Keeping The Reins Tight….

There are 7 days left in the 2007-2008 school year. At this point, I’m too exhausted to be excited about two months without teenagers. Besides having my summer off (from students but not from work) being in math education has its perks. At the end of each year, Uncle Sam cancels part of my Perkins Loan; 15% for the first two years, 20% for years three/four, and then 30% for year five. My loan provider decided today was the day to write of this year’s 15%, in a roundabout way, I was given a $475 bonus.

In a few days, the state of South Carolina write off $3000 (+ interest). To get this write off, I indentured my soul to this great state and still owe another three years of my life. I despise the lack of movability but I really like loan write offs; a nice trade off, I suppose.

This time next year, I’ll be getting the same write offs, a very nice retention bonus and hopefully a few bonuses due to my students test results. My kiddo’s rocked out the only 100% Algebra passing rate in the district; I’m confident that despite having a new batch of kids, I should be able to beat the horrible 51% state average.

With the loan write offs, I’ll finally break the through the -20k net worth barrier!

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I’m up to my eyeballs in tutoring clients (and money) and utterly miserable.

I can’t remember the last time I went straight home after school, the last time I went to the dog park during the week, or the last time I took an afternoon lap. I certainly loves my naps. But alas, the money is ridiculously good and after June 5th, I’ll be done.

I tried to balance the supply (me) with the demand by raising my hourly rate. I’m making anywhere from 75-100% more per hour with the new clients and make more in 2 hours tutoring than I do teaching all day.

At this point in the year, I’m not being hired to help the kid understand the material. It’s all about the final course grade at this point thus the pay should be premium. If the parent(s) had been active in their child’s education throughout the year, their child wouldn’t need me. Most of my new clients simply need somebody to make sure they’re doing the homework or teach them what they miss in class (by sleeping or paying attention). Not a single one the new clients really needs the extra instruction because he/she is struggling in class AND giving it all they’ve got.

Five minutes a night checking assignments for completion and/or occasionally checking in with the teacher could have saved these parents buckets of money. In fact, they don’t even need to check in with the teacher, just return our phone calls and emails!

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As of late, I’ve been supplementing my tutoring income by being an online tutor through Tutor.com.

The pay is peanuts compared to my in-person rate but the convenience of tutoring from home (in my pj’s) can’t be beat. However, I’m having a hard time deciding what to do with the extra money I’ve been earning.

The ‘future focused A’ wants to send every penny to his Roth IRA. The ‘not-so-future future A’ wants to save half and spend the rest on much needed / wanted items that aren’t essential to A’s survival. The ‘in the moment A’ wants to spend it all on having fun; it’s been a long time since he’s spent any money on non-essential or budgeted items.

Which one will win out?

The ‘not-so-future future A’.

I’ll use half the money to buy things such as more memory for my MacBook, decorations for my apartment, flowers for my porch or to lady friends out on dates. Half of each monthly check will be sent to my Roth IRA so it can compound nicely for the next 30+ years.

I can say with 99.7% certainty, I’ve enough self-discipline to limit my spending to only half of my fourth source of income.

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After 10 days of contract negotiations, I finally accepted my contract and teaching position for next year. Things didn’t go as well as I hoped, but I managed to do okay.

The dirty details include:

• $2,000 retention bonuses for the next five years.
• $2,000 bonus if my students score above the state average on any end of course test.
• $2,000 bonus per AP Subject taught if my passing rate is higher than the national average.

Basically, the bonuses offered to other teachers within the district were doubled. In a good year, with the right combination of students, I could take home an extra $6,000. In a not so good year, I’ll only get the retention bonus.

My base pay will increase 5% by changing school districts; if the state budget passes, I’ll get another 4.5% raise.

As a young 20-something, I will be making a decent income. Unfortunately, 25 years down the road when I max out the salary schedule, my maximum base pay is just $6,000 more.

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