Hi there PF!
I'm posting from a throwaway because I'm a little self-conscious about the level of detail I'm going into here about my finances. That being said, let's dive right in.
I just moved away from home unexpectedly a few months ago as a college student. I was short on cash due to medical bills and moving, and had summer tuition to pay, so I took out ~$4k in student loans so that I could attend summer classes, which allowed me to keep my on-campus job. I really didn't want to give it up because it pays the best given the area and my experience (ie pretty much none).
Let's fast forward a little. The fall semester has now started, and I was fortunate to receive a few grants and scholarships that covered my tuition. In fact, I even got a refund from the bursar's office for around $3k. So at the moment I have roughly $7,500 to my name.
Even so, I feel like I'm under pressure financially. I can only work part time for multiple reasons, so I only take home $500 a month. Rent takes up about 65% of that, which I know isn't good. I can keep my food costs pretty low, around $40 a month by cooking for myself, eating two meals a day, and spending lots of time on /r/EatCheapAndHealthy. After factoring in other monthly expenses, I have about $40 a month that's unaccounted for. There are several things I feel like I need (a bike since the public transit in my town is iffy, new clothes because I've lost 30 pounds from my new eating habits and my old ones are literally falling off of me, etc) but I'm not confident that I have the money to.
Just this week I got another bill from the hospital for about $1k because I was removed from my parents' insurance plan a couple months after being discharged from the hospital so any costs that haven't already been processed are going straight to me. That worries me quite a bit. My health problems are ongoing, and I know that I need more tests, but seeing specialists when you're uninsured is a surefire way to go broke. So I've been putting that off for a couple months. (And yes, it has been getting worse but my hands are tied) I want to try to arrange for financial assistance on the bill, but I don't know if they'll accept me because while I don't have much wiggle room each month, I do have $7k.
On top of all this, I'm trying to save up so that my long-distance partner and I can see each other in February. I can't cover all of the flights but that looks like it's gonna be $200-$300.
In spite of all this, I'm also wondering if I should be trying to pay the student loan back off now, even though there aren't any payments due on it, because now I have my grants.
Is there anything I can do? Should I try for the financial assistance? Do any of you think it's likely that they'll reduce the bill at all? What should my next steps be?
Thank you in advance.
Edit: I've gotta run to class, but thank you for the help and advice, I'll be back as soon as I'm done.
Submitted August 31, 2017 at 10:11AM by pf_throwaway_4977 http://ift.tt/2x9fCJH
