I was talking with a friend the other day about using discount coupon sites like Groupon and LivingSocial, and we both agreed that the sites are awesome, but make us uncomfortable in certain situations.
I admit my belief of "you get what you pay for" is probably a main reason I landed in almost $10K worth of credit card debt a few years ago. If I want to get something of quality, I'm willing to pay the price.
This has all changed since Groupon, LivingSocial, Gilt and RueLaLa have come into my life. Sure, I use coupons when buying clothes ALL THE TIME. In fact, I rarely buy clothes unless I am getting at least 20% off. I recently bought my interview suit at 30% off + 15% off, and was pissed when I noticed the Ann Taylor site started a new sale offering 50 percent off suits just a few days later.
Anyways, I have used Groupon and LivingSocial to buy discounts on food and for spa services. But when I was getting ready to plan where to get my next haircut, I've felt some serious unease when thinking about buying a haircut deal on one of the aforementioned sites. What started this thinking for me reading this article about a bakery that was almost put out of business because of a Groupon deal.
In fact, I believe in fair tipping, and fair paying, for services. I think it is wrong to try and bargain with someone for something they made - it cheapens their skills and their profession. It would always make me so mad when my old boss would offer our PR services for next to no money, just to score the account. We would be working on an account that paid 1/4 or less than many other accounts, but still had to provide the same services, results and so on for them. It made me feel horrible as a professional.
I found a deal to pay $44 for a haircut at a salon that would normally charge $100 for those services. "Sweet!" I initially thought. But then I thought, why do they need to offer this deal? Are they not getting enough customers? Will they stick me with a stylist who needs the extra money? Will they resent me for being cheap? Yeah. Stopped me dead in my tracks.
I can see how Groupons can be great for a business that is struggling or just starting out. But at the end of the day, I want to choose to go to a salon because they have amazing referrals and I know they will give me great service and they will deserve to get the full price for what they do because they did such a great job. It is going to cost me more money, but in the end, I want to support people who are talented at their craft and do what is right by them.
So I will scour the web, ask my friends, and decide upon the best stylist for me and my budget. And I will tip them well if they do a good job.
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Friday, February 17, 2012
One interview down, two to go (and I got my tax return!)
Yesterday was my first interview for a summer nursing internship. I think the interview went very well and I believe the two women who spoke with me liked me a lot. They told me they had 100+ applications for the positions and are only hiring 10 interns for the summer. I feel good that I got an interview, but also found out from a friend of mine at school that three more people at my school are going in for interviews. I don't feel nervous about them being "better" than me, but it makes me wonder how many people were called in for the initial interview.
This hospital was my 2nd or 3rd choice for internships. I have two more: next week an interview with a branch hospital that is unpaid (boo!) and in two weeks an interview with my top choice, a very prestigious specialty hospital in the City which is paid. I have a cousin who works at the hospital and emailed the HR person about me, so I'm hoping my connection there will help. I've always tried to "work" my connections as much as I could, when I was working in business and now in nursing. It seems like a different world, though, because my nursing connections really want to help me and have gone out of their way to back me up for positions by offering references, letters of recommendations and more. I think before, when I was working in the media industry, it was harder to really help someone new get a job, because my company was so small and many other firms simply were not hiring. Usually the best I could do was get someone an internship at my company and hope that would be enough to get their foot in the door.
I bought myself an "interview suit" from Ann Taylor over the weekend and could not be happier about it! I love the suit I bought an stayed on budget by spending about $200 on it. Well worth the cost, as I feel it is a classic color and cut, something that I can use for my internship interviews, when attending career fairs and conferences, and when I graduate, when going on job interviews!
I got the exciting "your tax return is on it's way!" email yesterday, and this morning I saw the money pop up into my bank account! I ended up getting back about $1,650 from my federal taxes. I took that plus $350 and deposited $2,000 into my savings account to try and replace the $4,500 I took out to pay my semester bill last week. So I've got to make up $2,500 to get back up to $12,000.
I still haven't received my back pay from September from my on-campus job. I feel very frustrated about it and don't know who to go see about it. I'm thinking about talking to the director of athletics who apparently approves the check requests. I don't want to get my boss in trouble since she is my good friend, but I feel like something has fallen through the cracks and it is unacceptable to me that I haven't seen a check that was promised to be sent by Christmas. I also haven't been paid or updated about being paid the $2,500 I was supposed to receive because I am working as the Assistant Swim Coach. I know my boss wants the best for me and is trying to help me make extra money at every chance she can, but sometimes I wonder if it really even possible for me to be paid for this position.
It's frustrating to be in this spot, so I am holding tight but reminding her often about both the check and my payment at least once a week.
Lastly, I got an email from my cousin who is helping me out with the internship in the city, and she has a friend who lives in a very wealthy part of town who has been looking for a babysitting for her four kids - would I be interested, she asked? - hell yes! The lady emailed me saying she needs someone for occasional weekends and weekdays for when she needs to run errands. I am so down for this. If I can make more cash babysitting and swim coaching on the side, it's great for me! Hopefully she'll get back to me soon with a day she wants me to meet her and the kids or start sitting!
This hospital was my 2nd or 3rd choice for internships. I have two more: next week an interview with a branch hospital that is unpaid (boo!) and in two weeks an interview with my top choice, a very prestigious specialty hospital in the City which is paid. I have a cousin who works at the hospital and emailed the HR person about me, so I'm hoping my connection there will help. I've always tried to "work" my connections as much as I could, when I was working in business and now in nursing. It seems like a different world, though, because my nursing connections really want to help me and have gone out of their way to back me up for positions by offering references, letters of recommendations and more. I think before, when I was working in the media industry, it was harder to really help someone new get a job, because my company was so small and many other firms simply were not hiring. Usually the best I could do was get someone an internship at my company and hope that would be enough to get their foot in the door.
I bought myself an "interview suit" from Ann Taylor over the weekend and could not be happier about it! I love the suit I bought an stayed on budget by spending about $200 on it. Well worth the cost, as I feel it is a classic color and cut, something that I can use for my internship interviews, when attending career fairs and conferences, and when I graduate, when going on job interviews!
I got the exciting "your tax return is on it's way!" email yesterday, and this morning I saw the money pop up into my bank account! I ended up getting back about $1,650 from my federal taxes. I took that plus $350 and deposited $2,000 into my savings account to try and replace the $4,500 I took out to pay my semester bill last week. So I've got to make up $2,500 to get back up to $12,000.
I still haven't received my back pay from September from my on-campus job. I feel very frustrated about it and don't know who to go see about it. I'm thinking about talking to the director of athletics who apparently approves the check requests. I don't want to get my boss in trouble since she is my good friend, but I feel like something has fallen through the cracks and it is unacceptable to me that I haven't seen a check that was promised to be sent by Christmas. I also haven't been paid or updated about being paid the $2,500 I was supposed to receive because I am working as the Assistant Swim Coach. I know my boss wants the best for me and is trying to help me make extra money at every chance she can, but sometimes I wonder if it really even possible for me to be paid for this position.
It's frustrating to be in this spot, so I am holding tight but reminding her often about both the check and my payment at least once a week.
Lastly, I got an email from my cousin who is helping me out with the internship in the city, and she has a friend who lives in a very wealthy part of town who has been looking for a babysitting for her four kids - would I be interested, she asked? - hell yes! The lady emailed me saying she needs someone for occasional weekends and weekdays for when she needs to run errands. I am so down for this. If I can make more cash babysitting and swim coaching on the side, it's great for me! Hopefully she'll get back to me soon with a day she wants me to meet her and the kids or start sitting!
Thursday, February 9, 2012
First day in the hospital, another interview...
So, yesterday was my first clinical day in the hospital! I am doing my clinical at a very large hospital in NYC, and commuting from the suburbs just north of the City. Originally I was going to drive in, but the hospital is easier to get to via train, so that's what I'm doing!
It is expensive to do clinicals in the City. Here's what I have spent so far:
$140 on 10 round trip train tickets
$20 (so far) on Metrocard rides (should last me 5 clinical days)
$10 per day for parking at the train station
$12 for lunch at the clinical site
This will probably break down to be:
$14 a day on train tickets
$5 a day on subway rides
$10 a day for train station parking
$10 a day for lunch at the clinical site
TOTAL PER DAY: $39!
Ouch. That is basically four hours of work for me. But you know what? It's worth it. The hospital is an amazing place to learn and I am so happy to be back in the City at least one day a week!
I also got news earlier this week that I have another internship interview! I am pretty psyched about it, but it is my 2nd choice for internship sites. I am doing the interview a week from today, so that means I have to hurry up and get on top of my suit buying. I asked my clinical instructor what she thought, and she told me that I could never go wrong with a suit, and that internships are so competitive, you have to be on your A game to score one. OK, point taken. I am really tempted to buy a suit online but I know I have to try one on. So, I will be going to Ann Taylor and Banana Republic tomorrow to scope out the scene. There's been comments on the Banana website that their jackets and pants don't match colors! So I may just go straight for Ann Taylor and be done with it. If I can spend under $200 for a suit, I'll be satisfied.
Speaking of money, I made a cool $200 cash this weekend working on the kid's swim team I help coach. It was long, annoying work, but getting the $100 at the end of each day was worth it! I was able to put $170 of it into my checking account and will be using it to pay some of my credit card (which has my current semester bill and books on it)
I am paying that credit card bill off next week (in full) and was hoping to have my tax return by then. Alas, I probably won't get it by then, so I will have to take the money from my savings. The bill is $4,500. This will drop my savings down to $7,000. BUT I am getting $2,000 back from my tax returns so that will bring me back to $9,000. My goal is to be back to $11,000 by the end of the semester. Even if I'm not there, the $9,000 will be exactly enough to pay for two more semesters of school!
I plan to work my tail off this summer, and save enough to pay that last, 5th semester of school in full without taking out loans. We'll see if I can score a paying internship!
It is expensive to do clinicals in the City. Here's what I have spent so far:
$140 on 10 round trip train tickets
$20 (so far) on Metrocard rides (should last me 5 clinical days)
$10 per day for parking at the train station
$12 for lunch at the clinical site
This will probably break down to be:
$14 a day on train tickets
$5 a day on subway rides
$10 a day for train station parking
$10 a day for lunch at the clinical site
TOTAL PER DAY: $39!
Ouch. That is basically four hours of work for me. But you know what? It's worth it. The hospital is an amazing place to learn and I am so happy to be back in the City at least one day a week!
I also got news earlier this week that I have another internship interview! I am pretty psyched about it, but it is my 2nd choice for internship sites. I am doing the interview a week from today, so that means I have to hurry up and get on top of my suit buying. I asked my clinical instructor what she thought, and she told me that I could never go wrong with a suit, and that internships are so competitive, you have to be on your A game to score one. OK, point taken. I am really tempted to buy a suit online but I know I have to try one on. So, I will be going to Ann Taylor and Banana Republic tomorrow to scope out the scene. There's been comments on the Banana website that their jackets and pants don't match colors! So I may just go straight for Ann Taylor and be done with it. If I can spend under $200 for a suit, I'll be satisfied.
Speaking of money, I made a cool $200 cash this weekend working on the kid's swim team I help coach. It was long, annoying work, but getting the $100 at the end of each day was worth it! I was able to put $170 of it into my checking account and will be using it to pay some of my credit card (which has my current semester bill and books on it)
I am paying that credit card bill off next week (in full) and was hoping to have my tax return by then. Alas, I probably won't get it by then, so I will have to take the money from my savings. The bill is $4,500. This will drop my savings down to $7,000. BUT I am getting $2,000 back from my tax returns so that will bring me back to $9,000. My goal is to be back to $11,000 by the end of the semester. Even if I'm not there, the $9,000 will be exactly enough to pay for two more semesters of school!
I plan to work my tail off this summer, and save enough to pay that last, 5th semester of school in full without taking out loans. We'll see if I can score a paying internship!
Friday, February 3, 2012
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Interviews
When I was working in fashion PR, my interview clothes were basically the same clothes I wore to work or something slightly fancier. Very trendy, and if I wore a suit to an interview....I would have looked horribly dated.
Now that I am in a new career - nursing - I have to re-learn the interview etiquette and dress code. The reason I am thinking about this now is....I have an interview!
I have been applying to nursing internships/externships and I got a call the other day from someone in HR at one of the hospitals I applied to! He did an initial screening with me via phone yesterday and determined I should come in for an interview! I have one month to prepare and already am freaking out about what I will say and how I will dress.
I consider myself I pretty confident person and I think I will make a good impression with the hospital. But, this is a new career for me and I'm still learning what RNs consider valuable in an individual. So far I've gotten very positive feedback from all of my professors, and I feel like I will be a positive asset to a hospital as an intern.
One thing I really don't know about is my interview attire! My mom wondered if I should wear my student nursing uniform....but I know the right thing is to overdress, and that means to wear a suit. I bought a suit my senior year of college and wore it to my internship interviews before getting my first job. Since then, I've never worn in and when I moved from my old apartment....I may have donated it to charity! I have to check and see if I even still have the pants because I know I definitely don't have the jacket.
So I'm thinking of getting a navy blue suit, wearing it with a colorful blouse and conservative heels. A suit is an expensive purchase and although I am an avid online shopper, it's something I feel like I need to try on in person.
I'm also considering asking my mom to borrow one of her suits. I'm pretty sure they will fit since we are the same size, but her suits might be a little more conservative than I want. I mean, she's got a great wardrobe, mostly from JCrew, but it's got that "mom" look if you know what I mean!
The other option is dressing what I like to call "First Lady Chic" and go with a sweater twinset and pencil skirt. I think I could pull that off but wonder if it won't be as impressive as a "real suit" outfit.
I'll be looking around and trying to see if I can find something that maybe is a comfortable medium. In the meantime, I'm waiting on my other applications to see if I'll have any other interviews I have to prepare for!
Now that I am in a new career - nursing - I have to re-learn the interview etiquette and dress code. The reason I am thinking about this now is....I have an interview!
I have been applying to nursing internships/externships and I got a call the other day from someone in HR at one of the hospitals I applied to! He did an initial screening with me via phone yesterday and determined I should come in for an interview! I have one month to prepare and already am freaking out about what I will say and how I will dress.
I consider myself I pretty confident person and I think I will make a good impression with the hospital. But, this is a new career for me and I'm still learning what RNs consider valuable in an individual. So far I've gotten very positive feedback from all of my professors, and I feel like I will be a positive asset to a hospital as an intern.
One thing I really don't know about is my interview attire! My mom wondered if I should wear my student nursing uniform....but I know the right thing is to overdress, and that means to wear a suit. I bought a suit my senior year of college and wore it to my internship interviews before getting my first job. Since then, I've never worn in and when I moved from my old apartment....I may have donated it to charity! I have to check and see if I even still have the pants because I know I definitely don't have the jacket.
So I'm thinking of getting a navy blue suit, wearing it with a colorful blouse and conservative heels. A suit is an expensive purchase and although I am an avid online shopper, it's something I feel like I need to try on in person.
I'm also considering asking my mom to borrow one of her suits. I'm pretty sure they will fit since we are the same size, but her suits might be a little more conservative than I want. I mean, she's got a great wardrobe, mostly from JCrew, but it's got that "mom" look if you know what I mean!
The other option is dressing what I like to call "First Lady Chic" and go with a sweater twinset and pencil skirt. I think I could pull that off but wonder if it won't be as impressive as a "real suit" outfit.
I'll be looking around and trying to see if I can find something that maybe is a comfortable medium. In the meantime, I'm waiting on my other applications to see if I'll have any other interviews I have to prepare for!
Thursday, January 26, 2012
And it begins....here we go!
Well, I'm back in the swing of things, school has officially started. I have classes Monday-Thursday. Wednesday I have my Med-Surg clinical where I will be going to a major NYC hospital that I am super psyched about. I met my group and instructor yesterday and am so thrilled about getting started doing "real" nursing stuff!
My plan for this semester is to continue working at the pool but stacking my workweek towards Thursday-Sunday so I have my schooldays free to study and focus on school. I got approved to double my Work Study money (wohoo!) so I can work more hours than last semester.
I can only work 20 hours a week, but if I max that out, I can potentially make $800 a month, not including my work on the side. I'll be coaching swimming twice a week @ $30 a practice, giving me a potential income of $240 cash. And I'm continuing with my freelance work with my old company. Last week I did some work for them that will bring me $240 to start this semester with.
I started my tax returns (I'm waiting for my W-2 from my current job and a 1099 for my freelancing income and I'll be done). So far with all of my other stuff computed in, I should get back $3,000! I am super excited about this, because it basically pays for my semester, which was $4,000. So I will only lose $1,000 from my school fund! I am so happy about this, because last semester really did show me how difficult it was going to be to actually save a lot of money during school. There always seems to be some new bill popping up (such as my insurance) and my fixed monthly bills.
I think my student loans for this semester are going to be posted in the next few days, so I will (gulp) add the new amount to my new student loan bar. It's going to hurt to see $12K on that list....but I must remind myself if I only took out $12K in loans for this year, I'm in pretty good shape. I wish I could pay this all in cash, but that's just not going to realistically happen.
On the internship front, I am nervous I am not qualified for the internships I applied for. My fellow students told me some of them require us to have our Med-Surg experience before applying. I don't think it's fair, since I will have completed my clinical rotation before beginning the internship. I'm glad I sent in my applications already, because the old saying goes, "nothing ventured, nothing gained." At least I can say I did all my due diligence and put myself out there as much as possible. If nothing comes through for me, I may consider taking summer classes to accelerate my degree. There's no sense in just sitting around all summer not getting any experience. This is all still up in the air soooo...I'm not going to freak out just yet!
Hopefully I'll be blogging about my full tax refund soon :-)
My plan for this semester is to continue working at the pool but stacking my workweek towards Thursday-Sunday so I have my schooldays free to study and focus on school. I got approved to double my Work Study money (wohoo!) so I can work more hours than last semester.
I can only work 20 hours a week, but if I max that out, I can potentially make $800 a month, not including my work on the side. I'll be coaching swimming twice a week @ $30 a practice, giving me a potential income of $240 cash. And I'm continuing with my freelance work with my old company. Last week I did some work for them that will bring me $240 to start this semester with.
I started my tax returns (I'm waiting for my W-2 from my current job and a 1099 for my freelancing income and I'll be done). So far with all of my other stuff computed in, I should get back $3,000! I am super excited about this, because it basically pays for my semester, which was $4,000. So I will only lose $1,000 from my school fund! I am so happy about this, because last semester really did show me how difficult it was going to be to actually save a lot of money during school. There always seems to be some new bill popping up (such as my insurance) and my fixed monthly bills.
I think my student loans for this semester are going to be posted in the next few days, so I will (gulp) add the new amount to my new student loan bar. It's going to hurt to see $12K on that list....but I must remind myself if I only took out $12K in loans for this year, I'm in pretty good shape. I wish I could pay this all in cash, but that's just not going to realistically happen.
On the internship front, I am nervous I am not qualified for the internships I applied for. My fellow students told me some of them require us to have our Med-Surg experience before applying. I don't think it's fair, since I will have completed my clinical rotation before beginning the internship. I'm glad I sent in my applications already, because the old saying goes, "nothing ventured, nothing gained." At least I can say I did all my due diligence and put myself out there as much as possible. If nothing comes through for me, I may consider taking summer classes to accelerate my degree. There's no sense in just sitting around all summer not getting any experience. This is all still up in the air soooo...I'm not going to freak out just yet!
Hopefully I'll be blogging about my full tax refund soon :-)
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Double Whammy
Well, I finally bit the bullet and bought my books for this semester....ouch!
The total for 7 textbooks (mix of used and new, all bought from Amazon.com) was $330.
Not bad, I guess. I'll be applying $90 to my credit card account as a credit to offset the cost of the books, bringing my out-of-pocket cost down to $240. Ahh, that's more like it! I am so happy I buy all my books online now. I can't believe how much I had to spend when I was in college "back in the day" when my only option was buying from the Co-Op. I definitely save $100+ through buying online. I would do even better if I sold all my books back.
Unfortunately I am hesitant to sell all my books back right away since there are some I feel like I will need to use in the future for reference. Now all I need to do is invest in a good bookcase (since all my books and notebooks are currently stacked up on a desk in my living room).
I also sadly must report that my new student loan has gone through, I have my online account set up and can see the damage right there on the screen. So, I'll be adding my new student loan debt to the "my debts" list on my sidebar. It's crazy that in one semester, I have just amassed almost the same amount of debt that I have left on my old student loan. I'm hoping I'll be able to keep up my plan of paying my college costs 50/50, cash/loans and only graduate with $25K in loans. Once I graduate, the goal is to payoff those loans within one year of graduating. I know it's a steep goal, but I think I can do it if I put my mind to it.
With less than a week before I start classes again, I'm relishing my moments of laziness and leisure as much as I can. And enjoying reading non-nursing books for once :)
Not bad, I guess. I'll be applying $90 to my credit card account as a credit to offset the cost of the books, bringing my out-of-pocket cost down to $240. Ahh, that's more like it! I am so happy I buy all my books online now. I can't believe how much I had to spend when I was in college "back in the day" when my only option was buying from the Co-Op. I definitely save $100+ through buying online. I would do even better if I sold all my books back.
Unfortunately I am hesitant to sell all my books back right away since there are some I feel like I will need to use in the future for reference. Now all I need to do is invest in a good bookcase (since all my books and notebooks are currently stacked up on a desk in my living room).
I also sadly must report that my new student loan has gone through, I have my online account set up and can see the damage right there on the screen. So, I'll be adding my new student loan debt to the "my debts" list on my sidebar. It's crazy that in one semester, I have just amassed almost the same amount of debt that I have left on my old student loan. I'm hoping I'll be able to keep up my plan of paying my college costs 50/50, cash/loans and only graduate with $25K in loans. Once I graduate, the goal is to payoff those loans within one year of graduating. I know it's a steep goal, but I think I can do it if I put my mind to it.
With less than a week before I start classes again, I'm relishing my moments of laziness and leisure as much as I can. And enjoying reading non-nursing books for once :)
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