I understand EXACTLY what you are going through…I went through it. The sooner you can get back into school, the better…as time passes on, you tend to get into a financial rut in which you have created a certain lifestyle and have to maintain it. What you can do to keep your motivation is to read a lot, do educational things, and do research on what you think you would like to do for the rest of your life. I discovered while having to wait to go back that I wanted to be in graphic design…at the job I had at the time, I had to learn those things for the job and found that I loved it. Just remember that as a young woman financially supporting herself…you should really have a lot of pride. Just keep your energy high and inquistive nature too. You will still be interested later. I promise.

Goals . . . yes.

why are you going to college? for the money or are you studying something you love?

It takes much more than 3 years to recover from college debt, I’m working on 15 years or so and I still have that debt.

I tried college twice and lost drive both times, I know exactly how you feel. College doesn’t gaurentee you a job. It just gives you the right to apply for a job. It took me a long time to figure this out, but now that I have read some books, it’s all making sense.

I don’t believe the go to school, get good grades, get a good job philosophy works any more considering only 10% of people are working in the field they studied for.

I do like a quote budda had, “Do not believe what you have heard. Do not believe in tradition because it is handed down by many generations. Do not believe in anything that has been spoken of many times. Do not believe because the written statements come from some old sage. Do not believe in conjecture. Do not believe in authority or teachers or elders. But after careful observation and analysis, when it agrees with reason and it will benefit one and all, then accept it and live by it.”

Think about that.

a good book to read is Cash Flow Quadrant, Robert talks about the four ways money is made in the US and explains a lot about what the problem is with that philosophy. I do have a business that can help you get to the right side of that quadrant. email me at dave48858 at yahoo.com and I can show you how it all works.

Listen, you need to snap out of your current attitude. Losing your drive for college is nothing, start worring when you lose your drive for life!!! You have a J O B, you’re already ahead of the race. The job is just a temporary thing, focus on what your passionate about, whatever it is, and figure out a way to earn a living doing it. If your not passionate about anything right now than do your job, live within a budget and save a little money every paycheck. When your passion surfaces you’ll have some money saved and you’ll be in a better position then you are now. As far as everyday mudane stuff, life is what you make it. If you think your life is great or if you think your life sucks…you’re right. Make a choice.

Financially secure is a state of mind and requires some disipline. By that I mean, live within your means and you’ll always be fine. When you spend more than you earn your digging a hole and burying yourself in debt. There is so much you could do, you have so much to be grateful for. Focus on what it is you really want, know that you will get it and the path to it will be revealed. It all starts with gratitude… for the things that make you smile, gratitude for the things you do have.

Make a list with all the reasons why you want to go to college, with all the good things that will happen while in college and afterwards… and then print it out really large and place it somewhere so you can see it as often as possible. While looking at it, you will certainly get more ideas, and if you add them on your list as they come, by the time you are 22 you will have compiled a huge list… enough to keep your drive and motivation.

And good for you for following your dreams! Don’t give up 🙂

I am in sort of the same boat you are….After I graduated High School, all of my friends left for school while I joined the Marine Corps…..fast forward 4 years and most of my buds have college degrees, where I have nothing minus the experience of being a Marine. I plan on going to college next year, I guess what drives me is that my career choice requires a degree, and I want to be able to provide for my family. The best thing for me at the time was to join the Marines, all of my college is taken care of now, all my $$$ can be used for my place, insurance, fun etc…

You didn’t once mention goals outside of college. No wonder you don’t see college clearly.

You seem only concerned about money and credit. You are more worried about spending money today instead of what you want to do with your life. It’s too soon for you. I don’t recommend college yet for you. And STOP running up your credit cards. That will kill your credit rating the most. You seem impulsive with money, maybe other things.

If you have to work for awhile to figure out what you want to do in college, then que sera sera. Only you can feel what you want to do. Find your direction in life. What do you see yourself doing in five years, or ten?

If you need to E-mail me with your feelings to make this discussion more private, feel free to use the one on my profile. I care.