A Fresh Start

After a year long hiatus, I am back.

So what has all happened in the last year? I finished my first year of the MBA program and have only one more year left. I did a summer internship in the City and have a full-time job post-MBA (contract already signed) and part-time job at the same company during the school year in the field that I want.

But those good things were, of course, balanced out by the bad, mainly in lacking time. Between classes, group meetings, searching for an internship... it was one of the most stressful times of my academic life.

So why am I going to keep a blog now? Because I am completely on my own financially from now on. For the last year, my parents provided assistance with living expenses but since I now have a job (sounds so grown-up), that will be eliminated and I must rely solely on my weekly salary. Although the pay is more than enough for my living expenses, I need to save extra for international travels, emergency savings, and retirement.

I also recently moved from a 2 bedroom that I shared with a roommate to a one bedroom that I will live in on my own. Not only does that mean higher rent, I've had to purchase new furniture such as dresser, big display shelf, and a dining table set, on top of smaller, necessary items such as flatware and silverware. Yes, I could have saved a lot of money by relying on craigslist and Ikea, but since my company will pay for my relocation, I decided to spend the extra money and buy items that I would keep post-graduation rather than buy cheap items that I will need to replace later on.

I need to work out the exact budget, which I will do in the future post.