Adventures in paying back $22,000 in student loans

I recently got back from a short vacation. Technically, it was a trip to a conference, but I stayed the weekend to the turn it into a mini vacation. Now I’m working on getting back into the swing of things, and it has been a little rough. Vacations always surprise me. According to the dictionary, a vacation is:

a period of suspension of work, study, or other activity, usually used for rest, recreation, or travel

While all of that sounds great, I always seem to come back from vacation more tired than I left. I think it’s because travel and recreation take more time and effort than expected. Making plans for a trip can be a strenuous process. Then once you get there, you want to make the most of your vacation time by doing as much as you can in a short amount of time.

Going with a group of friends also makes things more complicated. You have to coordinate schedules, flights, transportation, lodging, etc. Then you have to figure out activities that will please everyone in the group.

After throwing a few ideas around, my friends and I ended up at the beach one day. While bumming out in the sand probably would have been the most relaxing thing to do, I couldn’t resist jumping into the ocean and taking on a few of the waves.

The sun, sand, and water were a blast, but it was draining. That seems to be a recurring theme on every vacation I go on. Everything I end up doing is really fun, but by the end of the trip, I’m exhausted.

Does this ever happen to you on vacation?

It’s time to share an interview with another member of the College Money Network. This week I’d like to introduce you to the youngest member of our network, Stephanie at Poorer Than You.

1. Describe yourself in 10,000 words or less, preferably less.

“Stephanie” supposedly means “The Crowned One,” but I’m anything but a princess. 21 years old, broke, entering my senior year of college, and fighting off student loans as best I can. I also knit like a fiend - sometimes even for money! I hail from Rochester, New York, where I work as a great defender of recycling at my college.

2. What made you decide to start a personal finance blog?

This story has become infamous now, like some great legend of the internet. I dropped out of film school because the money just ran out. In dropping out, I realized I’d been walking on thin financial ice the whole time I was in college. I had been reading other personal finance blogs, but when I dropped out I decided to start my own to track my progress as I digged myself out of financial ruin.

3. What has surprised you the most about blogging?

The fact that it manages to be surprisingly easy and surprisingly hard at the same time. Sometimes things just flow along and articles seem to drip right out of my fingers - and sometimes my keyboard becomes a barren wasteland.

4. What is the most important financial lesson you have learned from college?

Know where the money goes! Ignorance isn’t bliss - I thought being carefree meant not thinking about money too much. But knowing what’s going on and where I’m heading is a much bigger relief.

5. If you had to pick three of your favorite posts to share with a first time visitor, which would they be?

• The Quick Start Financial Guide - if you’ve just decided to take control of your finances, but have no idea where to start
• Money Advice for College Students - the epic three-part series
• Net Worth Updates - scroll to the bottom and work your way up to see the evolution of my financial situation

Thanks for your time, Stephanie!

With the price of tuition rising every year, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for students to make it through college without racking up a hefty sum of debt. Add the rising costs of gas, housing, and textbooks, and it just gets worse. Fortunately, there’s one area where students can save a lot of money by using free alternatives — software.

Instant Messaging

It’s practically impossible to keep a group of friends that all use the same IM program. Luckily, there are some great free programs out there that allow you to sign into all of your IM accounts at once.

• Digsby — IM + Email + Social Networks
• Meebo — multi-protocol web-based IM client
• Pidgin — multi-protocol IM client
• Trillian — multi-protocol IM client
• Adium — multi-protocol IM client for Mac OS X
• AIM Lite — simple version of AIM if you don’t want all the feature bloat

Phone Calls Over the Internet (VoIP)

Who knows how much I would have saved on phone calls back in undergrad if these options had been around? Whether you’re in a long distance relationship or calling your parents back at home, these programs can help you save a lot money.

• Skype — free calls over the internet to other people on Skype
• Google Talk — free Internet calls and online chat
• SightSpeed — Internet video chat and voice calling for friends and family

Managing Your Email

When you show up at college, they’ll give you at least one school email account, so you need a program that will help you organize and manage it.

• Thunderbird

Webmail

Most colleges still have crappy web access for school email accounts. Fortunately, you can get way better webmail accounts for free. If you really hate your school email, try to find out if you can get your school email forwarded to your Gmail, Yahoo! Mail, or Hotmail account.

• Gmail
• Yahoo! Mail
• Windows Live Hotmail

Browsing the Web

Here are just a few of the free web browsers available out there. Pick one and stick with it or try them all if you’re more adventurous.

• Firefox
• Opera
• Safari
• Internet Explorer
• Flock — The Social Web Browser

Office Alternatives

Avoid buying Microsoft Office by using one of these free offline or online alternatives to create, edit, share, and publish your documents, spreadsheets, and presentations.

• OpenOffice — free office suite for Windows/Linux
• NeoOffice — free office suite for Mac OS X
• Google Docs — online documents, spreadsheets and presentations
• Zoho — online word processor, spreadsheet, presentation, and more

Online Reference

Who needs a traditional encyclopedia anymore when you have all of this reference material at your fingertips?

• Wikipedia — the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit
• Scholarpedia — peer-reviewed open-access encyclopedia written by scholars from all around the world
• MSN Encarta
• Britannica Online Encyclopedia

Photo Editing and Management

Not ready to shell out a few hundred dollars for Photoshop? Try one of these programs to manage and manipulate your photos for free.

• Picasa — free photo editing and photo management software
• Paint.NET — free software for digital photo editing
• Gimp — free Photoshop alternative
• Splashup — desktop image-editing power in a web browser

Photo Sharing

After you finishing editing your photos, you need a way to share them with friends and family. Here are some of the best sites for sharing photos with the rest of the world.

• Facebook
• Picasa Web Albums
• Flickr
• Photobucket

Media Players

Getting annoyed because Windows Media Player, Quicktime, or iTunes can’t play a file you downloaded? Try one of the following programs and be happy.

• VLC Player — cross-platform media player that’ll play pretty much any file format you throw at it
• K-Lite Codec Pack — a collection of codecs and related tools that allows you to play practically anything you download
• Media Monkey — free media jukebox, music manager, CD ripper and converter
• Winamp — MP3, multimedia, and music player

Audio Editing and Recording

This section is for broke musicians. If you’ve been wanting to record and edit your latest tracks but can’t afford a professional program, look no further.

• Audacity — free audio editor and recorder
• Ardour — digital audio workstation
• Jokosher — simple yet powerful multi-track studio

3D Software

Feeling inspired by the latest animated movies? Or maybe you’re frustrated because you think you can make a better one? Well, do it. Take a shot at making your own animated movies for free by using open source software.

• Blender — open source 3D content creation suite

Did I leave something off the list? Let me know by leaving a comment.

As summer draws to a close, students everywhere are getting ready to head back to school. Since I finally finished my master’s degree, I won’t be heading back to school this August. However, that doesn’t mean I can’t help kick in a new school year by sharing the 72nd edition of the Carnival of Money Stories.

Teacher’s Pets

Photo by Sister72

While teachers and professors will never admit it, everybody has their favorites. I’m neither a teacher, nor a professor, so here are my favorite articles submitted to this week’s carnival.

• What does afford really mean? at So Cal Savvy. An interesting look into how the word “afford” can mean different things to different people.
• Student Travel: The Start of A Great Love Affair at Personal Finance Analyst. A great list of things you should know about before traveling abroad as a student.
• Keeping A Time Budget Log at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity. Time = money. Jim shares how he plans to keep a log of how he spends his time.
• Paying $1.00 to use a public bathroom is good. Paying 25¢ is bad. at Budgets are Sexy. Finally, someone is talking about the issue we’ve all been thinking about, “Would you pay to pee?”

Personal Progress Reports

Photo by victoriabernal

One of the best parts of going back to school is getting to catch up with everybody. Check out the following articles to learn about the progress these bloggers have made towards accomplishing their financial goals.

• Our Financial Goals: Savings and Debt Reduction at Prime Time Money.
• One month checkup - July’s Expenses at The Happy Rock.
• Progress Update - July 2008 at Dividends4Life.
• July 2008: Progress Update at Green Panda Treehouse.
• You’re Terminated, F*%#^@! at Poorer Than You.

Money Management Stories

One topic you probably won’t hear much about in school is money management. Fortunately, there’s a thing called the Internet, and you’re looking at it. The following articles cover a variety of different approaches to managing your money.

• How I Budget Part 1 at The Organizing Blog
• Three Principles Of Personal Finance at How I Save Money.net.
• Wallet: Found (and the Beauty of Simple Finance) at Smart Easy Money.
• 7 Ways To Handle Unexpected Expenses and Financial Emergencies at The Digerati Life.
• Improve Savings by Planning for Failure? at Mind Your Decisions.
• My 9 Biggest Money Mistakes at artofthecoupon.com.

Career and Business Stories

If you’re still in high school or college, finding a job or starting a business may be one of the last things on your mind, but it’s never too early to start. Check out these great articles to get a head start on knowing what to expect when you finally do enter the real world.

• Share Your Bad Boss Story at Free Money Finance.
• Get It In Writing at Cash Money Life.
• Entrepreneurs: Is Extreme Frugality A Waste of Time? at erica.biz.
• Ways Not Having a Job Impacts Our Personal Finances at Lazy Man and Money.

Food and Frugality Stories

Photo by bookgrl

We need food to survive, and we need money for food. Peruse the following articles for some great tips on both of these topics.

• $4 ice cream cone - frugal or not? at LivingAlmostLarge.
• How Not to Save Money on Groceries: A Story at Sound Money Matters.
• Save Money Without Feeling Deprived at Cathy Stucker.
• Frugal living doesn’t mean cheap at KCLau’s Money Tips.

Shopping Stories

Back to school sales pop up everywhere around this time of the year. Here are some articles with even more money saving advice while you’re out shopping.

• Hello, I have a convert here at Learning the ropes.
• Now Shopping Rite-Aid at Stop the Ride!
• Amazon’s Friday Sale gives me new appreciation for The Drugstore Game at Chief Family Officer.
• Stress-Free Back-to-School Shopping, teenage angst included at My Daily Dollars.

Credit and Debt Stories

Photo by britany.g

The average college student graduates with credit card debt, student loan debt, or a combination of both. Start reading these articles before you graduate and you may be able to eliminate your debt faster than you expect.

• Three Quick Steps To Get Out of Debt! at FIRE Finance.
• The Reluctant Spouse at not the jet set.
• A Little Adds Up Quick … at Iowahippiechicks Talking …
• Over 40 Million Credit Card Numbers Stolen - Ringleaders Exposed! at Ask Mr Credit Card’s Blog.
• Dave Ramsey Shifted My Financial Paradigm at Trees Full of Money.

Investing Stories

Investing is a topic that doesn’t cross the minds of most college students, but it should because time is on your side when it comes to investing. Here’s a chance for college students to do some extracurricular learning.

• Dividend Reinvestment Programs and Direct Stock Purchase - Not So Easy For Canadians at Investing Five Daily.
• Keep Non-Deductible Traditional IRAs Separate at Roth IRA Explained.

Other Stories

Photo by One Hour Photo

Throughout school, I always found the topics that didn’t really fit into the curriculum to be some of the most interesting material. If you felt that way too, then this category is perfect for you.

• How to Schedule Time and Obligations at Almost Frugal.
• Ten Money Questions for Vicki Wagner at Queercents.
• How Do You Know When You Are About to See a Bailout? at PennyJobs.com.
• Digging Up The Water Pipes at Our House at My Dollar Plan.
• Finally Some Relief for Struggling Home Owners at Greener Pastures.
• The $50,000 Escape at Are You Going To Be This Way The Rest of The Time I Know You?