epione_k asked:
I am in my mid-twenties, and I am attending an expensive university in Southern California to get my Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology.
By the way, please excuse me if I use financial terms incorrectly…I’m really unfamiliar with financial terminology.
I am originally from Canada and am a home-owner in Calgary, Alberta – my parents sold their large house when I was 20 and bought another house for themselves and build a smaller house under my name. I am technically a property owner. They did this so that I could get a substantial loan for university.
My property assessment in 2008 was $416,000 (Canadian funds).
I received a loan of $150,000 (Canadian funds) in October of 2008.
I recently spend a large amount of money ($47,500 US) to put a family member through alcohol treatment. I realize that is really expensive, but I tell you, it was worth it to see this person sober. However, that was basically 1/3 of my loan.
My schooling is costing around $62,000 US for the 2 year Master’s Degree. With rent, utilities, living expenses, plus everything I needed to buy when I moved down here from Canada (furniture, etc), I am running out of money really quickly. I’m working on getting an $80,000 (Canadian funds) line-of-credit from a Canadian bank with my parents’ help.
After the economy improves, I would like to sell my house in Calgary (say, within the next 5-7 years) so that I can begin my life debt-free. My parents want me to keep the house so that I can have some sort of collateral/assets (?) in the future. I am arguing that the house is not really “worth” anything because I have loans that are $150,000 + interest. I really don’t want to spend the rest of my life paying off student loans if I don’t have to.
Any advice??
Thank you so much in advance.
~K
The first poster is right, it’s not a student loan. I was mistaken when I said that at the end.
Also, I am renting the property in Calgary for $1700 (Canadian), which is around $1500 US.
I don’t really anticipate moving back to Calgary. I love Canada and miss it a lot, but I can’t take the winters…lol. It does get warm in Canada, but not as warm as So-Cal!
Also, because I’m here on a student visa, I can’t legally work in the States until I’m finished school, except for working on campus (and I can only work 19.5 hours/week.). I checked and there aren’t any jobs available right now.
To be a Marriage and Family Therapist in California, I need 3000 hours of clinical work experience (which I will most likely be doing for free), so even though I could potentially work on campus, I would like to focus my time on getting my 3000 hours.
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