A Post-College Budget Plan Starts in School

A Post-College Budget Plan Starts in School

If you’re a nursing student, now is a good time to start thinking about your post-college budget. Believe it or not, finding a budget plan that works for you now will help you stay on track financially after graduation.

What can you do now that will make a difference when you are out of school? Educating yourself and trying out different methods of saving (and, yes, even spending) money is the first step in a successful post-college budget. There are many approaches to budgeting and what works for your parents, your best friends, or your classmates might now work for you.

Here are a few things you can do now to help get you ready.

1. Know Your Student Loan Amounts

This means more than knowing you have a certain dollar amount that you will owe once you are done with this round of school. You’ll need to take a look at your loans to understand when you need to start paying them back and what kind of interest you’re committed to. Some loans are fixed, meaning the interest rate you pay will remain the same for the life of the loan. Others are variable, meaning the interest rate can fluctuate over the course of the loan, and that means your monthly payments aren’t always going to be the same. Know the total amount you owe, when your payment begin, and how many months your loan is expected to take to pay back. Even more importantly, understand how much money it is going to cost you every month to pay your loans.

2. Think About Cost of Living

Once you know how much you’ll owe every month, start planning for other costs for your post-college budget plan. Think about what you spend money on every month now and if that will change. How much will it cost to find a place to live (including utilities and parking)? Figure out how much you will need for necessities like groceries and transportation (public or a car). There’s also the less fixed costs of entertainment, travel, clothing, and toiletries and household supplies to consider.

3. Plan for an Emergency

Unexpected costs happen. Cars break down, Living situations change. Health issues crop up. It’s a good idea to have the equivalent of three to six months of living expenses in a fund you can access. It’s probably hard to think of getting that amount now, but starting to build up that emergency fund now is good. Even five dollars a week will add up.

4. Consider Job Options

What’s the job market like in the area you plan to live? If you’re in an area where there are few options, consider looking at other locations. Decide how much of a commute you’re willing to have or if you want to move to an area where you can have more choices at jobs and salaries.

5. Estimate Your Salary

Now that you have a target amount of your costs, that helps you decide on how much of a salary you’ll need to live without going into debt. You should be able to make enough money to cover your expenses, have some savings, and (hopefully) have some left for fun. If you’ve got sticker shock from the first amount, this gives you some time to think of alternative ways you can still have the life you want. If you live in a high-rent area, getting a place with roommates can drastically reduce your living costs. With rent and utilities divided among many people, the savings is likely significant. Is there a way you would get a second job to make up the slack if you need to? What would work for you?

6. Look at Budget Styles

Get online and poke around to see what kinds of post-college budget plans are out there. From Pinterest to Debt.org to Money Under 30, you will find plenty of options to try out.

Budgeting isn’t the most fun task, but it makes an enormous impact on your life. The more you know before you graduate, the more control you’ll have over your choices.

In the Spotlight: DNP Candidate Jonathan Llamas

In the Spotlight: DNP Candidate Jonathan Llamas

Sometimes nurses know they are destined for a lifelong nursing career; for other nurses, it’s as if the career chooses them.

That’s how Jonathan Llamas DNP (c), BSN, RN-BC, PHN, found his way to nursing. Knowing the career would be a good fit for his compassionate nature and his innate ability to have empathy for others, Llamas applied for nursing school right out of high school.

“I knew the work was selfless and inspiring,” he says, “but I went into nursing school with some naiveté. I knew I had the qualities to be a successful nurse, but I didn’t understand the amount of hard work and dedication required for me to excel in the heavily science-based coursework.”

Llamas was unprepared and struggled with the demands of the course load. Looking back, Llamas sees how his path started to become rockier, even as he wanted to succeed. He lacked the mindset to focus on his work. “I didn’t commit the time necessary for me to be successful,” he says.

Transferring to community college, Llamas finished his prereq courses, but says his lackluster GPA set him up for a cycle of rejections from other nursing programs. Determined, Llamas pressed on but struggled with setbacks that would have had other students choosing another path.

“Based on my GPA, my community college counselor said, ‘You don’t have what it takes to be a nurse,’” says Llamas. Feeling demoralized by the comment, Llamas still felt that nursing was his calling. He just had to find a way to get there. “I had to prove to myself I could do it,” he says, “and that I could do well under pressure.”

The toll from the rejection was growing though. As a first-generation college student from a supportive Filipino family, Llamas recalls his mother’s upset at all the rejection for him and it struck a nerve.

“I looked in the mirror and thought, ‘How do I want to be remembered? Do I want to be a father who inspires his kid to rise above adversity or fold under pressure?’” Llamas says. “I didn’t want to be the latter. I wanted to make something of myself.”

Determined to succeed, Llamas applied to West Coast University’s nursing program, and they gave him another chance. He didn’t throw it away and graduated in 2013. I learned that if I wanted to be successful, I have to apply myself,” he says. “I carry that now. If you want something, you have to work for what you want. We are all different in terms of the resources we have initially. We are not all starting at the same starting line.”

“Hopefully my story will inspire others,” says Llamas. He wants students to be academically and mentally ready at the outset so they aren’t surprised by the intensity and high expectations of nursing school. “You have to sacrifice to be successful,” he says. “It’s hard, but it’s temporary. Do your research, and know why you want to be a nurse. Have a vision for yourself and your future.”

As Llamas has learned, there is a level of commitment to nursing that is necessary to be an exceptional nurse. “There’s a difference between your passion and your purpose,” he says. Having the inherent ability to be a successful nurse often makes one’s passion for nursing grow stronger, he says. “I understand that nursing requires sacrifice, but the most rewarding thing you can do is provide such incredible care to a patient.”

For Llamas, persistence has paid off. He is set to graduate this spring with his DNP from Loma Linda University and juggles his academic load with a full-time schedule as a psychiatric mental-health nurse. “I am fortunate to have hit this stride in my career,” he says. The advanced degree will help him reach his future goals of influencing change in nursing by providing a different form of influence beyond the bedside. He envisions working as an NP, becoming an educator to help future nurses, and using his platform to help other nurses.

“If you had said to me 10 years ago that I would accomplish this, I would have said you were crazy,” he says. “If I have impacted someone’s life for the better, then I have lived a life worth living. I feel blessed, humbled, and grateful for the opportunities that have come my way.”

 

How to Deal With a Difficult Professor

How to Deal With a Difficult Professor

As a nursing student you know one thing for sure—no two professors are alike. The benefits of having great professors are obvious, but even the most difficult professors will teach you some valuable skills.

Even if you know you’ll learn in a course, it doesn’t make dealing with an obnoxious professor easy. How can you make the best of a bad situation?

Start Each Class With Good Communication

Sometimes, students and professors get off to a bad start that never seems to resolve itself. Professors deserve and are used to a certain level of respect, and you should approach them with that in mind. Start any communication with them by addressing them as “Professor” before their last name, until you are directed to do otherwise.

Triple check to be sure you have spelled their names correctly. Use polite language (never slang) and err on the side of being too formal. That means don’t send an email full of texting abbreviations, and always thank them for taking the time to help you.

Act Like You Deserve to be Taken Seriously

Of course, to lay a good foundation with your professors, you need to be a good student. Get to class on time, not 5 minutes late. Pay attention to what is being taught and participate in the discussions. Don’t spend lecture time on your phone or playing catch up with other students. Get your work in on time and with all the requirements. Be focused and your professor will be likely to notice and take you more seriously.

Reach Out for Help If Needed

Despite your best efforts, you might get a professor who is impossible to please, is rude, doesn’t give good lectures, and gives exams that border on out of line. If you have approached the professor for help and have gotten no where, you are not out of options. All schools have either an academic advising or a student support services office that will work with you to help you resolve any conflict or miscommunication. The Dean of Students is also an excellent resource when you are having real difficulties with a professor.

Find an Out

If you just have a really bad feeling (for instance,your professor tells you that even a hospitalization is not an excused absence), then see what your options are. Talk with your advisor and see if it’s too late to switch classes.

If you feel the professor is on a mission to fail you and you have exhausted all your options and outside assistance, you might look into withdrawing from the class. You ‘ll probably lose money, but it might impact your nursing school career less than failing a class. Your advisor will help you through this decision.

Accept the Life Lesson

Dealing with unpleasant people is difficult and can rattle your confidence. But it also makes you tougher, and as a nurse, that’s a skill that will come in handy. Learning how to cope with someone’s unflinching criticism (whether deserved or not) is good practice for anyone’s career. If your professor has pushed you to the limit, take a step back and see what you can learn from the experience and use that to your advantage in the future.

Whatever problems you might have with a professor in your nursing school years, you can turn the lessons you’ll learn from it into something useful and helpful.

It Takes a Village to Get Through Nursing School

It Takes a Village to Get Through Nursing School

When you think of being successful in college, you know lots of hard work, hours of studying, and a dedicated commitment will pay off. But if you’re heading into nursing school this fall, there’s also another essential, piece of the puzzle that will help your college years go as smoothly as possible.

What else can you do to help you make the most of your time in nursing school? Get a team together—one filled with other students you can rely on, professors who can teach you, advisors who can guide you, and college services offices filled with information.

While many students enter college thinking this will happen naturally, planning for the right kind of team is almost a strategic business move. You aren’t going to pick your friendships and associations with an eye on getting ahead, but knowing where to go for help and developing relationships with people on campus will always help you.

Friendships Are Your Foundation

Good friends will be a life saver when you are in college. Not only will they be right in the trenches with you and understand what you’re going through, but they’re also a steady source of sage advice, on-target observations, and, hopefully, some comic relief. Friends aren’t all good for the same thing all the time. You might find you develop friends to study with, friends to blow off steam with, others who help you reach your fitness goals, and others who’ll binge-watch Netflix with you the day after your last final.

Professors Motivate You

Some professors will make you pull your hair out and others will push you to make yourself better. Reach out to your favorite professors to cultivate a good relationship. They will help you when you are struggling with a class, offer you career advice, and will serve as references when you are seeking internships, externships, or a job.

Academic Advising Introduces You to the Possibilities

The most successful students are the ones who seek out help. You may have never needed a tutor or needed extra help in a class, but nursing school is a whole new situation. You aren’t expected to know everything, and keeping up the intense pace of nursing school is difficult—even for the best students. Get to know your school’s academic advising office and staff. Ask them for help with classes, difficult professors, or time management. They are an important part of your team and the sooner you develop a relationship with them, the more likely you are to avoid pitfalls like burnout, poor grades, or procrastination.

Health Services Watches Out for You

If you have any kind of chronic medical condition—from diabetes to depression —college is not the time to manage it all on your own. Health services will help you with getting medication, finding outside providers, and checking in to keep your health on a steady course. When you get to campus, start getting acquainted with the people and routines of the health services center. If you ever need to take any time off for medical reasons, they will be a big help with the process. The first time you see them shouldn’t be an emergency.

Career Services Takes You to the Next Level

All nurses have an end goal of a career in nursing, but that final career will look different for so many students. Career services will help you figure out how to narrow down your best career path, but they will also help you take steps to get there faster. Start early to get a resume in order, explore career options, and even develop a plan of outside experiences (volunteer work, summer jobs, internship or externship opportunities) that can help you get there.

Nursing school is a step toward independence and your career, and surrounding yourself with people who can help you will make your experience that much better and more successful.

How to Study in Nursing School

How to Study in Nursing School

If there’s one question that I frequently get asked by nursing students, it is how to properly study to pass nursing tests and exams and make it out of nursing school alive. During nursing school I tried different ways to study and it took trial and error for me to finally find what worked best for me. Here are my top study habits to help you get those A’s and tackle nursing school exams.

Best Study Habits:

1. What type of learner are you?

First and foremost, determine what your learning style is. It’s imperative that you’re honest with yourself about the type of learner you are to get the best results from studying. Learning styles typically fall into 3 categories: visual, auditory or tactile/kinesthetic learning. Each learning style retains and processes information differently. So before signing up to be a part of that study group session find out if it works for you. Some students are able to study in only quiet places while others can concentrate around loud noise. Here are two educational websites that offer free learning assessments to help you determine which learning style fits you the best: https://www.how-to-study.com/learning-style-assessment/ and http://www.educationplanner.org/students/self-assessments/learning-styles-quiz.shtml

2. Be organized.

Before you begin studying collect all of your essential tools such as notecards, pens, highlighters, coffee, and wine (just kidding). There’s nothing worse than being in your groove when studying and you realize that you’ve forgotten your favorite pen or highlighter. Have a plan of what you want to study for each session and a realistic expectation of how long it will take to go over the material. Give yourself adequate time to review each subject and include break times for each study session. According to a study recently done by Microsoft the average adult has a concentration span of only 8 seconds. That is less than that of a goldfish! So studying straight for hours without any breaks will not help you retain the information more.

3. Set goals.

You had a goal to get into nursing school and you have a goal to graduate, so why not set goals when studying? If there is a particular topic that is a weak area for you take out your planner and set a goal for when you want to fully master that material. Create a study outline with exact dates, time and even the location for when you will study each material. This will help you avoid having to cram for exams. Your class syllabus should have dates for when exams and texts will take place so don’t wait until you’re two weeks into the class to begin setting your study goals.

4. Less is more.

One of the biggest mistakes you can make when studying in nursing school is using too many books or resources at once. Determine which resources are necessary for each exam and study that content. Professors typically outline which books or resources are appropriate to use for each course so use that as a guide on what to use when studying. If not you may run the risk of studying information that contradicts what you were taught in the classroom. Seek guidance from your professor when choosing to use other resources aside from what is required.

Nursing school is probably one of the most stressful and rewarding things you’ll ever go through in life. Help make things easier for yourself with the four study tactics I listed above to help you prepare for every test and ace those exams. Always remain positive and remember to relax before an exam. You’ve got this!

Stay connected with other nurses just like you! Facebook: Fierce Expression and Instagram: @fierceexpression.

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