Really? Is that not a given? It's not as if she doesn't have a huge mortgage. My now-wife and I were together for a year and a half before I gave up my apartment to move in with her, but once I did, it was a given to me that we'd split her mortgage. Unimaginable to me that it would be otherwise. Even though we weren't even engaged, and as I recall, she was making more money than I was at the time.
Huge kuddos for putting yourself through school while being a single mom. Amazing hat your daughter has college covered and that soon enough you will be done with student loans and hopefully can relax a bit more. You sure deserve it!
Loved reading this! The student loans are eye-watering, but I know multiple people who have had theirs forgiven via PSLF, so fingers crossed it works out for OP! The r/studentloans subreddit can be a really helpful resource for working through issues, too!
The OP mentions frustration with cell phone plans, so I just want to throw it out there that I’ve been really happy with Google Fi. Easy to port your number over, and I pay $50/month for unlimited everything, including in Canada and Mexico. It gets cheaper with more people, so OP + partner + daughter would pay $90/mo. No BS, no finance contracts, just bring your unlocked phone.
It’s also easy to switch plans for a month to add on international service (like when traveling abroad!).
I “unlocked” my iPhone years ago so that I would fully own it and could sign up for an AT&T prepaid plan. $45 a month and I’ve never run out of data (the limit is high and there is wifi everywhere these days!). I do keep my phones for at least 5 years so missing out on upgrades isn’t a big deal to me.
Another public interest lawyer here :) Congrats on the incredible financial stability you’ve created for you and your daughter. I can’t imagine how challenging that would have been.
I had a big sign of relief when you mentioned the student loan forgiveness program. It can be super irritating, but thank God it's there. These grad programs so many public jobs require are crazy-expensive.
Teenage single mom gets through college and law school, and by 37 has a house, and an already self-sufficient kid well on her way to finishing her own degree. Damn.
Living in the capital region I have some strong opinions on "the school is so good so the taxes are so high" for a few reasons. I love in a city district, due to white flight many refuse to let their kids attend even tho it's well funded and many children leave with lots of college credit. My taxes are also criminal at a similar amount but for a little bit smaller house. When I hear we moved for a "good school" (in this area)to me feels like coded language and the taxes and honestly, as we all know that isn't fully dictated by the school so much as her expensive new house.
What is your craft side hustle? Congratulations on making it work for you as a hobby and financially. Its refreshing to see someone from the U.S. able to take lots of annual leave and enjoy their holidays.
I can hardly imagine how she’s paying so little for groceries and house insurance. I make just about all our food (my husband and me; kids are grown) from scratch but can’t get the cost down to $200 per month. And my insurance is about three times as much, when my house is an 1897 fixer-upper still being fixed up that I bought for under $100k and is still worth about that. Sample menu, please? And tips for reducing insurance? I’ve shopped around and can’t find a better deal. I’ve never made a claim or anything like that. Really interested in more info, please! (Big garden?)
Hey Michelle. The OP got back to me, re: groceries & insurance. She wrote: The groceries amount is just for me! My boyfriend pays for his half. (Ed note: My bad, I should have made that clear in the original story.)
The homeowners insurance is so low because it’s brand new construction. Everything is new/has newest safety/efficiency features so it’s way lower. That was something that surprised me when I built a new house! My old house was worth about 1/4 of this house but had double the cost of insurance because it was built in 1920. Just a savings cost that most people might not realize when deciding to buy new/old.
Honestly obsessed with her charging her boyfriend for rent.
Really? Is that not a given? It's not as if she doesn't have a huge mortgage. My now-wife and I were together for a year and a half before I gave up my apartment to move in with her, but once I did, it was a given to me that we'd split her mortgage. Unimaginable to me that it would be otherwise. Even though we weren't even engaged, and as I recall, she was making more money than I was at the time.
love seeing a union member featured! would love to hear more about the union difference in regards to pay and benefits
That’s a really good idea, Mindy! I’ll look into that for future stories!
I'm so happy to see a single mother post!! (I was raised by one❤️)
Yes! A single parent + kid(s) (or with grown kid) is also a family, thanks for validating that with this profile.
Thanks for mentioning my piece, and for including a link for voter registration!
Thank you for putting into words what I've been thinking! Feels like voter registration is the smallest thing I could do!
<3
I love that the craft hobby is such a successful side business. Would like to know about how you made that happen! It's on my bucket list too
Yes me too! I'm curious what she does 🤓
Was excited to see an Albany diary! I'm curious what part the OP lives in - taxes here vary so widely!
Huge kuddos for putting yourself through school while being a single mom. Amazing hat your daughter has college covered and that soon enough you will be done with student loans and hopefully can relax a bit more. You sure deserve it!
Loved reading this! The student loans are eye-watering, but I know multiple people who have had theirs forgiven via PSLF, so fingers crossed it works out for OP! The r/studentloans subreddit can be a really helpful resource for working through issues, too!
The OP mentions frustration with cell phone plans, so I just want to throw it out there that I’ve been really happy with Google Fi. Easy to port your number over, and I pay $50/month for unlimited everything, including in Canada and Mexico. It gets cheaper with more people, so OP + partner + daughter would pay $90/mo. No BS, no finance contracts, just bring your unlocked phone.
It’s also easy to switch plans for a month to add on international service (like when traveling abroad!).
Figured I’d share!
I “unlocked” my iPhone years ago so that I would fully own it and could sign up for an AT&T prepaid plan. $45 a month and I’ve never run out of data (the limit is high and there is wifi everywhere these days!). I do keep my phones for at least 5 years so missing out on upgrades isn’t a big deal to me.
Another public interest lawyer here :) Congrats on the incredible financial stability you’ve created for you and your daughter. I can’t imagine how challenging that would have been.
I had a big sign of relief when you mentioned the student loan forgiveness program. It can be super irritating, but thank God it's there. These grad programs so many public jobs require are crazy-expensive.
Teenage single mom gets through college and law school, and by 37 has a house, and an already self-sufficient kid well on her way to finishing her own degree. Damn.
JEBNYC! I haven’t seen you in the comments in a while! Missed you! 🙂
Living in the capital region I have some strong opinions on "the school is so good so the taxes are so high" for a few reasons. I love in a city district, due to white flight many refuse to let their kids attend even tho it's well funded and many children leave with lots of college credit. My taxes are also criminal at a similar amount but for a little bit smaller house. When I hear we moved for a "good school" (in this area)to me feels like coded language and the taxes and honestly, as we all know that isn't fully dictated by the school so much as her expensive new house.
*live in...
Also to clarify, what I was really trying to say is all school districts around here have expensive areas where taxes are higher. That's NY for you.
What is your craft side hustle? Congratulations on making it work for you as a hobby and financially. Its refreshing to see someone from the U.S. able to take lots of annual leave and enjoy their holidays.
Love this article and get excited every time a new one comes out! Thanks for sharing!!
I can hardly imagine how she’s paying so little for groceries and house insurance. I make just about all our food (my husband and me; kids are grown) from scratch but can’t get the cost down to $200 per month. And my insurance is about three times as much, when my house is an 1897 fixer-upper still being fixed up that I bought for under $100k and is still worth about that. Sample menu, please? And tips for reducing insurance? I’ve shopped around and can’t find a better deal. I’ve never made a claim or anything like that. Really interested in more info, please! (Big garden?)
Hey Michelle. The OP got back to me, re: groceries & insurance. She wrote: The groceries amount is just for me! My boyfriend pays for his half. (Ed note: My bad, I should have made that clear in the original story.)
The homeowners insurance is so low because it’s brand new construction. Everything is new/has newest safety/efficiency features so it’s way lower. That was something that surprised me when I built a new house! My old house was worth about 1/4 of this house but had double the cost of insurance because it was built in 1920. Just a savings cost that most people might not realize when deciding to buy new/old.
Wow. Everything has been figured out! Congratulations.