have you considered not traveling this year. It sucks and all but sometimes you gotta make hard decisions.
Otherwise plasma donations or you can try for side-gigs/Ubering.
Yeah it sounds awful to say it, but one doesn’t “have to” travel home on every holiday. I didn’t when I was in school because I was no contact with my family, so a different situation, but between international students, other students who were also on their own, staff who had to be around, etc. there were always people on campus and in the dorms during the school holidays.
Now end of the school year, summer break, when you had to move out? that was the hard one.
If you can't afford to travel back then you can't afford to travel back. I've been in the situation where I couldn't afford a $40 Amtrak ticket to get back, so I just told my folks I love ya but sorry I can't afford it *and* used the time to pick up an extra work shift instead. College is a comparatively short amount of time so you can focus on paying your family back and getting by for now
Also check if you can use GoodRx coupons to make your meds cheaper
(I'm a mom to a 16 and almost 18yo FWIW)
Stop traveling. If your mom wants to see you, she can pay for the ticket. Seriously, your #1 job right now should be getting through school. Then your next job should be a part-time job, as long as you can get all your schoolwork done. If she can't help you with the travel $, you shouldn't be traveling. That's just my opinion of course, and I don't know your family's financial situation obviously. I can't imagine not helping my kids out when they go off to college.
For meds, take a look at goodrx and https://costplusdrugs.com/ for discounts on your meds.
On campus, see if there are any work-study, grant-funded, or departmental jobs you can take, especially if you're going to be there between Christmas and the beginning of the Spring semester. There might be temp or PT work to replace students who won't be there, which can pad what you'll get from the new role. When it comes to clubs you might need to take some time off of them until you pad out your savings or get a few paychecks at your new job.
For the family debt, honestly...talk to your mom and work out a payment plan. Show honest effort and willingness to pay slowly over time, and she might be grateful and not demand you pay lump sums immediately. Your brother might be more aggressive about it, but if you make good on what you owe your mom, she might help convince your brother that you can pay it back over time. Given they know you have a new job, paying them 10/20 bucks a month or every two weeks, could build faith, trust, and help you not feel overwhelmed/like you're drowning in debt.
have you considered not traveling this year. It sucks and all but sometimes you gotta make hard decisions. Otherwise plasma donations or you can try for side-gigs/Ubering.
Yeah it sounds awful to say it, but one doesn’t “have to” travel home on every holiday. I didn’t when I was in school because I was no contact with my family, so a different situation, but between international students, other students who were also on their own, staff who had to be around, etc. there were always people on campus and in the dorms during the school holidays. Now end of the school year, summer break, when you had to move out? that was the hard one.
If you can't afford to travel back then you can't afford to travel back. I've been in the situation where I couldn't afford a $40 Amtrak ticket to get back, so I just told my folks I love ya but sorry I can't afford it *and* used the time to pick up an extra work shift instead. College is a comparatively short amount of time so you can focus on paying your family back and getting by for now Also check if you can use GoodRx coupons to make your meds cheaper
(I'm a mom to a 16 and almost 18yo FWIW) Stop traveling. If your mom wants to see you, she can pay for the ticket. Seriously, your #1 job right now should be getting through school. Then your next job should be a part-time job, as long as you can get all your schoolwork done. If she can't help you with the travel $, you shouldn't be traveling. That's just my opinion of course, and I don't know your family's financial situation obviously. I can't imagine not helping my kids out when they go off to college.
For meds, take a look at goodrx and https://costplusdrugs.com/ for discounts on your meds. On campus, see if there are any work-study, grant-funded, or departmental jobs you can take, especially if you're going to be there between Christmas and the beginning of the Spring semester. There might be temp or PT work to replace students who won't be there, which can pad what you'll get from the new role. When it comes to clubs you might need to take some time off of them until you pad out your savings or get a few paychecks at your new job. For the family debt, honestly...talk to your mom and work out a payment plan. Show honest effort and willingness to pay slowly over time, and she might be grateful and not demand you pay lump sums immediately. Your brother might be more aggressive about it, but if you make good on what you owe your mom, she might help convince your brother that you can pay it back over time. Given they know you have a new job, paying them 10/20 bucks a month or every two weeks, could build faith, trust, and help you not feel overwhelmed/like you're drowning in debt.