The College Student Anthem: I'm Sorry I Haven't Written Sooner.

First, I have to make two apologies before delving into blog business.

Apology number one: I am sorry, my dear blog for neglecting you.

Apology number two: I am sorry, self, for severely neglecting you as well.

Phew, glad we got that out of the way!

Last semester (my first semester at Mills College) was vastly overwhelming, exhilarating, and scary as all hell. At first, they gave me an academic advisor from the wrong department, then I had no advisor, and then I finally had the fortune of acquiring a lovely professor named Priya Shimpi as my academic advisor. My declared major is Child Development, and I must say that I am having a great time getting to know myself as an educator and a true student. This last semester, I learned more about myself and my goals than I ever thought I would. It has felt like a hearty step into the real world (with hints of childhood nostalgia whilst galavanting around the dorms, through San Francisco, and around campus at all hours, etc.) that must not be taken for granted.

This semester is completely different from last semester, which has its pros and cons. I am living off campus and renting a room from a delightful individual who also shares a passion for education. I am taking 6 classes (apparently I didn't inflict enough damage upon my poor brain last semester), and I am working two jobs and an internship at Burbank Special Education school in Oakland. Oh, and I forgot to mention- I obtained a 4.0 GPA last semester! *pat on the back*.

Do's and Don't's for the newly immersed undergrad:

• Do NOT underestimate your ability to get an entire paper finished in one night...while under the influence of who knows what.
• DO overestimate what you know. You do not know everything, don't assume that you do, or your professors will put you on their shit list.
• DO YOUR HOMEWORK. You don't pay all of that money not to, so do it.
• Plan for roadblocks and hard times. You are in college, and unless you are a trust fund baby, you will not have an amazingly unlimited amount of dispensable funds.
• Put aside time for a social life. It is so easy to get caught up in the rigors and stressors of academia. Lord knows I do.
• Know where you are going with your major. Don't major in Ethnic Studies because you hate the man. Major in something that interests you and allows you to be productive in society.
• Last, but not least, make payments on your student loans. It will help offset the costs of payments that you will have to make on compounded interest once you graduate.

Hope these are helpful and inspiring tips for you. So now, I must get back to my homework.

By the way...homework never ends. If you ever hear someone state that they finished all of their homework, doubt them. Genuinely doubt them.

The Loan

Surprise surprise I had to end up taking a loan out for Mills! Well, no surprise there since on Mills' website, the estimated cost of attendance is $52,706.00. Obviously, I cannot afford this hefty tuition expense, and Mills and the Fed know this, so they kindly gave me $21,500 in financial aid a year to help out a little bit. Wait, though! This can't possibly cover the $52,706 that you mentioned before! True oh so true...thus the $55,000 loan provided by Wells Fargo. I did a lot of research before taking out this loan and discovered that right now they are the biggest private lender providing the lowest APR %'s in this part of the country (as far as I could tell) and so I ended up choosing Wells to finance my college endeavor. As it turns out, my APR was to be a whopping 7.24%! Ew. I guess I'm going to be paying out the rear end for 15 years come my pending graduation in 2012. It's a long time coming, though. I've been waiting for this opportunity my entire life. To be accepted to and to attend a prestigious college in the bay area. Dreams really do come true...

25 days and counting...

It's That Time of the Year

Everyone is patiently (or not so patiently) awaiting their college admissions letters/e-mails/calls as they conclude their last semester in community college or high school. I am among the impatient ranks of potential transfer students this semester. I am still waiting for word from Mills College, and let me tell you- it is driving me CRAZY! I will post the decision as soon as I have it, which will supposedly be either today or tomorrow, but hopefully today!

Mills College!

So, I am very excited at the prospect of attending Mills College in Fall of 2010! I have my interview with them in February and I will be hearing back from them in April hopefully. It is an exciting new chapter in my life that I am about to embark upon, and hopefully it will fuel a lot of action in my blog! I will be living in the dorms up there and will be going full time and I cannot express how very excited I really am! Wish me luck!

Gold's Up, Silver's Up, and my waist size is down :)

So that's all good news, and I am not saying I am a fortune teller or anything regarding silver, but I have to say I told you so! Silver is on the rise, and even if it falls again, it is going up up up upppp! I am making money, and I wish other people could, too!

Financial Investments College Students Should be Making

It discourages me a little to know that most of my peers have no idea when, why, or how to invest in their future.

When: NOW

Why: Because you WILL NOT survive retirement without investing.

How: That is what this blog is about...

Their are an infinite amount of ways to invest in one's future, and although money is a huge part of it, I believe the biggest component of it is EDUCATION. I cannot emphasize enough about how important it is that we all have some form of education, whether it be vocational, scholarly, or whatever. That is the investment that will always give you a positive return and no one can ever take it away from you.

Ok, so education is important, but so is money, Jackie! What do we do with our money?!

Well, right now you should do a list of a few things.

1.) Open up a Roth IRA. Consider this a gift to your future self. Think long term!

2.) If you have a job that offers a 401k package, snag it!

3.) Buy savings bonds! It's virtually the same thing as depositing money into a savings account, but it's protected better and you gain better interest. You will also be less inclined to use that money for things that you shouldn't be buying anyway. Buy 'em!

4.) Buy silver and gold bullion. Don't get too crazy with it, but I spend about 10% of my paychecks on silver bullion. Almost every financial expert agrees it is a good investment, whether it goes up in the next 2 years, or the next 20 years, it is still a worthwhile investment (as long as you don't have all your eggs in one basket).

I am doing all of these things right now. I have a few financial goals when I retire, and they are to 1.) Be debt free, including owning my house outright; 2.) and to be a millionaire.

Ok, so the first one is a given, but the second one?! A millionaire?! Yes, a millionaire. It is very possible and quite easy to do if one makes wise decisions. Now, when I talk about wise decisions, I am not talking about making smart investments in the stock market. I am talking about things like contributions to your 401k and your Roth IRA, and putting at least 10-20% of your after tax income into savings/savings bonds. Don't waste money on things you really don't need, especially if you have debts to pay off. If you really really really want that new peacoat from The Gap, but it's $75, buy it. But first, pay any debts off! Rewarding yourself is great! What kind of life would we be living if we never indulged a little?! All I am saying is that when you have an $800 dollar credit card balance that is staring you in the face every month and you are just putting all of your money into STUFF, then what kind of delayed gratification are you getting out of that?!

In short, just do smart things that involve common sense. Follow your guts and your instincts. And get a damn education!

SILVER BUG

Recently I have taken to collecting coins. Not just any coins, but silver bullion, .999 fine silver, etc. There are a lot of people out there who are collecting it because they think we will be going back to a barter and trade system in which there will be no government yada yada yada. I find that hard to believe because humans love their governments and they love their technology and they REALLY like stability. Not that these are stable times, but neither is fending for yourself 100% in nature's world. 99% of the people in this country probably don't know how to build themselves a damn fire...

Anyways, enough with my rants. Just wanted to let everyone know, I am investing in silver and I'm happy about it. It isn't too expensive, so I have been able to put away about 9 oz of fine .999 silver and some coins that are between 40-90% silver (these are more of a personal collection thing) so far. It's fun and exciting finding good deals on beautiful coins. I will upload pictures of my collection as it grows. I would advise people to start buying some silver here and there if they can afford it, but don't go overboard. It's an investment and there are no guarantees!