by Beks
Well, I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t come up with the other $1,000 we were short for my husband’s tuition. I made a joke to my husband about selling his tools – he didn’t think that was funny and quickly hid the most expensive ones just in case.
I also joked that my husband should perhaps skip this semester…
Considering this is his last semester before graduation, he thought that was even less funny.
We tried to negotiate with the school in person again. Turns out, the staff is just as unfriendly face to face as they are over the phone.
So…I was forced to make the call I was dreading. I had to *gulp* call Bank of America and ask for money. Even though the card was thoroughly shredded, I had not yet permanently closed the account.
I did stumble when they asked, ‘Has the card been lost or stolen?’
‘Um. Scissored?’ I answered.
They were more than happy to Fed-Ex me a new set of cards…
with a higher credit line and a zero percent interest rate.
Apparently we’re both a little desperate.
Beks is a full-time government employee who enjoys blogging late into the night after her four kids have gone to sleep. She’s been married to Chris, her college sweetheart, for 15 years. In 2017, after 3 long years working the Dave Ramsey Baby Steps, they paid off more than $70K and became debt free. When she’s not working or blogging, she’s exploring the great outdoors.
I still think the school is being ridiculous. What kind of school is this?
At least you have a way of dealing with the problem, and it won’t cause you to owe more interest. My partner’s transmission failed 6 months ago. I tried to talk him into waiting until we had the money saved up, and he agreed, but unfortunately not before the shop had started work. I got a 6 months same as cash loan from the shop. We paid it off this month. No interest. Do I feel good about it? No, probably no more than you feel about having to put the tuition on the card, BUT, at least it was short-term and interest-free.
Don’t let anyone make you feel guilty about this. You do what you have to do to improve your eventual earning ability as a family, and further education is well worth the money spent.
We’ve all been in this position before. I hope you won’t be discouraged by this. You guys are so close to the finish line!
http://40daysof.wordpress.com/2010/12/15/life-is-good/
Well, handle the payment with the credit card and pay it off with the fin aid. Then put the credit card away. Keep the account open in case similar situations crop up again.
I think you solved this problem to the best of your abilities. It won’t cost you anything and you have a plan for paying off the debt. That’s great.
Why not take this new card and freeze it in a cup of water in your freezer. Then, if you need it for an emergency you can still get it but it will not be readily available to tempt you.
I agree with B.C. that you solved the problem as best you could, under the circumstances. I would’ve done the same.
Also? Wow is the school being completely unreasonable. Sheesh.
You gotta do what ya gotta do. Back to rebuilding the emergency fund rather than making extra payments on the tuition loans looks like.
>Apparently we’re both a little desperate.
In relationship slang there is a term for when two angry parties jump back in bed together. But this is a G rated blog… 😉
I know dave ramsey no-no’s even 0% credit, i think if you know you’ll pay it within the time constraints and it is something that cannot wait, you gotta do it. While I get my finances in order we rolled over my hubbies very high percentage cc to a 0% so we can pay it off without interest breaking the bank.
Glad you all got the mess cleared up ?
Emmi – Ha ha ha!
“Apparently we’re both a little desperate.” This is one of the funniest things I have read in a awhile. LOL!
Things have sure changed since I was in college. Or perhaps I simply went to a school where the finance staff had a brain (or a heart).
The very first day of each semester was spent in the Gym going from station to station filling out paperwork, meal plan, validation of your student ID, etc. Once I got to the finance desk they already had my financial aid check, I just had to sign it over. The remainder of the bill was due right there, but they would negotiate a monthly payment plan as long as the balance was below a certain percent of total tuition. I was a traditional student living on campus, so my campus job made the payments and left me a little left over to have a little fun.
I went to a school that was 17K per year (20 years ago, and thankfully 3/4 of that was covered by scholarship) so perhaps they knew they had to be reasonable with their payment expectations when the cost was so high.
I dread to think what paying any amount for college with a credit card must feel like, but at least you have a plan for getting rid of it. Student debt is burden that no one should have to face without a plan and considerable resources.