I've been putting one foot in front of the other, somehow getting through the days. I'm still having moments of overwhelming grief, guilt, and anger with the world, and my mental state hasn't been particularly conducive to connecting with a lot of unfamiliar teenagers. Things are gradually getting better, aside from yesterday when one kid threatened to shoot me if I called his parents again.
TFA is proving to be more helpful in the region than they were at Institute. Even though I still feel woefully unprepared, I haven't lost hope that I'll eventually get my classroom management issues under control. There's also a possibility that my school will eventually figure out what they want the class schedule to be so I'll know what subjects I'll be teaching and when. (Long story. It'll probably seem funny a few years from now.)
However, this is more of a personal finance blog than a teacher blog, at least for now, so I suppose I ought to report on that aspect of things. Thursday I received my first paycheck, a long-awaited end to the months of hemorrhaging money. Now that I've seen the first check and all the various deductions, I can plan a budget based on bringing in the princely sum of $985.81 twice a month, including summer.
My roommate and I independently set similar goals for our finances: we each want to live on one paycheck a month. Getting by on a net income of $11,829.72 sounds quite manageable since we're quite willing to continue the broke collegiate lifestyle, at least in theory. She's planning to throw the rest at paying off credit card debt and a loan from her mother before tackling student loans; I want to sock away a bit more money for a newer used car and then get aggressive about saving for retirement.
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7 comments:
Hang in there, it'll probably get better with time.
You're budget sounds ambitious in a reasonable way - I guess you could have about $20k-$25k saved up by the end of your stint if all goes to plan. That's a nice tidy sum of money.
Good for you.
I can definitely relate w/where you're at financially.
Retirement is so key right now; the money you save right this second is worth so much more than next year's or the year afters.
Keep it up.
Glad to see you back. :)
I think trying to live on half your income is a fabulous idea--I can't wait to see everything you accomplish!
Stay strong.
Awesome! Your first death threat! Welcome to teaching!
You did report it to the administration, right? CYA, child! That is Cover Your Ass. No namby pambying about threats of harm against yourself or others, you are a mandatory reporter now.
Mary Sue,
Yep, he was in the office with a referral form three minutes later, and I got hauled out of class to go talk to the assistant principal five minutes after that. She wanted an immediate decision about whether or not I thought they ought to pursue expulsion. (The kid was in the room when she asked me this!) He'll be suspended for a week.
Goodness ... hang in there! I've heard all kinds of in-the-life-of-a-teacher stories but now's really not the time to be getting death threats.
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