Choosing a life path

I like to use "life path" and "career" interchangeably. In my mind, your career is your life, and your career dictates your lifestyle (and your lifestyle dictates your career, for that matter). However, life paths can lead you to many different careers, but they'll *probably* all be connected in one way or another.

So I still haven't finished college, but I'd like to think I've got the right idea on choosing a path. I've changed my mind so many times up until this point, I've at least got the internal debate part down. I don't know exactly where I'll end up, but I have come to realize that there doesn't have to be one single choice that will dictate your entire life.

The school I go to (NYU Stern) is a business school, which I had to choose before I even applied to college. So my major (business) has been pretty much set in stone since Dec. 31st 2013; however, I do get to choose a "concentration" and minors, which has given me a whole lot of internal debating to do. At first, I was 100% interested in finance, then I moved on to marketing, now I'm more interested in entrepreneurship and management.

The real kicker is: I've decided that my choice in concentration really doesn't matter for me. Sure, if I wanted to work for Goldman Sachs (I used to, but that's not really my thing anymore), I should probably follow the clearly outlined path for finance. But I don't want to live life according to a very specified plan.

I want to live a life I can always be happy with. 

That means I'm probably going to switch jobs 20 times, all of them being in completely different industries. I'll probably get bored at the first few, then too stressed by a few more, until I find the perfect one. But for now, I'm setting myself up for those changes that will make me happy.

I'm learning a little bit about all different types of business, and even things outside of business, so I can do whatever my heart desires when I "grow up." I want to spend some time building my own company (if I can ever come up with an idea, that is). I might want to go to law school (who knows!), or maybe I'll move to an island and scoop ice cream for a year or so (actually a dream of mine). But for now, my life path is to have an ever-evolving path. It's no yellow brick road to Oz or anything, but it is (hopefully) perfect for me.

A book that totally changed my perspective

Recently, I went through a couple of months where I had almost no motivation. You can read a little more about that here. But then I read a great, inspirational book that really helped me dig myself out of the slump I was in.

That book was You are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life, by Jen Sincero. Now, normally I'm not the type of person to pick up a self-help book. Or even read a self-help article online. But this one was different.

When I first started reading it, I was little skeptical, but she writes in the first few pages that for this book to work, you have to keep an open mind. And it's true, you do. Sincero writes in such a genuine way that it's hard to feel bad about yourself for reading it. It's like a virtual ass-kicking that you just need sometimes.

Within the book it goes over things like money and weight loss, but what I really needed was just to hear that I can do it. There was no specific "it" that I couldn't do or needed to do; I just really needed some pushing. I went through the book, did the activities instructed, and it really changed me.

Now, I can't say I do everything I was instructed to continue doing, like writing out mantras and things, but I do think about the advice in the book almost every day. Her basic idea is that you have to live the life you want to live. You can't wallow in your lack of money and expect money to come flying at you. And that really spoke to me. I can't sit around thinking about how unmotivated I am and expect motivation to magically appear. So since I finished reading it, I've thought about the advice in the book. I've been taking steps to keep my motivation and ambition, working to keep myself ready for whatever comes next for me, and I must say, it's been work but it's also been well worth it.

5 Reasons you should schedule alone time while traveling

It's no secret that I love traveling with people. I've gone with family, friends, and even school trips across the world. Even with all of this variety, the #1 thing I've learned about planning trips is to plan for alone time.

If you're in a big group, maybe that alone time is just time in a smaller group, or maybe it truly is alone. In any form, getting away from the whole group for a while can be insanely helpful, and possibly the thing that keeps you from losing your mind. So here's why you should do it:

1.  No one can handle socializing constantly for days on end.
   Unless you can, then that's cool. But most of us need a little time to destress from the constant discussion of what you're seeing & how wonderful the trip is (or how unpleasant it is, in which case you definitely need a break).
2. Exploring alone helps you grow.
   I know it sounds cheesy, but sometimes it's just better to go through a thousand-year-old cathedral alone and absorb the beauty and sentiment without having to discuss it with others. 
3. It's empowering.
   Once you realize you can take on the world alone (or at least a piece of it), you realize you can do anything. The first time I went off on my own in a foreign city I was scared to death, but when I understood how good it felt to do it all alone I felt on top of the world.
4. You're traveling to feed your own wanderlust, not everyone else's.
   Unless you're only on the trip because someone dragged you along, then maybe you are traveling for them. Generally, though, you're there to help yourself. To be immersed in culture, to see the world. Don't settle for less than what you want. Feed your appetite. Don't just do enough to tide you over until next time, traveling isn't like a 3pm snack; it's the whole meal. 
5. It's your trip, make it what you want it.
   Yes, compromise is a great thing, but sometimes you just have to do what you want to do. If you're in Paris and you're the only one who wants to see the Catacombs, then go see them! It's not every day you get to see things like that, don't miss them.

Why I'm not scared of my student loans

I currently have $140,000 in student loans and I'm only half way through my undergrad degree.

By the time I graduate from NYU I will be over $280,000 in debt, and that's not even including all of interest that I'll be racking up. Chances are, by the time I finish paying off all of my debt it will be over $300,000 worth. For 4 years of school. That's assuming that I don't go to grad school or anything, but I do plan to go to grad school.

Everyone reading this is probably thinking that I'm insane.

Honestly, I probably am. It's going to take me years to pay off the debt I've accumulated. But honestly, I think it's all worth it. There are a lot of people that make more sound financial decisions about college. They choose to go to a less expensive school or find a way to finance through scholarships and grants. Unfortunately, based on my family's salary, I didn't qualify for much financial aid. (Like, I get a $5,500 subsidized loan, which is basically only saving me a thousand dollars or so). I got a few scholarships, but none of them were sponsored by NYU. But I'm not here to complain about the education system or NYU's lack of financial aid.

What I am here to talk about is why I'm not afraid of having this massive amount of debt as a 20 year old. 

I believe that to make something of yourself you need to take risks. You need to believe in yourself. I had to take the leap for myself. I couldn't let my dreams go because I was scared of having a lot of loans to pay back. I'm truly thankful for every moment I've had at NYU so far, and will continue to be thankful for the rest of my life.

I wouldn't be where I am now if I had made a more "rational" decision. 

I wouldn't have my ambition anymore, and I sure as hell wouldn't have the connections I have so early in my career. 

This isn't to say that if you go to a different school you're not as good as those who go to private schools. Hell, there are probably a lot of people at cheaper schools who will do greater things than I ever will, and who have a ton more passion and perseverance than I do. But for me, if I had settled for anything less I would have given up on all of my dreams. I would've settled for being mediocre and probably wouldn't get very far in life. 

I can't rationally justify the massive debt I'll be paying back for, like, forever, nor can I say that I'm the best at making financial decisions - you all know I go on random trips to Europe more often than the average person. But I can say that it was the best decision I could have made for me. I'll face the consequences head-on and be ready to make some tough financial decisions in the future as well. But everything in life comes with trade-offs, and I'm glad I made the decision I did.

Staying motivated takes work

Like, a lot of work.

This past semester I went through some ups and downs. And by some a mean tons of ups and even more downs. For a while I was convinced I was finally going to start a company, and a few days later I thought I'd never actually get to point in my life where I'd have the guts and willingness to actually start one. For a while I thought I might get a 4.0 for the semester (HA!), then I was convinced I'd be lucky to get just one A.

I guess what I'm saying is that my semester was very all over the place.

Sure, it's normal to go through different phases in life, but mine were incredibly dramatic. I did do a lot of soul-searching during the semester, that I'm still doing into the summer. I have no idea where my life will take me, but I know that I'll never give up on being successful.

What I've learned over the past few months, and what I'm still learning, is that sometimes you just have to take a step back from everything and reevaluate where you are in life. I realized I'm not the same person I was just a year ago, and that I'm drastically different from the person I was two years ago. While I believe that change is good, and that we should all grow as people, you should never lose your passions, you should never lose who you are fundamentally.

I had a moment where I realized that I had to change my life, that I had to get back to who I was before, or at least become closer to myself. I wouldn't call it rock bottom or anything, but it was definitely a low. I needed that low, I needed something to push me back on track. Now, I'm not completely back on track, but I'm a hell of a lot closer than I was. I'm starting to regain my passions, to get the drive I need to study (even though it's currently summer), to delve into business ideas, to read all the books on my list, and to plan the trips I've so desperately wanted to take.

I'm not sure where I started to get off track, or what kept pushing me further and further away from myself, but I'm glad it did. It sucked at the time, but I'm growing to appreciate who I am much more because of it.

If you ever find yourself off track don't be afraid to take a step back and really look at your life. I'll write a little more on how I'm working to get back to my 'normal' motivated self later this week.

I booked a trip to Europe 10 days before leaving

Yep, you read that right. Something you should know about me: I'm a super spontaneous person. I tend to make decisions on a whim very often. 

I had a plan for my spring break months in advance. I knew I wanted to go to Cancun. I knew that I would stay in a hotel on the beach with my group of friends and we would drink all day, party all night.

I was wrong.

My roommate ended up being the only person that could go with me. Then even she canceled on me. She canceled ten days before the trip.

So, being the person that I am, I wasn't about to just go home for spring break, because who wants to do that? (There are probably a lot of people who would love to go home, I'm just not one of them). Then I had it: I would go to Europe. I originally planned on only going to Dublin, but throughout the time I was planning, it progressed into visiting Zürich, Madrid, and Dublin. 

The fact that I had planned an entire trip to Europe within the span of a few hours was insane, and I knew that, but I wanted to go through with it anyway. So I called my mom and said "Mom, I have another crazy idea, but I think you're going to like it!" and she replied with her typical response "oh boy, let me sit down for this." It took a bit of convincing, but I knew she would love the idea.

(To get something straight, I wasn't calling to convince my parents to pay for this trip, I did that all myself. I was just convincing them to give me their blessing to travel across the world; have to make them feel like they still have some control over my decisions, right?)

So that night I solidified my plans, purchased my plane tickets, booked my hotel, hostel, and Airbnb, and went on with my life. Just kidding, I didn't really move on, I did a ton of looking at activities to do in the different cities, budgeting both money and time, and getting everything ready to go.

All in all, I wouldn't suggest planning a trip this last minute unless you have the funds for a trip ready to go and can devote a significant amount of time to trip planning in the days before you depart. It was incredibly nice to plan the trip and be able to leave almost right away, though. It was like the excitement was happening all at once, and I couldn't have been happier.

There were definitely some mishaps, some challenges, and some significant ups and downs throughout the trip (which I'll definitely write about later), but the highs definitely outweigh the lows, if you're into cliché sayings like that.

How to Save Money for Travel (even as a student)

Because it takes more than just will power to travel.

Make traveling a priority

Nearly everyone wants to travel, but just wanting to isn't enough to make it happen. You have to make traveling a priority. Saving for your next trip (or for a yet-unplanned-trip) has to be a part of your budget. If it's not something you regularly save for, you'll never have enough money saved for the trip.

Have a specific goal

Figure out how much your trip will cost (approximately) and figure out how much you need to save daily/weekly/monthly for that trip.

If it's a $2,000 trip in 4 months, you have to save $500/month, $125/week, $17.86/day. 

Having it broken down like that can make it seem more feasible. When I'm saving for a trip it helps to remember that the cost of a movie or dinner at a restaurant is all I have to save for the day to meet my goal. 

Don't have a specific trip to save for yet?

I always use $1,500 as my starting point for a trip. Some trips are less expensive, of course, and a lot of trips cost more. $1,500 is a safe goal for when you don't have a goal; it gives you something to work toward until you plan another trip.

Do side-jobs

Now that you have a specific goal, and you're making it a priority to save for, you need to find the money to save.

Whether you have a job or not, doing side-jobs can be easy and can make it seem easier to save.

Find an extra babysitting job once a week, tutor someone one or two hours a week, or become a dog walker. There are so many options for small jobs that can help you save so much more. When I'm in a crunch for money, I use Care.com to find people who need one-time babysitters. When you get these jobs you're guaranteed the amount they post, plus you'll be in their contacts if they ever need a babysitter again.

Put 100% of the money from these jobs into your trip savings. It can be enough to meet your goal for the week if it's profitable enough.

Crowdfund

So I've never done this one personally, but I have seen it done. If you're going on a volunteering trip, or a big trip to Europe, or somewhere else educational, this may be ideal. 

Write a little bit about your trip, why you need the money, and ask your friends/family to give a little money to help you pay for it. You probably won't get 100% of the funds you need, but it's better than nothing!

Couponing/ finding discounts

It's fairly easy to find discounts on things you buy on a daily basis. You can you RetailMeNot.com or similar sites to find discounts. You can also sign up for the Starbucks Rewards Program to get a free drink after you purchase 12 (once you become a gold member). 

The discounts can add up fast. Use whatever money you save with the discounts you find to put toward your trip. You won't save for the whole trip this way, but it'll definitely give you a good start!

Cut out the fluff

It's easy to say, difficult to do. 

Cut out one thing per day/week that costs you money. Do you go to Starbucks everyday? - replace that with the new Starbucks K-Cups to save yourself some money. Do you go out for lunch everyday? - take your lunch to work once a week. Do you have a weekly date night at the movies? - get a movie on your computer to watch instead!

Just one thing per week can save you more money than you might think! I used to go to a movie about once a week- it's $10.50 for the ticket, which I always factor in, but I never thought about the cost of popcorn and drinks. It can end up costing about $30 just for a movie- that's a lot of money.

Save your $5 bills

This is a weird trick my roommate started using. She was talking about how no one really values $5 bills (I'm not sure how true that is) and declared she would start saving every one that ever came into her possession. 

She used a card more often than cash, but she still saved a ton of money by doing this. She ended up with about $200 at the end of the semester. She said she barely thought of putting the bills away as her saving money or losing spending money; it just kind of became a habit.

I've started doing this (along with saving all my coins) and have saved a ton already. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who uses cash.

Do you have any weird tips/tricks you use to save money?