$omething They Forgot to Mention...
Getting ready to go on this adventure is expensive.
I mean, we're not talking college tuition or buying a house expensive. Just recent-college-grad-living-paycheck-to-paycheck expensive. Sure, PC will give a living allowance and a regular 'salary' once I am sworn in, and during training we'll have some 'pocket money', but for this part, the between time from accepting the invitation to getting on that plane has its costs.
First, I need stuff. I am a theatre technician and run around all day in paint covered jeans and tank tops. Neither are going to be good choices for Honduras as they are not professional enough for the situation nor appropriate for the weather. (Jeans in that kind of humidity? Gross.) So some new wardrobe pieces are essential.
Also, last Christmas my laptop died, and I bought a stellar new one. An expensive, fast processing, great graphics card, 17" screen laptop that is wonderful for AutoCAD, Photoshop, Dreamweaver, and my design work. It's also HUGE. And heavy. And far to nice for me to subject to non climate controlled conditions, turbulent travel, numerous opportunities for theft, dirt, rain, hurricanes, giant bugs, and anything else Honduras might decide to throw my way. But all of my paperwork highly recommends a personal laptop to do my job and help keep me sane. And the keeping me sane items are really important. So a Netbook or very basic laptop is in order. And don't forget the case for it, the digital camera, the thumb drives, the external disc drive, and the 'for fun' item I want for myself- a kindle. (the $75 one, of course, not the expensive flashy one)
Then there's the suitcase. One sturdy enough for me to drag around buses and big enough to contain my entire life...an easy hundred dollars. Another hundred (or more!) for my required 2nd pair of glasses and a couple more sets of contacts.
And then the little stuff...toothpaste, sunscreen, shampoo, ibprofen, rechargeable batteries, an address book, super glue, etc. It all adds up incredibly quickly!!!
Remember all that back and forth with over paperwork and doctors appointments? Insurance & PC reimbursement only gets you so far. I owe $400 in medical bills still.
Finally, I need to leave with enough in the bank for my parents to be able to use to cover my US bills for the first 3 months of training. When PC asked me about securing my finances for the adventure, I said, no problem! As of then, and as of now, I have enough to cover those obligations. IF I don't pay for any of the above mentioned items.
I work as close to 40 hours as I can get at Home Depot each week, and by living with the parents (and eating their food!) have cut my living costs down almost 90%. But not quite enough to swing it. I am currently looking into a variety of loans/grants/scholarships from organizations I have worked with/for in the last several years to see if there are any options there. I am very hopeful. And not sure what I will do next if they all turn me down.
If any other PC volunteers have had similar challenges, please let me know and if they had any solutions! I know some retail companies do discounts for PC Volunteers, so I am looking into that as well.
Without or without financial assistance, I WILL be going to Honduras. I just might be going there naked.
(I am totally kidding. Sort of.)
I mean, we're not talking college tuition or buying a house expensive. Just recent-college-grad-living-paycheck-to-paycheck expensive. Sure, PC will give a living allowance and a regular 'salary' once I am sworn in, and during training we'll have some 'pocket money', but for this part, the between time from accepting the invitation to getting on that plane has its costs.
First, I need stuff. I am a theatre technician and run around all day in paint covered jeans and tank tops. Neither are going to be good choices for Honduras as they are not professional enough for the situation nor appropriate for the weather. (Jeans in that kind of humidity? Gross.) So some new wardrobe pieces are essential.
Also, last Christmas my laptop died, and I bought a stellar new one. An expensive, fast processing, great graphics card, 17" screen laptop that is wonderful for AutoCAD, Photoshop, Dreamweaver, and my design work. It's also HUGE. And heavy. And far to nice for me to subject to non climate controlled conditions, turbulent travel, numerous opportunities for theft, dirt, rain, hurricanes, giant bugs, and anything else Honduras might decide to throw my way. But all of my paperwork highly recommends a personal laptop to do my job and help keep me sane. And the keeping me sane items are really important. So a Netbook or very basic laptop is in order. And don't forget the case for it, the digital camera, the thumb drives, the external disc drive, and the 'for fun' item I want for myself- a kindle. (the $75 one, of course, not the expensive flashy one)
Then there's the suitcase. One sturdy enough for me to drag around buses and big enough to contain my entire life...an easy hundred dollars. Another hundred (or more!) for my required 2nd pair of glasses and a couple more sets of contacts.
And then the little stuff...toothpaste, sunscreen, shampoo, ibprofen, rechargeable batteries, an address book, super glue, etc. It all adds up incredibly quickly!!!
Remember all that back and forth with over paperwork and doctors appointments? Insurance & PC reimbursement only gets you so far. I owe $400 in medical bills still.
Finally, I need to leave with enough in the bank for my parents to be able to use to cover my US bills for the first 3 months of training. When PC asked me about securing my finances for the adventure, I said, no problem! As of then, and as of now, I have enough to cover those obligations. IF I don't pay for any of the above mentioned items.
I work as close to 40 hours as I can get at Home Depot each week, and by living with the parents (and eating their food!) have cut my living costs down almost 90%. But not quite enough to swing it. I am currently looking into a variety of loans/grants/scholarships from organizations I have worked with/for in the last several years to see if there are any options there. I am very hopeful. And not sure what I will do next if they all turn me down.
If any other PC volunteers have had similar challenges, please let me know and if they had any solutions! I know some retail companies do discounts for PC Volunteers, so I am looking into that as well.
Without or without financial assistance, I WILL be going to Honduras. I just might be going there naked.
(I am totally kidding. Sort of.)
peace corps wiki has alot of discounts but it still gets expensive...i spent close to 3 grand getting ready to come...also blew through all the money i brought with me and had in savings since they gave us a whole 13 dollars a week during training. I just swore in last month so i am on my forth month here in africa and things seem cheap but everything adds up when you are here. the move in allowance was not enough at all and the monthly allowance works if you sit at home the whole month and do not travel to see anyone...i personally never thought id spend so much money to volunteer!!!
ReplyDeleteI totally agree that the little things can add up. We are leaving in February for Mexico, and so far the only thing I have saved money on was luggage. I went to a Goodwill store with measuring tape in hand so that I wouldn't exceed the size limits on the luggage and scored 2 great suitcases (my husband is going too) for $5 and $8. We have traveled with them for 6 months now and they are great. The only thing wrong with either of them was that a zipper pull was missing which I replaced with a little plastic tie. I just decided that with all the other things we want to buy-laptop, etc. I was not going to spend the money on luggage, especially the way the airlines treat it! And I figure worse case scenario, luggage can be found anywhere-so if it breaks you can replace it down there. Not as easy or cheap with the electronic stuff.
ReplyDeletethis page has been my life saver since getting accepted http://www.peacecorpswiki.org/Volunteer_discounts. lots of great discounts!
ReplyDelete