservative. You can easily spend this much in a big city, but it is by no means conservative. For one thing, 2000 a month for rent is easily double what you could realistically be paying. If you're paying 400 a month for groceries as a single male, you literally must be working to find and consume only the most expensive consumer goods in existence. I could literally eat prime steak every day for a month and have a markedly lower grocery bill than your projection. Literally.

wait, really? i spend $400/month on groceries, easily.

edit: thanks to online banking and excel i can say with confidence i spent over $400 on groceries (NOT eating out) in september. i did eat a lot of seafood though. mmm scallops.

[MrKappus]

I've lived in NY/DC, so I'll break it down very very conservatively (e.g., 200/month on going out in a major city...riiiight).

Rent: 2000
Bills (cable/electric/gas/etc.): 200
Groceries: 400
Transport (train/cabs): 200
Fun (aka bars/clubs): 200
Dining Out: 300
Misc (clothes, museums, mags, books, iTunes, giving to street musicians, whatever ppl spend money on): 300

You will start in May and so you'll need to live there for at least 3 months. 3 x 3600 = 10,800. My list is far from exhaustive.

I think the sticking point here was that you called this conservative. You can easily spend this much in a big city, but it is by no means conservative. For one thing, 2000 a month for rent is easily double what you could realistically be paying. If you're paying 400 a month for groceries as a single male, you literally must be working to find and consume only the most expensive consumer goods in existence. I could literally eat prime steak every day for a month and have a markedly lower grocery bill than your projection. Literally.

No, you couldn't. Literally. 30 dinners of 8 oz. servings would cost you $284.08/month. I'm assuming you'd still need stuff like milk, OJ, cereal, etc.

http://www.lobels.com/store/main/item.asp?item=25

Honestly, I lived in NYC and this is what I found to be my experience. But I'll note, I mean Manhattan. If I stopped one of those corner groceries on the way home, a box of triscuits, few apples, block of cheese, some juice, milanos, pack of gum, and a bag of almonds would come to 30 or 35 bucks. I think a lot of the ppl here just haven't lived in Manhattan before.

EDIT: Also, please point me to the $1000/month listings in Manhattan. Unless I want to take my chances w/ a stranger on Craigslist, that price you quote is hilarious.

[Kohinoor]

I've lived in NY/DC, so I'll break it down very very conservatively (e.g., 200/month on going out in a major city...riiiight).

Rent: 2000
Bills (cable/electric/gas/etc.): 200
Groceries: 400
Transport (train/cabs): 200
Fun (aka bars/clubs): 200
Dining Out: 300
Misc (clothes, museums, mags, books, iTunes, giving to street musicians, whatever ppl spend money on): 300

You will start in May and so you'll need to live there for at least 3 months. 3 x 3600 = 10,800. My list is far from exhaustive.

I think the sticking point here was that you called this conservative. You can easily spend this much in a big city, but it is by no means conservative. For one thing, 2000 a month for rent is easily double what you could realistically be paying. If you're paying 400 a month for groceries as a single male, you literally must be working to find and consume only the most expensive consumer goods in existence. I could literally eat prime steak every day for a month and have a markedly lower grocery bill than your projection. Literally.

No, you couldn't. Literally. 30 dinners of 8 oz. servings would cost you $284.08/month. I'm assuming you'd still need stuff like milk, OJ, cereal, etc.

http://www.lobels.com/store/main/item.asp?item=25

Honestly, I lived in NYC and this is what I found to be my experience. But I'll note, I mean Manhattan. If I stopped one of those corner groceries on the way home, a box of triscuits, few apples, block of cheese, some juice, milanos, pack of gum, and a bag of almonds would come to 30 or 35 bucks. I think a lot of the ppl here just haven't lived in Manhattan before.

EDIT: Also, please point me to the $1000/month listings in Manhattan. Unless I want to take my chances w/ a stranger on Craigslist, that price you quote is hilarious.

Manhattan is mandatory? Also, you've clearly dismissed the idea of a roommate so yea, if you have to live in Manhattan and refuse to get a roommate I could see it being really, unnecessarily expensive.

[MrKappus]

Manhattan is mandatory? Also, you've clearly dismissed the idea of a roommate so yea, if you have to live in Manhattan and refuse to get a roommate I could see it being really, unnecessarily expensive.

Haha more like unnecessarily awesome. Anyway, at some point you have to decide you're past roommate age. I'm there, sadly. I'd love to live in Boerum Hill, PS, or BK Heights, but the commute to midtown's a bitch. Anyway, this thread has inspired me to revamp my NYC budget. Thx to all. Where'd OP come down on how to hide his/her income/assets? Sounded like a worthy and totally above-board venture...

[motiontodismiss]

(4) I'm not sure how you spend 250 a month on groceries and eat healthily when a carton of OJ costs $5 bucks

Two words. Trader. Joe's.

[frost]

OP, you can just ask your school how they do it. Mine has a formula that I've known of since the day that I got my need-based aid the summer before 1L year.

Beyond that, what do you mean by "minimizing"? Just be smart with your money and save as much as you can. Then suck it up and pay tuition. Your school has already been generous enough to give you half tuition for 1L and 2L years, as well as the opportunity to get a SA position and 160k after graduation. People are taking out 50-70k a year in loans - so what if you have to take out a little bit more too? Let that need-based money go to incoming 1Ls or your classmates who didn't land such a sweet gig as you and who actually do NEED it.

[Anonymous User]

OP, you can just ask your school how they do it. Mine has a formula that I've known of since the day that I got my need-based aid the summer before 1L year.

Beyond that, what do you mean by "minimizing"? Just be smart with your money and save as much as you can. Then suck it up and pay tuition. Your school has already been generous enough to give you half tuition for 1L and 2L years, as well as the opportunity to get a SA position and 160k after graduation. People are taking out 50-70k a year in loans - so what if you have to take out a little bit more too? Let that need-based money go to incoming 1Ls or your classmates who didn't land such a sweet gig as you and who actually do NEED it.

I was surprised to not get this response earlier. Aside from the logical flaws in the argument, I find no ethical obligation to allow my grant to be transferred to someone who chose to attend the school with a lower NEED at the outset. (I receive the maximum grant, thus, only people who had higher EFC than I coming in would be receiving my forgone funding).

[MrKappus]

OP, you can just ask your school how they do it. Mine has a formula that I've known of since the day that I got my need-based aid the summer before 1L year.

Beyond that, what do you mean by "minimizing"? Just be smart with your money and save as much as you can. Then suck it up and pay tuition. Your school has already been generous enough to give you half tuition for 1L and 2L years, as well as the opportunity to get a SA position and 160k after graduation. People are taking out 50-70k a year in loans - so what if you have to take out a little bit more too? Let that need-based money go to incoming 1Ls or your classmates who didn't land such a sweet gig as you and who actually do NEED it.

I was surprised to not get this response earlier. Aside from the logical flaws in the argument, I find no ethical obligation to allow my grant to be transferred to someone who chose to attend the school with a lower NEED at the outset. (I receive the maximum grant, thus, only people who had higher EFC than I coming in would be receiving my forgone funding).

There aren't any logical flaws in the argument. The poster's just saying don't be an unethical douche and post questiosn about how to hide and otherwise misrepresent your earnings to avoid loss of need-based financial aid. This isn't complicated. Poster above's just being a little more delicate about it than I. And for that he deserves a lot of credit. Because I find you insufferable.

[Anonymous User]

OP, you can just ask your school how they do it. Mine has a formula that I've known of since the day that I got my need-based aid the summer before 1L year.

Beyond that, what do you mean by "minimizing"? Just be smart with your money and save as much as you can. Then suck it up and pay tuition. Your school has already been generous enough to give you half tuition for 1L and 2L years, as well as the opportunity to get a SA position and 160k after graduation. People are taking out 50-70k a year in loans - so what if you have to take out a little bit more too? Let that need-based money go to incoming 1Ls or your classmates who didn't land such a sweet gig as you and who actually do NEED it.

I was surprised to not get this response earlier. Aside from the logical flaws in the argument, I find no ethical obligation to allow my grant to be transferred to someone who chose to attend the school with a lower NEED at the outset. (I receive the maximum grant, thus, only people who had higher EFC than I coming in would be receiving my forgone funding).

There aren't any logical flaws in the argument. The poster's just saying don't be an unethical douche and post questiosn about how to hide and otherwise misrepresent your earnings to avoid loss of need-based financial aid. This isn't complicated. Poster above's just being a little more delicate about it than I. And for that he deserves a lot of credit. Because I find you insufferable.

I'm sorry you feel that way. I'll note it in my diary.

[MrKappus]

^ Hmm...lemme check. Yep. Still insufferable.