The best feeling at my Master's degree graduation?
I incurred zero dollars of debt this year.
Sure, I'm still not at a 0 dollar net worth yet. But at least I've been working hard to ensure I don't graduate with more debt than I need.
So how did I manage my cash flow?
1) Taking on a teaching position: 10 hours of extra work per week into a crammed schedule, plus biking extensively and missing out on a couple lectures. But it was worth it. Gain: $6000
2) Taking on a research assistant position: Between 5-10 hours a week, doing work I loved with my advisor. Gain: $1400
I actually turned down another research assistant position that would have paid $1000 for a month's work, but would have taken 20 hours a week, making my income less than $15/hr. I know that's a high income to give up, but with my school workload I've made it a rule not to take on jobs that pay me less than $30/hr if they take up more than 20 hours a week, at least for now. This may change later.
3) Being a human experiment: I signed up for one clinical trial that required me to drink some oil (gross), insert an antecubital IV to take blood and stay overnight at a nearby research hospital. The oil was really nasty, but I got two days' worth of meals taken care of, plus a whole day of people pampering me, so that was not bad for $200. During the year I also took on some computerized psychology and business experiments that pay you between $15-$30/hr to answer some questions and complete some tasks. That was a fun, nice break from my day. The trick is to make sure you don't spend the $15 on lunch as soon as you get it - that would be a waste! Gain: $300
4) Additional freelance work: This is where it got fun. I wrote 2 speeches for a government official for $400-$500 a pop. I also took on some extra translation work because I know Mandarin Chinese. Gain: $1100
Total Hustle Money this year: $8800
Decreasing costs
1) NOT. EATING. OUT. I ate out maximum one time a week with friends to make sure I kept up some semblance of a social life. This was fine because Boston has a lot of cheap restaurants that offer good meals for less than $10, particularly because I can't get enough of the cheap Thai food in our neighborhood. I went out once and blew $50 on a fancy dinner with some friends who prefer that lifestyle, and regretted it (the food was good but really, I'm not in a situation to spend that kind of money!). Most of the time I made really good meals myself and frankly, learning how to cook good, healthy food has been extremely empowering for me.
2) Making weekly meal plans. This didn't come because of any advice - I just found it the easiest way to budget for my meals because I could see exactly what I spent every week. It turns out this really helped decrease my meal costs too, because one of the main strategies grocery stores use to make you spend more is to exploit impulse purchases. Using meal plans I never spent more than $40/week, and usually between $25-$30/week on groceries.
3) Going to free lunch seminars and receptions. My school was so big on these things that nearly every day there was some event going on where you were guaranteed to get a free meal. Some people would consider it a huge faux pas to go to an event "just for the food", but really I got to learn a lot about different public health topics while getting a free meal.
Like any financial blog will tell you, it's all about the mentality. If you want to get out of debt, stay out of debt, or pay off some of that big mountain of debt you have to want it. Sometimes it has to feel like you're drowning and desperately need air - you have to want freedom from debt as badly as you want air when you're drowning. I'm still not out of debt but my habits this year have certainly helped me to stay as afloat as I can possibly be.
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