Well..

that was a long hiatus! I know I have said this a lot, but hopefully, I will be back again for good!

It has been a whirlwind of the past few months. Here's a short recap of what has happened:

1. Moved to a new state and started my MBA program at the University
2. Changed my MBA focus from Strategy/Operations to Consulting to Brand Management, back to Business Development/Strategy
3. Sharing an apartment with a roommate who is nice but culturally naive and offensive. I am glad this arrangement will only last another 4.5 months
4. I hate my apartment. The appliances are old so they don't work right (I am forced to take all my baking items to my friend's because my oven sucks), the carpet sheds, and oh a person died in a lake in the complex due to a drug deal gone bad
5. Got into a car accident. It has been a hassle because, although two cops and a police report determined that I am not at fault, the other person is fighting it. That means I've had to pay for rental car and deductible out of pocket, which is hurting my credit card balance
6. With the move and all, I forgot to change my address on one of the credit cards that had a BT offer and made some late payments, which means I no longer qualify for the 0% deal and am looking for a new one
7. The living expenses listed by the University? Well, I think they purposely put the number extremely low so that people will find the school more attractive due to the supposed "low" living expenses. Although it is low (esp. compared to CA), it is not as low as they said, so my budget has been out of whack
8. The school is more time consuming and stressful than I had ever imagined. I was hoping to take on a part-time job, but I am not sure if I will be able to balance it with school, especially with the internship season coming up
9. Yup, that's right. I am already searching for an internship, although I only started school a few months ago. Doesn't seem right, does it?

That's all that I will say for now. I will post again on my New Year's resolutions and the new direction I will be taking this blog. Since my lifestyle has undergone a major change with this returning-to-school thing, it is only fitting that this blog undergoes a change, as well.

How I made insane amounts of money with 30 minutes of work

So how did I do it? I negotiated my fellowship package with my graduate school!

Too many people think that fellowship packages are non-negotiable and a take-it-or-leave-it deal. I am not sure where we got this idea, but being frugal people that we are (or are trying to be), you should always try to see if you can increase your fellowship package. Sure, you should always be grateful to the school for offering any fellowship money at all, but by not even attempting to negotiate the fellowship package, you may be passing up on tens of thousands of free money.

I will tell you how I increased my fellowship package by 5 figures without going into too much details that may give away my anonymity.

I received my first fellowship package along with my acceptance letter late last Fall. I wasn't sure if this was the school that I would attend and had applications out at many other schools, so I didn't make the negotiation move until March, when I was sure that this is the school I wanted to attend. I sent a poignant letter to the Director of Admissions via email, asking for a specific amount of fellowship money and the reasons why I felt that this increase was warranted. I was told at the time that all the fellowship monies had been distributed, but the school offered me a 10 year interest free loan instead. I was also told that if any fellowship monies got freed up (if some students who received fellowship monies decide not to attend the school), then they will see what can be done as the money becomes available. Knowing that the deadline for our second installment of our deposit was in June, I sent an email a few weeks after asking for an update on the status of the fellowship increase. I didn't hear anything back for a few weeks but I received a letter two weeks ago stating that my fellowship was increased. So now, my fellowship amount has increased by 5 figures and I still qualify for the 10 year interest free loan! All it took was one gutsy move that took a total of 30 minutes.

I hope my story is convincing enough to encourage others to negotiate their fellowship/scholarship/financial aid package. To those of you who are interested, here are some of my suggestions on how to go about it:

1. Make sure this is the school you are serious about attending. This might be just be me, but I think it would be extremely offensive to the admissions office if you negotiated the fellowship package and received an increase, then notified the school that you'd be attending somewhere else.
   
2. Think of good reasons why you deserve the increased fellowship. Is your undergraduate GPA above the school's average? Is your test score above the school's average? Do you have great community service ideas that you'd like to implement once you are at that school? Are you thinking of going into the public sector post-graduation and will have to take a pay cut? Have you been accepted to a similar or better ranked school also with scholarship? In my opinion, these are all legitimate reasons to ask for an increase in fellowship money. If you are debating between two schools, then I think it is okay to let the school know of the other school and mention that the fellowship package is a large factor in your decision to pit them against each other. It is also important to think of something unique that only you can bring to the school to improve the school.
   
3. Think of a realistic amount you want, then ask for a little bit more. We all want to go to school for free, but that's not realistic. Pick a realistic number by finding out the school's statistics, such as how many students do receive fellowship money and how much the average package is, see how you fit in to the school's other statistics (GPA, test scores, etc), and ask for a few thousand more than your realistic amount. I think the schools will rarely give you all the money that you ask for, so by bumping it up by a little bit will ensure that you will receive the number closer to your desired amount. I asked for $3k more than my realistic number, and in the end received my realistic number exactly.
   
4. Write an email or a letter to the Director/Dean of Admissions. I think it's important to have your reasons in writing so the Director can discuss your situation with other admissions officers. I thought of sending a letter via snail-mail, but I was afraid that it may get lost in the shuffle of things so I sent an email. I also felt comfortable sending an email because I was interviewed by the Director of Admissions previously and received his email address directly from him. I first voiced how excited I was at the thought of attending the school, why I deserved an increase in fellowship money including how I can improve the school, the specific amount I am asking for, and offered to discuss the issue further over the phone. And BE HONEST -- do not make things up! The world of academia is really small and you would be surprised to know how many admissions officers are friends with admissions officers somewhere else.
   
5. Be persistent without being offensive. It may take you a week or two before you hear from them, especially if you sent the letter close to an application deadline. If some time has past, give them a call just to confirm that the email/mail was received and to check on the status. In my case, the negotiation process took 4 months total. I sent only 1 email after I received the first reply.
   
6. If you received an increase, that's great. If not, then at least you tried. You can try again next year. Remember, you should be thankful for any free money you receive from the school so if it doesn't work out the way you wanted to, don't be bitter. You should try again the next year (if your GPA and your involvements were stellar) because most schools DO have some extra money to give away after the first year, although it is rarely publicized.

I hope that this post helps those of you who are thinking of returning to school. If you have a fellowship/financial aid/scholarship negotiation story of your own or have any questions, please leave a comment! Good luck!

The cost of the move... and why I hired movers

This is my fourth move across country, my fourth move that I'd be doing basically by myself. For someone in her mid-twenties, I think that's quite a feat. So then I should be a pro when it comes to moving, right?

Wrong. Why is it that it seems to get more and more difficult each time I have to move? I don't think I necessarily accumulate more items but I definitely am less willing to part with many items because it seems silly to me that I must sell it at a loss then purchase another one at the new location for more than what I had purchased it for. I guess frugality is the kryptonite in this situation. I think I should explain my reasoning behind hiring the movers to the PFblogging community since I was asked the following question by SF Money Musings :

Why did you decide to transport the furniture instead of buying it from Craigslist or the local thrift store once you arrive? Would that have been cheaper?

I decided to transport the furniture due to many reasons.

1) I knew that not all my essential items would fit into my car. By essentials I mean my clothes, shoes, financial documents, books, materials for my artwork that are too expensive to replace, computer, etc. Sure, I could mail some of the items but mailing them is pretty pricey. Also, if I stuffed my car to the max for the drive, the gas mileage would go down and the car's engine won't be very happy hiking up the Sierra Nevada and the Rockies, which would make the drive more difficult for me.

2) I found a moving company for a great price. They are moving my items up to 1000lbs for $800, then $0.80/lb after 1000lbs. After speaking to the account manager, it seems that my furnitures will be under 1000lbs and I should be able to send extra items to try to get as close to 1000lbs as possible. The movers are also going to move out my furniture from the second floor and move them into my new apartment for no extra fee, which will save me precious time and energy.

3) Because I am getting such a great rate from the moving company, it would cost less for me to take my items than to purchase them again after the move. A large part of this is that I refuse to live like a college student again. I found that I am very unhappy in a collge dorm setting and find it less stressful when I can come "home" after a long day. And to me home is feeling comfortable, and a lot of my comfort has to do with my style. Although I have no problems purchasing used furniture, I do require that they match and that seemed difficult to achieve on a budget that is lower than $800. $800 limit would be especially difficult because I refuse to buy a used mattress from a stranger and brand new nice mattresses are pricey. Not only would I worry about bed bugs with a used mattress, it'd just be plain icky. I think a large reason why I think this is that I purchased my stylish and well crafted furnitures at such a low price.

4) Most likely, I will end up in a nearby big city once my MBA is completed. I say this because the job placement rate of my program is mainly in this region. And I have come to terms with the fact that the Bay Area is too expensive for me to start out my career. I have decided to forgo further graduate education after my MBA because of my desires to settle down (not in a family-oriented way) and to purchase a home, and the homeownership in the Bay Area would be too difficult. Since I will most likely end up in a nearby big city, it made more sense for me to take my nice furniture now rather than to purchase cheap items and then try to move the items out after graduation or to purchase nice furnitures at that time.

I guess the biggest factor in all this is that my current set of furniture are really nice and I am very happy with them. They have great craftmanship and I plan on keeping them for at least the next 10 years, if not longer.

We shall see how much just the move (not purchasing necessary items once I am moved) will cost. I am hoping to spend $1500 total for the movers and gas, food, and motels for the drive out. I think this should be no problem but the gas price is starting to scare me a bit...

Where is the fine-line between being frugal and being a cheap-a$$?

My move date is quickly approaching, and luckily my roommate and I have a unit reserved at our first choice apartment. My roommate and I were discussing our lease contract over the phone and I could already tell that we had different views on money.

If you have been following this blog, I am sure most of you know that I am not a spendthrift. Sure, maybe I do purchase a clothing or two that I don't necessarily need, but I am also not the type of a person who goes into debt due to her purchases. I think I am, for the most part, responsible when it comes to money and finances. Actually, if you ask my parents they think that I waste too much unnecessary energy trying to maximize benefits from rewards credit cards, etc. But I digress.

The situation is this. Your summer vacation between your first year and second year in business school should be used doing a paid internship. These internships are so that you gain hands-on experience in your chosen field, but they also normally pay pretty well. Since we are signing a 1 year lease, we were hoping to find other people to sublet the apartment from us just during those summer months. Unfortunately, it is stated clearly in our contract that we are not allowed to have subletters.

Our rent is fairly cheap (think less than $400/month/person) and our summer internship pay should be enough to make the two-rent payments a month a possibility, so I would rather just pay two rents for three months. My roommate has decided that she'd rather see about getting a 9 month lease and move out come May, before the beginning of our summer vacation/internships. I personally think it's not worth it because if we sign a 9 month lease, our monthly rent payment would go up. Sure, what we would pay the entire year in rent would still be more for 12 months than 9 months but I think of them as convenience fees. It is stressful preparing for this move now and I don't see the savings to be worth the cost of getting a storage, spending the time to pack, moving, and then unpacking again come Fall. And the 9 month lease deal would mean that we would have to get on the waitlist again for another apartment unit within the same complex. Although I detest spending money on things like rent (versus mortgage payments), sometimes my time, energy, and emotional and mental well-being are worth the extra costs.

So that brings me to my question: Where is the fine line between being frugal and being a cheap-a$$? I think she is crossing the line with this issue but maybe I am being unreasonable?

We shall see how this goes. My roommate seems to be a really nice person, so I am not gonna let this problem get to me until we know for sure if we can even do a 9 month lease at this point.

Investment Options

I just got a letter from my school and they have upped my scholarship even further. This means that my tuition for my two year program will be covered by the fellowship money from the school.

I am thrilled! My parents had agreed to help me with the living expenses, which means that I should have virtually no debt whatsoever after the paid internship in the summer.

I also was offered a no-interest loan for 10 years by the school, which I have decided to take. Since it has no interest attached, it seemed too good to pass up. I have decided to use this money to invest and I need to think about some investment options.

* I will first use the money to max out my Roth for 2007. I had slacked off on this to have some funds saved for my recent vacations.

* I would like to keep 50% of the money to be kept in a "safe" investment vehicle. I am currently leaning towards HSBC/Emigrant just because the interest rates for CDs are abysmal. Another option is to invest it in a relatively "safe" index fund like S&P. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

* I am thinking of using the rest to invest in the stock market or give Prosper a try. I do seem to have a knack for selecting stocks (Cash Money Bro told me yesterday that a stock I had suggested to him before had gone up by over $20/share) but I think it's risky since I would be playing with money that I need to pay back at some point. This is also the reason why I want to keep 50% in a safe investment vehicle. The reviews from Prosper seems to be mixed so I may have to join the site and lurk for a bit before making the final decisions.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Update

You may have noticed that many of my past entries have been deleted. I have decided that if I am going to keep this blog from this point forth, I need to protect my anonymity even more closely. To do that, I had to delete many posts that may give away my identity if this blog is read by someone I know. I hope you understand.

I have returned from my two vacation and I am basically broke. I had a wonderful time in all the countries I visited and managed to remain fairly frugal, but my visit to a friend did me in. He basically wanted me to see every major thing in his country, which required a domestic flight, a car rental, etc. I know that he just wanted to show me everything he feels I should see, but the flight and the car rental were fairly pricey. But, in all, I am very happy that I took the opportunity to travel. I know that once I start school in a month, I will most likely lack the time and the funds to make such a trip possible.

So the school starts in a month. That means that I have a ton of moving expenses coming up. All of my furnitures are being transported by a professional moving company but I want to make sure I take some important items in my car. Since I am driving, I will also pay a hefty fee for gas. I wish moving was cheaper and easier. I am packing and packing, but there seems to be no end in sight!

Once I am moved, I am sure I will spend a bit of money on getting settled in. I don't have a desk, which I know I will need to purchase, and there will be things like cleaning supplies, baking supplies, etc.

Then there's the school costs. I need to upgrade my computer, for one. I was hoping that it'd be cheaper but because my program is going to be fairly computer-intensive, the options I need seem to run approx. $2,000. Then there will be issues like getting internet and wireless set up, etc.

I am hoping to defray these costs by cashing my rewards points. And luckily I will be receiving enough in scholarships once the school starts that I can put these on my credit card for now. Then once the scholarships come in, I will even have some emergency spending money and some money to invest. This move will have me busy for a while since it also means that I need to set up a new spending budget.

Geez, I hope this post doesn't come across as whine-y. Everything is going well, I just have a lot on my mind with the school and the move....

Vacay Time -- To Central America!

Sorry for lack of posts. Things have been busy with the final phase of the business school application process and trip planning for my vacations, which start tomorrow! Tomorrow I fly out to Central America!



*Budgeting
I originally budgeted $1000 for an 18 day trip, but I think it will end up costing me a bit lower than that. I decided to cash my miles with United for my round trip tickets, so it cost me only $50 (you still have to pay for taxes). I was actually hoping to save my miles for something bigger, like Asia, but the tickets I looked at cost over $500 and it seemed difficult to keep it under that set amount.

What I love about traveling to unbeaten paths is the total cost of travel. Especially when I compare the costs to how much I am expecting to spend during my time in Europe, this is such a bargain and I am sure I will have more exciting stories from this trip. I am hoping to spend only $300 during my time there, and that is to include transportation costs to see different sights and enrollment in some language courses. I am staying with my friend for almost the entire time, which will keep the housing down. She and I will most likely cook dinners together when she's back from work, which will keep my food cost down.

I should also add that traveling to this particular country could be extremely cheap but due to the ongoing violence and crimes in this country, I am spending more money to be ensured of my safety. I will also be skipping a lot of the sights I want to see due to the violence in those particular regions. I love being a girl but I must admit, I always get penis-envy whenever I travel to places like this.



*Purchases
I have used a lot of the extra money on buying items for the trip. If you have read my post on my obsession with clothes, you know that I value my clothing too much to take them on "roughing it" trips like this. I decided to purchase cheap clothing from Old Navy and Target. I spent $100 at Old Navy and $50 at Target. I purchased a lot of basic items that I can wear even at school (although only during the downtimes since business school if "business casual") and more conservative items to make sure I don't offend others. In my opinion, there's nothing worse than being the "stupid American" who doesn't respect other cultures. I also spent $60 on a pair of shoes that are similar to this. I wanted to have a nice pair of shoes that are comfortable enough that I can wear it around town and also dressy enough to wear to cathedrals. I guess I could have taken another pair of shoes, instead of purchasing this, but the weight of my luggage will become a factor when I am traveling in Europe. Total: $210.

Approximately $35 was spent putting together a first-aid kit, which I admit I should have done ages ago. I purchased a pre-packaged first-aid kit then added more medicines. I hate doctors and there's nothing that scares me more than doctors in foreign countries. I also purchased $20 worth toiletry items. I guess I could purchase them there for cheaper, but I have extremely sensitive skin and I don't want to risk getting allergic reactions from unfamiliar products. Total: $55.

I spent $22 on a guide book. I purchased this in particular because it covers several countries and I do hope to return to Central America again. A journal devoted to this travel cost $12. I always keep a journal and think it's especially important during my travels. I spent $20 on two sketch books. It is easy to find cheaper sketch books that are on clearance but the ones that were small enough to fit in a backpack with heavy enough weight paper to survive the trips never seem to go on sale. Total: $54.

It is a bit unfair to clump most of these purchases to this trip since they will be used during my trip to Europe and later. I think for the sake of everything, I am going to apply only 50% of the total purchases to this trip and other 50% to my Europe trip.



*Miscellaneous
One thing I noticed was the discrepancies in tax amounts -- I found a flight through American that was only $300, but with taxes it came up to approx. $550. This seems weird to me because a United flight was $500 and with taxes $550. Both flights have a layover/stopover within the US and fly into the same airport so I can't understand why the tax amounts are so different.


Well, that's all I have for now. I should have internet access during my travels so I will try to update the total costs and whatnot. When I return for a week before my trip to Europe, I will write a post on that trip planning.