<p>i'm making this thread on a whim. it's very tentative, but i am thinking of moving out by next summer (by the month of june 2009, when school is over). i go to a community college and my parents take care of the expenses. after i move out, i will be completely financially independent.</p>
<p>i will save up a few grand by the end of this school year ($2-4K). i have a credit card and plan to build up my credit (by the time i move out i will probably still have very little credit history). then during the following summer i will move out to live with other people (hopefully pay a low/no rent) and save up more money (but at a slower pace since i will be financially independent). during my second year of community college, i will take care of expenses with a part-time job and my savings if i have to.</p>
<p>after my second year of community college, i will work full-time over the summer and build up my savings even more (another $1000 or so). the following year i plan to transfer to ucla and take out a loan ($10000, or whatever necessary to cover expenses) and use the loan for expenses, and do this again for the 4th year of college (2nd year at UCLA).</p>
<p>tell me what can go wrong with this. i'll go into detail if you ask questions</p>
<p>Well, I'll start by stating the obvious. You could continue to live at home while attending community college. That will eliminate some of the financial stress and allow you to save more towards a 4 year school/degree.</p>
<p>I lived at home while attending a private college. The majority of my education was paid for with student loans. I was able to work part time at school as a faculty assistant, which provided pocket money and covered some school expenses. I didn't have to worry about rent, utilities, food, etc. The only downside was an 1.5 hour commute (by bus/train) each way. </p>
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the following year i plan to transfer to ucla and take out a loan ($10000, or whatever necessary to cover expenses) and use the loan for expenses, and do this again for the 4th year of college (2nd year at UCLA).
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<p>I don't understand how you will pay for tuition. Will a $10,000 loan cover tuition? What will you live on? How will you eat? What if you need a new computer?</p>
<p>What's the urgency in becoming financially independent? You'll have the rest of your life.</p>
<p>Do you have a car? Is it paid for? Who pays for insurance and repairs?
What do you mean when you say that you will "build up" your credit with the credit card?</p>
<p>I think the OP means they will build a credit history by getting and using a credit card so there is something good on their credit report when they provide it to leasing agents, etc. </p>
<p>Back to the question at hand: If the OP's parents are not funding his/her college after CC, then the OP would have to borrow heavily anyways, so it might be worth it to live independently. However, if this is a question of a kid whose parents will pay for college as long as he/she stays at home during the CC years and the OP just cannot stand the thought of living with parents for another year, then the trade off is not worth it and the OP should stick it out in order to reduce future debt. I worked my way through college many years ago. It wasn't easy then and is harder to do now. The OP should do everything he/she can to avoid large student loan debt. If the OP needs a break from the parents, then even CC's have travel abroad opportunities that will provide a break from living with mom and dad. Good luck.</p>
<p>If you are talking about living in SoCal, low or no rent seems like a pipe dream. I'd price out living arrangements to get a realistic idea about how much your rent would be. Don't be so quick to give up the roof at home--agree with the poster above who suggested gutting things out at home and saving your money for college.</p>