It's a rough life, but somebody (anybody who wants a decent paying job) has got to do it.
Jennie and I have discovered over the past couple weeks what a pain in the butt it can be to try to get through all the financial struggles that a young married college couple can have. Not only do we have to pay rent, make car payments, pay the utilities and pay for insurance, we also have to pay for a lovely little thing called education.
Since money was a little tight, Jennie and I decided to apply for a student loan through our bank thinking this would be a great way for us to just get through the summer without having to pay our expenses out of pocket. Like I said, this sounded like a great idea until we discovered a few minor details.
My parents had gotten us all pumped up about being able to apply for food stamps. My dad said, "I've paid taxes for the last 30 years so you could get food stamps." But, guess what--Apparently the state of Idaho thinks that Melaleuca is paying me a little too well to qualify for food stamps. We're starving with all the things we have to pay for but, still, we don't qualify.
It's things like this that are making me want to change banks. When we initially applied for the loan, it appeared that its main purpose was to act as a supplementary cash flow to make up the gaps that federal and school loans didn't make up. So, we, being the impulsive people we are, applied for the loan and even got my dad to cosign for us. About 5 days later, I was on the phone with the bank checking on the status of the loan. They told me that all they needed was my school schedule..... Wait. I was under the impression that I didn't have to be in school in order to get this loan. That's the whole reason we applied for this loan instead of any other one.
So, I went about trying to get registered for a class. I've been sitting in on a Chinese 202 class this summer with the intention of learning the principles so I can have my teacher waive it later and I can move on without having to pay for the class. I went to the registration office to try and get this worked out. I had some fees to pay, and once they were done, I tried again. My teacher couldn't add me to the class because it's MIDTERMS! Apparently they shut the system down for about a week so they can do grades. So, after talking to the registration office again, I decided to get registered for a simple 1 credit class in the second block. I contacted the bank with my schedule. They sent the check the next morning.
Upon receiving the check last night, we discovered the interest rate and the payment schedule. If we were to make the scheduled minimum payments, we would be paying (are you ready for this?) almost three times more than the loan is for!!!!!
Bank Man, thank you for your generosity in helping my wife and I through this hard time. I'm sure after you collect, you'll have no grief over losing a customer. BTW, we're going to get another loan at a much lower interest rate and pay you back. Sorry to burst your bubble. You're not getting that much money out of me.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Summertime in the Burg
Wow. I can't believe what I sloth I am at keeping this blog up to date. I just seem to be flat out terrible at it. Time has flown by so quickly with everything we're doing.
The semester ended without much excitement. Jennie was sent on tour with Symphonietta, a small strings orchestra, up through the north-western states. Over the two weeks (which seemed a lifetime in the eyes of two newlyweds) she performed in Idaho, Montana, Washington, and Oregon. Most of the tour time was spent on the bus driving to the next destination. They'd pull off somewhere for lunch, take a tour of some boring museum, get back on the bus and drive to the performance venue. After performing each night, she'd meet their host family, go home with them, call me and then go to sleep. It doesn't get much better than that, eh?
Meanwhile, I was stuck at home. At the beginning of April, as I went into the housing office to renew our contract, I was informed that we wouldn't be allowed to because the school had decided to change its policy on married couples living in singles housing complexes. GOO!!! We were being forced out of our huge apartment that we got such a great deal on. So, while Jennie was on tour, I was responsible for moving our apartments. Luckily, on the same day we found out about us being kicked out, we found a much nicer, better place for about the same amount. But, let me tell you, moving apartments is no cakewalk.
Almost immediately after Jennie got home from tour, we set out on a trip back to Wisconsin for a wedding open house. I realize that we got married 4 1/2 months before, but it was the only time we could do it. We absolutely loved being back on Jennie's old stomping grounds, and my parents even flew out for the occasion. The Open House was on my birthday, which was supposed to go unnoticed by the guests, but somebody (my parents) squealed to somebody from Jennie's ward, and they then announced that it was my birthday and sang to me. I'll admit, I liked it.
Back on the home front, we're just trying to get through life one day at a time, struggling just like any other college students would. But, really, we wouldn't trade one moment of it. We keep growing closer in love and appreciation for each other, and that's the way it's supposed to be. There are so many things in this life to look forward to, and that's what we do. We are very much looking forward to the opportunity to become parents and start our little family. We expect it won't be long now before we have news of that nature.
The semester ended without much excitement. Jennie was sent on tour with Symphonietta, a small strings orchestra, up through the north-western states. Over the two weeks (which seemed a lifetime in the eyes of two newlyweds) she performed in Idaho, Montana, Washington, and Oregon. Most of the tour time was spent on the bus driving to the next destination. They'd pull off somewhere for lunch, take a tour of some boring museum, get back on the bus and drive to the performance venue. After performing each night, she'd meet their host family, go home with them, call me and then go to sleep. It doesn't get much better than that, eh?
Meanwhile, I was stuck at home. At the beginning of April, as I went into the housing office to renew our contract, I was informed that we wouldn't be allowed to because the school had decided to change its policy on married couples living in singles housing complexes. GOO!!! We were being forced out of our huge apartment that we got such a great deal on. So, while Jennie was on tour, I was responsible for moving our apartments. Luckily, on the same day we found out about us being kicked out, we found a much nicer, better place for about the same amount. But, let me tell you, moving apartments is no cakewalk.
Almost immediately after Jennie got home from tour, we set out on a trip back to Wisconsin for a wedding open house. I realize that we got married 4 1/2 months before, but it was the only time we could do it. We absolutely loved being back on Jennie's old stomping grounds, and my parents even flew out for the occasion. The Open House was on my birthday, which was supposed to go unnoticed by the guests, but somebody (my parents) squealed to somebody from Jennie's ward, and they then announced that it was my birthday and sang to me. I'll admit, I liked it.
Back on the home front, we're just trying to get through life one day at a time, struggling just like any other college students would. But, really, we wouldn't trade one moment of it. We keep growing closer in love and appreciation for each other, and that's the way it's supposed to be. There are so many things in this life to look forward to, and that's what we do. We are very much looking forward to the opportunity to become parents and start our little family. We expect it won't be long now before we have news of that nature.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Frozen Tundra
Right now, the latest from Rexburg is that it's colder than the inside of a freezer no matter what time of day it is. Just three days ago, the temperature when I left to go to class was -18* and my nose hairs froze within one minute of closing the door. 
So far, Jennie and I have done pretty well adjusting to living together, but it's been just that...an adjustment. There are times when we scare each other to death because we wake up next to each other and don't expect the other person to be there. Apparently I snore. I didn't know that when I was single. My roommates never told me.
The thing, I think, that causes the most trouble between us, which trouble is relatively minimal, is the fact that our schedules only allow for very little time together. With Jennie being a music major, she has to be at the school almost all day because of practice time and homework that can only be done on campus.
My class load, on the other hand, is relatively light. I'm only taking thirteen credits, but I stay very busy because I work every weeknight until 10 o'clock. My schedule, in turn, makes it so we can only be together after 10. By that point, the only thing that we really have time for is to get ready for bed and sleep. I sometimes have to stay up a little later to finish up some homework. Jennie hates going to be alone. It's not the easiest thing to be married.
Otherwise, Jennie and I are doing well. Every day is an adventure and we try to find the good things in life. We do love each other, and that, I think is what makes our bad days good. I've heard people say that the first month of marriage is the honeymoon, and the second month is the hardest. I don't know how true that is, but we'll have to see over the next few weeks.
So far, Jennie and I have done pretty well adjusting to living together, but it's been just that...an adjustment. There are times when we scare each other to death because we wake up next to each other and don't expect the other person to be there. Apparently I snore. I didn't know that when I was single. My roommates never told me.
The thing, I think, that causes the most trouble between us, which trouble is relatively minimal, is the fact that our schedules only allow for very little time together. With Jennie being a music major, she has to be at the school almost all day because of practice time and homework that can only be done on campus.
My class load, on the other hand, is relatively light. I'm only taking thirteen credits, but I stay very busy because I work every weeknight until 10 o'clock. My schedule, in turn, makes it so we can only be together after 10. By that point, the only thing that we really have time for is to get ready for bed and sleep. I sometimes have to stay up a little later to finish up some homework. Jennie hates going to be alone. It's not the easiest thing to be married.
Otherwise, Jennie and I are doing well. Every day is an adventure and we try to find the good things in life. We do love each other, and that, I think is what makes our bad days good. I've heard people say that the first month of marriage is the honeymoon, and the second month is the hardest. I don't know how true that is, but we'll have to see over the next few weeks.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)