How I save money—Student Phase–Essay 1

There are basically two phases of US life : as an international student and as a professor, staying forever at school.  As a student, in the first year, I needed to pay partial tuition and in return to work as TA for professors. I didn’t plan to get a PhD. Only PhD students are eligible to apply for scholarship that offers free tuition and a monthly stipend.  I grew up in a poor family. As the oldest child, I was eager to finish school and started to earn money to improve my parents and sibling’s financial condition, so spending five year for a PhD was not an option.   Below, I will recall how I managed my finances when I was a master student, then I will follow with Essay 2-4 to recall the period when I worked at FedEx, back to school for  PHD, and started my academic career.

When I was studying for my Masters degree

This period is relatively short: 1 year and 10 months. I will write in the present tense.

When I arrived at the US in 1998, I had about $8000 in my pocket, a considerable small fortune that I saved during my three years’ working and saving back in China. Part of it I will use to cover my tuition for the 1st year–a couple of thousand dollars. This means I would need to earn to pay for my living expenses. 

Knowing my own financial situations, I managed to find a more budget-friendly living arrangement, sharing a three-bedroom apartment on Murray Hill road within walking distance to campus. Close enough to campus, I would not need a car. I chose the living-room-turned bedroom that did not have a door despite a real bedroom was also vacant when I moved in. 

The furniture I had was a twin-sized mattress, a cheap wardrobe, and a desk. All were picked up from a nearby dumpster, or hand-me-down from the previous tenant–a fellow student.  I packed a light-weight wok and a kitchen knife in my suitcase, so I can cook for myself.  The roommates shared a rice cooker together on the  condition that each must empty the rick cooker and clean it after using it. This saved me from buying a pot or a rice cooker.  After staying in the living room of a couple (fellow Chinese students at the department) for a week or so,   I settled and was ready to start my student life. Helping new arrivals to settle is a custom then among Chinese students.

• Rent is about $200 a month (may be less) including all utilities. 
• Income source: In addition to working as a TA for professors for the partial tuition waive, I knew I must find campus jobs so my money won’t run out.  There were many international students (Master programs), at least half of the group.  And among international students, half were Chinese (50/50 mainland and Taiwan) and the other Indian. Indian students do not have language barrier and fit into the new environment much faster than Chinese students.   Then, a fellow student who was from India (his name is Parashant) offered me many tips in  finding campus jobs.    In the second semester, I started to work at the computer lab for 8 or 10 hours a week, then I switched to  Linda’s web design office at theSchool of Management. As the job required some simple programming skills (which I picked up on the job),  it paid much better and I stayed till I graduated and got an job offer from FedEx supply chain Inc. at Hudson, OH, a town in between Cleveland and Akron. The boss, Linda, was super nice and even bought me a lunch as farewell before I left school.
• For food, fellow Chinese students went to the Westside market where fresh produces are sold at a fraction of the prices at supermarkets.  They often gave me a lift on weekends. For protein, I bought the cheapest types: chicken wings/thighs, gizzard, heart/lung; and pork and pork guts. My monthly grocery was about $60-70 a month. 
• Meal plan: studying, TA, and part-time on-campus jobs all competed for my time. The ways I handled it was to prepare for a whole week’s meal after weekly shopping. Most of days, I had to pack two meals–lunch and supper-to school. After I came home, it was often past 10pm or midnight.
• Telecommunication: Cell phone was not a commonplace then, nor was internet.  One roommate was from Taiwan at the School of Nurse. She had worked a few years and financially better off and would like to have her own telephone line.  This meant I had to get my own telephone line.   The other roommate was from Africa, also want to have his own line.  Unfortunately, I was told by AT&T, in order to get a third line, they had to pull a new phone line into the house and that would cost me over $100 dollars. That was my two-month worth of food.   I did not want to pay for it, but I cannot live without a phone.   So  I did a crazy thing, my first DIY in the US——I routed a new phone line from the utility box outside the apartment into my room.

  Opening the utility box and armed with a new phone line bought from Family Dollar, I succeeded in adding a third telephone line from the box into the basement then into my room above it.  Though I had never done it before, it was super easy, just copying the color code of the other two telephone lines in the box!

  Calling back to China was expensive. The trick was to switch telecommunication companies once the promotion rate was over.   Soon after though, it was more convenient and cheaper to buy phone card (physical or electronic) to call back to China.

• Entertainment: the new life itself was already exciting nought: New country,  new school,  and friendly fellow Chinese students (many from Taiwan), bible study groups at Chinese Church or campus bible study  group organized by Americans.  

  Students from Taiwan were much well off than students from mainland China then. Sometimes they  organized dinner parties with dishes ordered from local Chinese restaurants. In return, mainland Chinese students organized at-home potluck (dumpling) party.

  There were also students from Thailand, majority of them had Chinese blood and especially admire Chinese culture. They are super friendly, easy to get along with.  A couple (I still had contact with through facebook)–Lee, the wife is 100% Chinese blood, and, the husband is a half-half Chinese.  Sometimes they tagged me along to a cheap movie theater (1 dollar per movie on Wednesday night). They are sponsored by Thai government, somewhat financially more secure than me. Their relaxing and friendly demeanor often soothed and dissipated my tension quickly. 
         Getting to know people from different culture was not only intriguing and exciting, but opening my eyes to different parts of the world. I can do this just staying in the US.

• Textbooks: textbooks are super expensive. Chart lent me book once; and other books I managed buying and selling back after the semester ended.
• Health insurance: I did not buy it, and I never went to see doctors.  I got my first  dental cleaning at the School of Dentistry–it was free, helping dentistry students getting certificate.
• Clothing: I only bought a pair of walking shoes and a red rain jacket at a discount store.

You can see that it cost me very little to living through my first year: $200 (living) + $70+ $20~ $300 a month.

Graduation and a used car:

By the time I graduated ( 1year and 10 month later), I still had about the same amount of money (or a little less) as I arrived on campus. I was able to buy a used car (around $3000, 7-year old Nissan Altima); a fellow Chinese student living in the same apartment building accompanied me to check out and bought the car from a private owner. 

Summary

Although I had to be careful in how to spend money,  I was content both materially and mentally.  Materially, I was better than when I was before coming the US because

• Despite that I had to share the apartment with two other roommate. It was the first time I had my own bedroom.
• It was the first time in my life I have access to on-demand hot water.
• It was the first time I had access to washing machine and dryer. I had to wash clothing by hand in the public lavatory in the employee living quarter of my employer  before I came to the US.  
• Chicken wings/legs were considered good, high-quality food in China,  so are other cheap stuff that Americans do not eat including pig kidney/liver/intestine/tongue. Overall, food (eggs, milk) is much cheaper in the US than in China.

Mentally I was engaged and happy too for the following reasons:

• I have a clear goal: finding a job so I can improve my family’s financial conditions and meanwhile to succeed academically and get familiar with the new country.
• Universities are super in offering service for job placement, interview trainings, alumni networking, company information sessions.
• The open environment in the US freed me. I suddenly had to access to many ways to see and experience the life:
  • This includes free books/videos from public library (they are all free).
  • Free museums in the university circle of Cleveland Ohio
  • Cultural events in the circle: institute of art, institute of music, art museum, ohio link library (access to oceans of books)
• Superb learning environment: great professors and the academic freedom. Professors often do not pretend they know everything. 
• Friendships from fellow students in the department and campus at large.
• American family–Dave and Theresa who treated me as family (dinners and sometimes spending night at her house) and friend known through them, Maris.

Thinking back, even the stressful job search process was somewhat better: I will not be declined simply because I am a woman, which is still a common practice in China.

Many exciting things were packed into four semesters. I barely had time to feel bored and lonely.  Stressed out and tired physically? Yes, sometimes, mostly related to immigration—-getting work permit, identifying positions that consider international students.