Skip to main content

My One Year Student Loan Payoff Update

  January 28, 2022 marked my one year anniversary of paying off my student loans . Reflecting back on choosing to pay off my student loans leaves me with several take a ways that I want to share with you! In September 2020 I decided to become debt free by utilizing the debt snowball method to pay off all my debt. Before this I had struggled to save and really understand basic financial principles. As a first-generation college student, I received a scholarship to attend undergrad for free, but the scholarship did not cover summers. During the summers I took out student loans to cover costs without paying interest rates or how much I was taking out. By the end of undergrad I had amassed a little under $17K. Fast forward to graduate school I received another scholarship that covered my education. At the time I was a teacher in a new very expensive city and I had missed the cutoff to have my paycheck last me throughout the summer. So, I decided to take out a loan for two summers to ...

Adult Daily Living Skills: Packing for a Trip

 I’m going on a trip in my favorite rocket ship! Remember that? Well I’m not getting in a rocket ship but I am getting on a plane for the first time since Oct 2019! Up until that point I had been on a plane several times a year traveling all over the U.S. for conferences and for FREE might I add! This time around I’m headed to my first in person conference since 2019 for individuals who work with students with disabilities in higher education. I’ll tell you more about it later in a special VLOG.

Figure 1: This is a photo of my thumbnail for my YouTube video on ADL: Packing for a Trip where my packed suitcase is on the bed. 

With this being my first time packing since 2019 I had to remember all of my packing tips and wanted to share them with you. First things first, plan out all of your outfits by placing them on your bed and making sure everything matches. I typically like to pack clothes that will fit easily in my suitcase like dresses and skirts. If you don’t wear those items then pack things that are easy to fold and won’t have too many wrinkles. Since I was packing for a 5 day conference I packed 5 professional outfits and 5 casual outfits to sight see in. Most people like to place their suitcase on their bed to save the stress on their back. Please remember to sanitize your suitcase before doing this and place an old blanket to place your suitcase on so it’s not directly on your bed. 


Figure 2: This is a photo of me in my closet picking out a pink skirt and white shirt. 


Another pro tip is to pack an outfit in your carry on. Once my suitcase was lost and I missed a whole day of a conference that I was attending because I didn’t have any clothes. Yeah it sucked! Also, be sure to pack all personal items like medications, glasses, and chargers in your carry on as well. 

When placing clothes in your suitcase like your pants or jeans be sure to fold them hot dog style by rolling them up. Fold any shirts in a neat square pattern and try to make them as small as possible. Oh and don’t forget to wipe off any shoes that you place in your bag. You don’t want dirt getting on your clothes. 


Figure 3: This is a photo of me folding a pair of pants to put in my suitcase. 


I also pack all of my liquids and personal items like toothpaste etc into a large plastic bag.  Be sure to surround this with any cushion like pants and shirts so nothing breaks and spills out. Lastly, I throw a few dryer sheets on top to keep everything fresh. If you can’t zip up your suitcase at the end then you’ve packed too much! Try switching out several pairs of pants for one or two pairs that can go with multiple shirts.
 


Figure 4: This a photo of me holding up two dryer sheets to place in my suitcase. 

When’s the last time you went on a trip ? Do you have a system for packing ? Drop down in the comments and let me know! Be sure to check out my latest video and tell me what you think of my packing skills.

SUBSCRIBE: Adult Daily Living Skills: Packing for a Trip

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

My One Year Student Loan Payoff Update

  January 28, 2022 marked my one year anniversary of paying off my student loans . Reflecting back on choosing to pay off my student loans leaves me with several take a ways that I want to share with you! In September 2020 I decided to become debt free by utilizing the debt snowball method to pay off all my debt. Before this I had struggled to save and really understand basic financial principles. As a first-generation college student, I received a scholarship to attend undergrad for free, but the scholarship did not cover summers. During the summers I took out student loans to cover costs without paying interest rates or how much I was taking out. By the end of undergrad I had amassed a little under $17K. Fast forward to graduate school I received another scholarship that covered my education. At the time I was a teacher in a new very expensive city and I had missed the cutoff to have my paycheck last me throughout the summer. So, I decided to take out a loan for two summers to ...

How to Get a Free Doctoral Degree

Hey Guys! It’s been awhile right?! I know but I am back and ready to give you all the information you need! If you missed it last week on my channel , I discussed how you can get a free doctorate degree. If you’ve been following my doctoral journey, then you know that I am currently working towards my doctoral degree in higher education. I recently finished all of my coursework and I am officially working on my dissertation proposal this semester. I chose to work at a university so that I could not only work with students but so that I could also receive a discounted education. In the beginning of my journey, I received a $1,600 stipend towards my courses, and I paid fees out of pocket. I also received several scholarships along the way that helped to cover most of my fees. Last year my university decided to cover doctoral degrees at 100% for all professional staff which was a major benefit. While I understand that most folks do not want to join the education world don’t let this s...

Top 5 Tips for First Time College Students

  Last week my office hosted our very first summer camp for transition age youth with disabilities. Many of the students were away from home for the first time and had never been exposed to a college environment before. The aim of the camp was to provide the students with an introduction to college life to assist them in their transition from high school to college. The students had a great time and so did our office. But that got me to thinking on what would I recommend for first time college students. As a first generation college student myself there were so many things that I didn’t know and I wanted to make sure our campers would be better prepared than I was. Take a look at my top five giveaways for first year students: 1.       Advocacy Many times students are so used to their parents doing everything for them that when they get to college and staff cannot event speak to their parents without consent they are like fish out of water. Things do not...