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?

Is Success Really Measurable?

I've always wanted to be "successful" in life (as most people do, I'm sure). But I mean, I was, and am, the spokesperson for traditional ideals of success. I studied hard in high school so I could get into a great college (I was going for an Ivy, which didn't work out but I do believe NYU is better for me anyway). I have big dreams for after college- getting a job at a super big bank or something of the sort, making six-figures in the first few years and seven after that.

But I never stopped to think about what I really wanted when I was planning all of that. I didn't ask myself why I wanted it, though many people have asked me since I started school. The truth is, I don't know why I want to do those things, besides the fact that that's what I feel I need to be successful. Some people define success as becoming a doctor or a lawyer, or simply owning a house and having a happy family.

Then there's another type of person altogether- the kind that thinks happiness is the only key to success. You know, the "money can't buy happiness" kind. Personally, I've never been a huge fan of that kind of person because money can buy a lot of things that can make you happy, and isn't that kind of the same thing? (Listen to "Buy Me A Boat" by Chris Janson, it kind of explains my thoughts on that).

But then I come across people like Noelle Hancock who wrote this amazing story for Cosmopolitan about selling all her belongings and moving to an island. Reading that story kind of made me want to sell of my things and move to an island- you have to admit, it's kind of an exciting idea.

So I ask myself what I really want a little more often now. Could I still be successful if I move to an island I've never even visited?

How important is being successful to me?

I don't have it all completely figured out yet but I do know one thing: I don't see success as the traditional view society has of it. I don't think I'll be selling all my belongings any time soon, but I do think that's a definite possibility for me after I graduate college.

Success is such a broad word, I think everyone has to define it for themselves. Then you have to revise your definition of it over and over as your life evolves (or as you succeed) because living life without something to work toward is pretty boring, actually.

Some of My Favorite Trips

So this is my first post on Ambition & Wanderlust, and I'm super excited about it!

If you can't tell by the name of the blog, I have a bit of wanderlust. I've been to 35 states and 7 countries (if you count the United States as one). I'm constantly trying to plan more travel, but I put together a list of some of my favorite places I've been so far.


Paris, France

Cliché, right? It might not be adventurous, per se, but it is a fantastic city. Paris is somewhere I've wanted to visit since I was a kid; in fact, I took French classes simply because I loved the thought of Paris so much. There's so much to do, so much culture: from the Eiffel Tower to the catacombs. There's a little something for everyone in the City of Light.

The first time I visited Paris was the summer before my junior year of high school (it was also my first time going to Europe, and flying in a plane!) It was before I really knew how to travel, but I will never forget the feeling I had when I first laid eyes on the Eiffel Tower. It was a feeling I haven't had since; it took my breath away, it made me fall in love, it was everything I hoped for and more. The only thing I can compare it to is what I imagine love at first sight would feel like (and it kind of was love at first sight).

Here's a picture of me failing at taking a good travel photo:

(I'll get more into why that was such a fail of a photo in a post later)

Florence, Italy

Florence is a beautiful city. I love shopping in Florence, the food is amazing (pizza and pasta are my all time faves), and the sights are pretty beautiful too. I've been to Florence twice as well and I still haven't seen all the art and sights I'd like to see. If you're a fan of art (or even just want to see some iconic pieces of art), Florence is a great place for you too!

Capri, Italy

Capri is an island in the Mediterranean, and it is nothing short of amazing. I've never stayed in a hotel on the island (it's a very expensive island), but a day trip is enough to see most of what it has to offer. There are beautiful gardens, some fantastic shops- you can get custom made sandals, they're kind of a big deal- and you can jump off of huge rocks into the Mediterranean. I'm more of the adventurous type, so jumping off rocks is my activity of choice (also skinny dipping in the ocean, but that's a whole different story). 

I would also recommend the boat tour around the island, it's absolutely amazing to sail under the original Tunnel of Love, even if you're perpetually single like I am. 

Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

I used to go to Winnipeg on a yearly basis with my French class in high school. There's so much to do in the city; there's French culture all around (especially in the Forks), there's some great shopping, and a ton of great restaurants. If you like international travel but can't afford Europe at the moment, Winnipeg is a great alternative.

I have a ton of other favorite places to go- it was so hard to come up with just a few to list. Do you have any favorite cities/countries/areas of the world that I didn't mention? I'd love to hear about them!

About Me

I've had wanderlust for as long as I can remember, but I've also been very ambitious for just as long. It's a tough act to feed both parts of my life, but I make it work. Learn more about me/ this blog here.