This is be a long post. I apologize if it’s wordy; I’ll try to be as brief as possible.
My dad unexpectedly committed suicide last week. I saw how he did it as I went to take a pulse for 911 to assess if he needed a defibrillator (he didn’t) and I’m still having flashbacks. It probably isn’t the best time for me to be making major life decisions but I don’t have much of a choice.
I’m almost 20; I still live at home. I’m a full time college student in a very rigorous associate’s degree program. I have around a year to go before I graduate assuming I pass all my classes. There is a high chance of someone failing at least one class and needing to retake it the following year due to the difficulty. I have straight A’s thus far.
I work one day a week (will be 3d/wk + college in summer). One day of working per week gets me around $300/mo (gross minus SS/Medicare). Plus I get discounts and at-cost pricing on anything I need to buy at my workplace for my dog who has allergies. I also run my own online business which made around 15k net last year (when I started it). This income is not guaranteed as it depends on sales #s.
I managed to save $17,500. I’m down to $15,000 because I gave my mom a month’s mortgage payment. We may not get life insurance due to cause of death. She’s been a SAHM for 20 years. There are some other assets, but nowhere near life insurances levels.
Putting her financial situation aside, as she’s doing well figuring that out, I have a few questions of my own.
My college program offers two options. The first option I would get after this summer semester once I take my certification exam (CVA). The salary for a CVA is around $25-26k gross annually.
The second option is to do school for another year and take an exam to get a license (LVT). This LVT salary is around $32-35k gross annually. The issue is that the last year of the LVT program is very, very rigorous and I would not be able to work at the same time. I don’t know how I feel about that and I’m not sure if my mental health can take being alone studying for a year. If it makes any difference, do I love my job and working. I hate studying. It takes me studying like it’s my full time job to get A’s like I do.
My workplace offered me a job as a CVA, so I do have a job lined up if I decided to do that.
On the one hand, if I power through the last year I’ll have a larger salary as a LVT.
On the other hand, if I go for the CVA I can start working in a few months and never have to worry about another exam again or another accompanying exam/pop quiz panic attack. I will have active income coming in and will keep my work discounts. However the salary will be lower. I can work my way up to nearly the equivalent of the licensed version in skills and have a higher pay than the CVA base salary someday, but pay will never be as good if I legally am just a CVA and not a LVT.
Also I’m going to need a car within the next 6 months (probably around a 10k budget cash if my online business keeps up). Debating between a Fit or a Yaris. My dad used to have a Yaris so there’s sentimental value. Plus no CVT. But I don’t know which is truly “better”.
Thank you for any help. I apologize for the length.
Submitted April 28, 2021 at 12:30AM by DogInMyCar https://ift.tt/2Puhw3b
