Just go for it! Not so simple?

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Why don't you just go to school? You should just start already! Well, I've tried to calculate costs and it just doesn't add up. My CC program would cost 5k plus books/supplies for LPN and 8k or so for RN plus books/supplies. LPN would be 16 mo (4 semesters) and ADN would be 16 mo (4 semesters). Cost of living for that amount of time is at minimum 28k. Loans would give me 12,500 yr1 and probably 6K for the remainder of the program spilling into yr. 2. I am a 2nd degree student so grants and scholarships are limited. With a 2 yr old at home and a decidedly unsuportive husband in this endeavor, there simply is not enough time in the day to work full time to support us, take care of my daughter (I am solely on duty whenever I am not working), and devote the study time (using the formula of 3-4 hrs per credit hour) to pass courses. We are low income due to hubs being out of work for a few years and me having to take a "survival job" because it was all I could find in our depressed economic area when we were scraping along rock bottom. Rather than be homeless I swallowed my pride and took this job. 2 years later and it's still all I can find but I continue swallowing that pride because it provides insurance and benefits despite the fact that I am one promotion above high school kids and two promotions below management who never bothered to go to college. It pays about 13 an hour and supports 3 people. With that amount childcare is way to expensive to afford. Nursing is not for the money, it is something that would fufill me, help others and bring purpose to my life and others lives (if I am blessed enough to touch them in some way). I am tired of hanging my head everyday as I pour people their over-important lattes even though I have a BA. I'm tired of feeling embarassed of what I do for a living. Tired of being ashamed to say I can't follow my dream because of finances or because I can't figure out a way to make it work. I would be left paying out of pocket 17k for an LPN and over 20K for an ADN taking into consideration living xp (hubs can't be relied upon to cover expenses I have realized over the past couple years). I tried a "test run" of NS by studying ahead for pre-reqs I am about to begin. I tried to devote just 4 hrs of time per day to study around my work schedule and household duties. I was lucky to fit in two. I could drop my work to PT if I wanted to make 9 an hour (demotion for availability restrictions). That amount is so little it wouldn't help much with xpenses so it doesnt seem worth it for the stress it would put on me, my fam. and gpa. I have been trying to save up for 2 1/2 years to cover the xt costs of school, but there is little left over at the end of the month, if any (a lot of times I am choosing to pay either the electric or the phone or go for beans and rice for protein instead of meat etc.) I haven't been able to save much and feel as if I am spinning my wheels. I am 33 and time is running out. Am I missing something? How do single moms do it? I say this because I feel like one since I have full financial responsibility, full childcare responsibility whenever I am not working and full household duty responsibiliies. Any ideas guys? There has GOT to be a way to do this. What am I missing?

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Specializes in Trauma, Teaching.

Try contacting your CC and find out what resources are available to you. Do they have child care on campus? (mine does)

Are there stipends for low income students? Are there programs through the state, feds or local hospitals? Some hospitals will help with student loans after the fact, that takes a step of faith. Do you qualify for food stamps or public assistance if you are in school?

CC financial aid offices are great at knowing what is out there. Lots of single moms and low income families have made it happen, so hopefully it can happen for you too.

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thanks for all the advice! we are already on food stamps right now. Scholarships through the CC are limited to 1st time degree seekers mostly. Yes, they do have childcare but it's not affordable for us. we're literally budgeted to the penny, but thank the Lord there is food on the table and a roof over our heads. Local hospital programs in large have been discontinued. boo. I know other people have made it happen, I can too!

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Specializes in pediatrics, geriatric, developmentally d.

yes you can definitely make it too! but just know time is not limited you are still young adn you WILL get it done. Just know you are in it for the long run and dont give up hope. $13/hr for now is not bad as long as you are making it work. Your time will come when you least expect just keep up the faith. go for your ADN take out your loan and since your husband isnt working why isnt he watching the kid? (maybe i missed something) find a reliable support system. FInd someone you trust to watch your child. Family? friends? co-worker? there is a way to make it work you just got to find the right path to go down to make it happen. GOODLUCK!

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Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

er, um - with all due respect, I think the OP should recognize & address the elephant in the living room -- The fact that spouse is one more mouth to feed while contributing nothing & adding no value to the relationship. Is there a chance that "nursing" is seen as the big fix that would make everything better?

Hey, we've all been there -- right? For years, I was convinced that my problem with personal time management & procrastination would simply disappear if I just had the right planning tools - so I bought everything on the market but they had no effect on my behavioral choices (duh). Anyone want a great collection of filofax dayplanners? My point? It may be better to address underlying issues first & get on more solid ground before launching into the uber-stressful process of nursing education.

I would advise to work on the 'joe job' issue first, along with trying to interject more equity into the spousal relationship re: financial contribution, housework, childcare, etc. It could be worse - another $20k in student loans & still working at the mcjob because there are no jobs for new nursing grads.

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Specializes in Med Surg - Renal.
Any ideas guys? There has GOT to be a way to do this. What am I missing?

Dump your husband.

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With a 2 yr old at home and a decidedly unsuportive husband in this endeavor, there simply is not enough time in the day to work full time to support us, take care of my daughter (I am solely on duty whenever I am not working), and devote the study time (using the formula of 3-4 hrs per credit hour) to pass courses. We are low income due to hubs being out of work for a few years and me having to take a "survival job" because it was all I could find in our depressed economic area when we were scraping along rock bottom.

With that amount childcare is way to expensive to afford.

I would be left paying out of pocket 17k for an LPN and over 20K for an ADN taking into consideration living xp (hubs can't be relied upon to cover expenses I have realized over the past couple years). I tried a "test run" of NS by studying ahead for pre-reqs I am about to begin. I tried to devote just 4 hrs of time per day to study around my work schedule and household duties. I was lucky to fit in two.

Am I missing something? How do single moms do it? I say this because I feel like one since I have full financial responsibility, full childcare responsibility whenever I am not working and full household duty responsibiliies. Any ideas guys? There has GOT to be a way to do this. What am I missing?

You have a 2 year old AND a husband home at the same time, while YOU work.

Hubs is out of work for the past few years. Which means he's HOME. Why do you need to pay for childcare?! He should be available 24/7 to watch his child as he has no employment responsibilites.

You shouldn't HAVE to study around your work schedule AND household duties. HE isn't contributing to the household HE should at the very least be keeping the house clean.

You AREN'T a single mom, however you are allowing yourself to be treated as one.

Ideas? One glaringly obvious one comes to mind... do not allow this man to suck the life out of you. I understand the economy sucks, but for him to be out of work but not contributing to the house hold by housework, taking care of his child etc, is NOT acceptable. Tell him shape up or ship out. You can OBVIOUSLY do it alone as how you have described your situation..you ALREADY are.

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Thanks for the advice everyone. Also, thanks for not flaming me too badly as my situation with the said elephant is becoming glaringly ridiculous. Maybe I didn't explain a few things clearly enough, though. Hubs does provide the childcare for our daughter while I work. We have worked together to come up with a montessori like "curriculum" for her and they are able to do a lot of fun activities together. With my income, sending her to childcare is not affordable. He does take care of household chores, with the exception of folding laundry and dishes as well as organization. What I mean by that is that sometimes he gets them done spit spot daily and sometimes he lets it go for a week or so at a time. Which to me is unacceptable, especially with a child in the house. I end up picking up the slack on those many occasions to make sure our daughters environment is clean and in good order. The reminders and sometimes nagging on him to complete the household duties as well as the frustration of having to pick up the slack are what gets to me. As far as the joe-job situation goes, he does web design/tech work from home. This, to me, means that he does a lot of work without getting paid for it when someone decides they don't like the end result and then they subsequently refuse to pay. He works on his projects/looks for other jobs while I am not working, which is why I have the responsibility of our daughter during those times. Looking back (hindsight being 20/20 of course) he's had and lost jobs more frequently than I would like. I want him to get a "real" job, he looks for one but never really finds one and takes care of our daughter in the meantime. If I were on my own with her, I'd have to move us into a 1 bedroom or studio apartment in a bad neighborhood to afford borderline dangerous childcare centers. I'd have to limit my availability at work which would result in a demotion for lack of flexibility or find something else that pays less than what I make now. As crazy as it sounds, even though it's a source of frustration for me, paying for his "half" of rent and bills is cheaper than paying for childcare and receiving a demotion. She also gets to have a stay at home parent instead of a stranger who could care less about her, let alone the other 8 kids they're watching out of the 30 running around the daycare. I'm just trying to do what's best for my daughter.

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