All Systems Go?

I have slacked on my posting quite a bit since May.  School starts on September 6th and I have been trying to keep my head afloat in order to have a smooth transition for this big adventure.

I had a blip in my process early on.  My financial aid went through just fine, but my loans were another story all together. – I have spent these last couple of years, in between my education, waiting tables.  Keeping up with your taxes when you’re making all of your income in cash is difficult.  I paid the IRS off with ease.  They keep up with you and are eager to work with you for repayment (as you’d imagine they would be- they want their money).  The state of PA?  Not so much.  You’re never quite sure how much you owe and you do not receive the ease of a monthly statement (as the IRS sends you).  I thought I had paid them off and kept all of my affairs in order, but received a letter stating I had been denied my loans because of a tax lien.  I spent the next couple of days (and many MANY hours on the phone) calling around to see where this could’ve possibly come from.  It was from good ol’ Pennsylvania.  When I initially called, I owed $800.  When I called back, I owed $98.  There was never a clear answer of how to release this tax lien and it was soon made obvious that they were more disorganized than I’ve ever been.  Much research later, I paid my measly $98 and reapplied for my loans.  Success.  The process felt forever long and the stressful thoughts of not being able to attend school for less than $100 owed, was certainly keeping me up at night.  -I highly recommend anyone getting ready to go back to school, to get all of your financial woes in order.  Double check to make sure your taxes are paid and that any money you owe to anything, is caught up on.  I am not the only person that has gone through this and although I admit that this was my fault and mine only, I wish I had talked about it with someone prior to applying for school.  It would’ve saved me many hours on the phone and quite a few sleepless nights.  I hope someone somewhere reads this and I can keep them from the same trouble.

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Hunting for apartments has been interesting. That is another blog post all together and one I will write about soon.  My lease should be signed early next week, but it was a process unlike anything I’ve been through.  New York is looking to be quite the adventure and it has certainly already started.

Until so soon..